For the third consecutive year, local small business owners Brian and Cherise Sonderman have had the joy of playing Santa for the Coachella Valley Rescue Mission's annual family holiday party. Year after year the Mission happily takes on the overwhelming task of making sure that each of the 5 to 7 thousand children in attendance have a gift, which will quite possibly be the only one they receive this year.
CVRM Executive Office Coordinator, Linda Garland was touched last Wednesday when she saw Retrotel employees arrive with a van load of this year's hottest and most in demand toys. The elves were all wearing matching Santa shirts as they unloaded the toys.
Even with Retrotel's generous donation, the Mission is currently experiencing a huge shortage, having less than half of the gifts needed. This year's party will take place on December 19th. Anyone wishing to make a donation of any size may drop unwrapped toys off at the Coachella Valley Rescue Mission, 47-518 Van Buren Street in Indio. For more information contact Linda Garland at 760-347-3512.
Retrotel, Inc. is a Palm Springs based small business, selling business telephone systems and offering a large inventory of parts with certified repair technicians.
The stars of Retrotel were treated to a special red carpet celebration on Friday, September 23 for the annual Employee Appreciation Party. Employees arrived to work to find the office transformed into a party zone fit for a celebrity. A popcorn machine filled the office with the aroma of a star studded Hollywood premiere. After walking the red carpet and signing autographs for their fans, employees were treated to a pizza party and enjoyed playing games such as movie themed pictionary. After guessing each employee's favorite movie, staff members were blindfolded and given the chance to take a swing at the popcorn tub pinata, filled with candy and prize tickets.
A highlight of the afternoon was leading man Ruben Ruvalcaba being awarded a special "Academy Award" style trophy honoring his 10 years of service. Other nominees for the award included Will Smith, Jack Nicholson and Robert Downey Jr. What a great day of fun and a wonderful way to celebrate our fabulous "cast"!
We're not sure if there were more strikes or gutter balls, but we are positive there were smiles all around. Five Retrotel employees and their families participated in a laser bowling fundraiser on Sunday, June 12, 2011, to benefit the Olivia Grace Armand Foundation. The foundation was formed to honor the memory of Olivia Armand, who passed away in 2009 at the age of 5 after battling a rare metabolic disorder known as I-Cell. Her younger brother Mikey is also living with this rare disorder. The foundation awards scholarships to nursing students who are pursuing a specialty in pediatrics.
Organized by the Moms Club of La Quinta/Indio, the event raised $4641 which will be awarded in scholarships to local Coachella Valley nursing students specializing in pediatrics. Trish Armand, mother of Olivia and Mikey, tearfully spoke about how grateful she was to everyone in attendance and gave an update on her two children and the struggles they've endured in their battles with I-Cell. Her hope is that her son Mikey will be able to attend the 2012 fundraiser.
Research, documents key to opening lenders' wallets
Reprinted from www.mydesert.com July 10, 2011 Written by
MIKE PERRAULT... Link to article here.
When Wells Fargo & Co. recently announced it was more aggressively lending to small businesses, Retrotel Inc. owner Cherise Sonderman took the nation's fourth-largest bank up on its offer.
Despite a longstanding relationship with a small Coachella Valley bank, Sonderman turned to Wells Fargo for a Small Business Administration loan and two other loans as part of a new funding package.
She and her husband, Brian, will use the money to expand the 14-year-old Palm Springs-based company that distributes and services remanufactured phones and other telecommunications equipment to clients across the country.
"We wanted to own the building next door rather than continue to rent," Sonderman said. "That way, we can improve our processing and make modifications that allow us to innovate."
As more banks loosen their purse-strings in the slowly recovering economy, borrowers such as Sonderman who have good credit and equity and are able to meet collateral and other requirements can get funding from banks and other SBA lenders.
She and other qualified borrowers benefit with interest rates between 3 percent and 8 percent a year.
But about 57 percent of small businesses must find financing through alternative means such as unsecured lines of credit and merchant cash advances, according to a recent national study by Pennsylvania-based MultiFunding, which helps small firms get financing and submit loan applications.
Alternative financing can cost upwards of 20 percent annually.
The MultiFunding study also showed about 15 percent aren't eligible for any financing.
Michael Paduano formed Palm Springs-based GoodLand Capital Group to offer com
mercial financing in "unconventional ways."
The company is lending anywhere from $2,500 to more than $2 million to small-business owners even with bad credit or no credit by analyzing existing gross revenue through about six months of a business' bank statements. The company factors those future revenues into funds that owners can get within about a week and use immediately, Paduano said.
