A Trampoline Park owner facing over 1.4MM in debt shares his Second Wind experience with other business owners.
Someone has said that success has many fathers, but failure is an orphan. In 2018, as my indoor trampoline park business continued to lose money, lawyers for my SBA loan bank were sending me threatening letters about my delinquencies. I considered bankruptcy and consulted three bankruptcy attorneys in my area. Each of them recommended against it. I needed to find an attorney familiar with SBA procedures, but I had limited, diminishing funds. I decided to seek help online. The first response to my Google search was Second Wind Consultants. Wary of such online offers of help, I hesitated to act. When I did call, I was pleasantly surprised by the professionalism and depth of knowledge of business operations, banking, and finance that their staff had. Most importantly, they were remarkably familiar with the SBA and their loan default procedures. Their monthly fees were affordable. As important, they had a firm cap on their total fees beyond which I did not have to pay anything for further service. In a couple of days, I had a case manager, and we got to work. That was in August 2018. Four years later, I can finally see light at the end of the tunnel. I am now able to settle with the SBA, thanks to Second Wind Consultants.
In those four years, I worked with three Second Wind consultants. They were professional, responsive, and there for me. Paul Handlen spent the longest amount of time on my case. A great listener, he was patient and always ready to seek and find answers to my inquiries. During the Covid crisis, it was hard to get any information from the SBA, and when they finally communicated, it was to say no to our first offer in compromise. It knocked the wind out of me. But Paul was there for me. He helped me refocus on developing another offer in compromise. It was a tedious process, which involved endless searches for historical financial and tax records. Paul worked diligently and tirelessly by my side, coaching, and encouraging me day by day. The final package of 307 pages that we assembled eventually received SBA acceptance and I am looking forward to closing this long chapter of my life, thanks to Paul Handlen and Second Wind Consultants.
Godfred P. Otuteye
October 10, 2022