GALT, CA (MPG) - More than 120 young business owners filled C Street on Saturday, May 3 for the second annual Makers Market, an event designed to teach kids entrepreneurial skills while giving them hands-on experience running a business.

The market, organized by real estate agents Becky Roenspie and Michaela Johnson of Roenspie+Johnson Real Estate Group, has more than doubled in size since its debut last year.

“We are excited about this and obviously the community has come out like crazy,” Roenspie said. “We are stoked; we are teaching them things that they do not learn in school, and we are teaching them that they can do it, and we will help them do it. It is just amazing that the city is coming out to support.”

The event featured 80 booths operated by children ages 5 to 17, up from 56 booths and 50 participants in its inaugural year. Participants were required to pay a booth fee, design signage, create a marketing video and engage directly with customers. Parents were only allowed to assist younger children.

“We want them to look us in the eye and shake our hands and we want them to be little young entrepreneurs,” Roenspie said. “We love our kids; it is important; we want them to be young entrepreneurs; we want them to know that they can do it.”

Fourteen judges evaluated booths across age categories, awarding top entrepreneurs $350 and giving $50 prizes for honors such as best customer service and best-decorated booth. Roenspie said the success of the event wouldn’t have been possible without the help of community sponsors.

“We wouldn’t have been able to do it without our sponsors,” she said. “It has just been so awarding and these kids are so impressive.”

Johnson, who co-organized the event, said the idea was about more than business.

“It is super important for us to have our kids experience this stuff,” Johnson said. “We talked to some of the parents in the community and they were all interested.”

Both Johnson and Roenspie emphasized that the market also serves as a mentorship opportunity for kids who may not have the same resources as others.

“Our goal is that any kid that wants to start a business, we have so many people that want to mentor them and help them so they can have a startup business,” Johnson said. 

One of the standout vendors was Liberty Ranch High School student Mario Rubalcava, who launched his business, 4M Custom Hats, in 2023. Drawing inspiration from his family’s ranching heritage, Rubalcava sources custom hats from Mexico and shapes them to fit customers on-site.

“I started right there at home with my mom’s handheld steamer, but also off of social media,” Rubalcava said. “People have been starting these companies where you get shaped right in front of you. It gets shaped to your style, but there are not a lot of people who do this locally.”

Rubalcava said the business, which started with his Liberty Ranch classmates as his first customers, had already made more than 25 sales early in the market. 

“It’s going way better, honestly, than I thought it would be,” he said.

Jhett Nelson, another young entrepreneur and a Galt Youth Baseball League player, launched a business to raise funds for a new bat. He sold sunglasses, sourcing his inventory overseas for his business, Mavryk Baseball. 

“It’s been going great; I have sold a lot of pairs,” he said. “A lot of people seem to like it. I would 100 percent participate again.”

Ten-year-old Harlan Ward and his friends Blake Morgan and Kent Flores ran the Icee Bros booth, selling flavored ice.

“My grandpa gave me money to invest in stuff, so I bought an ice machine so I can make some money,” Ward said. “It’s been very good. I feel like we have made a lot of money.”

McCaffrey Middle School student JJ Aulet, 14, sold homemade cookies. She spent two days baking, two days decorating and one day defrosting to prepare.

“I had always liked baking and cooking and would bake with my mom when I was little,” Aulet said. “It was something that I always had a passion for. I would bake them for people, and they said that they liked them and when I heard that they were having a kids’ market, I always go to Saturday market; I wanted to participate.”

“It is going very well,” she added. “At one point I had a line.”

Reflecting on the effort it took, Aulet said it was a learning experience. 

“I think next time I would have an assembly line for all of my helpers,” she said.

For Johnson, the event was a reminder of what’s possible when the Galt community comes together.

“The support of the community has blown us away,” she said. “I have literally been in tears a few times … it is so cool.”