GoodLand Capital, which has rates starting at 13.9 percent that are based on each borrowers' circumstances, recently had more than two dozen transactions in a single week.
One bakery owner who was turned down elsewhere got $7,500 for additional equipment that will help add menu items in time for the upcoming season.
Formidable hurdles
Existing small businesses and entrepreneurs who have struggled through the recession typically face the most daunting hurdles.
"Startups are having an extremely difficult time," said Brad Mix, consultant at Coachella Valley Small Business Development Center.
"For instance, I'm trying to get a loan for a (new) restaurant," Mix said. "Lenders hear the word 'restaurant' and automatically aren't interested. And, in this case, it would generate 25 jobs."
Startups, which are increasingly launched by people who've lost their jobs, often have a tough time proving to bank underwriters that they're credit- worthy.
Mix said some entrepreneurs hoping to launch new businesses face a new hurdle. They must demonstrate they have the expertise and experience to land a job with adequate earnings to pay off the loan should the startup fail.
Small-business owners who own their homes face other hurdles.
Previously, they could count on home equity for collateral as a second source of repayment, Mix said. That's often not the case anymore.
"That's probably why lenders are now looking at earnings as a tertiary source of payment," he said. "The secondary source of repayment isn't as strong as it has been historically."
Even franchise owners with proven business models and track records are having trouble getting financing, Mix said.
Ned Roache, chairman of the Coachella Valley chapter of the Service Corps Of Retired Executives, works with 36 counselors who volunteer to help valley entrepreneurs start companies, find financing and improve their operations.
"Lenders now are looking for a down payment of 20 to 25 percent, depending on the type of business," Roache said.
Startups often are asked for 30 percent to show they're committed to risking their own assets, Mix said.
Small-business owners should create a five- or six-page business plan detailing operations and cash flow, Roache said.
"Of course, the banks are being very, very cautious," Roache said. "But the lending climate has definitely gotten better."
Thomas Mesenbourg, deputy director of the Census Bureau, said a recent survey showed 20.8 percent of entrepreneurs dug into their own pockets and used no startup capital at all.
The most recent Census Bureau study showed 30.6 percent of firms that required start-up capital launched with less than $5,000, and 10 percent were started or acquired by owners who used credit cards to launch or acquire the business.
Experts said some entrepreneurs rejected by banks or unhappy with lending terms are considering so-called "peer-to- peer" lenders, including Internet sites run by Prosper Marketplace Inc. and Lending Club Corp.
Such sites function similar to eBay by charging pre-qualified borrowers a fee to match them up with lenders.
Calculations a key to qualifying
Bruce Gordon, Wells Fargo's senior vice president of California Business Banking, said his bank has not adjusted underwriting standards and is eager to make loans to qualified borrowers.
Wells Fargo has launched an online Business Insight Resource Center (www.wellsfargobusinessinsights.com) for small-business owners.
Doug Case, manager of Wells Fargo's Small Business Segment, said the website provides videos, articles, podcasts, webinars and other information to help small businesses start, manage and expand their businesses.
Bank of America officials said last fall that 1,000 bankers would be hired nationwide to work with small-business clients, including 70 in Southern California and five in the Coachella Valley.
Getting needed capital comes down to basic financial fundamentals such as credit quality, overall company debt and assets, revenue growth — and the health of a company's industry, bank officials said.
Lenders want to ensure there is enough positive cash flow to repay the loan, as well as a track record showing prospective borrowers have paid past bills on time.
Bankers said the recession has weakened overall demand for small-business loans, but the number of loan requests has been slowly rebounding.
In the first quarter of fiscal 2011, $95 million in SBA loans were doled out in Riverside County, compared to $48 million during the same quarter in fiscal 2010, SBA officials reported.
Stu Bailey, regional president for Sunrise Bank in Palm Desert, said his bank has doled out more SBA 7(a) loans in recent months.
Spokane-based AmericanWest Bank is acquiring Sunrise Bank, and officials said it can provide even larger loans to qualified small businesses.
Small businesses may want to consider getting some coaching from SCORE, the Coachella Valley Small Business Development Center and other counselors when structuring loan requests.
Small businesses that don't position themselves properly can inadvertently weaken their balance sheets.
A business may want to lease equipment rather than buy it, start off smaller or operate leaner, and carefully account for non-recurring expenses, Mix said.
"Let's say you had $15,000 in legal expenses because of a lawsuit," Mix said. "Next year, you're not going to incur that expense, so you can add that back to the net income when determining the business' adjusted cash flow."
