Teen entrepreneur from Ingersoll, Ont. turns thirst into profit

While most kids are looking forward to summer vacation, Ezra Robinson has his eyes set on growing his new business venture in Ingersoll, Ont.

The 14-year-old entrepreneur sells cold drinks for cash out of his wagon in the town's Victoria Park where he makes his rounds.

"I sell water, Gatorade orange, red and blue. I also have some pop, like Crush," said Ezra.

He said he chose Victoria Park not only for it's size, but because there are also baseball diamonds and a splash pad. It was also where he first came up with his idea.

"I was there and thirsty without anything to drink and thought 'I wish somebody was here so I could buy some water' and then it just hit me... 'wait a second, I could be that person,'" he said.

While he hasn't come up with a name for his business, his father Shawn Robinson said that they've been thinking of just calling his wagon the "mobile drink cart".

Ezra has wanted to do something like this for a long time, according to Robinson.

"He's been exploring different ideas for years, and you know with ideas, some are great and some you have to really work out. He's found one that's working well for him," said Robinson.

While Ezra's parents help him by picking up his stock and driving him to and from the park where he makes his sales, Robinson said his son does most of the work.

"We go and I just kind of sit in the shade and watch him make his routes and sell loads of drinks," said Robinson. "We're behind him all the way encouraging him and it's just been really exciting to see him flourish with this."

The outpouring of support from the community has been both surprising and wonderful, he said.

"He'll be heading to the park to sell something and somebody will run out of their house saying 'hey, I saw you on Facebook, I want to buy a couple of drinks'. It's something else," said Robinson.

Ezra only been out a few times and said it wasn't easy at first.

"I think the first day I only sold one bottle of water. I was a little bit discouraged," said Ezra, who added that business picked up after his mother Juanita Robinson put out a post on Facebook that gained traction. "Gatorade is my best seller now. I've probably sold 40 or 50 of them the last few times I went out."