As the jobless rate among Canadian youth remains high, some London teenagers are opting out of the application process and starting their own businesses instead.

More than a dozen young, small business owners took part in a youth-led vendors market on Sunday where they showcased their products.

“In the past, there haven’t been many opportunities for youth entrepreneurs, whether it’s exploring entrepreneurship from the beginning or even to continue on their entrepreneurship journey. So we decided to start this market,” organizer Yusef Moustapha said.

The 17-year-old, who has his own business selling life-sized colouring pages with his younger brothers, knows firsthand the skills youngsters can take away from exploring entrepreneurship, especially in a rough job market, he said.

“I think it’s a great avenue, especially looking at the current job market for youth,” he said. “A lot of my friends are actively looking for jobs, and they tell me their stories about submitting their applications along with thousands of others, so it’s really tough right now. 

As of December, youth unemployment for those aged 15 to 24 rose by half a percentage point to 13.3. That figure was down from 14.7 per cent recorded in September, a 15-year high outside the COVID-19 pandemic.

Erica Walcott was 10-years-old when she started her handcrafted loom company in 2020 as a way to keep herself busy during the COVID pandemic lockdowns. Six years later, she’s using social media apps like Instagram and Etsy to promote her shop.

Becoming a business owner has taught Walcott lots of important skills, she said.

“You learn about customer service and how to manage your own money, advertising, marketing and stuff like that,” Walcott, 16, said. “With every purchase, I save some of the money to go towards my business and personal things as well.”

However, Walcott admits it can be hard finding markets and navigating the big world of business and sales. Her mom Julien Walcott said markets often charge hefty vendor and insurance fees and with lower profit margins, the costs of both time and money add up.

“They ask you to bring your own equipment, not just what you’re selling but tables and chairs. There’s storage costs if your home is small and you’ve got to pack all these things up, and travelling costs to get from market to market,” Julien said.

“So it can be a bit of a cost for these small entrepreneurs, these youths that have very small businesses that don’t really bring in money on a daily or sometimes not even weekly or monthly.”

Luna Ngo, 16, was selling relaxation products such as candles and lotions for her company, Serenity. She finds that entrepreneurship comes with lots of benefits but also plenty of challenges such as getting buy-in from customers and making up for costs, she said.

“Having a company can probably afford you some flexibility and you can set your own goals. You don’t have to get a job, but you are fully responsible for your company,” said Ngo.

“Since our company is very small, it’s very hard for us to actually sell our product. We have to really go out and knock on doors. We don’t have lots of money so our raw material cost is very high and we have to try to sell them at a very reasonable price, so expenses are also a problem.”

Another challenge for the young business owners is time management while trying to keep up with school work, said Sabrynah Guitar, 16. But she’s determined to gain entrepreneurial experience in hopes of having her own coffee shop someday.

“There’s a lot of stress especially with schooling and having to make things but [entrepreneurship] kind of runs in my family,” said Guitar. “We are good hustlers and I also just like going out there and talking to new people so it’s a pretty fun time.”

Meanwhile, Moustapha plans to organize more youth-led markets similar to this so other youngsters can network and become more independent, he said.