SYDNEY, N.S. -- Jim Matthews was a coal miner's son who would wake before dawn to work on a local milk truck.

His reverence for hard work helped the 54-year-old become a prominent entrepreneur -- a financial planner with an eye for real estate.

Friends say he was beloved and admired -- making his sudden death at the hands of an unknown assailant this week a shocking mystery.

"We're still in a state of disbelief. It's been a painful 48 hours," John Tompkins, his long-time business partner, said in an interview Thursday.

The murder has left police hunting for clues in a high-profile case.

Cape Breton Regional Police responded to the Prince Street Market, a three-storey building in Sydney owned by Matthews and his business partners, on Tuesday morning after receiving a report of a deceased person.

Police said Matthews' body was found in the apartment suite on the building's top floor.

They are treating his death as a homicide, and the major crime unit and forensic identification section are leading an investigation.

Staff Sgt. Phillip Ross said Thursday he could not release any additional information on the case.

"It's a very active investigation," he said. "It's fluid and it's moving."

Ross wouldn't say whether police had any suspects and would not release the cause of death, to protect the "integrity of the investigation."

The Sydney Mines native's death left many in Nova Scotia's business community shaken.

"He was a true entrepreneur. He saw opportunity and built things," Tompkins said. "He had a vision."

Tompkins met Matthews 26 years ago at London Life Insurance Company in Halifax. They hit it off.

A year after Matthews launched Matthews McDonough Financial Planning Inc. with Justin McDonough, the son of former federal NDP leader Alexa McDonough, Tompkins joined the firm.

When it came time to find an office, the business team ended up buying a building on Quinpool Road in Halifax.

"It's not like we're real estate magnates. We're financial advisers and we needed a building so instead of renting we bought a building," Tompkins said.

The investment worked out well and when Matthews pitched the idea of buying a building in Sydney, his business partners were on board.

Then three years ago, he pitched a riskier venture.

"Jim came to Justin and I, and sort of had this dream to get this building and he had a vision for what he wanted," Tompkins said. "I remember telling Jim at the time 'You're crazy.'

"I was the naysayer in terms of seeing how much work it was going to be. But Jim was like that. He was a true entrepreneur in that sense, he saw an opportunity and he went for it."

It was a hard sell, but Matthews convinced his business partners that it was a worthy investment.

"Jim spent the last three years realizing that vision," Tompkins said of the popular Prince Street Market, noting that although Matthews' home was in Halifax, he spent time in Sydney in an apartment on the top floor of the building.

"He wanted to help revitalize downtown. He was passionate about it and the building is up and running and a success."

Matthews was also an avid cyclist.

"Jim was a guy that was up at 3:30 or four o'clock in the morning and was out for a run and an hour bike ride before you had your coffee," Tompkins said. "You could never match his energy and his zest for life."

It's that indomitable spirit and energy that has made his death that much more difficult for his friends and family.

But Tompkins said reaching out to Matthews' former clients Wednesday to let them know about the death was "incredibly heartwarming."

"It was the worst of humanity in terms of what we believe may have happened to him. But we've seen the best of humanity from people and that's because of the relationships Jim had."