Filed under: savvy tools | Tags: business partners, LLC, partnerships, starting your own business
I’m proud to announce that on November 1, Savvy Tools will be an official business! We have decided to file with the State of Colorado as a Limited Liability Company (aka LLC). This wasn’t a quick and easy decision…believe it or not, we’ve been discussing our options and learning about the different types of entities for over 3 years! After careful consideration and a lot of conversations with lawyers and eachother, an LLC seemed to suit us best.
If you’re wanting to start your own business and not quite sure how, go to your Secretary of States Business Center’s website. It will teach you all you need to know about the different types of business organizations, trademarks, etc. We’ve learned that one of the most important things when creating a business is it’s Operating Agreement. This agreement is the foundation of your business and lists out how you intend to operate the company and is bound by the signatures of it’s partners. There are thousands of templates online to help get you started…all you have to do is be patient and committed!
Kelsey – Vail, CO
Recently my husband and I jumped at the chance to be part of our local Family Selection Committee for Habitat for Humanity. This committee is in charge of interviewing and helping pick the next family to receive a habitat house.
This week has been filled with information nights and our first chance to meet the interested families. Although, turn out is not what we expected. It was lower than the numbers last year. With all of the depressing news out there I thought there would be record crowds.
Habitat looks for three criteria, 1. Need 2. Willingness to Partner 3. Ability to Pay and each applicant must meet each of those. Need means they live in unacceptable housing or have too many people sharing a space. Willingness to partner ensures that the future homeowner is willing to spend 350 “sweat equity” hours during the duration of their home build. A portion of the hours are actually spent building their house and the remaining are education classes. Ability to pay requires that they be able to afford their home and make in between a range of total income. Of course each person that came had a need and each had a heartbreaking story, but some of them made too much or too little money. It was really sad having to turn someone away because they didn’t make enough money.
I am so excited to start this journey with a family. I want everyone I interviewed to get a house, but of course that can’t happen. I met a single mother of 5 whose home was shot at by drive by and a bullet came right about her daughter’s bed. Another house is infiltrated with roaches and without any weather proofing or insulation. As the process continues we will narrow the families more and even conduct home visits to better determine who most qualifies for a new home. I like to think we are going to be a part of a family’s life changing experience. During these crazy times right now, it’s great knowing that volunteering our time is much more valuable than any donation.
-Alison KC,MO
We’ve all heard “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure”, but what if you can turn your trash into your own treasure? I was recently introduced to a local startup that’s doing just that. It’s called RecycleBank. Their concept is simple. We’re not all motivated to protect our environment, but we’re pretty much all motivated by money. So, they’ve partnered with many major companies to provide coupons and incentives to you for recycling. They work with the local trash collector to have them pick up your recycling that has a sensor attached to it. The weigh the bin before it goes into the truck and the sensor tells them who to allocate that weight to. The more you recycle, the more points you get, and therefore, the more rewards you get. Each pound equals about 2.5 points. Companies like CVS, Bed Bath & Beyond, Coca Cola, Applebees and many many more have all signed on. It’s not available everywhere just yet. They obviously have to get companies working together in each community, but they’re expanding to new places all the time.
And it’s working! Their CEO said,
“We generally see about a 100 percent increase in recycling in mid- to affluent neighborhoods. In lower-income neighborhoods, it can be up to 1,000 percent, because the recycling rates are so low there.
If you think about solar or wind power or buying a hybrid, they’re very important, but today they’re not something that’s accessible to the average person. I look at recycling as the average thing that every person and household can do.”
I think it’s a great idea and I hope they succeed.
Rebecca_SF
Filed under: who we are
I am back now from maternity leave. I have been taking a break from work and Savvy for a bit until I became adjusted to the new world of motherhood. What an exciting time it’s been for me and our new family! I must admit this is the steepest learning curve I’ve ever faced and it’s very rewarding but also a bit overwhelming as it is the most important job and role I now have.
The rest of the girls were kind enough to get Cade a little onsie with a hammer emblem we’ve been working on for Savvy. I propped him up to take a few pics of him in the shirt. He is now our youngest Savvy member!
-Jackie, W-B
Filed under: Politics | Tags: amendments, candidates, election day, state representatives, voting
Alright everyone… we’re getting down to the nitty gritty, only 12 days left until election day!! By now, everyone is obvioulsy aware who the main candidates are for presidency, but don’t forget that it’s also important to read up on all of your state’s amendments, and state & local representatives.
