Rules, Guidelines & Awards
Everything you need to know to participate in the Acton Children's Business Fair in El Paso.
- The CBF will establish a FIRM cap of participants based on location and resources.
- The CBF will take great care to limit the number of businesses in specific categories to avoid too many similar business concepts. If an applicant's idea is similar to previously accepted entries, the CBF will notify the applicant and provide an opportunity to resubmit.
- Applicants must be between the ages of 5–15 on or before the application open date.
- All entries will be automatically entered in the business competition, judged on most original business idea, highest business potential, and best presentation/creativity.
- Cash prizes of $75 per category and age group (to be split among the business owners) will be presented at the conclusion of the fair.
- No businesses requiring electricity or generators will be allowed.
- Each booth consists of a 6-foot table and 1–3 chairs. Table covers are not provided.
- No more than 3 participants per booth/business idea.
- Parents of younger children may sit in their booth, but children are responsible for setup, sales, and interacting with customers.
- This event is designed to give children a taste of selling a product — please let them have that experience.
- Any parent seen selling to the customer or promoting the child's product will result in disqualification from the competition.
Junior Achievement of the Desert Southwest will provide a 6-week after-school entrepreneurship course to all accepted applicants to prepare them for a successful event by teaching essential business skills.
The program meets 1 time per week starting in April; the location and time will be provided at the end of March.
Important: The $25 registration fee is fully refundable upon completion of the 6-week course.
- Please submit one application per business. Children working as a group may submit one application with all children's info.
- The competition will be judged in four age categories: Ages 5–7, 8–10, 11–13, and 14–15. If children of different age groups share a booth, they will be judged in the age group of the oldest participant.
- There will be NO soliciting personal/individual business sponsors for your child's product.
- You may help your child fill out the application, but depending on their age, they are expected to do as much as possible by themselves.
- We will begin notifying accepted applicants in March and will continue until we reach our cap of 25 businesses.
- Instead of a fee at submission, a $25 participation fee will be collected from all accepted applicants — refunded upon completion of the 6-week JA course.
An awards ceremony will be held immediately following the fair. All entries are automatically entered in the competition and judged by fellow entrepreneurs on most original business idea, highest business potential, and best presentation/creativity.
Cash prizes of $75 per category and age group (split among business owners) will be presented at the conclusion of the fair.
Judging Categories
Two judges per age category will walk around the event. There will be a winner in each age group for each category:
Most Original Business Idea
Highest Business Potential
Best Presentation / Creativity