Young entrepreneurs shine at local market

The Greater Spokane Valley Chamber of Commerce will hold its Youth Business Market on August 22, providing young entrepreneurs an opportunity to sell products and gain practical experience.

The free event takes place from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at CenterPlace Regional Event Center, 2426 N. Discovery Place, in Spokane Valley. Approximately 50 student-run businesses are expected to set up booths.

From farmers market side project to standalone event

The chamber launched the program in 2023 as part of a local farmers market before growing interest prompted organizers to make it a standalone event this year, says Georgia Oxford, vice president of the chamber.

Jessie Laughery, president and CEO of the chamber, says the market teaches students skills that apply beyond entrepreneurship, including problem-solving, communication, money management, customer service, and adaptability. “We aren’t just telling kids about entrepreneurship,” Laughery says. “We’re giving them a place to try it.”

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Returning vendor Paitynn Thomas, 14, operates Sweet P’s, a nonprofit baked-goods business selling cookies, crispy rice treats, cupcakes, muffins, and other items. After covering ingredient costs, Thomas donates her profits to Speed the Light, a youth ministry organization that helps fund missionary transportation and equipment. Thomas has donated nearly $2,000 since starting the nonprofit and will participate in the market for a third year.

“This market supports an amazing cause,” Thomas says. “It gives us an avenue to express our creativity and pursue opportunities we might not have without this event.”

Chamber leaders say they hope those interactions give students confidence to continue developing their ideas while showing them that entrepreneurship can become a career path, Laughery says. “Our future employers and community leaders may be sitting behind one of these booths,” Laughery says.

Students refine products and business models

Roman Tiemann, 15, studies engineering and robotics at Spokane Valley Tech and is returning to the market to sell his customized computer keyboards and 3D-printed fidget toys. Not only does Tiemann build the products, but he also manufactures some of the base pieces with a 3D printer. Tiemann continues refining the products as he develops his technical and business skills. “I am still using an early design for the parts that I print,” Tiemann says. “One of my goals is to improve the current design or make a new design altogether.”

Watching the kids learn how to improve their business models is one of the main goals for the chamber, Laughery says. “Students have to think about presentation, inventory, cost, customer service, marketing, and sales,” she explains. “They also have to walk up to people, explain what they made, and ask someone to buy it.”

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Colt Anderson, 12, first became interested in blacksmithing by watching the show “Forged in Fire,” and started taking classes at Fire Iron Forge, in Rathdrum. Anderson earned an apprenticeship certificate after one year and is now enrolled in a journeyman program. He currently sells handmade hooks, gate latches, grill grates, and other metal products under the Flaming Anvil brand name.

Professor Paracord will debut at the market, under the leadership of 10-year-old Dean Lindgren, who is selling handmade paracord products including keychains and dog leashes. Lindgren began making the items with his father two years ago and decided to participate after watching his sister sell at last year’s market.

Regardless of experience level, Laughery says the market teaches youth how to problem solve, communicate ideas, manage money and inventory, and create opportunities for themselves. “These kids have done the work,” Laughery says. “They’ve developed their ideas, created products and services, thought about how they’re going to present them, and now they need the most important part of any business: customers. Come walk through the market, ask the students questions, encourage them, and buy something.”

This year, the chamber partnered with the city of Spokane Valley.