Feature

Small Biz Focus: Five Teaching Tricks To Improve Your Employee Performance

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

This article is sponsored by Arlington Economic Development.

We all know that teachers are amazing, but did you know that best practices for teachers can also be useful to the larger business community when coaching and mentoring employees?

For the past four months, Arlington has been home to EdConnective, winner of Arlington Economic Development’s Startup Arlington program and EdTech startup providing virtual teacher coaching to school districts across the country.

EdConnective’s Director of Instructional Coaching, Lauren Vargas was kind enough to share key tenets of their teacher education program that apply not only to teachers, but to leaders and managers in all types of businesses.

Here are five ways to improve your employees’ performance the EdConnective way:

1. Use “Glow and Grow”: Be sure to name what your employees are doing well along with what needs improvement. This ensures employees can keep playing to their strengths while improving their development areas.

2. One Next Step: Give an employee too much feedback at one time and they’ll lose focus and be unable to execute. This is one reason that traditional, yearly reviews don’t work. Focus on one thing at a time, give actionable next steps keeping your employees accountable.

3. Practice: Going over implementation strategy during a feedback session is key. “It’s quite different when you do something versus think you have it in your head,” said Vargas. Role playing, planning or walking through a skill or activity helps cement it.

4. Define What Success Looks Like: EdConnective uses a teaching rubric that can be explained on one page.  Having a reference point and keeping it simple helps employees know what you expect and makes accomplishing those objectives easier. You can copy this technique by keeping one-pagers for each role at your company or on your team.

5. Define Data Points: Process metrics can help an employee keep track of what they are doing to improve, but never lose sight of outcome metrics. Outcome metrics ensure the processes you put in place are leading to the results you want. If a teacher masters a skill, it is only helpful if it impacts student outcomes and the same goes for your business. Make sure you draw a clear line between skill development and how it impacts your bottom line.

Just Reduced Properties in Arlington

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

Each week, “Just Reduced” spotlights properties in Arlington County whose price have been cut over the previous week. The market summary is crafted by licensed broker Aaron Seekford of Arlington Realty, Inc. GET MORE out of your real estate investment with Aaron and his team by visiting www.arlingtonrealtyinc.com or calling 703-836-6116 today!

Please note: While Aaron Seekford provides this information for the community, he may not be the listing agent of these homes.

For all of the Arlingtonians with kiddos, summer is upon us!

The Arlington County Public Schools calendar has big circles around June 19 (the last day for high schoolers) and June 21 (the last day for elementary and middle schoolers). And, of course, if your kids are enrolled in another school system or private school, those dates may be slightly different.

So, what are you going to do with your summer?

On the real estate front, this can absolutely be one of the busiest times of the year. Many families take the summer to sell their existing home and, ideally, find a new home to move into before the new school year starts. If you fall within that category of buyer, or simply want to explore your options, there’s no time like the present and let’s get moving.

When you’re ready to get rolling on your summer home search, our team is ready to help you GET MORE out of your transaction.

As of June 10, there are 161 detached homes, 16 townhouses and 105 condos for sale throughout Arlington County. In total, 22 homes experienced a price reduction in the past week:

Please note that this is solely a selection of Just Reduced properties available in Arlington County. For a complete list of properties within your target budget and specifications, contact Aaron Seekford.

Ask Eli: The National Media Is ____ About Arlington’s Housing Market

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

This regularly-scheduled sponsored Q&A column is written by Eli Tucker, Arlington-based Realtor and Arlington resident. Please submit your questions to him via email for response in future columns. Enjoy!

Question: Are you seeing a sharp increase in the asking prices of homes in Arlington, as reported by Realtor.com, since Amazon announced HQ2?

Answer: You guessed it, the national media is wrong about Arlington’s housing market (sort of). I don’t mean to jump on the Fake News bandwagon, but a few weeks ago Realtor.com ran a misleading article, that got a ton of coverage here, stating that the median asking price of homes in Arlington were up $110,000 or 17.3% from November 2018 to April 2019.