Sonderman said the SBA loan process is "more thorough and intense" than in past years. So she was grateful Wells Fargo's loan experts helped her navigate all the additional paperwork.
"You still need to have a person making sure all the parts are getting done so nothing gets tied up — like an appraisal," Sonderman said.
Mix said one last bit of advice for small-business owners is to "run away" if a lender demands an up-front fee.
When invited to recognize a friend or family member who had battled breast cancer, employees of Retrotel, a local distributor of business telephone systems, had an unfortunately easy time coming up with names. This served as another reminder of how prevalent breast cancer has become. In March, Retrotel staffers honored their loved ones affected by breast cancer with a month long awareness campaign. They created a "Breast Cancer Wall of Honor" to recognize important people in their lives who have battled the disease and had a pink spirit day to show their support. Steve Wininger, Retrotel engineer, designed large ribbons made of pink foam packing material for anyone who needed something pink to wear. They were such a hit with the staff that he had to double production as requests were pouring in.
On March 28, they were honored to have a guest speaker from the Desert Comprehensive Breast Center speak at their weekly staff meeting. Dr. Laura Lee, Medical Director and Oncology Surgeon at DCBC, presented current information and statistics to the staff, educating them on the risk factors of breast cancer and the benefits of early detection. She was joined by Lennette Hauver, Manager of the Comprehensive Breast Center at Desert Regional Medical Center. Before the presentation, candles were lit in the center of pink donuts as the names from the Wall of Honor were read out loud.
At the conclusion of Retrotel's Breast Cancer Awareness Month, company owners Brian and Cherise Sonderman made a donation to the Desert Cancer Foundation in support of their Suzanne Jackson Breast Cancer Fund. This fund was developed in honor of Jackson, a former LPGA Director of Tournament Operations and part-time desert resident who lost her courageous 7 1/2 year battle with breast cancer in 1998. The Desert Cancer Foundation provides cancer screening, treatment and support to Coachella Valley residents who are uninsured or in financial need. For more information or assistance visit www.desertcancerfoundation.org.
Pictured from left to right in photo: Lennette Hauver, Brian Sonderman, Cherise Sonderman, Dr. Laura Lee.
On Business Philosophies
"I think it is to make sure (to) value every relationship...
"Being really, truly respectful and giving them the care they need. I try to remain open to that. And so far it's working pretty well."
Brian Sonderman, president of Retrotel, a Palm Springs company selling refurbished telephone equipment
While most children are nestled snug in their beds at 1 a.m., a number of young children will start lining up with their parents at the Coachella Valley Rescue Mission waiting for a new toy at the Mission's annual Santa Day on Monday.
As of yesterday the Mission had a huge shortage of toys, still thousands short of what they need to provide each of the roughly 5,000 children that will attend the party with a new toy. That toy will quite possibly be the only one they receive this holiday season.
An article in Thursday's Desert Sun also noted that the Mission had no gifts to give 10 to 12 year olds. Luckily Retrotel, a local company that provides business telephone equipment, arrived Thursday around 2 p.m. to help close the gap on the toy shortage. As luck would have it, they focused many of their shopping efforts on children in the 10 to 12 age range, purchasing basketballs, Justin Bieber calendars and books and items from the movie Twilight.
While delivering the 420 new gifts to the Coachella Valley Rescue Mission, company president Brian Sonderman, who shopped for all of the gifts himself online at Amazon.com, discovered that many of the toys the Mission already had needed batteries. Realizing this may be a hardship for gift recipients, he immediately left to go purchase 500 AA batteries to hand out with those electronic toys.
This is the second year Retrotel has supported the Mission in their efforts. They were initially motivated to action last year when, just days before Christmas, they saw a news story about a drastic shortage of toys at the Rescue Mission.
While the Mission is still in great need, Sandy Carroll, Development Coordinator at CVRM, felt blessed to receive this donation just in time for Monday's party. Anyone interested in helping can drop off toys at 47-518 Van Buren Street in Indio. In addition to toys they are also in need of food items for the nearly 600 hot meals a day they currently serve.
Employees from Retrotel, a Palm Springs based small business that remanufactures telecommunications equipment, were recently treated to a presentation from Animal Samaritans. Fourteen staff members were educated by Jennifer Nathan of Animal Samaritans about the various services and volunteer opportunities the non-profit offers. At the conclusion of her presentation, Nathan was presented with a check by Retrotel Vice President, Cherise Sonderman as well as a large supply of dog and cat food, litter and other supplies the employees had been collecting all month.
