Problem Solved

Ryan IS a problem solver.  It's his gift, his talent, his God-given ability.  It's THIS character trait that obviously makes him very good at his job.

I didn't always realize that his problem-solving ability was what made him so successful at work.  I attributed his success to intellect, charm, and hard work, to name a few.   But lucky for me, his problem-solving talent comes in handy in his {our} personal life as well.

Let me share with you how his gift was revealed to me...

It was 2004 and we were about to be married.  We were busy packing, planning, and organizing--not only for our wedding but for our California honeymoon that would follow.  We lived in Texas and the wedding would be held in New Mexico so we had to make sure nothing was left behind.  Check, check, check---we are good to go, let's do this!

On our journey to New Mexico, we made a pit stop at my parents' home.  As I unpacked everything to spend one evening at their house, I.REALIZED.SOMETHING.AWFUL.

My arm pits were wet, my face was breaking out in a sweat, my heart was pounding, and like the bridezilla that I was, I yelled Where are all of my clothes for the honeymoon?

Naturally, my clothes were exactly where Ryan I left them.  In a suitcase in Texas.

My first immature instinct was to yell at Ryan and blame him for the whole darn predicament.  I would now have nothing only my wedding dress to wear as we cruised Pacific Coast Highway.  I know that my reaction to this incident gave him cause to reconsider asking me to be his bride.

Well, fortunately I didn't worry about it for too long.  I was excited about the wedding and I was truly excited about the man I was marrying.  The wedding went great and the next day we headed off to jump on a plane to LAX.

When we arrived at the Fairmont in Santa Monica, I checked in and the hotel attendant presented me with a very special "gift."  It was a big box wrapped in brown packaging, and I was curious as to who sent us a wedding gift TO OUR HOTEL?  Ryan encouraged me to open the gift and as I ripped open the box, I discovered all of my honeymoon clothes neatly folded and ready to wear!

I looked questioningly at Ryan, who explained that he had overnighted our house key to a friend in Texas, who then went over to our house and grabbed all of my clothes.  The friend then used Ryan's FedEx account to send them directly to our hotel.

Looking back now, it seems like such an easy obvious solution, but at the time, it felt like a miracle for him to pull off this feat: my honeymoon clothes were indeed going to be worn on the honeymoon!

Ryan continues to build on his problem solving skills and I'm proud to say that he is as creative as ever at making solutions, both personally and professionally.  I share this story with you today to make you aware of his talents and let you know that his problem-solving abilities are well-utilized on each and every loan that he does.  If you want someone who can make things happen and work hard to make your loan experience successful, you've come to the right place!

2004

The Creative Process Behind the Logo

Although we've had our new logo for about three weeks now, we just unveiled it this past week.  We've received A LOT of positive feedback, and so we want to share the making of the logo.

We hired THE GREAT Rob Shiflet @ Tailfish Solutions to curate a logo that was reflective of who we are.

Ryan really didn't have any specifics to give him, so he only made suggestions on what he thought we would both like:

• Ryan liked the idea of a "G" (representing our last name and obviously the corresponding company name).
• Ryan also had the idea of somehow incorporating a crown with the "G". This was a nod to me, because my maiden name is King, and I loved the crown idea because of another meaning: we are the son and daughter of The King.  (My mom also pointed out that Ryan is the "king" of my "castle.")
• Ryan hoped that whatever Rob made would reflect the industry that we are in.

Being the creative genius that he is, Rob hit a home run and conceived a rustic skeleton key that incorporated all of the above elements.   A skeleton key is generally used to mean an antique key; however the term skeleton key derives from the fact that the key has been reduced to its essential parts.   

Here are the essential parts of our skeleton key:

• The key symbolizes opening a house, which our clients do shortly after they receive their loan from us.  
• The bow (top) of the key is in the shape of a "G."
• The shank of the key has grooves/bits that establish a crown.

We are so very happy with the finished work that Tailfish Solutions has done for us!  Thanks to all of you for your support and compliments!