Thursday, November 20, 2008

Fun Photo Guys Named Greenest Home-Based Business by StartupNation


Fun Photo Guys has been named as the #1 Greenest business in the 2008 StartupNation Home-Based 100 competition

Fun Photo Guys, a professional photography company, has been recognized by StartupNation as the top Greenest business in its annual Home-Based 100 competition.

The StartupNation Home-Based 100 Competition celebrates America’s most outstanding home-based businesses and the people behind them by ranking top performers among the nation’s often-unrecognized home-based businesses. Organized into 10 categories such as Most Innovative, Greenest and Boomers Back in Business, the Home-Based 100 celebrates the innovative, nimble and resourceful home-based entrepreneurs who have gone largely unrecognized. The full results of the Home-Based 100 ranking are available on StartupNation’s website at http://www.StartupNation.com/homebased100.

About the Winner (from StartupNation’s website)
Just another photographer? Not exactly. More like an evangelist. Kevin Slovick is an agent of change and earned top spot in our Top Ten Greenest for 2008.

Fun Photo Guys was founded with a partner in 2006 and sources markets and delivers eco-friendly professional photography services. But Slovick's impact goes way beyond responsible 2D memories. He has made a mission (and brand) out of helping other entrepreneurs understand how to make sustainability a normal--or better yet preferred--course of business.

Slovick uses any extra hours of the day to contribute written content to StartupNation.com (see 9 Steps To Green Your Business). He also deliberately became a Bay Area Certified Green business to ensure that Fun Photo Guys would act as a beacon to educate and inspire other businesses on how to become green. Slovick gives talks has been a green business panelist and is the Chairman of the local Chamber of Commerce Green Business Committee encouraging local businesses to adopt green business practices. His efforts have helped many businesses go green locally and throughout the country.

With his family and community in mind Kevin has committed to using green technologies and renewable resources in both his business and personal life but has created a much bigger impact by inspiring so many others to become aware and act and work more sustainably. And that's why he's our winner.

SOURCE: StartupNation.com


The judges’ decision was made based on three factors:
• How well the business fit the category
• The quality and completeness of the entry, the description and the case made for it, including the passion, achievements, creativity and integrity.
• The popularity of the entry based on number votes received. The number of votes accumulated by contestants had a big influence on the opinions of the judges. Popular voting remained open up through October 31, 2008. StartupNation and a panel of judges who are each passionate about home-based business deliberated over the best of the best.

In addition to StartupNation staff, judges for this year’s Home Based 100 ranking included Adam Lowry, co-founder of Method Products, Howard Behar, former President of Starbucks North America, John Jantsch, founder of Duct Tape Marketing, Mel Robbins, host of Make It Happen radio show.

According to Kevin Slovick, a company co-founder, being selected as the top winner amongst businesses located throughout the country is a testament to the commitment, dedication, and hard work that has been put into being green.


About Fun Photo Guys®
Fun Photo Guys® provides professional photography services for Weddings, Engagements, Special Events. Fun Photo Guys® has portable studio equipment that can be used for on-location portraits, head shots, group shots, and prom-style photos. The company provides High-Resolution Digital Images to their clients over the Internet, and is Green Business certified by the Bay Area Green Business Program. More information is available at www.FunPhotoGuys.com/Green.htm.

About StartupNation
StartupNation (www.StartupNation.com) provides over 175,000 pages of business advice and networking for entrepreneurs and serves millions of entrepreneurs annually. StartupNation is a free service founded by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs with the intention of providing a one-stop shop for entrepreneurial success, including blogs from a host of experts, podcasts, webcasts, eBooks, award-winning step-by-step advice, and more.

About the Startupnation’s Founders – The Sloan Brothers
StartupNation co-founders and “chief startupologists,” Rich and Jeff Sloan, are two of the country’s leading small business experts and ran their business from home for eight years. The Sloan brothers speak frequently at entrepreneurial forums and act as sources for top media venues nationwide. They are authors of StartupNation: Open for Business, published by Doubleday, and provide their insight online at www.startupnation.com. The Sloan brothers are regularly quoted and featured in media such as The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Fortune Small Business, Entrepreneur Magazine, CNN, CNBC, MSNBC, FOX News and many others.
SOURCE: StartupNation.com


Contestant’s Case to be Considered a Winner
Our mission is to be socially and environmentally responsible in the way we source, market, and deliver professional photography services. We provide eco-friendly digital photography services that reduce the harsh chemicals introduced by film processing and printing.

