Notes From Colleen’s Desk: Tiptoe in the Tulips

It is spring, depending on which day you may read this, of course.

Temps in the nineties one week, then dipping back in the sixties the next. Spring, as we know, is a bit temperamental in Southern Oregon. And I can get a little temperamental at home, too, when I must flip my HVAC system from cooling to heating mode daily, or even within the same day!

However, I am intentionally choosing to focus more on the positive and take more time to smell the roses. Okay, wait.  What I really mean is take time to ooh and aah over the tulips in all their glory. I love tulips – any color will do!

There used to be an abundance of tulips around my yard, but my lack of due diligence and guarding them as my mother might have, is well, lacking. Turns out that you have to be present to also notice that the deer are also particularly fond of those soft, colorful petals that flash “look at me”. So, it is no wonder that in the front yard the tulips have not-so-mysteriously disappeared over time.

But in the back yard – hidden away in the far corner – there are yet a few. Most often, the tulips are overshadowed by the out-of-control tiger lilies, irises, and gladiolas.  While those taller beauties are in their own right as majestic and have much to offer, they can be garden bullies; the tulips quietly abide in their shadow and go unnoticed.

My sisters and I made a trip to Washington State late last month to join the multitudes in Mt. Vernon who love tulips as well. We did a bit of tiptoeing in the tulips and pondered the lyrics to that 1928 song, later a top hit made famous in the late 1960’s by Tiny Tim. Then we marveled at the sheer work that goes into cultivating the various tulip fields and associated gardens and most certainly the master design behind every rapturous row.

These blooms inspired me a lot about seasons of growth, seasons of replanting, and seasons of intentionality to create business prosperity and vitality. Every business needs to cultivate its garden, pull weeds, fertilize and then make room to bloom.

Maybe that barrier of finding the perfect planting for your garden has overshadowed a more complementary path forward. It may simply be time to bloom where you are planted and focus on what you have, creating a better strategy forward.  I have found that to be true personally, but equally applicable – it is true here at SOREDI.

SOREDI has operated a gap financing program since 1994. Despite high inflation, rising interest rates, and workforce constraints, we are fielding many requests from first-time business startups, new companies considering relocation to our region and seasoned local businesses.  If you happen to be new to SOREDI – you will know that this is exactly our job – to help companies launch, relocate and prosper. Learn more about our loan program here: Access To Capital – SOREDI

Unfortunately, we have been lacking a few gardeners on staff and have been in full triage mode to cultivate the incoming loan program inquiries, not to mention many other requests.  While the SOREDI loan program is also guided by a loan committee, comprised of banking partners, accountants, business advisers, and entrepreneurs, we have been in need of a Master Gardener (a loan program manager) since early February.

With budgeting season at hand, and so many initiatives sitting in the shed waiting to be re-cultivated, we decided to make some strategic internal gardener promotions. Sometimes the best solution is to look at gardening tools you already have, consider what is already planted, and fertilize!

A modest staff restructuring allows us to uncover and respond to the myriad of awesome businesses and ideas that are ready to bloom right now, more readily. That said, it is our pleasure to note here that Terrill Roper has been promoted to Business Development Loan Manager, and Carrie Bohl has been promoted to Communications & Business Support Manager.

While we are just four nimble gardeners for a wee bit longer, we are still wildly serious about business development and appreciate your patience, as our response times are a bit slower than we’d like. We also fully expect to make our next hiring decision quickly to round out our gardening staff!

Moreover, we recognize that we are not the only gardener in our landscape of thriving businesses.  A special shout out to our numerous business services partners such as the RCC and SOU Small Business Development Centers, Rogue Workforce Partnership, WorkSource Rogue Valley, and Business Oregon for your help and commitment to cultivating a One Rogue Valley fragrant business community.

The tulips are blooming.

Sincerely,

Colleen Padilla, Executive Director

Notes from Colleen’s Desk, May 4, 2023