Things were going fine for Michael Enslow, but he knew things could go even better. After working as a deck hand, he bought his own lobster license and inshore boat, the 35-foot Freda and Sons II. To finance the purchase, he approached Ardith Van Buskirk at CBDC in Shelburne. “I was just researching financial business institutes and stumbled across them,” says Enslow. “But what they were able to lend at the time wasn’t enough to match what the licenses were going for. I ended up having to go through the loan board for the purchase of the boat and license.”

Things continued to go well for Enslow, but his experience as a deck hand stayed with him. “Before I bought my own lobster license, I fished offshore with another guy. I knew what the potential was off there,” says Enslow. “I wanted to further my business so I could do that.” He crunched the numbers and realized he could increase his catch enough to finance a larger boat. “It was a no-brainer situation.”

With dreams of a brighter future, Michael Enslow returned to CBDC. “It’s our local business development centre. I went to them and they helped me out best they could.” He put together a business plan and sat down again with Ardith Van Buskirk to make his pitch. “I had to explain why I needed this bigger boat and how I planned on paying for it. I had to have the evidence to prove how I was going to make it work.”

That evidence was in the form of records he’d been keeping of his catch on the Freda and Sons II.  “If I can get four more days a month at the average of 500 pounds because that’s what we were averaging the season before,” he told her, “that would work out to be an extra 10,000 pounds of lobster over the course of a season.” 

The experienced fisherman was able to secure a loan to buy a new boat, Jackie’s Pride II. She’s 41’ long by 17’ wide. “I venture out 25 miles,” says Enslow who has nothing but praise for CBDC. “I highly recommend it to anybody looking to expand their business. They’re a very friendly, easy bunch to deal with. Coming from a fishing community, they know how things work.” Of Van Buskirk, he says, “She was very easy to deal with. It’s like a friendly conversation as two friends talk.”

These days, things are going better than fine for Michael Enslow. “That turned my fishing career around. It’s been nothing but good things since they leant me the money to purchase that boat. We did better than we predicted. I hired another man, so one more guy’s making a living.”

“The future looks very prosperous,” says Enslow now able to work the way he’s always wanted. “I’m hoping for a safe season with high prices, good catches and good weather. That’s all you can ask for.”