Katy Home and Garden Show features up-and-coming entrepreneurs

By George Slaughter, News Editor
Posted 3/15/23

Youngsters tagging along with their parents—perhaps some parents themselves—can expect to find some entrepreneurial inspiration at the upcoming Katy Home and Garden Show. Plenty of businesses will have their merchandise available for purchase.

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Katy Home and Garden Show features up-and-coming entrepreneurs

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Youngsters tagging along with their parents—perhaps some parents themselves—can expect to find some entrepreneurial inspiration at the upcoming Katy Home and Garden Show. Plenty of businesses will have their merchandise available for purchase.

Some of that merchandise comes from youngsters who are staffing their own booths selling their own products.

Sixteen-year-old Bea, for example, has a business she calls Slime Shop by Bea. The slime she sells isn’t the real stuff, but rather, a stretchy substance that is used as a pleasant distraction.

“You can play with it to relax,” Bea, who is 16, said. “I saw it online when I was younger. I decided to try selling it.”

Slime shop by Bea has been open since last fall, she said, and started selling her products in November.

The show will be March 25-26 at the Katy ISD’s Gerald D. Young Agriculture Services Center, 5801 Katy Hockley Cutoff Road. Show hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. March 25 and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. March 26. Tickets are $9 at the door. Parking is free.

To register for a $250 shopping spree or for more information, visit the website katyhomeandgardenshow.com or call 832-392-0165.

March 26 is hero day where all active military personnel, veterans, fire department, police force and first responders, Katy ISD and Cy-Fair ISD employees receive free admission for two by showing a valid ID at the box office.

Bea said she hopes to keep selling her slime as long as she can. Having her own booth at the show is exciting to her.

“I think it will be really fun and I’m looking forward to it,” Bea said.

Watching over Bea’s business activities as her mother, Gabriela.

“My daughter is very much an entrepreneur,” Gabriela said. Like the other young entrepreneurs interviewed for this story, Bea’s last name is not being used by parental request. The young entrepreneurs profiled here are all homeschooled.

Another young entrepreneur, Khizar (pronounced KIZZ-ur) is 8, and he is a budding artist. He uses watercolors to create portraits of reptiles and amphibians. He said he wanted to use the profits from his art to help save endangered reptiles and amphibians. Like any artist or entrepreneur, he works hard at what he does—though he said that the art doesn’t always quite turn out as planned.

Like Bea, Khizar began his business last year. This is the second year in which he has had a booth at an event, though this is the first time at the Katy Home and Garden Show. He said he is excited about the opportunity.

Creativity can take many forms. For Lexa, age 12, her business, which she calls Mushroom Duck, focuses on creating crochet products and t-shirt bags. But she’s just getting started.

“I want to add in some more items,” Lexa said. “I want to add specialty items.”

Kristen is Lexa’s mother. She and her husband have their own business, serving the industrial electrical market. She said she encouraged Lexa, and the other students, to have their own businesses.

“Since we’re homeschooling, we thought it would be fun to have other kids in it.,” Kristen said. “I’m happy about it. I’m excited about it. I like to see her in action. You see a different side of these kids. I’m always in awe of what the kids produce. It’s so unique and so cool to see how they been working to create these products.”

And sell those products.

“I’m very much looking forward to having a booth,” Lexa said.

Katy Home and Garden Show