It’s Here! It’s Here!

Our New Social-Side!

Well, my pom-poms are out and I’m cheering big!  The new website and all the new print collateral for The Savvy Socialista is here!!!  It’s been a LOOONNNGGG process and if I told you it all, you’d be yawning.  Just know, I wanted every piece of The Savvy Socialista to represent everything we are about.  I didn’t want anyone to question what I do or what I can do for them!

 

Big ol thanks to Nancy & Carlee for ALL the MAJOR help with my business cards, Facebook Banner and Facebook Landing page.  I think they were both ready to kill me through the process!  But, everything is so darn cute, don’t ya think?!?

 

 

 

 

My biggest thanks goes to my incredibly wonderful, fabulously talented and amazingly dedicated Web Wonder Woman, Mary.  I can honestly say, I would not be here without her.  She’s gone so far above and beyond and my heart is overflowing with love and dedication to her!

 

So, it’s all here!  Spend some time browsing through all the pages, the process and the results.  Then pop back here and chat back, letting me know what you think of the new look and feel of The Savvy Socialista!

 

A Rock N Giveaway!

Rock N Courture Final Collage

WINNER! WINNER!  WE HAVE A WINNER!

Comment #13

Cara said: “I heart the clutches and the big original burlap bag…so unique and high fashion. Everything is fab, thank you Miss Savvy Socialista for hosting this spectacular giveaway!!!

Big ‘ol Congrats to Cara!  I’ll email you to help you collect your fabulous new bag!

I’m thrilled to my toes when I discover an incredible fashion accessory (just like any good woman would be)!  Who knew that such a fabulous handbag could be created out of burlap.  Well, my new friend, Sharon Cochran, did.  She is the creative mind and fingers behind Rock N Couture.  As Sharon would say, “at Rock N Couture we are “Rock n’ our blessed life” doing what we love!!! Featuring a line of burlap handbags and accessories that are all custom handmade right here in the USA.
Being the “fashionista” that I am, I had to have one!

These handmade burlap (jute) handbags, coffee bean handbags and accessories, are all adorned with leather straps, embellished with genuine swarovski crystals, precious metals, custom black rosette embellishment, and interior linings come from designer custom fabrics.

When I saw this new denim number I knew it belonged on my arm.

After discussing my needs with Sharon, I realized that one bag just would not cover all my needs….a girl must have a stylish and trendy bag for her computer.  Rock N Couture pulled through with the perfect combo.

Take a look for yourself:

Not only is the outside darling, but the inside is just as cute!  Honestly, this girl knows how to create the perfect carryall.

NOW FOR THE BEST PART!!!

I know how each one of you would love to carry one of these fun, functional and fashionable bags.  Not wanting to disappoint you, Rock N Couture is offering one lucky girl the chance to win one bag of your choice!!  How cool is that!

WANT TO WIN?

Here’s how:

There are 4 chances to win this Rockin Give­away. Please Chat Back for each entry!

1) Become a Fan of Rock N Couture on Face­book. Chat back let­ting us know you’ve become a fan!

2) Post on Rock N Couture  Face­book page that The Savvy Social­ista sent you. Chat back let­ting us know you’ve posted on Rock N Couture’s page.

3) Chat back and let me know what handbag is your favorite on Rock N Couture’s website.

4) Are you a fan of The Savvy Social­ista on Face­book? Chat back and let us know! If not, become a fan!

One lucky win­ner will be cho­sen at 9 PM (Pacific Standard Time) on Tuesday, August 30th, using Random.org.  Any entries received after this time will not be con­sid­ered. This is a spon­sored post. The Savvy Social­ista may have received pay­ment, trade and/or prod­uct in exchange for pro­mot­ing.

Can’t wait???

It’s okay, how excit­ing is this.….Rock N Couture is offer­ing The Savvy Social­ista fans 40% OFF her entire store now through 9 PM, Tuesday, August 30, 2011.  Be sure to use the CODE:   SavvySocial­ista and you will receive this amaz­ing Savvy Deal!

 

Credit Card Anyone?

Swiping credit card

I can’t do it all.  I admit it!  Therefore, I LOVE, I mean, really LOVE guest bloggers!!!  And today is no exception!  The extremely smart computer guru, Jason Gross from PC Made EZ stopped by The Savvy Socialista blog to guest blog and give you guys a GREAT tutorial on Square. For any of you that want to accept credit cards but don’t want to deal with all the hassles….this is just for you!  When Jason shared with me all the info on Square I immediately thought about all the vendors at hand-made markets, vendor fairs & craft fairs so I asked him if he would share with you all about this amazing little device!  Chat back and let me know if this helps you out at all!  And do me a favor–would you mind stopping by Jason’s Facebook Page and giving him a little “hey, how ya doin?” , I’d greatly appreciate it and I know he would to!

And with no further adieu…. Guest Blogger…..Jason Grosso…………

Do you want to be able to accept credit card payments for your products or services while out at events or a client’s home or business? Would you like to not have to carry around bulky equipment and paperwork to do so? Do you not want to be nickel and dimed to death with transactions fees, monthly fees, annual contracts or penalties for taking payments from “rewards” cards? Do you want the money sent to your business account quickly? Well…you can.

