The Youth Entrepreneur Marketplace

I did not learn how to work in a classroom. I grew up inside of it.

Growing up, my family owned and ran a farm, but it was never just a farm. It was a working farm that turned into pony rides, petting zoos, fairs, and birthday parties. Eventually we added a Daycare. Weekends were booked. Trucks were loaded. Something always had to be set up, taken down, set up again, run, or fed.

I grew up in a big family, so there was always movement and always responsibility. You did not wait to be told what to do. You paid attention, stepped in, and helped where you could.

Some days that meant walking ponies in circles for hours. Other days it meant unloading equipment, setting up bounce houses, or figuring out how to keep things running when something went wrong. You were around customers, around money, and around the pressure of making sure things worked the way they were supposed to.

I have ended up in more family photos with people I do not know than I can count. That was just part of it.

At the time, none of it felt like training. It was just how things worked.

Looking back, that kind of exposure matters.

You start to understand work by being inside of it. You see how people interact, how things come together, and how quickly something can fall apart if it is not handled right.

Even now, I still step back into it with my family from time to time. Pony rides, petting zoos, Christmas carriage rides. The work feels familiar because the environment has always been the same.

That experience stays with you.

Most people do not get that early.

For a lot of people, their first real experience with work comes when it already matters. They need the job, they need the income, and they are expected to perform while they are still figuring it out.

There is not much space to learn without pressure.

That is where this idea comes from.

On June 7, 2026, we are hosting the Fenix Workforce Foundation Community Cup. It is a full day Youth and Adult 5v5 soccer tournament but more than that, it is a working environment. Vendors, families, and people moving through the space all day.

Within that environment, we are introducing the:

Youth Entrepreneur Marketplace.

The idea is simple: kids create something and sell it.

No reselling. No garage tables. If they did not make it, they do not sell it.

Each youth vendor participant operates their own booth within the event. Parents are present, but the responsibility stays with the participant. They engage with customers, explain what they created, handle transactions, and manage their space throughout the day.

This is structured as a real world introduction to work.

Youth vendor participants are expected to prepare a product in advance, price it, present it, and interact with the public in a live event environment. They experience what it means to create something and have someone choose to pay for it.

That experience matters.

It introduces core skills early:

communication, ownership, responsibility, and basic financial understanding.

It is not about keeping them busy. It is about giving them a real experience of earning.

For many of these participants, this will be the first time they create something, sell it, and earn from it.

That sticks.

This is where that process can begin.