I was suspicious of their report because I’m not seeing that type of increase in the asking prices of homes across Arlington, so I dug into the numbers a bit more to understand why the data looks that way.

Technically, they weren’t wrong/lying but like most reports about local markets, they chose the version of the data with the biggest numbers to generate the most clicks and reposts without regard to whether it’s an accurate representation of our market.

The Truth Is In The Details

The reason the median price is up so much isn’t because owners are actually asking that much more for homes, it’s because the number of homes listed from January-May 2019 vs January-May 2018 for under $700k is down nearly 27% compared to a decrease of just over 9% for homes over $700k.

This has shifted the middle/median up substantially, but doesn’t actually indicate owners are asking more for their homes rather that there’s just less availability of homes under $700k.

For reference, the average listing price is up just 5.6%, to $782,156, in the first five months of 2019, a more accurate representation of the actual increase to asking prices.

The main reason for the drop-off in housing supply below $700k is the decrease in 1-2 BR condos, as detailed in the chart below:

To highlight how easy it is to manipulate housing data to show the opposite of what Realtor.com claims to be happening in our market, I looked at three sub-markets to compare how median price is changing within similar housing stock.

Looking at cross-sections of a local market with similar housing stock allows us to draw a more accurate picture of what’s actually happening, but even the chart below is misleading because it suggests asking prices are dropping this year, which isn’t true.

So What’s Actually Happening?

Over the last few months I have started to see asking prices increase. Occasionally I’ll see an asking price 15-20%+ higher than where it would’ve been last year, but mostly it seems asking prices for similar types of homes are up by 3-5% which is why you’re still seeing so many homes sell for above ask because most market values have increased by more than that (I’ve teed this one up perfectly for famed ARLnow commenter $4 Million to Heirs Annually).

Next month I’ll be working closely with Jeannette Chapman of George Mason University’s Fuller Institute to provide a detailed look at the Arlington housing market through the first half of 2019. I’m looking forward to collaborating with Jeannette on multiple columns to bring you more advanced market studies and opinions.

If you’d like a question answered in my weekly column or to set-up an in-person meeting to discuss local real estate, please send an email to [email protected]. To read any of my older posts, visit the blog section of my website at www.EliResidential.com. Call me directly at (703) 539-2529.

Eli Tucker is a licensed Realtor in Virginia, Washington D.C., and Maryland with Real Living At Home, 2420 Wilson Blvd #101 Arlington, VA 22201, (202) 518-8781.

Phone Advocacy Startup Looks Towards Global Expansion After ‘Strategic Investment’

By Vernon Miles

Sponsored by Monday Properties and written by ARLnow.com, Startup Monday is a weekly column that profiles Arlington-based startups and their founders, plus other local technology happenings. The Ground Floor, Monday’s office space for young companies in Rosslyn, is now open. The Metro-accessible space features a 5,000-square-foot common area that includes a kitchen, lounge area, collaborative meeting spaces, and a stage for formal presentations.

(Updated at 12:50 p.m.) Rosslyn-based tech startup Phone2Action — which aims to turn citizens into advocates — announced on May 22 that new funding will mean a global expansion.

The company received a “strategic investment” from Frontier Capital, a private equity investor, according to a press release. But neither representatives of Frontier Capital nor Phone2Action would specify how much money was included in the investment.

“Frontier Capital and Phone2Action are not disclosing the amount of the investment,” said Kristin Steele, a spokesperson for Frontier Capital, “but want to reiterate what the press release said around it being a strategic investment to help fuel future growth for Phone2Action.”

The company bills itself as a “digital grassroots platform,” helping organizations or businesses rally supporters and encouraging them to contact state or local officials. New developments at the company within the last year include email broadcasting features and an advocacy chatbot.

Ximena Hartsock, co-founder of Phone2Action, said the company is looking into expanding the range of products it offers and its markets.

“No changes on staffing at Phone2Action,” said Hartsock, “and we are looking [to use] the support we receive from Frontier to accelerate our growth.”

