What an appealing color—dead salmon…?

While I love this spread from the latest Martha Stewart issue, I can’t get over one of the color names. Color naming in the creative field is its own art form… but this one kind of missed the mark…

Really, Martha? Dead Salmon? Did I read that right?

[Friday Favorites] One of our Favorite Financial Planners: Laura Warnock Carrera

For this post in our series Friday Favorites we want to introduce you to one of our favorite financial planners—Laura Warnock Carrera.

We met Laura when she was referred to us by our accounting firm, Cook Martin Poulson (we profiled our accountant, J.W. Davies last week). We all hit it off immediately—she is smart and funny and we love the way she tells it like it is, once that included the line “You want how much cash in reserve? Are you kidding? Are you Depression-era people? No, you are in your 30s.”  This is great reciprocal relationship—when it came time for her to rebrand her company she hired us for the branding and positioning.

The thing we liked about Laura is that she was willing to talk to us, a young couple starting a new business. We had tried other financial planners, but if you aren’t in your 50s with a huge nest egg, they weren’t interested. She knows that we’ll get there and if she can help out now, all the better.

Here is our interview with Laura:

Quick Details

Tell Us About Yourself

How long have you worked with Sawaya Consulting and what projects have you worked on with us?

Why do you do what you do?

Because I love to help people. I like to help people with their money—it’s something that everyone cares about but not everyone has the time to deal with it. Most people want to earn money and have money, but don’t want to store it under a mattress. I help them find solutions so they can get that issue off their plate and concentrate on what they do best.

What makes you better/different/the right person for the job?

I tell it like it is. If I don’t think something is working—I will say something. You won’t get my endorsement of a product or a situation if it isn’t going to work out for the person I’m talking to. I’m not about making the sale or the commission—I’m about finding the solution. I’m pretty blunt which works great for some people, others, not so much.

What general advice do you have for the world?

Geez, be nice to people. People need to take ownership and responsibility for the things they say and do—stop trying to pass the buck or lay blame.

…One More Question

Do you have a favorite recipe you want to share or if you don’t cook what is your favorite restaurant

I love sushi! Really anywhere that has good, fresh sushi. A couple of my favorite local places are Ichiban and Sakura.

Thanks Laura!

(Also to Abbie Warnock Photography for the headshot!)

Another Client Testimonial

We just had an awesome referral from a current client, he gave us permission to share his kind words—which are also up on the “What are our clients saying?” section on the about us page ›

[SAWAYA Consulting] has been a proverbial ace in the hole with our [Content Management System and Server] over the last several weeks. They carry deep technical expertise and have been a real pleasure to work with. —AccessData

Thanks! It’s been a pleasure working with you as well!

[Friday Favorites] One of our Favorite Accountants: J.W. Davies

For this post in our series Friday Favorites we want to introduce you to one of our favorite accountants—J.W. Davies.

We met J.W. a few years ago when Steve and I started working at Sawaya Consulting full time. We asked my dentist (and friend of the family) who he used for his accounting and he had a glowing recommendation for J.W. We have been so absolutely thrilled with them, we’re happy to introduce J.W. to everyone who reads our blog. These guys focus on working with small businesses and they let us keep focused on what we do well and they handle everything else for us. We get papers to sign and bills to pay and that’s all the thinking we ever have to do. They have handled everything for us from our incorporation and annual taxes to sorting out all the tax-related business around companies being sold. In fact we just recommended them on to one of our clients / friends.

Here is our interview with J.W.:

Quick Details

Tell Us About Yourself

How long have you worked with Sawaya Consulting and what projects have you worked on with us?

Why do you do what you do?

For me, it’s about building a relationship with people and helping them succeed. This last month has been crazy busy talking to people about what we can do to save on taxes and other ideas. I don’t like to sit in a normal office and type — it’s more about meeting with people face-to-face and working on solutions.

What makes you better/different/the right person for the job?

We are proactive—we hear so many people complain about their accountants, about how things are always late or how it’s all about putting numbers on paper. We are about coming up with new ideas.

What general advice do you have for the world?

Amazon Prime Sign up for it — it’s the best thing ever.

…One More Question

Do you have a favorite recipe you want to share or if you don’t cook what is your favorite restaurant

The only thing I really cook is breakfast at night — french toast and pancakes and stuff. It’s not really a recipe, so I’ll also say that Market Street is my favorite place to eat.

Thanks J.W.!

Note: This article was updated on 2/15/11 when JW moved on from Cook Martin Poulson to start his new firm Davies + Allen

Haiku for Business

A while ago I was answering the people I worked with in Haiku only — here are a couple gems:

Have any to add? Leave them in the comments!

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