small business

Introducing HUE Core Values

August 15, 2019 By Sarah Davidson

Did you know that we’ve been in business for nearly FIVE years? Five years of working with clients, partnering with vendors, developing visions, and ultimately making major decisions about who we are as a business. It’s taken pretty much that entire time to figure things out, but we’re proud today of who we are and what we stand for. It’s about time we shared it all with you!

After some workshopping late last year, we are excited to introduce our list of Core Values for Harmonious Union Events. Core Values are meant to be the fundamental beliefs of a businesses, and to create an unwavering guide to determine if we are on the right path in all decisions made. It is our hope that everyone reading this will be able to go through each statement below and say “Oh yes, this is completely them”.

HUE Core Values

TRUSTED
We are commonly the most personal vendor relationship a client will have when planning their event. We tailor our approach to exactly what the client needs both in pace and communication style. We are honest but kind, and make everyone’s life easier.

EFFECTIVE
Every problem comes with solutions and every set of logistics has a battle plan. We turn fuzzy pieces of a vision into a well-executed event in just a matter of time, no matter where you are at in your process.

ADAPTABLE
Each event is a new event. We have a wide variety of experience, a diverse portfolio of clients, and will work with any budget. We’re always up for learning new traditions, cultures, or styles. Bring us anything!

CONNECTED
We are continually present in our community and industry, educating ourselves and building our network. Vendors are just as excited to work with us as clients are, and we always have the latest scoop.

TRIBE-ORIENTED
We are partners, moms, daughters, friends, and business women. We work together, celebrate together, and look out for one another every day, to make sure each team member is reaching her dreams, both personally and professionally.

Okay, those are it! What do you think?

It’s very scary to put these out there for the world to see. They’re personal and make us feel like we’re just opening a door to be constantly judged against them. But that is the point right? We strongly believe in everything listed above, and in officially adopting them, we not only need to hold ourselves accountable to them but let others do so as well.

So look out world, here we come!

Featured Photo: Paul F. Gero Photography

Why I Outsource: Tax and Accounting Edition

April 12, 2019 By Sarah Davidson

The date I’m choosing to share this post with you all is no coincidence. My hope for you is that you already have your taxes filed and set, with either a low/no amount due or a nice return coming your way! For those of you still scrambling or stressed, please read on AFTER you’re in a better state of mind 🙂

Four years ago, I decided to take the plunge and hire a tax and accounting consultant. There were two main reasons for this:

I had just started Harmonious Union Events and NO idea what sort of tax things were all involved in being self-employed.
We had just purchased our first home, which felt like the jumping off point into official “adulting”, and we knew that would be just the first step of many new things we would encounter in our lives that now played a big factor into filing taxes.

This is one of the best business and personal decisions I have ever made.

(Photo included because this topic is best discussed with a drink in hand)

I know that everyone has their own approach, but as a mom, entrepreneur, and someone who at least tries to have a social life, my time is one of the most valuable things in the world to me, along with my sanity. Anything that I can do to help preserve those two things nearly always comes in at a high priority.

Here is just a short list of tax/accounting related things that a consultant can guide a small business owner through:

Filing quarterly, which you’ll want to do so you don’t have to pay a HUGE amount during your normal annual spring filling. When you’re employed by someone else, your tax owed is just taken out of your paychecks throughout the year and you don’t have to worry about it. When you’re self-employed (or get paid as a contractor, such as Uber driving, etc) you have to remember that you owe Uncle Sam around a third of every single payment that comes in.
Deductions, which ROCK! Mileage, supplies, and meals related to your business are just a few of the categories that can be deducted when going through self-employment taxes, and you’ll want to make sure that you get the absolute most out of those as you can.
What needs to be taxed and when. Personal services? No. Rentals, floral, and photography? Yes. Something that you purchased online that didn’t include tax? Make sure that’s added in somewhere. Also, this varies state to state and if you did business in another state from where you’re located you better believe that you’re filing taxes there too. HALP!
General bookkeeping. How do I need to categorize this? Did that payment come in? What receipts do I all need and what info from each? There’s people out there that actually love this stuff you guys.

(Still making sure your with me.. just listen to the pretty music!)

And don’t forget about your personal life! A few things we’ve gotten major help on:

All taxes related to owning a home, including what deductions are now involved in having a home office. This would also be a major tax component for you if you do Air BnB or other short term rental programs.
Babies, babies, babies. There are all sorts of fun child related tax and deductions to consider, as well as what goes into college investments, etc.
We’re involved in some business ventures that have unique tax forms at the end of the year, require us to file in multiple states, and also don’t release the tax forms until just a few weeks before April hits. Because our accountant is so organized and ready to just drop this info in as it comes, we feel absolutely no stress around this, even this year with a new baby due on April 6.

