Five-year-old Nora Goodman carefully counted each coin, adding them up to $1.50, then dropped the earnings in her coin purse. Next to her, 7-year-old Eamonn Goodman — namesake of Eamonn’s Fantastic Lemonade — manned the plastic pitcher and marked each sale in a small ledger.
From their concoction’s secret ingredient to their booth’s colorful signs, the brother-and-sister duo made all the decisions. They’d sold their recipe before at a neighborhood lemonade stand, but this sunny June morning marked the sibling’s farmers market debut.
“I like it here because I think it’s more funner,” Eamonn said. “I get to explore around other people.”
The Goodmans were among a handful of kids flexing their entrepreneurship skills at the June meeting of Kids Markets in Beech Grove. Their dad, Jonathan Goodman, said the market was a natural fit for his son, who took an early liking to earning money.
“Ever since we’ve given him an allowance, he’s been trying to figure out how to make the allowance more money,” Jonathan said. “He’s a really good saver.”
Kids Markets, a concept launched almost a decade ago in Utah, now has a presence in all 50 states and Alberta, Canada. The nonprofit first landed in Indianapolis last year. It now has a following in at least half a dozen Indianapolis neighborhoods and suburbs.
The idea is simple: to create a farmers market experience run entirely by kids. Kids procure or create their own product, design their stand, sell their goods and take home what they earn.
In Beech Grove, for example, once a month Kids Markets entrepreneurs join the regular weekly vendors at the Fransican Health Farmers Market. During this June’s event, there were almost as many kid vendors as there were adults.
The opportunity is targeted toward kids ages 5 to 17. Parents are encouraged to come and help with setup, but once the market opens, adults are asked to stand back and let the kids take over.
“They talk to the customers. They answer questions. They exchange the money or take the card and do a transaction,” Indianapolis market manager Jennifer Autry said. “It’s really supposed to be up to the kids to do everything themselves.”
Kids Markets a learning opportunity
Often, kids set up their tables and tents in their own sections of established markets, selling goods like flowers, tomatoes and handmade crafts. Some of them spend weeks, or even months, preparing for market day.
It’s an opportunity organizers say teaches both entrepreneurship skills, such as math, critical reasoning and creativity, as well as life lessons.
“I’ve had parents sign their kids up because their kids are afraid to talk to people,” Autry said. “It’s really cool to see their confidence shine through. They make a sale and they just beam.”
The markets’ entrance to Indianapolis comes at a time when state education officials are increasingly pushing more experiential learning in schools. The officials’ thinking suggests that the more job exposure kids have at an early age, the more prepared they’ll be for careers after high school.
But, Kids Markets opportunities sprung up organically. They’re not affiliated with any particular school and kids aren’t offered class credit. In fact, multiple kids told Mirror Indy they discovered the markets through their own research.
Abby Ellegood, 11, said she’d always been interested in owning her own business. She first tried pet sitting in her neighborhood, but decided she wanted to do something to exercise her creativity. That’s when she discovered Kids Markets.
Within the first half hour of the June market, she’d already made her first sale: a green frog she taught herself how to crochet.
“I go on Youtube and find tutorials,” Ellegood said. “I just have a massive list of things I want to do and go and pick one out that sounds fun.”
Her dad, Jon Ellegood, said Abby did all of the work researching and preparing for the market. The dad from a northwest suburb said he was more than happy to let his daughter run with her business plan.
“She has done 95% of the work,” Jon said. “She’s done research on what to make and how much she thinks it costs and what are the best things people would be interested in buying that she could actually make. It was an easy ‘yes’ to come out and help her with something she thinks she’s excited about.”
Markets fuel big plans
Friends Savannah Meyer, 12, and Kairi Armes, 11, sat at neighboring tables. The two preteens from Indy’s south side crafted bracelets together ahead of market day.
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Meyer also sold painted vases and Armes offered a selection of zinnia, cosmos and hibiscus flowers she started from seed packs she picked up from her local library. They plan to put the money they earn toward a trip to Peru to attend a family friend’s vow renewal.
The lead up to market day was a little nervewracking, Meyer said. The preteen tempered her expectations for her first market.
“I’m not expecting to make that much,” Meyer told Mirror Indy. “It’s really fun making stuff, though, so I don’t mind making it and then bringing it to see if I can sell some.”
Mom Brandie Meyer said she experienced a bit of her own learning curve. It was difficult at first not to jump in to help. But she turned questions back to her girls, asking what they thought about their products’ designs and pricing.
“The big thing was making the kids do it themselves,” Meyer said, “For them, they’ve got to figure it out and do it.”
Eamonn, the allowance saver, also has big plans for his market earnings. He wants to use the money he makes this summer to help pay tournament costs for his new travel baseball team, the Mambas.
The 7-year-old entrepreneur is already brainstorming ideas for what he can sell next. His dad, Jonathan, said pinecones have been a recent interest, which means the family will likely be looking for more Kids Markets opportunities in the winter.
Jonathan says that’s OK. The dad, who homeschools his son, says he likes to let Eamonn’s interests lead his learning.
“I’d like to say this is all me,” Jonathan said, “But he drives this. I just kind of go with it.”
Mirror Indy, a nonprofit newsroom, is funded through grants and donations from individuals, foundations and organizations.
Mirror Indy reporter Carley Lanich covers early childhood and K-12 education. Contact her at carley.lanich@mirrorindy.org or follow her on X @carleylanich.
How to start a stand at the farmers market:
We asked Kids Markets entrepreneurs for their advice on how to prepare for your first farmers market. Here’s what they said.
⏰ “Don’t do it last minute. Have it ready ahead of time.” -Savannah Meyer, 12
💗 “Find what you love and focus on using that.” – Abby Ellegood, 11
🍅 “Keep cherry tomatoes in the shade because they will die and crumble in the sun.” -Nora Meyer, 10
Kids Markets registration is $25. Kids can go to kidsmarkets.com to find their nearest market and sign up.
Where are upcoming markets?
🗓️ 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. July 21
📍 1300 Albany St., Beech Grove
🗓️ 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Aug. 18
📍 1300 Albany St., Beech Grove
Mirror Indy, a nonprofit newsroom, is funded through grants and donations from individuals, foundations and organizations. Sign up for our free newsletters.
Mirror Indy reporter Carley Lanich covers early childhood and K-12 education. Contact her at carley.lanich@mirrorindy.org or follow her on X @carleylanich.
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