Heidi McLean and Sue Smith desired a change in their lives. One was tired of living a hectic lifestyle while the other one was adjusting to life after losing her spouse. Both of these women found what they were seeking for when they purchased Aspen Inn--a small, but charming Klamath County motel complex nestled on 3.5 acres of beautiful woodland acreage and situated at the entrance of the Crater Lake National Park. Although this inn was in dreadful condition from years of neglect, Heidi and Sue saw its potential to generate a decent income and at the same time provide a peaceful and beautiful place to live. They fell in love with the inn and purchased it by teaming up and coming up with a substantial down payment and borrowing the remaining amount via an “interest only” loan from a private investor. In 2003, the 14 rental unit and an office / living quarter complex known as “The Aspen Inn” was theirs.
Through hard work and monies spent cleaning the grounds and repairing the rooms to create an appealing place to stay, revenue of the inn tripled since purchasing the property in 2003. Not only are Heidi and Sue personable and approachable, unlike the previous owners, but they knew how to effectively promote and market their inn as the “Gateway to Crater Lake” with reasonably priced, clean, attractive and comfortable rooms and a friendly staff. In addition to receiving recommendations from Triple AAA, they constantly get new referrals from satisfied customers and have established an excellent network with park representatives resulting in higher than average motel occupancy rates. During the peak summer months, occupancy rates are 99% with May and September at 90%. Less than thirty minutes from Crater Lake, tourists from all over the world stay at the Inn along with a core group of loyal customers that come back annually to participate in special events or to just enjoy the natural beauty of the park via hiking, walking or bike riding the Crater Lake Rim.

Although this appeared to be the perfect business, it was not because of an immediate need to demolish and replace four unsafe rental units in time for the 2011 summer season, thus allowing them to retain both their employees and customer deposits. To finance the construction required buying out the private investor holding a first lien on the entire property. They approached a commercial lender, who told them to “prove their case” on why they would be a good credit risk. That is when Heidi and Sue approached OIT/KCC SBDC for help.

After reviewing tax returns and in house financial statements, we developed balance sheets and restated tax returns demonstrating the viability of the loan request—we proved their case”. Along with the financial information, a four page narrative was written and included to give potential lenders an overview of the business and its market, the financing need and the feasibilty of funding this project. The borrowers went to Sterling Bank, received a $ 450,000 SBA 7a backed loan and immediately started replacing the four rental units.

The clients were more than satisfied with the assistance they had received from the SBDC commenting that not only did they “really appreciated all the help in getting this going”, but they “couldn’t have done it without us”.

About The Oregon Small Business Development Center Network

The Oregon Small Business Development Center Network (OSBDCN) is a partnership of the Small Business Administration, the Oregon Economic Development Department and Oregon community colleges and universities. Nineteen Small Business Development Centers around the state provide free business development consulting to Oregon small businesses, as well as training and referrals to other resources and services. To locate the SBDC nearest you, visit http://www.BizCenter.org, or contact OSBDCN at (541) 463-5250.

“We couldn't have done it wtihout the KCC SBDC”

THE ASPEN