As a Bay Area Certified Green Business, we use our business as a tool to help others learn how to become green. Our co-founder, Kevin Slovick is a life-long San Francisco Bay Area resident who is committed to helping businesses become greener. He has written several articles and a "Green Paper" entitled 9 Steps to Greening Your Business which was published on StartupNation.com. He gives talks, has been a green business panelist, and is the Chairman of the local Chamber of Commerce Green Business Committee, encouraging local businesses to adopt green business practices. His efforts have helped many businesses locally and throughout the country go green.

Following his passion for photography, Kevin Slovick co-founded Fun Photo Guys® in 2006. Fun Photo Guys is a Certified Bay Area Green Business that focuses on professional digital photography for weddings, engagements, social events, business / family portraits and product shots. With his family and community in mind, Kevin has committed to using green technologies and renewable resources in both his business and personal life.

Fun Photo Guys® is a member of the Bay Area Green Business Program, Co-Op America, Green Chamber of Commerce, Sustainable Business Alliance, Pleasant Hill / San Ramon Chambers of Commerce, and the Tri-Valley Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Kevin believes that we do not inherit the earth from our parents; instead, we are borrowing it from our children.

StartupNation Success Story
After publishing a green business article on startup nation, Cisco/Cbeyond saw the article and contacted Kevin to ask him to be a panelist for their panel discussion: Going Green - What Entrepreneurs Need to Know About Becoming Eco-Friendly. That same week, Kevin was also elected the Chairman of the Pleasant Hill Chamber of Commerce Green Business Committee.



Sunday, October 26, 2008

LIGHTING THE NIGHT TOGETHER

LIGHTING THE NIGHT TOGETHER
Fun Photo Guys® Sponsors The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's 2008 Light The Night Walks




Fun Photo Guys®, a professional photography company based in Pleasant Hill, California, sponsored six Bay Area Light The Night Walks in the Autumn of 2008. Fun Photo Guys provided their portable portrait studio equipment and lighting to take photos of large corporate teams, groups, individuals and candids shots throughout the events. The photos were posted on the Fun Photo Guys® Internet Photo Gallery page immediately following the events.

2008 BAY AREA LIGHT THE NIGHT WALKS
September 27, 2008 - Courthouse Square - Santa Rosa
October 02, 2008 - Justin Herman Plaza - Downtown San Francisco
October 04, 2008 - Palo Alto High School - Palo Alto
October 11, 2008 - Civic Park - Walnut Creek
October 16, 2008 - Oyster Point Marina - South San Francisco
October 25, 2008 - Plaza de Cesar Chavez - San Jose

About Fun Photo Guys®
Fun Photo Guys® provides professional photography services for Weddings, Special Events, and has portable studio equipment that can be used for on-location portraits, head shots, group shots, and prom-style photos. The company provides High-Resolution Digital Images to their clients over the Internet, and is Green Business certified by the Bay Area Green Business Program. More information is available at
www.FunPhotoGuys.com/Green.htm.


About The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s
Light The Night Walks


Since its founding in 1949, LLS has invested more than $600 million for research specifically targeting blood cancers. The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) is the world's largest voluntary health organization dedicated to funding blood cancer research, education and patient services. The mission of LLS is to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families.

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's (LLS) Light The Night Walks are annual events held throughout the Bay Area to raise funds for cures. It’s the nation’s night to pay tribute and bring hope to thousands of patients battling cancer and their families. Funds raised through Light The Night Walks support the work of hundreds of the world’s best and brightest researchers in their search for better therapies and cures for leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma.


SOURCE: LightTheNight.org.

