At a young age, Pretend City introduced us to various roles in society. As we explored the city, our imaginations were unlimited, and we felt a sense of independence and empowerment. We remember cashiering at the grocery store, pulling money from the ATM (we no longer have one at Pretend City), picking apples, and splashing while playing with sailboats. Each visit to Pretend City was a new adventure, and a fully stamped employee timecard represented the joyous time spent.
Later as middle schoolers, we became interested in entrepreneurship. We started our first business selling stationery and gifts featuring our artwork. While discovering challenges to find platforms to sell our goods, we started hosting business fairs, essentially creating marketplaces for teens and kids to exhibit and showcase their creative products. Now as Sage Hill High School students, we host these fairs twice a year, providing kids a jumpstart into the world of entrepreneurship, where they can learn the basics of product development, marketing, and profit. Through this process, we have become passionate about supporting fellow youth entrepreneurs, and our fairs have grown with participation to over 200 entrepreneurs, 35 sponsors, and 1500 shoppers.
