An 11-year-old Canadian boy cried after his first customer rejection; weeks later, his $10 trash-bin cleaning business has up to 40 clients and 100,000 followers.When school finished for the summer break in May, Ashton Meyer began knocking on doors in East Gwillimbury, Canada, offering to scrub down residents’ wheelie bins for ten dollars. Filming his daily door-to-door visits for Instagram and TikTok, the young worker gained over 111,000 followers on Instagram in two months and built a steady group of customers.His success comes at a time when teenagers face the hardest summer job market since 1948, according to an analysis reported by Fortune. High inflation, rising living costs, and slow business hiring have cut down usual starting jobs like shop assistants, lifeguards, and babysitters, leading younger kids to find new ways to earn extra pocket money.
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Learning from rejection
The project started when Meyer wanted to earn his own cash over the summer holidays. His father suggested taking out local residents’ bins on collection days and washing them, while Meyer decided to take the idea directly to people by going door to door. His mother encouraged him to record his visits on camera.In his online videos, Meyer approaches local homeowners with a simple offer: “My name is Ashton, and I’m doing a service to clean out all of your bins—that includes your garbage, your green bin and your recycling.”Getting turned down was part of the daily work, but Meyer learned to push past early stops.“I want to be an entrepreneur who owns his own business,” Meyer tells Fortune.When potential clients say no, Meyer leaves his phone number anyway. “Take it, and if you need me you can call me,” he tells one neighbor on camera. “I’ll be here all summer.”Giving advice to other kids trying to find summer work, Meyer points out the need to keep going and keep prices low.“The first no is the hardest. Keep going,” Meyer says. “Try and find a need that no one is filling and see if you can do it. Ask your neighbors if they need any help—maybe it’s bin cleaning or weeding or watering their plants.”He adds: “Offer a good price when you are a kid because you are still learning.”
Working past the summer holidays
So far, Meyer has made $700 (around $500 USD) from cleaning bins. While many teenagers struggle to find short-term work in a slow job market, Meyer plans to run his business when school starts again in September.“I will definitely keep up washing bins as the weather allows,” he says. “My plan is to work after school and Saturdays.”As the weather cools down, he plans to change his services to keep earning money. “I also want to do leaf raking and snowplowing during the colder months.”Meyer likes the outdoor work and talking to people through his doorstep service.“I enjoy everything about my job. Going door to door is fun because I get to meet new people,” Meyer says. “It might be weird, but I actually enjoy cleaning the garbage bins. It’s satisfying to see them totally clean.”
Inspiring other young workers
Small local ideas can turn into large businesses. Fortune noted Chase Gallagher, who started cutting lawns in Chester County, Pennsylvania, for $35 a lawn at age 12 in 2013. Ten years later, Gallagher’s garden care company employed 10 people and brought in over $1.5 million in yearly sales.By building a local client list and a large social media following, Meyer has set up strong early steps for future work. His online videos are also moving other children around the world to start their own local services.“I’m mind blown, it’s been so crazy, and I feel grateful,” Meyer says about his fast online growth. “We have heard from people all around the world. Many parents have shown the video to their kids and it has inspired them to start businesses, which is so cool.”
Daily setup and social media strategy
To carry out his daily bin washes, Meyer travels around his neighborhood towing a custom setup. He pulls a heavy-duty wagon loaded with a portable pressure washer, protective rubber boots, specialized cleaning brushes, non-toxic soap solutions, and clean water tanks.Each job takes roughly 10 to 15 minutes per household. Meyer thoroughly blasts the interior and exterior of every waste container, scrubs off dried grime, and wipes down the handles before returning the disinfected bins to the resident’s garage or driveway.His mother handles the filming and administrative side of the social media accounts, ensuring all interactions on TikTok and Instagram stay safe for an 11-year-old. The videos capture raw, unedited moments of neighbor interactions—from blunt rejections on front porches to cheerful conversations with residents who praise his work ethic.East Gwillimbury, a fast-growing town in the York Region of Ontario, has proved an ideal location for the venture. The suburb consists primarily of single-family residential neighborhoods where homeowners have multiple large waste bins that accumulate odor and dirt during hot summer months.
