CORNWALL, Ontario – While many of his friends relaxed over the summer vacation, 15-year-old Benjamin Malyon spent his free months in the kitchen, fruit fields, and farmer’s markets to build his business, BenJAMin’s.
“I started making jam a year ago and at one point I thought to myself, I could make some money off of this,” said Malyon. BenJAMin’s currently sells blueberry, raspberry and strawberry jam without added sugar or preservatives.
Malyon opened his business with the help of the Summer Company program, which is run by the Cornwall Business Enterprise Centre. The Summer Company program provides young entrepreneurs the tools and resources to “help young entrepreneurs prosper,” according to their website.
Throughout the summer the Summer Company program has provided valuable guidance in starting a business and being taken seriously, according to Malyon.
“It is tough starting out with people not taking me seriously because I’m young, but there was a lot of support from the summer program that helped me out there,” said Malyon. “When I started, I really didn’t know anything about business, so they really gave me the tools I needed there to do well.”
After the summer ends, Malyon has hopes that his business will continue to thrive. “I’m currently talking to a store that sells organic foods, so hopefully we’ll be able to keep it going there,” said Malyon.