Animal Samaritans is local non-profit animal welfare organization committed to eliminating the euthanasia of adoptable animals. Retrotel has made a commitment to giving back to the community and helping those in need all around us, including our four legged friends. Pictured with Nathan and the Retrotel staff is Finn Sonderman, a Havanese Chihuahua mix and a rescue dog himself!
In these tough economic times Coachella Valley charities are thankful for any donations they receive, however large or small they may be. While donations to non-profit organizations are on the decline nationwide, the need for services offered by charities such as the Coachella Valley Rescue Mission are on the rise.
On Tuesday, July, 20, 2010 The CV Rescue Mission was thrilled to receive the donation of a vehicle from Retrotel, a Palm Springs based small business. When Brian and Cherise Sonderman, owners of Retrotel, realized they no longer needed a 2001 Ford Ranger used by their business they began looking for a local charity that could put it to good use. They chose the Coachella Valley Rescue Mission because of their strong conviction to helping those in need right here in our own community.
According to Sue Myers, Director of Operations for the Mission, donated vehicles such as this one are often sold at a reduced price to CVRM families. While they are clients of the Mission, men and women receive training on how to get back on their feet, gain employment and secure housing for their family. As a final step to becoming financially independent, families who have saved money throughout their time at the Mission may receive help purchasing a vehicle, such as the one donated by Retrotel. Mike Hall, Production Manager for Retrotel, is pictured presenting the vehicle to CVRM staff.
Sunday, August 1, 2010 will be a very special day for 120 Southern California children. For most of them, it will be their first time stepping foot into a major league ballpark. It will be their first glimpse of the immaculate infield and their first chance to smell that old familiar smell of ballpark hot dogs roasting.
Thanks to the generosity of Retrotel, a Palm Springs based company, 120 tickets for a MLB game have been donated to the Orangewood Children's Home and Koinonia Family Services. Orangewood Children's Home provides refuge for children who have been removed from their home by authorities while they await placement with family members or a foster family. Koinonia Family Services specializes in providing programs and services that are designed to address the special challenges faced by today's abused and neglected children and young people. Children from these organizations will enjoy a Sunday afternoon at Angel Stadium watching the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim play the Texas Rangers.
Retrotel, Inc. is a certified small business owned by Brian and Cherise Sonderman of Rancho Mirage, CA. Staff and family members will also attend the game for Retrotel's annual Summer Employee Appreciation Event. Retrotel employees have taken on a challenge this year to be more charitable and aware of those in need all around us. They have donated toys for the holidays, hosted a blood drive, supported wounded soldiers and now will proudly send 120 children to an Angels game as part of the Tomorrow's Angels program.
From 'The Desert Sun'
It was not Santa's sleigh, but a van arrived mid-morning Tuesday brimming with toys for the valley's less fortunate girls and boys at the Coachella Valley Rescue Mission.
Retrotel, a Palm Springs-based telephone equipment company, bought and delivered 526 toys, including 100 soccer balls and 100 footballs, to the Indio homeless shelter.
The toys were placed in a secured storage facility outside the Rescue Mission and will be distributed to children attending the shelter's Christmas Eve and Christmas Day dinners, said Sue Meyers, Rescue Mission director of operations.
"It's going to be a bountiful Christmas for all," Meyers said. "This is wonderful."
Retrotel was inspired to donate the toys after hearing about the major shortage of toys at the Rescue Mission through news reports. "This was one of the locations that we saw really needed our help," Retrotel Chief Executive Officer Brian Sonderman said Tuesday.
Within five days, Retrotel raised $4,500 with the Palm Desert real estate company Baxley Properties and the La Quinta-based Capobianco Law Offices to purchase more than 500 toys, Sonderman said. Retrotel staff purchased the toys Sunday and Monday at discounted prices from Wal-Mart, Sonderman said.
"It was fun to go in there," said Stacy Anzilotti, Retrotel head saleswoman who helped purchase the toys. "We feel that we are doing something good."
With the Retrotel donation, the Rescue Mission will have 800 toys available for the toy giveaway. More than 2,000 people were expected to attend the Rescue Mission's holiday dinners on Thursday and today, Meyers said.
The Rescue Mission has already given away toys to 4,500 children during a giveaway on Monday. It has collected at least 10,000 toys so far, Meyers said. "We were facing shortages but the (toys) multiplied," she said. "The community has been absolutely wonderful."
Coming Soon