In Sumner County and the surrounding communities, Danielle LaCoste is creating something that feels both hopeful and practical: a space where young people are taken seriously, encouraged to lead, and given a real opportunity to build something of their own.

LaCoste is an academic and executive consultant by profession, with more than 15 years of experience helping families navigate one of the biggest decisions in a student’s life — what comes after high school. She typically works with students from freshman through senior year, guiding families toward what she calls the right “academic, social, and financial fit.”

“I’ve got a tremendous amount of data on schools’ business models,” she shared. “So, I can tell you where the money is… and I typically save families an average of about $80,000 over a four-year education.”

For LaCoste, however, the story doesn’t stop at admissions letters and financial aid. Over time, families began asking her to stay involved once students left for college, which led her to pursue a coaching certification and expand her focus.

As she put it, college planning is what she knows deeply, but coaching and helping young people thrive is where her heart is.

“I love coaching,” she said. “College planning is great and I can do it with my eyes closed… but coaching and helping teens just thrive in general is really where my passion project is.”

That passion is exactly what gave rise to a now-growing local tradition: the Young Entrepreneur Fair.

A couple of years ago, LaCoste’s daughters began crafting handmade bows they learned to make from their grandmother, who learned from hers — turning a family tradition into a creative product. LaCoste describes them as “gourmet bows,” because they’re “just so gorgeous.”

Watching her daughters build something meaningful sparked a bigger idea: what if more kids had a place to share what they’re making and learn how to run a business while doing it?

“I built a young entrepreneur fair around my girls,” she explained.

The first fair was hosted at The Collab and featured 15 young vendors, ages 8 to 19. What happened next surprised even the organizer.

“The first year was amazing,” LaCoste said. “Most of our students sold out of their inventory.”

Held about a month before Christmas, the fair wasn’t just a fun event — it gave young makers and service providers a real-world experience with customers, pricing, marketing, and the pride that comes from selling something they built themselves.

The fair was so successful, and demand grew so quickly, that LaCoste soon found herself with a waitlist of young entrepreneurs eager to participate.

“We had a waitlist for vendors, so I knew we were popping out of The Collab and going to need a bigger space,” she said.

So she expanded — not only to a larger location, but to a second fair.

The next Young Entrepreneur Fair is scheduled for Saturday, April 4, and the growth is already clear. This time, LaCoste has room for 25 vendors and is well on her way to filling every spot.

“I have room this time for 25 vendors, and I’m already at about 17,” she said.

The spring fair will be held at the Glen Oak Clubhouse in Hendersonville, offering easier access, strong parking, and food trucks. It’s located near the hospital and close to New Shackle — and it’s not just bigger. It’s broader.

One of the most striking parts of LaCoste’s fair is the variety. Vendors include photographers, woodworkers, painters, bakers, and teen-run service businesses like lawn care and car detailing.

“I’ve got a lot of high school students involved who are photographers and woodworkers,” she said. “This time, we’re going to have a lawn care business, a car detailing business… everything from jewelry makers up to full-blown car detailing and landscaping businesses.”

For LaCoste, that range is the point. She wants kids to see that entrepreneurship isn’t reserved for adults or a certain personality type. It’s for any young person willing to show up, learn, and try.

“No kiddo is too young or old,” she said. “And there’s nothing that’s too crazy to be considered a part of it.”

What she’s building is a platform for all of it — the creative kid, the hands-on kid, the future business owner, and the teen who’s already working like a pro.

And then there are the stories that stop you in your tracks, like the eight-year-old vendor who donates a portion of his proceeds back to a refugee camp in China.

“He’s 8, and he was adopted from the camp,” LaCoste shared. “So he has a passion project where 30% of his proceeds go back to the camp.”

LaCoste’s approach is simple, but it isn’t small. She believes young people are capable of more than we often ask of them.

“My attitude has always been that if we raise the bar for kids, they tend to reach the bar,” she said. “I set standards pretty high, and I find that what most young people are searching for is somebody who challenges them a little bit.”

At the fair, that challenge looks like learning how to price a product, display it well, talk to customers, and follow through. It’s confidence-building in the most tangible way — because it’s earned.

“When they’re doing something they’re passionate about, and I teach them how to market it, merchandise it, and make money doing it,” she said, “they serve themselves, they serve the community… they learn. It’s so fun to watch.”

In terms of community impact, it’s the kind of event where neighbors come out, local families shop small, and kids learn quickly that their effort has value.

Because LaCoste works so closely with students thinking about life after graduation, she’s clear-eyed about something many families feel: college can be a great fit — but it isn’t the only one.

“College isn’t the route for everybody, and I totally get that,” she said. “I want to make sure that students know they’ve got options.”

The Young Entrepreneur Fair is one of those options in action — a place where students learn skills that translate anywhere: communication, initiative, sales, customer service, budgeting, and follow-through.

LaCoste envisions expanding the Young Entrepreneur Fair and has created a Facebook group for parents of young entrepreneurs to keep communication strong and share ongoing support. Looking ahead, she’s also considering a longer-term vision: a Young Entrepreneur Club in 2027 with monthly education for students.

“I would love to provide monthly education for young entrepreneurs,” she said.

For now, the fair itself is already doing what Danielle LaCoste set out to do: provide something positive, meaningful, and community-centered right here in Sumner County and beyond.

The fair’s growth reflects what families already know — when you give young people a real opportunity, and someone who believes they can rise to it, they often surprise everyone, including themselves.