From homemade keychains to mini golf, Green Hope seniors had the opportunity to showcase their economic ventures and put into practice what they have learned in their personal finance classes at the annual business fair. 

On Oct. 2, students across all the Economics and Personal Finance class opened shop – to their peers. Each senior’s goal was to sell as much product and make as much profit as possible while staying in stock for the whole fair. Each period, three rounds of students simulating three different business years. The entrepreneurs had one week to design and create their product or service. Businesses start with no money and the students buying products are given ten dollars to spend on what they please.

The business fair is a way to give seniors in person experience in many aspects of economics. First, the sellers had to create a product or service that would attract potential buyers to their stand. Once the buyers were at the stand, the seniors had to convince them to spend money on their products. This was difficult because many of the buyers were reluctant to spend money since they started with a small amount. The seniors used advertising tactics including a catchy slogan and an appealing logo to attract more customers. The business fair requires students to be innovative and challenges them to solve marketing problems in real life situations teaching them how to be successful entrepreneurs.

The seniors in Economics and Personal Finance were given a rubric to evaluate and they could choose to be independent, in a group or in a trio. The students picked their own groups and were required to create a business plan that evaluated competition, pricing and inputs. Additionally, groups chose  a name, slogan and logo. Throughout the business fair, common products were slime, fake tattoos, bracelets and rubber ducks. On the other hand, common services were games such as basketball toss for a prize and gambling through black jack or ping pong toss.

 Cailan Roy (‘25) participated in the business fair and was selling scented slime. “It was a really fun experience and seeing all the customers buying products at my table is making me hype,” she said. Roy and her partner sold over $150 of slime at the fair. Another seller, Barclay Wall (‘25) provided a service where they brought a speaker and let students pay money to play family friendly songs.“We made lots of profit because we provided a service where we didn’t have to put any money back into it,” Wall said.

Another seller, Aarin Patel (‘25) and his team of three provided a service where they brought a basketball hoop in and participants had to make a shot to win a hot wheels car. Patel said, “We made around $300 in profit and almost sold all of our 100 hot wheels cars.”

Students of all grades participated on the buying side of the business fair. Prewitt Dash (‘26)  was a customer at the business fair and talked about his favorite parts. “My experiences were great. I spent all my money on fake tattoos and the selection of products at the fair was fantastic” Dash said. He claimed the tattoos he bought made him feel more confident and made him look better.

The business fair gave seniors in Economics and Personal Finance a practical, hands-on participation in entrepreneurship and marketing. By creating and selling products or services, students learned valuable lessons about marketing, competition and resource management.