Children’s Business Fair teaches kids entrepreneurial skills

By Ian Swaby
| 1:00 p.m. March 4, 2025

Mikhail Tolstov, 13, sold items he printed using his 3D printer. His models come from a site called MakerWorld, where they are authorized for sale, and he uses them to model his own, or sell them as they are.

Sarasota
Neighbors

Mikhail Tolstov, 13, is highly intentional when creating items with his 3D printer.

As he produces objects like dinosaur skulls and model cars, he calculates the amount of plastic each model uses, as well as the electricity and printer maintenance costs, pricing each item at 200 to 300 percent of those costs.

He was able to showcase his work to the public for the first time when he participated in the Children's Business Fair on March 1, an event that was a collaboration between Nailed It DIY Studio and Girls Inc.

Although he became interested in starting a business after selling branded items for his parents' businesses, his mother Svetlana Tolstova said the fair was also an important step.

"If you do something, it doesn't mean that somebody will buy, right?" she said. "It is more important to be visible, and I think this is maybe one of the most important parts."

Building the next generation in business

Kids were responsible for creating their own signage, displays and table coverings, and for collecting payments, with prizes given out for the most decorated, most profitable, judges' choice and the most spirited booth.

Madison King, 13, said she can sit and craft for hours. Her hobby translated into items she could sell, including crochet items, which she started making with her grandmother about two weeks ago.

Madison King, 13, sold her crafts, including crochet items. They will help support the needs of her cow Pickles, whose next stop is the Sarasota County Fair. She is knitting a pickle and pickle jaw costume, with her grandmother, that she and Pickles can use at the fair.

"It's nice to know that somebody appreciates my art and knows that it's good enough to be sold," she said. "It helps me with my confidence too. I also have special needs, so I like to stay in my shell most of the time, but doing this and selling Girl Scout cookies it gets me more comfortable."

It also gave her the chance to gain funds to support her cow, Pickles, whose next stop is the Sarasota County Fair.

"Doing something like this is more than just entrepreneurship," said Michelle Kenner, owner of Nailed It. "It's life skills, it's the opportunity to speak to the public, it's customer service, it's seeing what you're good at, it's marketing yourself, marketing your product. There's just so many other skills that go into an event like this that they're going to get out of it... that they're going to be able to use in real life."

Tyasia Brown, 10, one of about 11 vendors present that day, sold blind bags, a project she began through Girls Inc.

Tyasia Brown, 10, sold blind bags with surprise selections of toys inside. "She's interested in a lot," said Claudia Lagnese of Girls Inc. "She is always changing everything, and is one of our most outspoken girls."

"I like to show that what I can do when I have some free time," she said.

In the bags, she included toys donated by Kenner.

"I think it's important that they understand that it doesn't take a lot of money to start a business," Kenner said. "It certainly can, but it doesn't have to. So, you can start as simple as she did, with paper and a couple of toys."

Ollie Kimbrell, 13, and Bryce Kenner, 15, sold sticks of meat in support of camping trips for Boy Scouts. "It's such fun, just meeting new people, because a lot of older people are originally scouts, so they have a lot of fun stories to tell," said Kenner.

Claudia Lagnese of Girl's Inc. said the fair fit the mission of Girls Inc., which includes an emphasis on entrepreneurship.

"We are living in a changing world right now, and a lot of stuff is unpredictable, and something that you can always control is how you show up and how you decide to live your life, and entrepreneurship is such a way to take back control over your own personal autonomy, your money, your life, your time," she said. "So teaching girls, and children broadly, how to do this could be potentially life-changing for them as they grow up."

author

Ian Swaby

Ian Swaby is the Sarasota neighbors writer for the Observer. Ian is a Florida State University graduate of Editing, Writing, and Media and previously worked in the publishing industry in the Cayman Islands.