THE POWER OF ONE

One is not the loneliest number.  There are so many experiences in our life that leaves us with a feeling that one is not enough so why do it in the first place.  Like… One potato chip, or one bite of banana cream pie…not possible.  Or a one minute massage…torture.  Or one minute with someone you love.  I don’t think so.  We are often left wanting more, or feeling ineffective.

On a more serious note, most of us have spent most of our lives working very hard, feeling the demands of our financial obligations,  feeling powerless to the economic recession, and to the affect of government on our daily lives. It feels as though we cannot have an impact or effect positive change, and that we are at the mercy to the powers that be.

We cannot do anything about the things we do not know but we can have more control and influence over the things we are aware of.  A rose garden begins with one seed.  Winning a race begins with one step.  A degree begins with reading the first page of a textbook.    And one dollar can launch a crowd funding campaign that allows an important  idea be born, and develop into something that can impact and improve our world. 

Early in the development of the Ember Deflector (“ED”), our team sometimes felt ineffective to help the public understand that there was a very important need out there that most people were unaware of, including the inventors wife.  With the power of passion in our beliefs, social media, and our tenacious team never stopping no matter how we were feeling  🙂 , in 3 months we grew our  following beyond our expectations.

People are now beginning to understand the importance of this product to providing peace of mind if wildfire threatens their home.  Every one of you is important, and cumulatively can have a monumental impact in getting this product on homes, and in saving lives, property, and the environment.

It began with Ed, and now our FB team is 870 plus…Please join our team, and help make a difference  ww.facebook.com/ emberdeflector.com.2.

There are several ways you can help….

You can contribute and/or spread the word through email, LinkedIn,  twitter, Google+, and Facebook by clicking on our crowdfunding link at:    igg.me/at/emberdeflector

To show our appreciation, just by sharing you will be in the running to win an iPad mini.

Thank you!

 

What Firefighters Know About Protecting Your Home From Wildfires!

The air vents, all over your house, are an open invitation to fire!     Here is the secret that most of us don’t know: The majority of homes that burn in a wildfire do not burn as a result of direct contact with the big wall of fire! The majority of homes during fires are a direct result of red hot flying embers entering into your home through air vents located all over the house!  Flying embers are the biggest problem! Embers carried by wind from up to a mile from your home can drop like fiery, charcoal briquettes onto your roof, into leaf filled gutters, and onto plants and wooden mulch around your house and start these items on fire! The worst invaders, however, are the small flying embers that the air vents suck into your attic and set the house on fire from the inside. Savable Homes Firefighting resources are stretched thin, especially when there are multiple fires going on. Firefighters are forced to make decisions quickly when fighting fires as to what can be saved. When they see smoke coming out of the vents of your home it is already too late to save the house. The house will be consumed by fire before firefighters can set up their equipment and begin fighting the fire.  It is “un-savable.” How to Strengthen Your Home Against Fires.      

 

A savable home has a stucco exterior (or other fire resistance material). A class “A” or better (metal) roof. The home owner has practiced the “No Touch Rule” of Defensible Space. No branches over or touching the roof or walls. No vines or plants attached to or rubbing against the walls. No wooden mulch leading like a candle wick up to the bottom of the walls. Adding vent protection, such as the Ember Deflector System, that covers vents protecting them from embers, fire and smoke intrusion. Homeowners that take these steps give their home a fighting chance against wildfires, smoke and other destructive forces. You never know when fire will strike, so you must be prepared. Why Vents on Homes? During the housing boom after World War Two, Civil Engineers working for city municipalities wrestled with the best idea to ventilate the attic space that’s created when you build a roof that has a peak (or multiple peaks). They knew that if you did not allow this area to breathe that temperature and moisture extremes, in the enclosed space, would cause wooden beams holding up the roof to prematurely, and often, catastrophically fail. It was decided that, because hot air rises, if you cut some holes in one low spot (the eave area) and put some holes higher on the roof, the hot air would flow out. Cool, fresh air would get sucked in thru the eave or soffit vents. All of this without fan motors. Free! Or so they thought. A Price to Pay The cost paid for this idea is measured in the amount of homes lost to fiery embers sucked into attics and destroying the home. Until recently, most people thought it was the big wall of fire staring in all of the video feeds we see of wildfires.  The majority of homes are lost due to embers penetrating vents into the attic and start fires that destroy the home. Compare these pictures with your house to see which style of vents you have: (Got pictures of vents (or, what you think are vents, but aren’t sure) not shown here? We can help. Send photos to: info.EmberDeflector@gmail.com) The first three photos above are examples of eave ventilation and the fourth is soffit ventilation, also located in the eaves of the home. These vents are the “Inhale” side of the attic breathing. The primary purpose of vents is to regulate temperature and moisture in the attic space. The next group of vent photos belongs on the “Exhale” side of attic breathing. They are located higher on the roof. From left to right: A gable end vent, an “eyebrow” dormer vent, a flat dormer vent and a style of ridge vents. How to Know if You Need Vent Protection?

