Building a business on pleasure

It’s 9:00 am on a sunny Saturday morning and the doors to Murphy’s Cable Wharf have just opened. I make my way through the tourist knick-knacks to the back of the store and the offices to meet Jeff Farwell, sea captain and the only non-family owner in the Murphy’s business. The young woman behind the desk is fielding calls about cruises and taking bookings. I hope she’s had enough coffee because it’s going to be a beautiful day for a tour of the harbour, and she’s going to be hopping. Pun intended.

Murphy’s has long been a part of the Halifax waterfront tourist trade. What started almost thirty years ago with the Murphys and their kids running tours with one boat has turned into a multi-faceted business – a restaurant, large gift shop, several vessels (including the Mar, a 75’ tall ship) and four reconditioned Larc 5 military amphibious cargo vehicles better know to Haligonians as  “Harbour Hoppers”.  Not to mention  that Hali-famous harbour sight, Theodore Tugboat – but we’ll come back to Theodore.

Murphy’s is a family business, which is why I am curious about Jeff. How do you work your way into someone else’s family business? Short answer: you impress them with hard work, energy and business savvy. Those aren’t Jeff’s words but as we talk, it isn’t hard to figure out. He’d caught the entrepreneurial bug at an early age. He laughs as he describes how even as a kid he had a business; he was the lad diving into the pond at Ashburn Golf Club to recover balls for pocket money. Later, while in the business program at St. Mary’s University, he started running charter boat events for his fellow lifeguards. He would put a fun package together and do his bookings with the Murphy’s. When he finished school he knew he could 
build on what he’d started. He saw a market with the high schools and went after it. One thing lead to another, and the Murphys started contracting him to coordinate events. They say you should ask for what you want in life, and Jeff did.  He made it clear to the Murphy family that he’d like in. Flash-forward about seven years and Jeff is firmly entrenched as one of four owners.

While many businesses experience summer doldrums, Murphy’s Cable Wharf thrives through the summer months. This is their time of year, and when the sun is shining and the tourists are about they go full throttle. But just as some businesses suffer through the warm months, Murphy’s faces their own seasonal challenges. Traditionally Murphy’s Restaurant has been closed through the winter months but is now open year-round. They have just put $1.8 million into renovations in an effort to create an environment that not only appeals to the tourists but will ideally bring in the locals through the rest of the year.  They’ve added a 500lb lobster tank and, for tactile fun, a touch tank. Jeff explains that they’re not just selling a cruise or a meal but a marine experience that encompasses more than just seafood and some anchors on the wall.  Farwell says they know it’ll take time to convince the locals to consider Murphy’s as a destination during the cold months but believes that good, local market food, strong service, the waterfront view and a warm, cozy atmosphere will win local favour. That doesn’t mean they are going to sit back and wait for it to happen. The Murphy-Farwell crew is hands-on; they’re in the kitchens, on the floors, and the captains of their vessels. They are aggressively re-branding, renovating, advertizing and building partnerships in a concerted effort to draw people in.

We talk about the importance of building relationships, something that many businesses give lip service to. This is a business that works very hard, and successfully, at selling their products. They pursue the convention, bus tour and cruise ship markets by going to their head offices – Florida, Toronto, wherever they are. Jeff explains that they have to present a package that reflects the whole marine experience and that properly describes the best of our Atlantic attributes. Why should a convention come to Halifax when it may be cheaper to do it in Vancouver? It comes down to capitalizing on what we have to offer here- the hospitality, the culture and the people, as well as the beautiful maritime environment. But while he may spend a lot of time chasing down the out-of-province clients, Jeff underlines that the relationships have to happen here, too. They work closely with the city, the Waterfront Development Corporation, the Downtown Halifax Business Commission and whatever other agencies they can. They liaise with the hotels, concierges, sales managers, the military, event and wedding planners, and any other business they can think to develop a synergistic rapport with. Which brings us back to Theodore Tugboat.

When Theodore Tugboat show producers, Cochran Entertainment, found they had to sell off the rights to the show and were planning on selling the famous tugboat, Murphy’s was approached to help keep it here. It was a labour of love that lead them to buy into the goofy-looking boat, and certainly not profit. Theodore, as charming as he is, is not a money-maker. They view it as a community investment. Theodore makes people happy, and making people happy is what relationship-building is all about.

Jeff Farwell is a guy that needs to keep busy, keep moving, keep pushing himself. He has completed two Ironman races in the Southern Hemisphere; he exercises and surfs regularly, and is dad to one little girl with another due any day. While we chat he sits still in his chair but is poised for flight; his eyes are constantly straying to the french doors behind me, watching what is happening behind the glass. I can see his brain ticking and sense his head is running to what needs to happen next.

For this Saturday morning, what needs to happen next is a visit from his daughter – she is on her way down to join him. To see Theodore, of course.

Murphy’s is constantly charting a new course and Jeff is helping to steer it. He’s faring well, is Farwell.

And it sure beats diving for golf balls.

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Submitted by Jacquie Thillaye, Shape Communications
Find her at www.shapecommunications.ca