Teenagers are facing the weakest summer job market in nearly 80 years, with many competing for limited shifts at places such as ice cream shops. Ashton Meyer, an 11-year-old in East Gwillimbury, Canada, has responded by creating his own summer work: cleaning neighbors' trash cans for $10 each.

After school let out for summer break in May, Meyer began going door to door in his community to ask residents whether they wanted their bins cleaned. He recorded the process on Instagram and TikTok, turning each knock into part of his pitch.

“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,” he says on camera as he visits homes.

The small business has since grown to 40 clients. Meyer has also become a social media draw, gaining more than 111,000 Instagram followers in about two months. As the seasons change, he hopes to add leaf raking to the services he offers.

“I want to be an entrepreneur who owns his own business,” Meyer tells Fortune.

Meyer says other children who want to follow his example should keep prices low and learn to handle rejection. His videos show that he is turned down more often than he is hired, but he continues to leave his contact information with potential customers. “Take it, and if you need me you can call me,” he tells one skeptical neighbor. “I'll be here all summer.”

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Your Bin Cleaning (@yourbincleaning)

A post shared by Your Bin Cleaning (@yourbincleaning)

Meyer says persistence is an important part of trying to earn summer income. “The first no is the hardest. Keep going,” he 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.”

“Offer a good price when you are a kid because you are still learning,” he adds.

Meyer started the business with help from his parents

Like many children, Meyer wanted extra spending money and was thinking about ways to earn it himself.

His father suggested taking neighbors' trash cans out on garbage day and cleaning them. Meyer then decided to look for more customers by canvassing the neighborhood.

“But I had the idea of going door to door to see if he could drum up more business for cleaning garbage bins,” Meyer says, adding that his mother encouraged him to film the effort.

His options for a conventional summer job are limited by his age, but the broader market for teen work is also difficult. Persistent inflation, the high cost of living and AI-related caution among employers have contributed to fewer entry-level part-time roles such as lifeguarding and retail assistant jobs, according to the Fortune article. The report also notes that some households are struggling to afford babysitting. For teenagers, the result is the weakest summer jobs market since 1948, when the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics began tracking teen employment. Labor economists have documented a long-term structural decline in teen summer employment over recent decades, well beyond any single year's economic conditions, as more young people enroll in summer academic programs and employers increasingly prefer older workers for roles once routinely filled by teens.

Meyer says he intends to continue the business even when school resumes in September, as long as the weather permits.

“I will definitely keep up washing bins as the weather allows,” he says. “My plan is to work after school and Saturdays.”

When colder weather arrives, Meyer plans to adapt the business to seasonal demand. “I also want to do leaf raking and snowplowing during the colder months,” he says.

Meyer says he enjoys the work and has inspired other children

If babysitting jobs are scarce when Meyer is old enough to seek one, he may not need to look for that kind of work. For now, he says he is happy with the business he has started.

“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.”

Meyer has earned $700, or about $500 in U.S. dollars, and the total is still growing. His approach reflects a wider pattern in which young entrepreneurs are using platforms like TikTok and Instagram not just for entertainment but as low-cost marketing channels for micro-businesses, turning followings into revenue without traditional advertising budgets. Fortune noted that other business owners have also started with small jobs at a young age. Chase Gallagher, for example, was 12 when he began mowing lawns in Chester County, Pa., for $35 each in 2013. More than a decade later, his landscaping company employs 10 people and generated more than $1.5 million in revenue last year.

Between his bin-cleaning customers and a six-figure Instagram following, Meyer has already built two things many side businesses spend years trying to develop: a customer base and an audience.

He also says his videos have encouraged other young people to consider starting businesses of their own. “I'm mind blown, it's been so crazy, and I feel grateful,” Meyer says of his Instagram attention. “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.”

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com.