During a moment of childlike wonder and boredom amidst the 2020 pandemic shutdown, 9-year-old Jackson Renberg came across a video detailing how to make soap. 

“I made some and gave some to friends at school, so I started selling them,” Renberg, said nonchalantly as he sat behind a table of natural soaps of various shapes and sizes Saturday morning at the YouthBiz Holiday Marketplace.

Four years later, the teenager’s Zing Soaps business is a local success, entering neighborhood stores in February. 

And while a 13 year old’s journey to selling handmade soaps may seem an unusual story, it’s a typical tale at the annual YouthBiz Holiday Marketplace.

The marketplace, created by the Young Americans Center for Financial Education in Cherry Creek, showcased over 80 young entrepreneurs between the ages of six and 21 Saturday morning.

The market — with a spring counterpart in April — gives Colorado kids an opportunity to show and sell their goods, with the only requirement being that the goods are entirely made by the kids themselves.

The market included handcrafted jewelry, etched glass, cookies and various other goods crafted by children and teenagers — all sold directly by the young business owners, giving them the opportunity to learn the skills needed to become successful. 

Don’t get it twisted. These businesses are run directly by the students. The center is very mindful about keeping the parents at arm’s length, allowing the students to learn the ins and outs without too much help.

“We also see this secondhand learning experience, whether it’s through the business or financial education. Some parents get to learn as well,” Gaddi Layden, the senior vice president of innovation and growth at the center, said. “It’s really cute to see the parents try to step in and we’re like, ‘No, this is the kid’s business,’” she laughed, adding that they help teach the young businesspeople how to formulate pitches and sell their own products.

The market is just part of the Young Americans Center for Financial Education’s mission to teach children financial skills.

The center also features an actual Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) bank for those up to the age of 21.

“He wanted to create a bank for kids that was exactly like a real bank,” Layden said of founder Bill Daniels in 1987, noting that it is the only FDIC bank for kids in the world. “You’ll see every product that a real bank has — loans, checking accounts, savings accounts — all designed for kids… Daniels wanted for kids to have a real experience. He felt like bank institutions were very intimidating.”

At the bank, kids can started building credit at the age of 12.

The nonprofit side of the center also hosts programs for children like the AmeriTowne — a replica town with various jobs that children interview for and run during a school day in fifth grade.

AmeriTowne serves around 50% of Colorado schools and over 60,000 students a year.

“It’s important on so many fronts,” Layden said of the skills acquired at the center.

She noted the program teaches both hard skills, like financial education and money management that aren’t often taught in schools, and the soft skills, like confidence and belonging.

Each business owner at the event, regardless of their age, was confident, strikingly explaining their products with the ease of a skilled professional.

“I was looking around for fun crafts to do that I thought would be successful,” Layla Hurd said with the credence of a young entrepreneur. “I’m pretty confident because I know I’ve been working very hard on this. I’m also really excited because I have a lot of fun interacting with customers.”

Hurd, 12, started Sugar Studios two years ago, crafting handmade resin products like letter keychains, gummy bear magnets and wall art.

Each item was vibrantly colored with perfectly smoothed edges and designs. According to their maker, they have sold pretty well over her two years at the marketplace.

Renberg has also seen a fair bit of success over his three years at the event, selling over 1,000 bars of soaps in his first year.

He also won the nonprofit’s Spotlight on YouthBiz Stars 2024 competition, netting him some funds for his business and a year-long mentorship with Matt Leprino — a local business success with various ventures like Rotalanti Motor Company Limited and REMINGO.

“It’s a good opportunity, especially because it’s a targeted group for youth,” 17-year-old Lindi Wemanyothwane said of the market. “A lot of businesses have been around for years, but these are beginner businesses and people are still learning the loops around business and marketing.”

Wemanyothwane started crafting hand-painted terracotta pots when she was only 11 years old, creating Inspired Creations.

The clay pots, with meticulous shapes and bold colors, feature the colorful, bright geometric shapes that the Ndebele tribe paints on their houses in South Africa — where her father is from.

To Wemanyothwane, the opportunity has given her a place to share her art and start a budding business.

“First they’re nervous, but once they start getting clients, it’s so cute,” Layden said. “They start getting really excited, and that’s when you see that ‘aha’ moment… It’s really a beautiful teaching of the free enterprise system.”