From hand-painted lures to henna and balloon art, the creativity of Eagle River’s youth took center stage at the 2025 Young Entrepreneur Market (YEM).
Launched by the Eagle River Revitalization Program (ERRA), YEM guides youth ages 10–17 through building and running their own small businesses, with spring trainings leading into summer markets.
According to program coordinator Kelsey O’Brien, YEM is growing quickly among both students and shoppers. “Our program this year doubled in size — we had 45 participants, whereas last year we had just above 20,” she said. “And our visitor reach doubled as well, with more than 1,300 visitors coming to the market to support our youth.”
O’Brien, who first joined ERRA as a bookkeeper and program assistant, took the lead on YEM after former coordinator and ERRA Executive Director Karen Margelofsky stepped down. She spoke with the News-Review to reflect on the 2025 season and share her goals for supporting young entrepreneurs in 2026.
Time to train
The program’s three-part training series begins in March with a workshop that helps kids brainstorm or refine business ideas with support from community mentors. A second session goes deeper into pricing, sourcing materials, marketing, and booth design for the upcoming markets.
Participants come with a wide range of experience, from those arriving without a business idea to others who already have an established client base.
“One of the kids did hand-painted lures, and he was already selling to resorts in Canada and throughout the North Woods. These kids are so impressive,” O’Brien said, adding that students like him join YEM for the experience of the markets.
The final training is a mock market, where participants set up sample displays and practice customer service and money handling as volunteers “shop” their booths and offer feedback on products, signage, and presentation.
From there, it’s on to the real markets, held monthly from June to October in downtown Eagle River’s community square.
Variety of offerings
This year, young entrepreneurs offered everything from woodworking projects, baked goods, and jewelry to handmade cards and sewn items. Others showcased services such as henna tattoos, babysitting, singing, and balloon artistry. One family even parked their donut truck onsite, with the kids running the operation themselves.
In another show of ambition, a young author created, printed, and bound her own book series. “That was so cool to see,” O’Brien said. “Every idea under the sun — these kids can do it.”
Making an impact
When asked about YEM’s long-term impact, O’Brien said one of the biggest benefits is the local connections kids build along the way. “Even if they don't necessarily want to sell their product for the rest of their lives, they're meeting people in the area who they could go on to work for or collaborate with — and potentially come back and mentor the next set of youth.”
Another key advantage, she added, is simply getting kids engaged in their community. “It gets kids out of the house, which is always a good thing,” she said. “And they gain communication skills — if you think about the 1,300 people who came through the markets, that’s so many people these kids are interacting with as they learn real-world skills like money handling, problem solving, and thinking on their feet.”
Some students even get their products into local stores. “We have a few kids who sell in Hooked & Tagged in Eagle River, there’s a therapeutic store in Rhinelander that carries one of our youth’s jewelry lines, and there are two shops in Minocqua that sell jewelry and crocheted animals,” O’Brien said.
Future goals
Looking ahead to 2026, O’Brien said she and the YEM team are already planning for a larger and more robust season. Goals include expanding the program to nearly 100 participants and adding an e-commerce training component.
“Some of these kids want to do this for the rest of their lives, and we have kids who are 15, 16, 17 — I want to be able to foster their ideas through more of an online base,” O’Brien said. “So that’s coming for 2026: teaching them how to sell on Etsy or other e-commerce platforms.”
She also hopes to bring in even more community support and volunteers. Some of this year’s supporters included Nicolet Bank, Ripco Credit Union, Eagle Car Wash, and several smaller, volunteer-based sponsors. Local businesses such as Hooked & Tagged and Andy’s Pontoon Saloon also took part.
For those interested in participating, a 2026 interest form is now available on ERRA’s website. Next year, the team plans to hold trainings on Saturdays rather than during school in-service days to avoid conflicts with other programs. Most of the markets run during summer break, making it easy for both homeschooled and traditional students to take part.
O’Brien said she’s already looking forward to another season, and her favorite part is watching how much the young entrepreneurs grow in just a few months. “Seeing them in March, when some of them have no idea what to do and they're super shy and still trying to figure things out — and then by October, they're so confident and they know exactly what they're doing and they've got ideas for next year. It's incredible.”
To sign up as a participant, sponsor, or volunteer, visit eagleriverrevitalization.org/yem.
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