Of course there’s a cost to everything, but this is really for you to decide on what is the tipping point for you. Are things simple enough still that the time is no big deal? If so, that’s great! However, for me, I’m now freed up to do two major things:

Spend ample time with my family, my friends, and be available to manage the most important and favorite aspects of our personal lives.
When I’m not doing Number 1, growing my business in major ways, including right now devoting ample time building a social media presence, the CRM software component of my business, and my personal vendor database.

(Okay all done, time to party)

Hope this helps in your decision process – and Happy Tax Day!

If you’ve been swayed or have already considered reaching out to someone, I’d HIGHLY recommend my accountant and fellow girl boss, Stephanie Strupp, steph@strupptax.com, who works remote and is available for hire no matter your location.

Featured Image: XO Azuree

Happy Birthday HUE!

February 11, 2019 By Sarah Davidson

You guys – as of February 2019, Harmonious Union Events will officially be 4 years old!!

Back when I was rental coordinator at Madison Children’s Museum, I began to get the itch that I wanted to do something more. I enjoyed the industry, the clients, the vendors, and what I was doing. I come from a family of entrepreneurs and always wanted to do something for myself (and honestly, just be able to take a vacation whenever I wanted :p). After some encouragement from a few wonderful friendors, HUE was born!

I’m humbled by all of the things we’ve accomplished in our first five seasons, including but not limited to:

Growing to a team instead of just a Sarah, allowing us to serve more clients to the fullest while maintaining important work/life balance
The ability to provide much more than just event planning services, including floral and design, rentals, and venue consulting
Building strong relationships with many vendors around the entire state of Wisconsin and beyond
Continually growing our area of service past Madison – including events in Milwaukee, Lake Country, Spring Green, Green Lake and Sheboygan
Attending numerous conferences, retreats, and workshops locally and across the country to continually grow in what we do and be able to provide the highest level of service to our clients
And of course, working with SO many amazing clients over the years, and continuing to watch them grow themselves in life after marriage
Special Bonus: A new office coming soon to cultivate our creativity and relationships! Stay tuned!

For the longest time, I didn’t know if this would always be a side gig or if I would actually try to make it my livelihood one day. I’d like to credit some amazing inspiration at Camp Wed 2016 for helping solidify the decision to really go for this, and am aiming to be full time by the end of this year. I feel lucky every day that I’m in a position to even consider this as an option.

So thank you. Thank you to my clients, my vendors, my team, my family, my friends, and all of you who read this. Here’s to many more years of plans, cheers and celebration!

(My first wedding – Cathy and Trent!)

Sincerely,
Sarah

Featured Photo: George Street Photo

Working from Home – The Ultimate Luxury or Productivity Killer?

March 14, 2018 By Sarah Davidson

It’s 2018, and I am currently one of the lucky people who has the luxury of working from any place that has Wi-Fi. There are many occasions where that might be a remote office or a coffee shop, but the majority of the time it means one main location – my home. I’ve been doing this for two years now and for the most part, I wouldn’t trade back for office life. However, there are a few key considerations to take into account if you’re looking at a position within this realm.

1) Discipline

Everybody knows it, but let’s just get it covered. When you’re working from home, there’s no one there to judge you or keep you on track. You don’t have to get dressed. You’re on your own schedule. And you can watch Netflix all day if you want (which I may or may not be doing while writing this post). You can also take care of household chores or errands during the day. While it’s nice to have this freedom and flexibility, it’s amazing how quickly any of those things can take away from how much work you’re actually getting done. If you have family or other activities that you’re committed to in the evening, those hours that you have during the day can be especially precious. Working from home doesn’t mean you have less work to do than those in an office, and those who do it will find more success if they are disciplined and pointed about how their work gets done.

Personally, I try to take each evening to write down the tasks I want to accomplish the following day and evaluate my schedule to determine how they will fit in. Some days I sit at my computer for 8 solid hours and other days I travel about to a variety of meetings and appointments. I absolutely do take advantage of the lifestyle by scheduling in personal things during weekdays such as workouts or haircuts, but understand that this may mean I work during an evening or weekend instead. Due to my industry, my schedule is very fluid seven days a week, but there are others who have very set office hours as well.

