Heart & Dash cofounders Sarah Kudlack and Sarah Zero on the benefits of teaming up

How can you make work and life a bit easier to deal with on a day-to-day basis? For Heart & Dash cofounders Sarah Kudlack and Sarah Zero, the first step was collaboration.
The second? Permanently merging companies. The result was an organic and symbiotic business model.
Formerly two separate companies (Jackalope Heart catered to business clients and Juniper & Dash handled wedding planning), Heart & Dash now offers the full wedding gamut. On the business end, the company offers branding and social media services, consulting and photography. For wedding clients, the company handles everything from design and logistics to coordinating and planning.
Together, Heart & Dash can pull off weddings like this:

(Photo by Alexandra Whitney Photography)

Read on to find out how fruitful the collaboration has been — not just for their business, but for their lives.

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What’s the first thing you do every day before doing any job-related work?
Kudlack: I’m a huge smoothie fan and have a very dedicated morning ritual when it comes to smoothies. My husband makes fun of me for my “smoothie OCD” but there is something about getting up in the morning, having a process, and know when it’s completed you’re ready to take on the day.
Zero: The last time my mom visited, she taught me this little mantra to get my days started in a productive way: Let your machines work for you. So the first thing I do when I wake up is throw in a load of wash or a load of dishes. It’s not glamorous, but it makes me feel accomplished that they’re working for me while I have breakfast and my cup of green tea.
How often do you check your email, and do you use any program to get to ‘Inbox Zero’?
Kudlack: We are big Google fans. I used to use Microsoft Outlook, but with our new business email I’ve really been loving how easily I can organize and color-code things within Gmail. Now about getting my inbox to zero … you’d think that as someone who thrives on organization that I’d always want it to be empty. But I have a very strict rule that nothing gets moved out of my inbox until it is completely taken care of. So for some wedding-related projects there are email chains that can last for months, and those don’t get moved until they’re completely resolved.
Zero: Yep — Gmail for email and Asana for task management. Definitely a fan of the inbox zero method, though I have to confess I’ve never read the whole Getting Things Done book because the dang book is so motivating that I can’t stay put once I start reading it.
When you need to take a break, what are you turning to?
Kudlack: A walk around the block with our pups, making a yummy lunch, an Instagram check-in, talking about a good movie…
Zero: Gardening, a hike, an old season of Survivor, a new level in Alto’s Adventure.
What’s your gear?
Kudlack: MacBook Pro. Bluetooth earpiece (a must for a planner). Bose SoundLink to play music.
Zero: MacBook Pro with Adobe Creative Suite. A Canon T3i for portfolio shots and a dash of client photography. An iPhone for social media photography. Apple AirPlay for music.
What’s one way in which you believe your day-to-day work is better now than it has been? Is there something you do now (or don’t do) that you didn’t do before (or did) that has made a big difference?
Kudlack: Before we joined up, it was the solo life. Now, having a partner to validate concerns, double-check presentations, tell you you’re worth more than what you’ve been charging, remind you it’s time to pause and eat has made me work harder, try new things, step out of my comfort zone, and grow!
Zero: Caffeine every day and champagne for every occasion. Ha! But seriously, one of the things SK has taught me do more is enjoy the process and celebrate accomplishments. It makes working so hard totally worth it.