WAHOO – Whether it was to make a little extra money or to satisfy their creative sides, talented kids had the opportunity to sell their goods at last weekend’s Summerfest in Wahoo.
Summerfest organizer Angie Craft had a special section set aside for what she called the “Kidpreneur market” at Saturday’s event, which had over 100 booths total at the Saunders County Fairgrounds.
Craft has invited young entrepreneurs to Summerfest since it started two years ago in downtown Wahoo. In the first year, there were about 10 “kidpreneurs,” and this year it has blossomed to 19.
These kids came from all over, including Omaha, Lincoln and Waverly. Three local “kidpreneurs” were Chase Rezac, Nora Herrera and Ellianna Woodman.
Chase, a 13-year-old who just finished sixth grade at St. John Nepomucene School in Weston and will be in seventh grade at Bishop Neumann in Wahoo in the fall, was selling candles he makes in the basement of his Weston home.
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Chase got into candle making after seeing a vendor in Minnesota while on vacation with his family.
“We started making them for ourselves, but recently I wanted to sell them,” he said.
With popular scents like pine and Egyptian Amber, Chase’s candles have become hot sellers during events at his school and a recent plant sale in Weston. His aunt, Amy Nieman, will start selling them soon at her shop in Auto Alley in Wahoo.
Chase makes batches of 10 candles at a time, relying on family feedback to determine what scents he will use.
He puts the proceeds from sales back into the business to buy supplies, but he also saves a little of the profit for himself.
“I keep some for games and stuff I want to buy,” he said.
Before Saturday’s event, Craft hosted the “kidpreneurs” at her downtown Wahoo business, Sassafras Galleria and the Back Room for a lesson in business. The youngsters made business cards and posters to promote their ventures. Craft also offered advice on pricing their products.
As an entrepreneur herself, Craft wants to share her expertise with the kids.
“We want them to realize being an artist and selling your wares is like being self-employed,” she said.
Chase said he likes the idea of being his own boss.
“I just get to make all the calls and do what I want,” he said.
Nora wanted to learn about business as she started selling her paintings two years ago. When the Wahoo girl wanted to try something different, she turned to the internet and found a recipe for what she calls “aroma-dough” online.
“It’s basically homemade play dough that has essential oils in it to calm you down,” she explained.
Nora’s “aroma-dough” soon started outselling her paintings, and she added more products to her inventory like lip balm and salve.
The future eighth grader at Wahoo Public Schools works with her mom, Vicki. They call their business “The Lab.”
“Because it’s just a lot of mixing and a lot of experimentation,” Nora said.
Nora said she’s always looking for a better lip balm, so she started making her own from honey and cocoa butter. After a few batches, she’s found a formula she likes.
“I’ve just gotten the recipe perfected,” she said.
Recently she started making salve for dry skin that is lightly scented with honey and tangerine.
“There’s no super strong scent because I don’t want to irritate the skin,” she said.
Nora relies on customer feedback to perfect her products. Right now she is trying out a body butter formula. She had visitors to her booth try in on Saturday and had many positive comments.
Nora has learned some tough lessons already. In her first year, Nora made too many different scents of dough had a lot of leftover inventory. Now, they’ve narrowed down the list to a few best sellers and are making more profit, she said.
Ellianna started making bracelets and hair decorations out of rubber bands for fun. Soon she had more than she could use, so she decided to sell them at craft shows.
“They’re fun to design,” she said.
The sixth grader at Yutan Elementary School said the bracelets are her top seller. She also makes items with Aquabeads, where round beads are fused together using water.
Craft estimated a “couple thousand people” attended Summerfest. Originally held in downtown Wahoo, Craft moved the event to the Saunders County Fairgrounds this year.
“I hated to have to move it from downtown, but there was just no more room for me to grow down there,” she said.