Young entrepreneurs launch their own startups in N.M.

LAS CRUCES, N.M. - A new group of entrepreneurs has emerged in the Las Cruces business scene, and they’re too young to drive themselves to the office.

The roughly 40 junior executives, ages 6 to 14, from the Acton Academy and other city schools will be participating in a nationwide Children’s Business Fair on Saturday during the downtown Las Cruces Farmers & Crafts Market, The Las Cruces Sun-News reported.

The students will be introducing various projects for sale, which include arts and crafts, spa services, custom-crafted woodwork, jewelry and other items.

Anna Biad is one of the founders of Acton’s Las Cruces school, which launched last year. She said the goal was for students to work independently on the projects so they would learn the challenges of developing their own startup business.

“The big premise was to keep the parents out of it and really let the young entrepreneurs figure it out for themselves,” Biad said. “The philosophy is that, even if their business fails, they can reflect and really grow stronger versus us as parents coming in and creating their project.”

Working independently was something that Yakira de Rouen found really helped her Home Made Spa business, which offers body and lip scrubs and tips to customers on how to use the handcrafted products.

“When I do my business, it has to go a certain way,” the 10-year-old said. “Before, when I first started my business, I had partners and that didn’t really work out. So now they are doing their own business and I’m doing my business.”

Brothers Max and Jacob Taylor, ages 11 and 9, are offering hand-crafted boxes, swords and book marks. Their business is a way to carry on family woodworking traditions handed down to them from their grandfather.

Biad, who said she started in business at age 11, is hopeful the valuable skills the children are learning at the academy will serve them well as they grow older.

“I feel like that really benefited me as a young person, so I wanted to give that opportunity to other young people in our community,” she said.