Partners for the company include Patagonia and Ben and Jerry’s, using Phone2Action for a variety of environmental and social advocacy campaigns.

According to the press release, the investment will be used to expand the global outreach of the program and to look into the acquisition of other complementary technologies. The release also notes that the future of grassroots advocacy and public affairs will be reliant on adapting to new technologies like machine learning.

Photo via Phone2Action

The Chew: Dog Bite Prevention Tips

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

The following bi-weekly column is written and sponsored by Bark + Boarding, which provides a heart-centered and safe environment for your pets. Conveniently located at 5818-C Seminary Road in Bailey’s Crossroads, Bark & Boarding offers doggy daycare, boarding, grooming, walking and training services, plus in-home pet care.

By Chelsea Pennington, Bark + Boarding Writer and Animal Enthusiast

Each year in the U.S., between 4.5 and 5 million people are bitten by dogs.

While most of these bites are not serious, they are almost all preventable, either from the pet owner training their dog better or from people knowing how to recognize the warning signs. Whether you’re a dog owner or just someone who might like to pet a dog every now and then, there are some simple steps you can take to help prevent dog bites.

Tips For Dog Owners

Socialize your dog — Socializing your dog, especially when they’re young, helps them to feel more comfortable in different situations. Dogs bite because they are scared and feel the need to defend themselves, so introducing them to a variety of people, animals and places when they’re a puppy helps teach them they don’t need to protect themselves.

Always use a leash — If you’re in a public space, always keep your dog on a leash so that you can have control over them. This isn’t mean, but rather a precaution to make sure everyone stays safe. Teaching your dog basic commands like sit, stay, no and come can also help you manage your dog in situations that might cause them to disobey.

Give your dog enough exercise — Dogs that have pent up energy are tense and anxious, and this can make them more likely to bite. Making sure they have plenty of time to play and release this energy in a different way will alleviate this problem.

Talk to your vet about spaying or neutering — Often, intact dogs are more aggressive than those that have been neutered or spayed. The timing of this procedure varies for each dog, so be sure to talk with your vet about when is best to go forward, and mention any aggressive tendencies you may have noticed in your dog.

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Your Beermonger: Reason For Beering

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

This sponsored column is written by Nick Anderson, beermonger at Arrowine (4508 Lee Highway). Sign up for Nick’s email newsletter and also receive exclusive discounts and offers.

“So, what’s your favorite?”

It’s early in the week and I’m not expecting the question. My mind is pre-occupied forming orders, placing orders, writing Newsletters in my head or on my laptop, and trying to write the column in my head all at once. The customer sees she’s caught me off-guard, apologizing, relating it to being asked if she had a single favorite wine.

But that’s not where I get tripped up. I have favorite beers for sure, but I realize I really tend to have favorite breweries.

My type, if I in fact have one, are breweries that offer high quality, consistency and a sense of balance in their beers, regardless of what their lineup looks like. Over the years, breweries like Maine Beer Company, Allagash, Bell’s, Port City, Schlafly, Brooklyn and more have won me over this way, becoming one of my “go-to” breweries.

I tell you that story to tell you this story, I’ve got a new go-to.

Reason Beer opened in 2017 to no small amount of buzz, founded by friends of over 20 years and Charlottesville locals J. Patrick Adair, Jeff Raileanu and Mark Fulton. Fulton’s involvement generated much of the interest.

Prior to opening Reason, he was the second full-time employee of Maine Beer Company, working as Brewhouse Manager, running its pilot beer program, and finishing up his four-year stint as Director of Brewery Operations, overseeing all brewing and packaging at one of the country’s most highly-regarded small breweries. So, kind of a big deal.

Of course, an impressive resume alone doesn’t make impressive beer. What Fulton has done at Reason is to take the aspects of Maine Beer that made it stand out — the consistently high quality; the elegance and balance found in even its boldest recipes — and apply them to an entirely new paradigm within Reason’s lineup.

