The Kids’ Flea Market: Educational Fun for Future Entrepreneurs

The Imperfect Homeschooler

Cardamom Publishers

P.O. Box 4

Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235

The Kids’ Flea Market:

Educational Fun for Future

Entrepreneurs

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It’s a tough world out there. Prices are rising on everything we need day-to-day except our homes, which are plummeting in value and rapidly reducing our collective net worth. Some experts say this could go on for years. How do we prepare our kids to live as adults in that kind of economy?

One thing we can do right now is to raise entrepreneurial kids. In economic hard times, having more than one source of income can make life less difficult. No matter what their day jobs are, entrepreneurs can always run one or two businesses on the side to bring in a few extra dollars.

Raising entrepreneurial kids is not hard. I think most of us make some effort in that direction by encouraging our kids to set up a lemonade stand or walk neighbors’ dogs for pay. These little lessons can really encourage kids by giving them a taste of working for themselves. For many people, the joy of working for yourself becomes a lifelong fascination (I say that as someone who is half of a self-employed couple), as well as a necessary skill during economic hard times. Why not try planting that entrepreneurial spirit in our kids’ brains?

Here’s one entrepreneurial idea that really works. A kids’ flea market is an educational and fun experience for participants as well as attendees. My older children used to attend one that was held on the lawn of a nearby public library every summer. How they looked forward to that event! Picture a few dozen tables of kids’ toys, games, and books, all being sold by kids and bought by kids. Let me tell you, my kids weren’t the only kids having fun.

This would be a great activity for a homeschool group or a neighborhood association to sponsor. With the guidance of a few adults, an entire group of kids can learn some valuable lessons about entrepreneurship and economics in one day.

The success of a kids’ flea market rests on a few rules that level out the playing field for the participants. First off, a decision has to be made about how to handle money. If there will be young children involved, it is wise not to use cash for buying and selling. Instead, parents can devise scrip or tokens that take the place of cash. The fair we went to used a roll of tickets like you would see at a carnival.

The scrip or tokens should relate to actual cash. For example, at the fair my kids attended, a ticket roughly equaled a quarter. So the kids priced their items using numbers: an item worth a dollar was marked with a 4, meaning it cost 4 tickets. In this way, tickets were exchanged between kids instead of cash. Kids entering the fair bought tickets with cash (and often, their parents’ help); after the fair, sellers cashed in the tickets for the cash that had been collected from the shoppers. Obviously, the parents in charge of managing the scrip/tokens/tickets must be organized and good with money.

Next, a site for the flea market must be chosen that is accessible by as many kids as possible. That’s why it’s not a good idea to have the fair in someone’s house or back yard. Local parents who don’t know you or your kids will be more comfortable if the flea market is held out in the open or in a public

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venue. A public park will work, as will a town square. Be sure to get the proper permits if your town requires them. A back-up location like a church gym or covered park shelter is a good idea in case of rain.

Third, get interested parents together and choose a date and time. Try not to make the flea market longer than three hours. Kids lose their enthusiasm and interest after a few hours, and you’ll want to end things on a high note.

Once the date is chosen, advertise the event locally. Signs, fliers and even a press release to the local paper should get a nice crowd for the flea market. Be sure to promote the event in your group so you get plenty of sellers to participate. Make sure everyone understands that it will be up to the kids, not the parents, to man the tables and do the selling. You may want to set age limits for the sellers. The fair we used to attend allowed kids ages 6-13 to partipate as sellers, and that seemed to work well. I remember one seller with disabilities who used a wheelchair and synthesizer: his dad was there for back-up, but he didn’t need him very often, as he was pretty independent and motivated. We always made sure to stop by his table.

Ask sellers to bring their own tables, unless the venue has picnic tables or something similar available. One or two lawn chairs per table are always a good idea.

Finally, each family needs to decide what to sell. Most kids sell toys, books, trading cards and outgrown sports equipment. A few might also want to sell lemonade, cold canned pop and snacks. That young man in the wheelchair I mentioned used to sell surprise packages, little treats tucked inside empty toilet paper tubes and wrapped in gift paper and ribbons. These were always a huge hit at the flea market.

Prices should be determined by the kids with input from their parents, and clearly marked (as number of tokens) on each item; a piece of masking tape works fine as a price tag. If it’s your kids’ first time at the flea market, a little role-playing with you ahead of time will help prepare them for facing their first customers.

On the big day, be available to your child (i.e. in the vicinity) but don’t hover. The flea market works best when the bulk of the sellers and buyers are kids. It can be very empowering to them and gives them a taste of doing something big by themselves.

You may need to step in and sub for your children if they want a few minutes to walk around as buyers instead of sellers, but it would be better for them to take turns manning tables so that you’re not involved. If one of your kids ends up spending all their profits buying “new” toys and books, that can be a lesson in itself.

Just think of all the additional lessons your kids can learn from this kind of event: they have to be sociable and speak to kids they don’t know, they need to use a little salesmanship to move their merchandise, and they need to keep track of their “money.” It will be very educational, but fun, too. And hopefully, it will get them started on a lifetime of entrepreneurship that could prove very valuable to them in the future.