C.H. Brown Co. - August 2021

C.H. Brown Co. - August 2021

AUGUST 2021

307-322-2545 • CHBEF.COM

HARD WORK PAYS OFF WITH NEW NOTARIZATION OPTIONS Silver Linings Do Exist

Everywhere you look this summer, you see signs of folks going back to “the way things used to be.” Or trying to, anyway. It’s not a bad thing to want, of course, and we understand the value of tradition and history as much as anyone. We live in a part of the West that’s steeped in a culture of hard work, and we’d hate for that to change — it’s part of the reason CHB is able to help hardworking people all over the country get the equipment they need. But we also recognize that the world has moved on, and we have a chance to find the things we like about that change and move with it. This month, we’re introducing one thing that we really like. Probably the biggest change is that in 2021, we’re all a lot better at doing business from a distance than we were back in 2019. This is a trend our company has been embracing for years, and it’s good that the rest of the world finally sees its value. With our clients in every corner of the United States, it’s a change that couldn’t have come soon enough. When all parties are comfortable handling important business remotely, it makes things easier on everyone.

silver-lining thinkers. It takes a certain kind of faith to lend out the kind of money that we do on a daily basis — faith in the ability of others to succeed at their dreams, and faith in our own ability to find silver linings if it doesn’t pan out. When things were bad, many states saw the wisdom in loosening restrictions on remote work, and Wyoming was one of them. As of last month, our state now lets people notarize important documents remotely as long as the process conforms to the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act. This change is a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic; it would not have occurred otherwise. Despite those unprecedented circumstances, the new laws are allowing us to introduce the thing that we really like. Notarization can still happen in person, of course, but now it can also happen via Remote Online Notarizations as well as through Remote Ink Notarizations. And if you do business with us, you’ll have access to both. If I was trying to improve our efficiency as a company, I can’t think of a better option than this. No more making our brokers wait for the mail, or doing the same ourselves. No more wrangling

the right people at the right time once documents arrive. We can cut down on the number of things you have to keep track of, and we can cut the time it takes to notarize documents from days or even weeks down to five minutes . You won’t even have to find a local notary — we can set up a remote meeting with one of our team members in a few minutes. We’ve been hard at work training for the new processes, and this month the work pays off, which means it’s on to the next training (you can read about that inside this newsletter). What can we say? Hard work is just part of our culture. If you have questions about how this will work, please reach out to us. And if you’re worried we’re leaving behind the physical notarization option, don’t be — for those who want to keep things traditional, we’re happy to accommodate. At CHB, we just see that the world is moving on and catching up to some good ideas in the process.

For me, it’s the silver lining to a bad period in time. I’ve got my eye out for more.

This is silver-lining thinking, without a doubt, and I find that people in our industry tend to be

307-322-2545 –Kit West

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IT’S TIME TO DIVERSIFY YOUR BANKING! 5 REASONS NOT TO KEEP ALL OF YOUR MONEY IN ONE PLACE

You’ve probably heard the expression, “Don’t put all of your eggs in one basket.” But what about “Don’t put all of your dollars in one bank”? Banking at a single institution is the default for most people, but just because something is the typical strategy doesn’t mean it’s the best one for you! Here are five reasons to consider taking the road less traveled. 1. Different banks have different perks. Credit unions are member-run nonprofits and often don’t have minimum balance requirements. Traditional banks have cutting-edge financial technology and more loan options. Some banks offer high-yield checking accounts while others don’t, and online banks can have interest rates on savings accounts up to 15 times higher than brick-and-mortars. By banking with more than one institution, you can get the best of both (or three!) worlds. 2. You’ll have a backup if one bank fails. According to Bankrate, 511 U.S. banks failed between 2009 and 2020. That’s not nothing! If your bank isn’t insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (FDIC) and it fails, you could lose your entire balance, so diversifying your accounts (or choosing only FDIC-insured banks) is a good backup measure. 3. You can make sure ALL of your money is insured. The FDIC only covers up to $250,000 per depositor, per bank. So, if you have high-value accounts, depositing with multiple banks can ensure all of your money is covered.

