Employee becomes employer
It came as shock to many in Dalhousie when AbitibiBowater announced it would be closing the mill on Main St., 75 years of history gone in the blink of an eye.
What turned out to be a temporary layoff for one of those workers led him to pursue other avenues of employment on an interim basis. Danny Harquail was one of a number of workers laid off in the fall of 2007, a move many thought the company was making on a temporary basis to reduce operational costs.
But those temporary layoffs were only a sign of things to come when the company announced later in the fall that as of the end of January, the largest employer in the town would be shutting its doors for good.
Harquail had been laid off in the 1990s for about seven years before being recalled in 2004. Even though he was sure the recent layoff was temporary, he started looking for other work to last him until he was called back to the mill.
“I saw an ad in the paper for a franchisee for Global so decided to look into it more,” he said from his office at the Esso gas station on Renfrew St. in Dalhousie.
Harquail decided to sign a oneyear contract with the parent company to run the station. He cited the help he had received as the main reason for being able to run his own business.
“I had never run my own business and while I have gained a lot of experience from the different jobs I had, running my own business was not one of them. I went to the CBDC to find out about financing and they pointed me to Open for Business to help with a financial plan.”
Harquail said that financial plan was detailed enough that the CBDC approved him right away for the financing he needed to take over the Esso station.
“I came in a lot of times before agreeing to the contract. I saw that a lot of the business here comes from outside Dalhousie, but most of it from the people here. With the layoffs at the mill and the (Olin) chemical plant scheduled to close, you would think the town is in trouble, but the truth of the matter is, there is still money being spent here.”
Harquail has a staff of five, including his 22-year-old son who will be pursuing his studies in the fall. He said that working long hours is difficult at times but is happy with what he is doing.
“Well I only started in February and it’s going pretty good so far. What lies down the road? I don’t know but for now things are good.”
Harquail said that since becoming Dalhousie’sbusstationthatbusiness has picked up since his takeover. He noted that no matter where people live or what the business might be, January and February tend to be slow and has noticed March and April being busier.
“it’s not so much the people on the bus increasing the business, it’s people waiting for the bus or putting parcels on it that is accounting for the increase.”
Harquail said that he had thought about being his own boss but has only now realized that dream.
“It’s something a lot of people want to do but few get the chance,” he said. “It’s nice being your own boss sometimes. It can be a headache but so far it’s been fun and I’m looking forward to seeing what the future holds.”
Having worked at the mill and in other careers, Harquail is not too concerned about his future.
“We’ll play it day-by-day but for now this is what I want to do. Losing the job at the mill meant I could do something I always wanted to do, run my own business.”
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