2) Your workspace

Due to the size of our house, I do not currently have a home office. Instead, I work mostly from our kitchen table or when the mood strikes me, the couch. I’ll be the first to say that this is not ideal and creating a dedicated workspace is a HUE goal of mine this year.

If you are lucky enough to have the space for a home office, I would highly recommend it for several reasons. First of all, there are many tax benefits, such as deducting utilities, that you can take advantage of. You would also not have to clean up your “work clutter” as a part of cleaning your home. This is a large issue that I run into – my work space constantly taking over my home space to the point where we rarely eat at our dinner table). Finally, having a nice space in your home that you can invite people to can also be much more pleasant for meetings, such as those that would otherwise occur at a coffee shop, bar, etc. It allows you to control your meeting environment and also save on costs of having to purchase something each time.

3) Socialization

Many of my close friends today are people who I have worked with in the past. The job at the time may have been a “whatever” job, but the co-workers made it worth it and we were lucky to develop a relationship outside of work by going to happy hour. This is the angle that without a doubt, I miss the most from working in an office.

Working from home can be quite isolating at times. I remember my first week when I would greet my husband right at the door each night because he was the only person I saw all day. I felt jealous that I was missing out on happy hour invites and the latest workplace gossip. Eventually, I was able to fill the void with a mix of working away from home some days and also joining a few networking groups in town. It took time and everyone needs to find their own solution that works best for their personality and lifestyle.

Special Consideration – Family and Childcare

This may not apply to all of you but I’m sure to many, whether it’s a child or even a pet. When my daughter was born, I naively believed I would be able to take care of her during the day and still get all my work done at home. Fast forward to today, and she is currently in daycare four days a week.

When I tried to do both, I immediately understood that I could not devote the time or attention that I wanted to either area. When I tended to my daughter, I felt guilty that I wasn’t getting enough work done and when I was working, I felt guilty that I should be paying more attention to her. Once we started daycare however, I was immediately given the gift of dedicated work time, and then was also able to plan ahead to the days I had with her and get my work done ahead of time.

My system isn’t perfect, but it works for where my life is right now. I’m sure if you begin a journey like this you will find your own balance as well.

Good luck!

Featured Photo: Tim Fitch Photography

Camp Wed 2015

November 11, 2015 By Sarah Davidson Leave a Comment

One of the great parts about being in the wedding business is that there is an abundance of talented people I get to meet and work with on a regular basis. TWO of these women are Andrea VandeBerg and Sarah Sarbacker, creators and owners of Cherry Blossom Events. This year they pulled together their own industry retreat, bringing together the best in the business for a few days at the beautiful Camp Wandawega in Elkhorn, WI. Camp Wed included workshops from top wedding professionals around Wisconsin and the county, delectable food and beverage, beautiful floral and other details, new head shots for everyone, and also a DANCE PARTY.

I really appreciated the variety in our workshops throughout the retreat, which proved to be equally important to attendees whether there alone or with a business partner, working for themselves or with a company. We covered topics including but not limited to: destination and cultural weddings, chalkboard design, small business taxes, authenticity and being happy, videography, and illustration to name a few. Each presentation led to a discussion and each discussion built new friendships and potential future partnerships. It would take me years to get this kind of knowledge on my own.

Did I mention that the weather was BEAUTIFUL the entire time? Wandawega is straight out of Wes Anderson film, complete with teepees, camp flags, announcements over a bullhorn, a giant bonfire circle and a lake pier to jump off of. They host many different groups throughout the year including weddings. You can also book a stay on Air B&B. It was picture perfect.

In addition to workshops, there were so many opportunities to get to know my colleagues better including mealtimes, swim breaks, over cocktails, and at campfires. Kudos to all of the vendors who participated in and provided for these, as everything was first class, from the delicious cocktails of Gib’s Bar to the Gourmet s’mores from Bloom Bake Shop. It was definitely the finest I’ve eaten in a long time (or maybe even in my whole life). Our final dinner was even catered by Celebrity Chef Scott Wagner, who has personally cooked for Justin Timberlake and Kobe Bryant. Pretty cool, right?

Overall, I feel that Camp Wed is probably one of the best things I could’ve
participated in as a new business owner. I have just enough knowledge to be dangerous, but still so much to learn, and couldn’t have asked for a better group to be with. While participants were from all over, many are from the Madison area and hopefully people that I get to work with more in the future. For now, it’s time to absorb and practice until the next opportunity. Or the next camp!