1. Do you live in an area that is suffering from drought and there are lots of trees, shrubs and grasses around?
2. Did your insurance company charge you more for your insurance based on the fire severity zone you live in?
3. Do you know what fire severity zone you live in?
4. Do you live at the top of a slope?
5. Do you live along the ridge of a canyon?
6. The last time there was fire nearby you could you smell smoke in your home with the windows closed and the A/C on?

If you answered “Yes” to any one of these questions and, you have some combination of the vents shown above, you need vent protection. Why do We Say that “We Protect the Environment” The smoke released by grasses, shrubs and trees is quite dangerous, especially for the elderly, the young, and folks with respiratory issues. As bad as it is, the smoke release by a home fire can be hundreds of times worse. Homes contain chemicals, plastics and a considerate amount of lumber in a small space. Once of fire, these things combine in the smoke plume and are deposited down-wind. These oily deposits land on materials making it easier to start additional fires. Stopping homes from burning interrupts this chain of events. Video Testimonial : This video is a moving testimonial by a close friend, Zac Sestina. The 2007 Ramona fire, near San Diego, totally consumed his home and is believed to have been started by flying embers. He and his family thought they were safe from a wildfire that was burning in the canyons far from their home.  Thinking that the fire wouldn’t affect them, Zac and his family went to bed. Fortunately, Zac’s three year old daughter woke him in the middle of the night saying: “Daddy, there is a noise in the back yard”. Getting up, Zac saw light outside and thinking it was morning he opened the drapes. In horror, he saw a 20 foot wall of fire behind his home! He and his wife grabbed the children, the pets and a valuable document file folder and escaped their home with only the clothes on their backs. They were the only ones left on their block…all the neighbors had long since evacuated. “If it hadn’t been for my daughter’s warning we could have all been a horrible fire statistic.” Always be prepared You never know when fire will strike! We deeply appreciate our friend recalling and sharing his painful story. His message, like ours is that preparation goes a long way in protecting lives, property, and the environment. Indiegogo Campaign with VIDEO of ZAC Please visit our Crowd Funding campaign on Indiegogo.com at:   igg.me/at/emberdeflector and contribute to this worthy cause. Don’t know what Crowd Funding is? Check out our “What The Heck Is Crowd Funding” blog at: Like us on Facebook at:

What the Heck Is Crowd Funding – Part 2 The New Frontier

As I have ventured into a New Frontier of raising money for our business – called crowdfunding, I have encountered many respected individuals who were concerned that somehow we would land in jail, or at the very least get in trouble with the SEC/IRS.   None of us building a business wants to get into trouble.  We want to have a chance to have success with our innovation…our passion, and do it legally.   We want the opportunity to launch an important product, creative idea, or charitable cause into the public with the hope of bettering our world in some way.

Crowdfunding goes back much further than ever I imagined.   Did you know that if Joseph Pulitzer, in 1884, had not run an appeal to raise money, in his newspaper, the New York World, he would not have raised the $100,000 needed to complete the pedestal for the Statue of Liberty?  The American Committee for the Statue of Liberty had run out of money. Can you imagine not having the Statue of Liberty, one our most treasured symbols of freedom and liberty.  That is the power of crowd funding.  It is the power of the cumulative many.  With the support of 125,000 people, the Statue of Liberty now stands

Our country is built on the courage of our ancestor taking momentous risks, forging the unknown to improve the lives of themselves and future generations.   Crowdfunding is one ingenious solution to a seemingly hopeless situation many of us find ourselves in….a struggling economy that makes it nearly impossible to launch a new idea.  Glass half full or half empty…your choice.   It is so easy to feel defeated, but we do have options that empower us to success.

