Junior Market Days gives young entrepreneurs a platform for sales

Lebanon Farmers Market is offering a platform for young entrepreneurs with Junior Market Days, an opportunity on Saturdays for local under-18 business owners to sell their products and reach out to their communities.

At the beginning of August, four sisters in pairs of two set up their businesses. Aubrey and Alice Boyer, with the Sticker Patch Sisters, sold stickers and handmade bracelets. Lana and Eden Boyer, with the Little Botanical Plant Shop, sold plant propagations.

Their mom, Naomi Boyer, hung around by the stand throughout the day to help out the young businesswomen. She said they heard about the opportunity through social media.

“[The Farmers Market] just posted on Facebook, and we had already been putting together something, and it was just perfect timing,” Naomi said.

She said they did another junior market in Fredericksburg and will be at the Mount Gretna Art Show later in August.

Naomi owns a photography business, and said she’s entirely self-taught. Junior Market Days were an opportunity for her to pass on some of her business knowledge to her kids.

The younger kids said they love stickers and have a large collection they could share. The older girls credited their mom with the plant idea, but expanded on their own growing knowledge throughout the process of setting up their business.

“We went to thrift stores, collected some jars and stuff we thought were cute,” Lana said. “We got some donations of plants, and we grew some, too.”

The girls said the best part was interacting with all of the customers coming through the market, who they said were nice and supportive.

This encouragement was exactly what market manager Andrea Stalnecker said was the goal of Junior Market Days.

“It’s not just college and trade school,” Stalnecker said. “College is an option, trade schools are an option, and so is just starting your own business. You don’t necessarily have to have any kind of degree or diploma to do that — you just have to have determination, drive, and creativity.”

For the junior vendors, the determination and drive come from different goals

Stalnecker said past entrepreneurs have set up stands to earn enough money for a Great Wolf Lodge visit or to just try out their business ideas.

 “They each have different goals, but it has gone well,” she said. “The public has come out when they’re aware of it and supported it, so we try to make sure everybody knows that there are different vendors every week.”

Junior Market Days are held every Saturday. The market’s Facebook page announces what businesses customers should expect.

Other market updates

Stalnecker said they’re also going to have adult guest vendors on Thursdays and Fridays.

“It’s a try-before-you-buy sort of thing,” she said. “Some of the people could join as permanent vendors year-round if they wanted, or a one-time thing, so they can either just get their name out there or gauge how they feel about going in permanently.”

She said people’s shopping habits have changed since the COVID-19 pandemic, and the market is working to be flexible to keep the place running. Offering events on special days creates a sense of urgency that can get people in the door.

Lebanon Farmers Market currently has 18 vendors, Stalnecker said, with room for at least six more. They’re looking into dividing available booths to create smaller spaces, so vendors can start small and expand later.

She said they’re looking for more food vendors, but not exclusively.

The changes come after Jared Mizrahi bought the building at auction for $1.35 million at the end of 2024.

Read More: Lebanon Farmers Market’s new owner begins making plans to revitalize site

Several vendors have left the site since the new owner took over and took to social media to share alleged negative experiences. Artsy Gourmet New Beginnings posted on Facebook that the market had pest concerns that ownership was made aware of.

Stalnecker said they have a pest professional come to the market weekly to check the area. She said any business, especially those handling food, should do the same.

“There was a problem at one point under an old owner, but it’s going back a ways,” she said. “The current guy will tell you that they come in every week and handle making sure everything is under control. If there would be something that would be observed, it can get recorded in a book and get extra attention.”