Valley a small business mecca
Commercial broker sees burgeoning interest in valley marketplace via the Internet

By Jonathan D. Colburn

The Desert Sun
February 23, 2004

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PALM SPRINGS -- Bob Hughes sees the scenarios all the time, like a couple who has worked full-time and wants to own a business, or a young Marine getting out of the service and wanting to be his own boss.

Hughes runs a commercial brokerage in Palm Springs and is currently listing about 40 small businesses.

He said that, when someone walks into his office, his first step is to make them decide what type of business interests them and what their budget and time commitments are. After that, he said, it’s fairly easy to find a good fit.

Hughes said that people looking to buy a business are always partially pulled in by the perpetual vacation atmosphere.

"Some people just want to buy a second home, but can’t justify it," said Hughes.

Bruce Clausen and Sarah Chilton started their search as perfect models of modern small business owners.

When they decided they wanted to move on from their jobs in higher education to become small business owners, they surfed the Internet.

Hughes said that, especially within the last two years, he’s been getting Internet queries on businesses he’s selling every day.

Clausen was a native Californian, and he and Chilton had been to the Coachella Valley before. They found several listings on Hughes’ Web site before taking a trip to the valley in November.

They were unimpressed by a local tennis boutique and florist.

But while on their way out of the valley for a real estate investment seminar, they stopped at Design Metaphor Gallery, an art gallery and framing center on North Palm Canyon Drive, which was for sale.

They immediately loved it.

"We wanted to be doing something that was enjoyable, and non-bureaucratic, and something where we can immediately reap the benefits of our own industry," said Clausen about their motivation.

After taking another trip back to Palm Springs in January to finalize the deal, they moved permanently at the end of January and have been Design Metaphor’s new owners for slightly more than three weeks now.

Former owners Menno Vantoorenburg and Dylan Norton, who started the gallery three and half years ago, are staying on as consultants, and were hesitant about selling their creation to just anyone. Vantoorenburg and Norton actually turned down some offers before Clausen and Chilton came by.

Both Clausen and Chilton come from an artistic background.

Chilton worked in graphic design for the University of Illinois and has photography experience. Clausen’s first career was as a performing musician.

Vantoorenburg said he saw "true, unmarked intelligence on matters of aesthetics," when he met them.

"We came to the valley here three and half years ago to open this gallery," Vantoorenburg said. "It was our own baby, and so we wanted to pass it on to just the right people."

For the last three weeks, Clausen and Chilton have been meeting regular clientele and artists. Most of the artists who display and sell works at Design Metaphor are locals.

Clausen said that one of the new owners’ goals will be to establish a Web site for the gallery to attract buyers worldwide.

He added that, since Palm Springs attracts tourists from around the world, they’d hope to find people on the Web "that would have an interest in a fine art keepsake rather than just a T-shirt or a coffee mug."