BOUTILIERS POINT, NS — Kenny Merlin spent thousands of hours at sea aboard his tour boat over more than 30 years in business, showing visitors to Nova Scotia around the Halifax Harbour and St. Margarets Bay.
Merlin has had plenty of adventures with everyone from Parisian tourists to hockey legends on board the Four Winds I, ever since he started doing tours back in 1985.
But after COVID-19 shutdowns hit tourism hard in 2020, he decided it was time to retire.
He parked the Cape Islander in his front yard, until such time as he can find someone to buy Four Winds Charters.
“I miss it, but you have to face facts, I’m not as young as I used to be, you can tell,” the 78-year-old says in with a self-deprecating grin.
Yet the business that left him with so many great stories to tell is proving difficult to sell to the right person, with the right qualifications.
Right now, it costs $1750 in insurance to keep the boat where it is. He says the business has been professionally assessed at a value of 150-thousand dollars.
“There’s such an opportunity, for young people this is a great business, you have fun, you’re working but you’re still having fun,” he says.
“I'm hoping to get close to (that), but I don't know why, it's been pretty slow, (you) get a lot of tire kickers,” he adds.
A recent national survey by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) found 76 per cent of business owners plan to exit the business within in the next decade, most due to retirement.
But 54 per cent said finding a buyer is the biggest obstacle.
“Start early, don't wait weeks or months into when you plan to leave your business,” says Duncan Robertson of the CFIB.
Getting that early start, adds Robertson, is key to a smooth transition.
“Making sure that they talk to advisors early on, that they have their successors involved in their plan, that they plan for anything that could change in their business,” he says, “Only one in ten small business owners say they have a formal plan in place, so it’s definitely a real concern.”
That concern, shared by the Halifax Partnership, which offers supports to area entrepreneurs looking to hand over the reins.
“The last thing we want to see is for a business owner to turn off the lights, lock the door, and walk away, especially if they're employing people and generating economic activity in the area,” says Jason Guidry, who leads the Partnership’s SmartBusiness Program.
“And that’s even more amplified in rural parts of HRM and in Nova Scotia where that business could be a central hub in that community, so it’s in our best interest to help those companies transition the business,” he adds.
Merlin hopes he can find someone willing to take over the helm at Four Winds Charters soon.
“If I can’t sell it, it’s a good question, it’s like having a used car, you’re not going to give it away,” he says, “(there's) a lot of memories.”
