Mini Entrepreneurs of Rhode Island Helps Kids Find Their Passions
During COVID-19, former teacher Erica Campbell created Mini Entrepreneurs of Rhode Island to aid in their learning.
Mini Kids Entrepreneur Fair at The WaterFire Arts Center. Photo courtesy of Mini Entrepreneur of Rhode Island.
COVID-19 was the start of unprecedented struggle, especially for those who had to work remote while tending to their own children’s remote learning.
Former academic advisor of The Met High School, Erica Campbell, was one of those people struggling with the act of balancing the titles parent and teacher during this time.
“I felt like my children needed a nontraditional learning experience because everything was just heightened during that time,” Campbell said. “We needed to do something engaging, and we needed to do something together as a family, so I decided to teach my children how to start their own business.”
The success of her then four year old’s business, “Bubba’s Snack Shack”—selling assorted fruits and lemonade—brought in great interest from surrounding families. The next year, the Mini Entrepreneurs of Rhode Island was born, providing the youth of Rhode Island with a unique opportunity to develop social and critical thinking skills.
“I think that entrepreneurship is a way to help bring [kids] back to life, bring them back into community, because being an entrepreneur requires you to interact, to collaborate with others, to understand how to use your resources,” Campbell said. “It pushes you in so many ways and it forces you to grow in a direction that’s beneficial to you later on.”
The next line of young entrepreneurs can launch their businesses forward at the 2025 Mini Kids Entrepreneur Fair on September 27 at 12:00 p.m. at the WaterFire Arts Center. Children ages 4-16 are encouraged to develop their overall skills of youth as they are introduced to the basics of entrepreneurship.
Parents or guardians will team up with their child leading up to the fair to assist with the process of creating their business and developing their product or service offered.
“We want to ensure the children have the best experience while developing their product and service and learning invaluable skills, while having fun,” says Campbell.
Coming from a family of entrepreneurs, Campbell was inspired to learn about entrepreneurship alongside her children.
“You don’t have to be great at something to start it. You have to start something in order to be great,” Campbell said. “So, I don’t have a background in entrepreneurship, but I have a present and future in it.”
In 2023, Campbell founded Mini Entrepreneurs of Rhode Island (MERI), a non-profit organization set to bring children into the world of business through diverse programs and hands-on experience. Campbell now runs the non-profit full-time as founder and executive director. The organization runs afterschool programs, summer camps and annual business fairs.
“Our next goal is to have a mentorship program where there are prominent leaders within different professions that can kind of take a child under their wings and support them through this business development process,” Campbell said. “So we definitely try to be that bridge where we’re helping to connect entrepreneurs to young entrepreneurs.”
Register your child for the program at jotform.com/form/. Join Mini Entrepreneurs of RI for a fantastic kid business fair filled with fun, community spirit, and to celebrate the incredible achievements of our youth. For more information, contact Director Erica Campbell, erica@merikids.org or call 484-1441.
