Meet these young entrepreneurs making their own summer jobs

Kendra Seguin · CBC News

· Posted: Jul 09, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: July 9

When St. Thomas sisters Emery and Hannah Hynes asked for soap and candle-making supplies for Christmas, they ne'er expected the caller hobby would crook into their archetypal concern venture.

This summer, their shea food soap and soy wax candle business, The Hannery, volition beryllium among the youth-run booths acceptable up astatine a play young entrepreneur's marketplace successful Aylmer, Ont. 

"It was conscionable a hobby astatine first, and past we decided that we wanted to effort to merchantability it and get into these markets. We started and it benignant of became an existent 'thing,'" Hannah, 12, said.

"It's breathtaking due to the fact that we cognize that it's conscionable a truly tiny business, and it's thing that we made," she added. "I'm gladsome [when] idiosyncratic other wants to person it and usage it, alternatively of it conscionable being us."

The 3rd yearly younker marketplace is happening each Tuesday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. passim July and August astatine the Aylmer Sales Arena and Farmers Market connected 51 Murray St.

Kids and teens nether 18 years of property tin wage $10 for array space, for arsenic galore weeks arsenic they want, said marketplace proprietor Stephanie Lensink. With the objection of food, vendors tin merchantability thing from handmade products to utilized apparel and toys. 

"I ever wanted to commencement thing successful the summertime for kids," Lensink said. "I'm a ma and my lad likes to make things, and determination wasn't anyplace that kids were capable to travel for a truly debased terms to acceptable up to sell, and conscionable try."

Tuesday's marketplace featured 5 younker businesses, alongside immoderate regular grown-up vendors sprinkled astir the outer borderline of the building. In erstwhile years, Lensink said, they've had up to 12 vendors a time and 40 antithetic businesses full implicit the summertime season.

She said returning vendors, similar the Hynes sisters who had a array past year, person an accidental to turn their assurance arsenic businesspeople passim the market. 

"I was conscionable blown distant by however overmuch they grew conscionable implicit the summer," she recalled. "It was truly saccharine to spot shy girls astatine the opening of the season, and by the clip they were done, they would prosecute with anybody."

Friends Maya Di Lullo, Grace Detzler and Paisley Detzler person a shared array to merchantability handmade bracelets, keychains, earrings and second-hand toys.

"I consciousness that erstwhile I'm selling, I tin assistance maine and I tin besides assistance different radical get worldly that they emotion and they would similar to wear," Di Lullo, 8, said. 

Parents of the young vendors accidental moving a concern has been a bully mode for their children to enactment busy, beryllium originative and larn beingness skills implicit the summer.

"Who knows, possibly aft assemblage this could beryllium a existent business," said the Hynes sisters' mom, Nancy Fitch. "They gag that 1 time they privation to rent retired the aged Costco factory. Maybe they'll beryllium that large 1 day."

There are inactive tables disposable for young entrepreneurs connected Tuesdays passim the summer, and Lensink said she plans to grow the marketplace arsenic interest grows.