The last few days I’ve been handing out voter’s guides for my affiliated party and I can’t express enough how important it is for you to know and completely understand what it is you’re voting for. Believe it or not…this stuff does affect you! If you’re registered (which I hope all of you 18+ are!!), I think most states have probably mailed you the “bible” describing all of the amendments, and some of them may even have cheat sheets that you can bring to the polls with you to help speed up the process. If not, then I strongly suggest googling your states amendments. The last thing we want you to do is vote for something you don’t understand, so if that’s the case then please skip it on the ballot.
Kelsey – Vail, CO
Filed under: fun!, san francisco | Tags: Dolores Park, Home Run Hero, Red Bull Soap Box Derby
San Francisco loves crazy events! The weirder, the better. So, it’s no surprise that Red Bull decided to host their Soap Box Derby in Dolores Park in the Mission District this past weekend. Somewhere close to 100,000 people showed up for the show. 36 different teams built their own soap box cars and raced down a steep hill, over a jump, and tried to get to the finish line without crashing. The crazier the contraption, the more the crowd cheered.
One of my friends was on the Home Run Hero team. They were one of 2 teams to score perfect 10’s from the judges, but somehow they didn’t win. They did finish 3rd for fan favorite, though.
All in all, I’d say a good time was had by all. I’m hoping this becomes a yearly event. Check out the highlights here:
Rebecca_SF
Filed under: fun! | Tags: halloween, jack-o-lantern, pumpkin carving, pumpkin stencils, yes we carve, Zombie Pumpkins
This is my favorite time of the year….the cool crisp air, golden aspen leaves, even the crunch of the leaves as you walk down the sidewalk! Not only do I love the outdoor beauty, I also love going to pick out that big orange pumpkin for fall festive decor.
We had a pumpkin carving party last night and it totally reminded me of my childhood….it was so much fun! It was a great opportunity to hang out with friends, get creative and make yummy pumpkin seeds! Prior to the party, I was searching the internet for some jack-o-lantern ideas and couldn’t believe all of the creative pumpkins out there. It’s kind of tough deciding whether or not you want a traditional jack-o-lantern, a funny face, or some other Halloween character. Here are some of the pumpkins me and my friends came up with…
With the election coming up, I’ve also seen a lot of political pumpkins out there. If you’re not the most talented artist, these stencils are available on websites such as Yes We Carve and Campaign-O-Lanterns.
And for a little more difficult and some very unique pumpkins ideas, I found this website call Zombie Pumpkins. I think it’s time to turn off your computer and go to your nearest pumpkin patch….Have fun!
Kelsey – Vail, CO 🙂
As we mentioned, we’ve been toying around with some ideas for our business cards. These are just to get us by for now. We’ll re-evaluate them when we’re ready to take on the entire company branding. As you can see, there are some double and some single sided options. Any thoughts or opinions you’d like to share with us about these ideas so far?
Rebecca_SF
Just when I think that Google has thought of everything…they surprise me once again. We’ve all be there, late at night, one, two or 4 glasses of wine and the need to email someone. Who knew the two would go so well together sometimes, but unfortunately they do. You express your deepest feelings to someone and accidentally hit reply all or the next day read something you wish you had never hit sent. Now Google is working to help you with this common problem. Mail Goggles! An application that is activated late at night and weekends and makes you perform simple equations before an email can be sent. Genius! Either you won’t be able to the simple math or you’ll get bored and not send the email.
At first I thought the whole thing was a hoax, a great idea, but not real. Not so, if you have a gmail account you can enable this feature under your settings. Then click on labs and then active the “Goggles” feature. Of course by adding “Goggles” to your email, doesn’t mean you have a drinking problem, but if it prevents one horribly embarrassing email escaping, then it’s done it’s job! I don’t know if they are the same equations each time but if you start to memorize the answers, then you might have a problem.
_Alison KC, MO
Don’t vote. Who cares about issues like what’s going to happen to your 401k or your bank, or your job, the environment, education, taxes, the war… None of that stuff really matters, right? You’re not affected by any of those things, right? You don’t like politics, blah, blah, blah.
If that’s the case, then you must be living in another world. Whether you like politics or not, the country I’m in needs help and needs people to speak up for what they want. All of those things and more affect me directly, so I’m definitely going to vote and I really think you should to, but you have to register first. The deadline is days away in some states, so you better hurry. Try Rock The Vote or Declare Yourself or just google it. They make it pretty easy for you. You’ve got no excuses!
Rebecca_SF
Savvy Lifestyle 
