Never thought I'd do this....

Never in a million years would I have thought I'd agree to do this, but.....this morning, RHD agreed to become the corporate sponsor of the Miss TJLA Pageant!

Yes, anyone knows me (Rachel) is probably thinking...what? I don't wear a lot of makeup. I don't wear fancy dresses. I sure as heck can't walk in high heals and despite my best efforts, I cannot tease my hair. One time in my life (1995) I DID run for the junior Brahman queen, but ripped off my contestant sash while showing because it was spooking my heifer and I wanted to win grand champion heifer way more than I cared about wearing my queen sash. This resulting in my losing points for not "wearing my sash at all times"....thus resulting in me getting the dreaded 1st runner up position. Of course I was disappointed at that night, but in the grand scheme of my life, it didn't turn out to be that big of a deal.

But this morning, my perspective changed thanks to a very nice email I received from Kylie Patterson, who is one of the TJLA directors.....

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Ms. Williams,


Howdy, my name is Kylie Patterson and I am a TJLA Jr. Director. I know that growing up you were highly involved in the TJLA, Brahman, Shorthorn and FFA. Even today, you still work to support our livestock youth. (SEE COMMENT #1 BELOW)

I would like the opportunity to discuss sponsoring the Miss TJLA Queens Pageant. This pageant teaches young ladies to work hard, be dedicated, develop speaking skills, as well as present themselves with self confidence. However, this contest also teaches today's youth to become an ambassador, role model, and spokes person for not only our organization, but agriculture in general. The TJLA Sweetheart, Princess, and Queen are more than just a pretty face, big hair, and sweet smile. The TJLA Royalty consists of girls who are not afraid to work.  (SEE COMMENT #2)

I feel this would be an excellent promotional opportunity for Ranch House Design - since you are the essence of what many of these young ladies aspire to be. (SEE COMMENT 3).
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There was more to Kylie's letter, but I have to say, I was just in a state of total admiration when I read this letter from this young lady. I've never met her, and probably never will, but I'll tell you, I'm a fan of Kylie Patterson!

COMMENT #1.  This girl did her homework! I HATE it when I get form letters of any type, either in a solicitation or thank you note. We just finished up our local fair and we are getting quite a few thank yous from kids around town that we supported. It really burns me up when I donate $ to a kids premium auction project then they can't even take the time to write Dear Rachel instead of Dear Buyer. So obviously Kylie is a young lady who took the time to at least learn something about me and make it personal. Already into this letter I'm thinking....WOW, this girl is smart!!

COMMENT #2.  This is the selling point that gets me.....how she says the TJLA queens aren't just pretty faces, they are girls that know how to work! Now that's the kind of girl I love! I'm all about looking good when necessary but a very important trait I respect in a person is someone who works hard. Lazyness and sitting around while someone else does things for you doesn't get too far with me.

COMMENT #3.  Of course anytime you are trying to solicit a donation, a little flattery goes a long way ha ha. But, seriously, I do hope that all of the ladies at RHD can be role models to other young professional women. That's what we try to be, and believe me, we think about this in every action that we do. I never thought that when I was a 20 year old doing a few web sites from my college bedroom that RHD would be what it is today. But with a dream, a little confidence and a LOT of work....you can achieve anything you set your heart on!

So, wow, RHD is now officially the sponsor of the Miss TJLA Pageant! We're excited! You go girls!!! Everyone of us here at RHD is proud of all of you and we wish you all of the success in the world. Now go start teasing that hair! Good luck at the pageant!

Cattlemen's Pocket Cards

Here's another recent addition to the RHD products....Cattlemen's Pocket Cards.

Now I should back up by saying that these really aren't "NEW"....but we'll call them new because we just started offering them to the public. Prior to today, we were designing them on a limited basis for our special friends and family.

My granddad has been using these pocket cards for probably 50 years, and he can't function on a daily basis without his "Wharton Livestock Auction" pocket card. I bet he uses 1000 a year from Billy Schwertner.

So I started printing some that say V8 Ranch for my dad a while back, and even got all the men on V8 Ranch these as a gift a while back.

Then last week while Travis Pembrook was down making his usual inspection of the V8 Shorthorn herd, he asked me if I would make some for him, since he loves my Dad's cards so much.

So here they are. These cards are black and white, fit perfectly in your front shirt pocket, and are on a heavier card stock type paper so they are great for jotting down notes in the cow pens.

We can do these for $150 for a set of 1000 cards....which should last a while unless you have someone like Sloan Williams who takes your cards. But with that said....these pocket cards make a great promo give-a-way because I promise you cattlemen will use these!

You can personalize the cards with anything you'd like, logo, name, address, phone #, web sites, etc. Call 979-532-9141 or email tricia@ranchhousedesigns.com if you want some.

Stickers

We're always on the lookout for new services we can offer our clients to help give their businesses the extra edge over others. Here is one of our products...STICKERS! These are great for all kinds of projects, and they are VERY affordable and come in bulk.

We can do all kinds of sizes depending on how big or small you need the stickers to be. If you have a retail business that does a lot of shipping -- you need some stickers! This little touch adds a lot of pizzazz to your gift wrapping....just wrap your products in colorful tissue paper then fasten with a sticker like this and you're looking good.

These stickers are also great for things like product labels, wine labels, decals and more. There is no limit to our imagination so let us help you do something cool.

As always if you'd like some info on this, just email our lovely project manager, tricia@ranchhousedesigns.com or our "retail product specialist" Christa - christa@ranchhousedesigns.com.

