Clear skies and October sunshine were visible over Small Business Fest at Eastern Illinois University’s Library Quad on Sunday.  

This semester’s Small Business Fest marks the sixth time that the event has been held on campus. The event gave students the opportunity to sell their products and expose their businesses to new members of the EIU community. 

The event’s founder, business administration masters student Nicholas Macaluso, said his ambitions for the Small Business Fest lie in the opportunity to platform young, local entrepreneurs. 

“This already exists within the dorms and within the community, so I think it’s important to put a spotlight on it so people can get involved with a more communal event,” he said. “I felt like there wasn’t a sense of community [about business], so seeing these people very driven in their side hustles, I thought all I have to do is the administrative things.” 

One stall at the fest belonged to freshman journalism major Adia Strunk, who saw the event as an opportunity to promote her book, “The Art of Drowning,” in a difficult market for independent publishers. 

“I decided to go for the self-publishing route, which I thought would be easier. Turns out, it wasn’t,” said Strunk. “I wanted to get the book out there. I worked really hard on it, but I found it really hard to market it, so I decided to bring it here to try and sell a little more.” 

With over 40 stalls at this semester’s event, everyone from authors like Strunk to commission-based artists, nail salons and rubber duck vendors were able to offer products for sale and improve their brand’s visibility. 

“We have vendors that are not just product-based, but also service-based, so it’s great exposure for them too,” said Macaluso. “People who know who they are will come back to buy their products specifically.” 

One of these service-based businesses is CTRL GEEK Studios, a recently rebranded IT consulting and design company. Marshal Allen Pruitt, one of the company’s four founders, said his company acts as a one-stop shop for small businesses to develop an online presence and a digital brand. 

Pruitt said the Small Business Fest is a good opportunity for his company to promote to other vendors at the event as well as to customers. 

“We’re great on a campus like this where there’s a lot of other startups,” he said. “We’re design focused, and events like this are all about marketing, so it’s very important to come out to public spaces, mingle with people and get our brand exposed.” 

For some vendors, like sustainable art and clothing company RAREMOONco., the fest happening every semester has meant that returning customers can see their business take an active role in the community. 

“It’s great for exposure for sure,” said co-owner and junior Spanish and Hispanic studies major Juliet Woodruff. “Our account had 50 followers at first, and now, after two years of coming, we’ve got 300 people following.” 

“We’ve been going to the fair for a while now. This is our fourth time,” added Rashawn Pierre, also a RAREMOONco. co-owner and a former Eastern student. “The event is just a really good outlet for people who don’t really know what they want to do with the trajectory of their business.” 

The Small Business Fest will return in the spring semester under the direction of Entrepreneurship Club President Emily Larsen.

Ethan Vine can be reached at 581-2812 or ejvine@eiu.edu.