A shift towards younger business owners is well underway in the Parksville Qualicum Beach area.
Businesses of all kinds face the challenges of inflation, retaining staff and a rising cost of housing, but the region also has advantages that continue to attract young talent.
Dustan Toth, 35, recently opened a motorcycle repair shop in Qualicum Beach called Half Moon Motorcycles.
He and his wife moved from the Lower Mainland approximately three years ago and said although he appreciates living in a beautiful place with opportunities, there are some major challenges for young people.
“It’s definitely lacking in, I think, services and culture that provides for younger people,” he said. “Obviously Qualicum is the oldest per capita in Canada and that reputation is very evident when you walk through town. You can tell this is a place geared more towards older retired people.”
Toth believes there is are a lot of opportunities for young people to buy local businesses as owners age into retirement.
“But you’re also dealing with sort of a mentality, especially in Qualicum Beach proper, of an older retired community that wants to keep things the same,” he said. “And keep things small and quiet, the way that it’s always been for them, which is fair enough — that’s why people came here.”
The demographic trend has been picked up on by the local chambers of commerce.
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Kim Burden, executive director of the Parksville and District Chamber of Commerce and the Qualicum Beach Chamber of Commerce, says it is a natural progression that has been underway for some time.
“I’m seeing younger businesspeople, either buying businesses, taking over family businesses, or starting from scratch,” Burden said. “It’s kind of exciting and kind of encouraging to see that demographic shift.”
While Parksville Qualicum Beach might not be a spot for clubbing or going to a movie theatre, Burden pointed out there are exciting developments such as a growing craft beer industry, a popular new skate shop and a thriving tech industry, buoyed by the ability to work from home in recent years.
“I think there is a huge change in mindset,” he said. “People are looking for ways that they can support their families, obviously, but they want to do it in a way where they feel comfortable.”
Housing, the cost of living, inflation and finding and retaining employees are some of the biggest challenges. Karen Kuzbik, owner of the Pedal and Kettle boutique in Parksville, said she tried all of last summer to hire an extra person for the busy wedding season.
“I just wasn’t getting any applicants, there wasn’t anyone around,” she said.
Kuzbik, 33, said she has been fortunate to have two employees work for her since almost the beginning — she purchased the business five years ago and has been on the Island for eight years after relocating from Saskatchewan.
Toth said finding and keeping employees is difficult because of the housing scarcity and young people being drawn away to larger centres with more amenities.
“It’s sort of a perfect storm for a lack of employees here,” he said. “And then you’re getting younger people that are getting here with the hopes of starting something, and realizing quickly that it’s becoming unaffordable to live here, so I think it’s going to get worse before it gets better.”
Kuzbik said she thinks having a nightlife would help draw in more younger people.
“Even a restaurant, or all of that, they all seem to close very early,” she said. “Even to meet up with friends for a drink at a restaurant or go to a show or something like that, there just isn’t a lot of that going on around here.”
There are three broad types of buyers, when it comes to local business, Burden said. People relocating from within Canada to set up a business, people immigrating to the area who want to establish a business and family businesses passed down from generation to generation, such as Springford Farm in Nanoose Bay.
“These are family businesses that have been in the community for a long, long time and now the next generation are taking them on and running with them,” he said.
Housing continues to be a major challenge, both supply and affordability, according to the chamber.
Burden gave an example of a family who phoned him out of desperation after moving to the area to set up a small business, but was still living in a trailer after six months. He said the chamber was able to help them find a place by reaching out to its realtor members.
“That housing piece is huge. It really, really is,” he said. “And we’ve got to figure out a way resolve it, so we can attract a younger demographic to come in and take over the businesses that we so desperately need here.”
One pattern noted by the chamber is that young people will leave the area after high school, but then return later to raise a family in a safe, friendly community, he said.
To help retain those young people, the chamber is partnering with North Island College to offer a prep cook training program in the hopes of giving young people a skill-set in an industry desperate for workers.
“We want to look at what we can do to help people develop skills in various trades and stay here instead of going away and then coming back,” Burden said.
Toth said he hopes the Town of Qualicum Beach can help foster the growing community of talented young professionals in the area.
“I just hope the town can get behind that and really rally behind young entrepreneurs,” he said. “And give people a chance and sort of put aside the conservative gate-keeping mentality that you see sometimes and really just get behind all these young people trying to make a life for themselves here.”