One man’s trash bin is another boy’s successful business. At least that’s the case for Ashton Meyer, an 11-year-old from York Region who is going door-to-door offering to do the dirty work of cleaning their bins.
“My dad came up with this business plan because there’s older people on my street,” Meyer said in an interview on Thursday. “He said, ‘You should go bring their garbages from their garage to their curb.’”
Jonathan Meyer, Ashton’s father, said it’s a task that “nobody” wants to do first thing in the morning, so he figured there was an opportunity there for his son to grow a business.
“Plus, it’s a good way to just start putting yourself out there and trying to get some money and learn the value of your time,” Jonathan Meyer said.
YourBinCleaning officially started in May, with Ashton starting to knock on his neighbours’ doors, offering to clean out their grimy bins for a flat fee of $10. At the start, Ashton recounted the thoughts swirling around his head of how he didn’t want to do this because he didn’t know how to start in fear of being bad at the job.
“Then I’m like, ‘Oh, I should do it.’ It’s a good way to make money because … I did not have money,” Ashton said, noting how he had cried the first time.
The young entrepreneur says the first ‘no’ was the hardest, but he reminds himself to not get discouraged.
“When I go door to door, I’m like, ‘I make money off this, these may be my new customers forever and ever,’” Ashton said. As of Thursday, he said he has around 30 to 40 customers.
Two days a week, Ashton says he goes from house to house, taking his travelling sales pitch to prospective customers (with his dad driving him since he is not yet old enough to get his driver’s licence).
He says it takes another two days to clean bins in a week, averaging about two to three bins per hour, and they try to coordinate cleaning days after the waste is collected so they are already empty.
With the help of his mom acting as his social media manager, Ashton started posting what a day looks like for him as he goes from house-to-house pitching his business to his community.
In one video highlighting his seventh day on the job, Ashton showcased the duality of his business: the customers who sign up for his services and the customers who politely decline.
The Instagram video amassed more than one million likes since June 22, with many comments applauding the 11-year-old’s entrepreneurial spirit and his ability to keep going, despite hearing “no.” Since May 26, when they started sharing videos on the platform, YourBinCleaning gained 85,000 followers and counting.
His business has also attracted attention from news organizations south of the border, with he and his dad recently appearing in an interview aired on Fox Business.
“We did not expect it to blow up the way it did. We did not get the support that we’ve been getting,” Jonathan Meyer said. “I mean, Ashton’s been honoured by what happened and people are also paying it forward.”
Meyer said a few people have donated to their business to allow Ashton to start launching free services for seniors and those with disabilities so that he could give back where he could.
Business is booming
The family now has a list, about three pages long, organizing their existing customers from their prospective customers.
“People are asking to buy merch from Ashton, so apparently now I have to start packing up T-shirts while I’m driving around,” Meyer said.
The 11-year-old plans to keep his business running all year round, though his services will change depending on the season.
“In fall, I’m going to do leaf raking and blowing, and then the winter, I’m gonna get a power broom—I’m gonna save up for one—and I’ll use that power broom and I’ll mow—shovel—the driveways,” Ashton explained. “Then in the spring I can do garden cleaning and lawn mowing.”
Jonathan Meyer said his son is already learning how to use the lawnmower safely so he would be ready to go by the time it comes.
His son’s work ethic and business acumen have made Jonathan Meyer proud.
“It’s great. I know it’s going to set him for future success, especially dealing with people in his personal life and professional life,” the father said. “That’s going to go far, but generating that good work ethic early will lead to a lot of success.”