A company started by one of the co-founders of Twitter called Square provides you with all of the previously mentioned abilities and more. As long as you have an iPhone, Android phone or iPad you can accept credit card payments (Visa, Amex, MasterCard or Discover) through your device anywhere you go; be it a trade show, event booth or a client’s business or home. Square does not require much from you either. You sign no contracts, you pay no monthly fees, you pay no annual fees, you won’t even pay a fee for accepting a payment using one of the many “rewards” cards which many people use. You simply pay a very nominal fee of 2.75% of each transaction to Square and that is it. Talk about ease of use and flexibility!

So, you are probably wondering how to get setup with this. Well you simply go to Square’s website ( www.squareup.com ) sign up for their service with your business and bank info and they send you a free card reader which plugs into the auxiliary port on your mobile device. Square will make two small deposits into your account to verify it and then you will be approved to accept payments. It is that easy…seriously. We have been accepting customer payments for nearly a year now using Square and not only have we not had any problems; each and every transaction has gone through and the funds have been debited into our business account within 3 business days; every single time.

Once you have the card reader and the account setup you simply download the app to your iPhone or Android, login and you are ready to accept payments. You can even send your customer email receipts directly from the Square app and even customize your account to include your logo in customer receipts. Trust me, if you own a small business and have a need for mobile credit card payment processing you need to do yourself a favor and get Square!

***If you want to get your hands on a card scanner now, the first 40 people that “CHAT BACK” below & comment on my Facebook page that you would like one, I’ll get on to you.***

Since I have been using Square since they started they gave me 40 of them to hand out to fellow business owners.

Check out the images below to see how Square works. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me at any time. Happy Computing!

Jason Grosso
Owner – Lead Tech
PC Made EZ
480-720-5656

 

Here’s how it all works

Here is the Square Card Reader which plugs into your phone’s auxiliary (headphone) port

 

 

Square Card Reader


You open the Square app on your mobile device, enter in the transaction amount, optional items notes and then swipe the customers credit card

 

 

Swiping credit card

 

The customer then signs for the transaction on the screen

 

 

Signing for the transaction

 

You can then send the customer an email receipt with the transaction details

 

 

Transaction receipt

And you are done!

 

 

 


Who’s on Camera? I am, I am!

Sonoran Living Pic

Seriously, I still can’t even believe it!  When Stephanie Sandoval from Sonoran Living called and started chatting with me about my business it was a huge WOW for me!  We processed through some ideas because Sonoran Living wanted to share with their viewers how Facebook can work for them.  We came up with SAVVY DEALS to promo on the show.  I was delighted to bring on several of my sweet clients & friends!

Of course, first things, first…what to WEAR?!?!  I ended up wearing this black dress that I bought last November from Express and last spring’s yellow shrug from Nordstrom.  But, let me tell you….it was not easy!  After a phone call with my sister, I was in deep panic mode!  What I had in mind she clearly told me, “would simply not work!”  Yikes!!!  So off I flew to the computer to write an email and ask my sweet friend, Fawn Cheng, Personal Stylist for some advice.  She calmed me down and helped me reevaluate and POOF, this is the outfit!  Loved wearing the necklaces from The Lovely Letter and the cuff from Gussied.  Unfortunatley you can’t see the great shoes, but you can in the video…they are fabulous, courtesy of Calvin Klein!

 

Back to Sonoran Living—my mom came with me, thank goodness!!!  For those of you that do not know, she is my assistant!  She is an amazing interior decorator and she set up the beautiful table for Sonoran Living.  We had a great time setting up the very cool hats from Petal Chic Boutique and the lovely jewelry from The Lovely Letter.  We knew the order that we were going to show the items in so those two companies started it out.  Then the simply darling copper cuffs from Gussied came next.  Last–all the items that PeaPod Announcements & Gifts sent!   And “drum roll please…..”

 

 

Everyone seemed thrilled with how everything looked.  It was a gorgeous table!  Some of the fun items from PeaPod Announcements & Gifts that are must sees were the Three Designing Women fabulous stamper set , all the great notepads and the cute vase wrap, came from Donovan Designs, and the frames, ice bucket and fabulous tray came from Rosanne Beck Collection.  The cool tote came from The English Paper Company.

I’m so thankful for my friend, Bonnie at Inspired Occassions for making the delicious cupcakes!!!  I needed cupcakes because PeaPod Announcements & Gifts sent cute cupcake bands from The Paper Menu.  They are darling because you can have them custom printed with pretty much anything!  I was very sad when the last cupcake was gone.  You have no idea how good they were!  YUM!

I’m beyond thankful to the vendors who generously offered the Savvy Deals for Sonoran Living viewers and Facebook fans!  Another thank you to everyone at Sonoran Living, including Stephanie Sandoval & Andi Barness.  Also, I have to tell you how terrific my friend and photographer, Carlee Komar with Oh Snap Photography is.  Because she’s so darn cute I asked her to model the Petal Chic Boutique hat and she came along to photography the entire production.  So big ol thanks to Carlee! And last but certainly not least the biggest thanks goes to my mom, Nancy, for putting in countless time for set-up, tear-down and just plain making my life easier!

Looking so forward to returning to Sonoran Living offering even deeper discounts for the Savvy Deals.  If you know someone that would be a perfect fit for this piece just “Chat Back”.  In the meantime….you can see the entire feature below!

Savvy Deals from The Savvy Socialista