Let in the sunshine

When Joe Waksler called Michael Wynn earlier this year and told him he was ready to sell his Ace Hardware store in Port Charlotte, Wynn was ready.

Wynn, president of Naples-based Sunshine Ace Hardware, had been talking to Waksler for two years about the possibility of buying his store, called Morton's Ace Hardware.

Waksler, 55, is typical of many baby boomer entrepreneurs: they're close to retirement, have no children eager to take over the business and they're worn out by the grueling recession. Waksler says he was working so hard lately that even planning a Saturday night out was iffy. “There's a shower in the bathroom,” Waksler chuckles.