Youth showcase their businesses at Washington Square in Ottawa

Nora and Myla Maierhofer, of Seneca, turned their love for gardening into a successful business by continuing to grow their family traditions.

“Our goal is to spread cheer on people’s faces,” Nora said.

They inherited the passion from their mother. After participating in Ottawa’s Children’s Business Fair last year, the business has continued to expand with the support of the community.

“We knew lots of people liked flowers and thought it would be a good idea,” Myla said. “We get invited to places to sell our flowers.”

Saturday marked the second annual Ottawa Children’s Business Fair, sponsored by Prairie Fox Books. Businesses at the fair were 100% run by children 5 to 14 years old. They promoted and sold their own products.

The sisters’ business, Amen Acres, continues to sell their products on Facebook and the family farm.

The girls agreed their favorite aspect of the business is planting – waiting for the various wildflowers to bloom, cutting them down and arranging them. The price of the bouquet depends on the size.

The Maierhofers were just one of 28 businesses at Washington Square selling their own products – most of them homemade – beneath the tents and tables at the park. The event provided children in first through 12th grades the opportunity to show off their businesses. They designed their own brands, marketed their products and presented them Saturday, also earning profits from their sales.

Alex Reed, 13, of Grand Ridge, founded Digital Dogs “on a whim” a year ago because Reed wanted to have a picture of their sheep. Reeds turn animal portraits into custom-made digital art pieces.

“People send me a picture of their pet and I put it into a digital art program and draw over it,” Reed said.

Reed said it takes about one to three hours, depending on the complexity of the piece. Reed charges $60 per portrait with the option to pay $30 at the time of purchase, or in full prior to being sent a one-of-a-kind piece.

Lily Deivel-Sowell,12, of Ottawa, and Zoe England, 12, of Ottawa, said they heard about the fair from another friend who was participating. They have been making bracelets since second grade for fun and thought joining the fair would be a good opportunity.

The girls learned how to price their jewelry by taking into consideration how much the beads cost and the time they spent making each piece.

Siblings Savannah and Jonathon Guzman, of Leland, turned the “random” crayons in their house into a business venture by melting them and turning them into fun new designs such as pigs, letters, game controllers and legos.

Savannah said they price the products based on how many crayons were melted to create the new shape, how long it took and the demand for the products. Savannah also sold her spray-painted artwork. She said she was inspired by what she saw on YouTube.

Other businesses included Crafty Dog Toys, AW Designs, Beads for Days, Stamps and Designs by Aiden, OPK Designs, Beaded by Lulu, Star Designs, Perfectly Perlers, Baked by Zo & Lo, Swiftie Shop, Beads & Strings by LV, Hawleywood Jewelry, Angel & Stitch Jewelry and More, Color It! by Collins, Sawyer’s Collection, Artistique, Rae’s Keychains, Rainbow Originals, KenCamKay Candy Land, A&E Boutique, Blue Eye Bracelets, Crafty Kitty, Callan’s Casual Crafts, Sharp Shooter/Punch It and Painted Pink.

Judges announce winners

Savannah and Jonathon Guzman of Spontaneous Sprays and Creative Crayons received the Golden Piggie Bank Trophy for Junior Business of the Year 2023

Alex Reed of Digital Dogs received the Highest Business Potential Award.

Best Business Presentation went to Ana-Elisa and Thaila Scheick of Star Designs received the Best Business Presentation Award.