Like anything new, it is hard not to be cautious/suspicious.   Frankly, due diligence is a critical part of any good business.  So, I did a bit of research on the history, and current conditions of crowdfunding.   I began to reinvent the wheel….stopped myself, and said why  J.   Here are some wonderful links that will illuminate and educate you on the history, and the current status of crowdfunding.  We are committed to keeping you updated on the advancements in policy.

Our Link:   igg.me/at/emberdeflector

Fun videos illustrating the history and benefits of CF:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdHj8_JK47s

http://laughingsquid.com/a-brief-exploration-of-the-history-behind-the-crowdfunding-platform-kickstarter/

Informational links:

http://socialmediaweek.org/blog/2011/12/a-social-history-of-crowdfunding/

http://www.fundable.com/crowdfunding101/history-of-crowdfunding

Views on Title III “Crowdfunding”, SEC Regulations: Kim Wales

http://www.giveforward.com/p/crowdfunding/crowd-funding-websites

http://www.crowdfundingworldsummit.com/crowdfunding/

 

What the Heck is Crowd Funding CF?

Here are some simple facts about crowd funding:

1.    Every person can have an impact on an important cause with whatever amount of  money they can afford

2.    Lots of small contributions can lead to a huge impact.

3.    It brings awareness to the arts, important causes and inventions that would not make it to be… without CF.

4.    It gives the opportunity to turn someone’s dream and hard work into a reality.

Like so many great ideas they often go up in a puff of smoke due to the lack of funding.  My husband Jim began creating Ember Deflector Systems (EDS) 7 years ago.

Our close friends, who knew a lot more about social media than we did, saw that we were working hard to get EDS off the ground.   We were doing this through the use of our own money,  and with the support of a few friends/investors who came to the table and really believed in what we were doing.  It was with their support that really helped us in the early stages.  It was then that our friends told us we should consider Crowd Funding/Crowd Sourcing to help us get to the next level of development.

At first, I was clueless, and resistant to the idea.   I wasn’t sure why….but with a little thought I realized we all get so inundated with solicitations that we automatically get suspicious, and tune them out.   We are on “offers overload.”

It was the plea, from a colleague of mine, to support the brother of Chelsea King, who needed financial support for his CF campaign that opened my eyes. I began to see the power of reaching out to one’s community for contributions of any size to help a worthy cause.   Cumulatively these contributions had the power to make a huge difference.   Up until now raising money required presenting to venture capitalists, banks, or using one’s own resources.

Crowd Funding is actually very simple. Go to a reputable CF site…check out their campaigns (or more specifically your friends campaign  🙂 …read all about it, and if you deem it worthwhile, contribute any amount at all and become part of the team that supported someone’s dream to actually become a reality.

It’s normal for people to get cautious with new ideas, especially when they are being asked to contribute their money. With CF, as more and more people understand the importance of an idea and contribute, the more it raises confidence in others to do the same.  As people contribute, no matter how small or large, it creates traction and movement. It’s that amazing energy and the power of numbers that leads to a successful campaign.
I cannot even imagine the amount of ideas that have never come to be because they did not have the funds to support their cause…or the ideas that big business scooped up because they did have the money.  How many of your ideas never came to be because you didn’t have the resources to make them happen?   I can think of at least 10 off the top of my head.

I love the idea of being able to make a difference.   Since developing our own campaign, over the last two months, I have become acutely aware of what an important platform this is for raising capital so that inventions and ideas have a fighting chance of making it.  I myself have contributed to 3 campaigns over the past 2 months and will continue to.

I hope this helps you to understand a bit more about CF.  I feel so fortunate that we live in a time where technology affords us this level of influence. You can find our campaign at igg.me/at/emberdeflector as well as many other amazing campaigns.  Three of the top CF websites I would recommend are:

Indiegogo

Kickstarter

Gofundme

With Gratitude

Consfusion

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