Friday, October 10, 2008

REGISTERED SERVICE MARK

REGISTERED SERVICE MARK
Fun Photo Guys® Receives Official Registered Service Mark from the USPTO


Fun Photo Guys®, a professional photography company based in Pleasant Hill, California, announced today that it was awarded Certificate of Registration number 3507940 from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on September 30, 2008 for its Service Mark, Fun Photo Guys®.

This registration establishes Fun Photo Guys® legal ownership of the name, establishes a brand identity in the marketplace, and demonstrates that Fun Photo Guys® claim to the term is unique, unusual, distinctive, and has been established through consistent long-term use.

The records of the USPTO show that an application for registration of “Fun Photo Guys®” filed in early 2008 was examined and determined to be in compliance with the requirements of the law and with the regulations prescribed by the Director of the USPTO; and that Fun Photo Guys® is entitled to registration of the "Fun Photo Guys®” mark under the Trademark Act of 1946.

Businesses use Service Marks to identify their services and distinguish them from others in their field. Trademarks, by contrast, are used to distinguish competing products, not services. Trademarks are normally affixed to a product by a label; Service Marks are displayed through websites, advertising and promotional materials.

Kevin Slovick, Co-founder, stated “Receiving the Registered Service Mark further solidifies our brand identity and distinguishes us as truly being Fun Photo Guys®”. Kevin added “We have spent a lot of time, money and energy in promoting our name as a company that quickly provides high-quality digital images to our customers. Our registered Service Mark will help to distinguish us from others who might use confusingly similar names, particularly on the Internet.”

About Fun Photo Guys
Fun Photo Guys® provides professional photography services for Weddings, Social Events, and has portable studio equipment that can be used for on-location portraits, head shots, group shots, and prom-style photos. The company provides High-Resolution Digital Images to their clients over the Internet, and is a Green Business certified by the Bay Area Green Business Program. More information is available at
www.FunPhotoGuys.com.

Friday, May 9, 2008

TAKING GREEN A STEP FURTHER

TAKING GREEN A STEP FURTHER
Fun Photo Guys® Green Efforts Continue


When it comes to being a green business and helping other businesses go green, a lot has been going on lately for Fun Photo Guys®, a professional photography company based in Pleasant Hill, California.

Fun Photo Guys® Joins the Green Chamber of Commerce
On May 5th, 2008, Fun Photo Guys® joined the Green Chamber of Commerce, and organization dedicated to helping businesses go green and stay green. The Green Chamber of Commerce promotes the success of businesses committed to environmental and social responsibility.

Kevin Slovick Elected Chairman of the Pleasant Hill Chamber of Commerce Green Committee
On May 5th, 2008, Fun Photo Guys® co-founder, Kevin Slovick, was elected to the position of Chairman of the Pleasant Hill Chamber of Commerce Green Committee. In this position, Kevin is now situated to help promote businesses going green in Pleasant Hill. The Pleasant Hill Chamber of Commerce is dedicated to promoting and meeting local business needs, providing added value to their members, and enhancing the quality of life within the community. The Green Committee stimulates local businesses and the community to adopt green practices.

Fun Photo Guys® Co-founder, Kevin Slovick, Chosen to be a Green Business Panelist
On Thursday May 15, 2008, Cisco Systems and Cbeyond co-hosted an event for small business entrepreneurs. Kevin Slovick was invited to participate in a networking breakfast and panel discussion featuring experts in developing eco-friendly business practices. More information on this event can be found online at:
http://www.cbeyond.net/landing/sf.htm

Fun Photo Guys Interviewed by the San Francisco Chronicle
On May 7, 2008, Fun Photo Guys® co-founder, Kevin Slovick was interviewed by Ilana DeBare, a Small Business Staff Writer from the San Francisco Chronicle. She is writing an article on small businesses that are going green. Keep an eye out for the article coming soon to the SF Chronicle.


Fun Photo Guys® provides professional photography services for Weddings, Special Events, and has portable studio equipment that can be used for on-location portraits, head shots, group shots, and prom-style photos. The company provides High-Resolution Digital Images to their clients over the Internet, and is Green Business certified by the Bay Area Green Business Program. More information is available at
www.FunPhotoGuys.com/Green.htm.