4. The more accounts you have, the more withdrawals you can make penalty-free. Many money market and savings accounts have limits on how many times you can pull money out each month. If you bank with several institutions, you can make a few withdrawals from each of them, stay under the limits, and avoid fees. 5. You’ll have access to more banks and ATMs. Do you travel across your city, state, or the country regularly? If you do, it can be beneficial to bank with several institutions so you’re always close to an ATM or bank branch. For example, you may want to use a local credit union at home for the member benefits but bank with a national bank for out-of-state emergencies.

Why Does the ‘quip’ Toothbrush Really Work?

Inventing a New Design After seeing the sleek, modern design of a quip toothbrush, it won’t surprise you that two industrial designers invented it. Co-founder and CEO Simon Enever got the idea for quip toothbrushes in 2012 after a visit to the dentist in Queens, New York. His dentist mentioned that, despite electric toothbrushes working so well, people still didn’t use them enough. That day, Enever called Bill May — who’d worked for Lifetime Brands like Farberware and KitchenAid — and they started working on the company and product idea. But how do you break into a market dominated by two corporate brands? Existing electric toothbrushes worked great. But Enever, like most Americans, just couldn’t find one he wanted to use. The toothbrushes were heavy, the charging stands were clumsy, and the brush itself often felt too big, too small, or too oddly shaped.

Have you seen a toothbrush that’s always showing up in Facebook ads? If you don’t have one already, it might surprise you that quip, the company that invented it, currently has a net worth of over $1.14 billion. How did they get there? Unlike most consumer product companies, quip didn’t start with a product first. They focused on a problem first: People weren’t brushing, changing brush heads, or flossing nearly enough. Using those shortcomings as a starting point, they began to revolutionize the dental product industry.

toothbrushes had while keeping the most useful features, like a buzzing timer. That led to the signature, simplistic, and familiar quip toothbrush design we know today. Creating a Worldwide Trend With a competitive, affordable price ($25) and subscription service, quip makes it easy for users to stay on top of their oral health. Quip also works directly with dentists, who offer patients free quip subscriptions if they come in for six-month checkups. With quip’s sleek, light, and convenient design, and even a Bluetooth app for tracking and rewarding customers with healthy brushing habits, it’s no wonder quip toothbrushes are a worldwide success. Enever and May’s innovation wasn’t really in the toothbrush itself, but the way they envisioned how a toothbrush can encourage people to keep brushing. We think it’s safe to assume that many other dental brands, even other health-focused brands, will take inspiration from this approach.

From there, Enever and May stripped down many expensive, unnecessary features that

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CHBEF.COM

This time of year, you’ll hear about slow, lazy summers — the “dog days,” if you will. But around here, CHB is heating up with the weather, and we’re likely to stay hot until hunting season rolls around in the fall. Chief on our August calendar is staff training. We talked in the cover article about the capabilities of our remote notarization setup, but that’s not the only new tech that has us excited this month. We’re also switching over from using Core Director to handle our back-end processes and automation to having all of that handled by the SilverLake system instead. It’s a big shift, but a necessary one. In addition to a wide host of features that Core Director simply didn’t offer, SilverLake’s approach is sufficiently different to warrant the switch. Nothing Lazy About Summer Here

SUMMER VEGETABLE GREEK SALAD

INGREDIENTS

For the vinaigrette: • 2 tbsp red wine vinegar

For the salad: • 1 head romaine lettuce, chopped • 1 cup grape tomatoes, halved • 1 small cucumber, seeded and chopped • 1 cup yellow bell pepper, chopped • 1/4 cup red onion, finely chopped • 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped • 1/4 cup Kalamata olives, pitted and halved • 1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled • Optional protein choices: 1 cup cooked chickpeas or 6 oz Genoa salami

• 1 tsp Dijon mustard • 1 garlic clove, minced • 1 tsp dried oregano • 1/2 tsp honey • 1/2 tsp salt • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

DIRECTIONS

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together vinegar, mustard, garlic, oregano, honey, and salt. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil, whisking until well combined. 2. In a large serving bowl, toss together the romaine lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, bell pepper, red onion, parsley, olives, and feta (as well as the chickpeas or salami, if desired). 3. If you plan to serve all the salad at once, drizzle the dressing over the salad to lightly coat, then toss to combine. Otherwise, store the vinaigrette and salad separately, then dress each portion before serving.

Our people are training this

month for four long days so we can be ready for the SilverLake rollout in

Inspired by CookieAndKate.com

September, but many are already familiar with SilverLake. We’re excited for the new

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