May 2011 Web Updates Report

Another busy month here at RHD for the web updates team! Last month we completed 379 total web updates for our customers. Of those, 85% of the updates were done with SAME DAY SERVICE. Our average turnaround time for web updates this month was 1 hour.

Every time a potential new web site client calls they always ask how we do it! Customer service is our top priority. We know how exciting it is when you get those new pictures or have news to share on your web site and that is why we make updating our customers web sites in a timely manner our highest priority.

If you've been thinking of getting us to do a web site, give us a call! 979-532-9141.

Online Shopping Galore!

This week we have done more shopping carts in one week than we've done in 10 years. You probably have noticed the new cart for Matt Lautner, which is to our knowledge the first individual person in the club calf business to offer online ordering. (We weren't counting semen distributor businesses like SEK, Cattle Visions, etc....they've had online ordering for quite a while). Matt's store can be seen at http://mattlautnercattle.mybigcommerce.com/

Today we also launced a new online store for Top Sires.... http://topsires.mybigcommerce.com/

We also created our own store: http://ranchhousedesigns.mybigcommerce.com/

Several of our clients have been utilizing online stores for quite some time. Our most popular one would have to be Southern Jewlz.... http://southernjewlz.mybigcommerce.com/

We also have a few other storesin the works that should be up by next week. So check it out! If we can help you with an online store, give us a call. It's easy and fast. Plus, if you already have access to accepting credit cards online like through PayPal or Authorize.net, we can have your cart up on 1 day!

By Appointment Only

You might notice that we have changed our hours of operation to say that our office visits are by appointment only now. Before all of our critics who like to say we don't take phone calls take it a step further and now say we don't take office visits....I thought we should say why we're operating by appointment only now.

Ever heard the song "In the Ghetto?"

Despite the fact that Wharton, Texas is like one of your sweetest down home towns you'll ever find, we have recently had some problems with vandalism and hood rats. Christa had a  big scare a few months ago when someone busted in her office door that stays locked all the time. Then we had a homeless person sleeping behind our office. If you check our facebook you know that we had another homeless person using the restroom in our flower bed. Then last night we had an attempted burglary.

Thank goodness for ADT Security. Scared the perpetrator off before he stole anything.

Anyway, we are more than happy to have people visit our office, but for a while, we're going to keep our doors locked during the day too, just to be safe. So just give us a call at 979-532-9141 anytime and we'll be happy to come unlock the door for you.

Davis Real Estate Services

If you’re in the market for real estate in Texas, visit our new client’s web site, Davis Real Estate Services in Bryan, Texas.

Owner Weldon Davis opened his office in 1990 and helps Texans locate and buy tax lien properties across the state. For more than 20 years, their competitive prices and overall value have kept their customers coming back.

Weldon was a pleasure to work with and very appreciative of the work Ranch House Designs completed on his behalf. He shared these comments with our staff:

“I want to thank everyone for their patience with me calling and asking a myriad of questions regarding this website. Your professionalism, knowledge and outstanding customer service has won me over.  I will recommend your company to other small businesses.  Thank you does not seem to be enough, but it is meant with all sincerity.”

 If you’re in the market for real estate in Texas, give Davis Real Estate Services a call.

Stall Sign orders for Jr. Nationals

Have you noticed that RHD now offers stall signs and pedigree signs for your showstring? We started offering this in 2011 and so far this year we have done over 300 signs! The signs are affordably priced and are custom designed for you. For example, we can include your signature colors or logo like this one we did for Purple Reign Cattle....

Or, these we did for Oden Ranch...

We can also do special signs for ag chapters and 4-H show teams like this one for Boling FFA....

All of the signs above are the permanent signs that can be used for the entire life of your show animal...then after they are done you can hang them in your barns, in your office, etc. They are weather resistant and last a lifetime.

But, if you prefer the write on signs, we can do those too. Here is an example of a dry erase sign we made for Ganadera El Rosario. The signs are dry erase and they can re-use them over and over again...

So for everyone who's planning on going to Junior Nationals this summer or taking a big showstring to their state fair, give us a call. The signs start out at $30 per sign but the pricing gets cheaper if you order multiple signs. We can also do end panels and vinyl banners too. We'll need the Junior National sign orders by around June 1 for most of the shows, but can take them later for the shows held at the end of the summer.

Call us at 979-532-9141 or e-mail staceyf@ranchhousedesigns.com for more info.

Tell us w hat you think!

We have recently created a survey to ask our friends and clients on their opinion of RHD's products and services. So whether you are a current customer, or just someone who knows of RHD, we invite you to spend a few minutes and share your thoughts and opinions on RHD with us.

Take the survey here...
http://survey.constantcontact.com/survey/a07e3qc08k0gmpbl713/start

Club Calf Special

Each year during this time we offer our "Club Calf Special" package which is a one-stop package designed for club calf producers or traders who are gearing up for summer and fall sales. Originally started by us like 10 years ago, there are tons of breeders who have used the Club Calf Special to jump start their advertising program and put their programs on the map in an affordable and easy way.

Here's the Club Calf Special:
-3 page web site design and maintenance for 1 year. Most club calf people use their 3 pages to be a home page, sale page, and winners page.
-1 page ad design, which most people use for their ad in the August Show Circuit
-Logo design
-250 business cards
-1 e-mail blast to promote your fall sale

The package deal is a flat rate of $1,000. If you purchased all of these individually the cost would be nearly $2,000 but since we can do all of the projects in conjunction with each other, we offer this special price.

This price is only valid for a limited time, and you do have to get your materials to us in a timely manner so we can start working on everything. So if you're ready to get started, e-mail tricia@ranchhousedesigns.com and let us get your projects going!