The principles are simple — mostly, though not always, skewing lower in ABV. Recipes that have been refined to the point where you just know the homework has been done. Beers that are approachable, regardless of style, simultaneously showing off the best of each of their ingredients.

The Reason beer that won me over initially was Pattern Recognition, a 6% ABV IPA that features the smartest selection and application of hops I’ve seen in a long time, is crystal clear, and comes as close to translating the experience of opening a bag of hop pellets into a final aroma/flavor as anything I’ve had.

These days, I’m rotating their core six-packs: the pinpoint, easy but complex Hoppy Blonde (4% ABV), the Belgian-style Grisette labelled as Saison (4.5% ABV) and the outstanding, Session IPA-killing Pale Ale (5% ABV). Needless to say, they’re recommended.

Don’t just take my word for it though — Reason Beer representative Devon Callan will be at Arrowine this Saturday, June 8 from 1-4 p.m. sampling their outstanding brews. Swing by and check them out!

Upcoming Arrowine Events:

Friday, June 21, 5-7 p.m.: Tasting with Abita Beer

Saturday, June 29, 1-4 p.m.: Port City Brewing Company Tasting — Helles Lager release

Friday, July 19, 5-7 p.m.: Tasting with The Bruery

Open Houses in Arlington This Weekend

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

Looking for a home? There are plenty of houses and condos open for viewing this weekend.

Check out the Arlington Realty website for a full list of homes for sale and open houses in Arlington. Here are a few highlights:

4036 24th Road N.
5 BR/4 BA, 1 half bath single-family home
Agent: Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc.
Listed: $1,479,000
Open: Sunday 1-3 p.m.

 

111 N. Highland Street
4 BR/2 BA, 1 half bath single-family home
Agent: Keller Williams Realty
Listed: $1,049,900
Open: Sunday 1-4 p.m.

 

1709 S. Quincy Street
4 BR/3 BA single-family home
Agent: Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc.
Listed: $839,999
Open: Sunday 2-4 p.m.

 

3625 10th Street N. #608
2 BR/2 BA, 1 half bath condo
Agent: Mcenearney Associates, Inc.
Listed: $749,000
Open: Saturday 1-4 p.m.

 

851 N. Glebe Road #1304
2 BR/2 BA condo
Agent: Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc.
Listed: $649,000
Open: Sunday 1-4 p.m.

 

4227 35th Street S.
1 BR/2 BA condo
Agent: Kw Metro Center
Listed: $459,900
Open: Saturday 1-4 p.m.

 

989 Buchanan Street S. #205
1 BR/1 BA condo
Agent: Mcwilliams/Ballard, Inc.
Listed: $309,9016
Open: Saturday 12-4 p.m.

Just Listed in Arlington

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

Just Listed highlights Arlington properties that just came on the market within the past week. This feature is written and sponsored by Team Cathell, “Your Orange Line Specialists.”

Arlington has blasted into the summer real estate market with a vengeance, setting a record for the year.

Sellers listed a whopping 91 homes for sale this week, the most so far this year. And buyers ratified a remarkable 78 contracts with 36 of those homes selling within a week. This could be a harbinger of what to expect for the summer: a sizzling hot market.

Certainly the demand has been there all year. The shortage of homes for sale has held back the number of transactions. Sellers should be getting the memo that NOW is a great time to list their home.

Buyers were handed some great news this week as interest rates dropped again to the lowest level since December 2017. The 30-yr fixed rate dropped to 3.85%. A year ago the rate was 4.54%.

The bad news for buyers: the cost of a new home will be going up as 5% tariffs will be imposed on Mexican products starting on Monday. The U.S. imports many home building products from Mexico such as steel and concrete.

Tight inventories are now effecting the rental market as well. Concessions to renters to entice them to sign up have dropped 30% since a year ago, and landlords are raising rent prices 3.1% on average.

Click to see all the fresh new inventory in MRIS and call Team Cathell (703-975-2500) when you find a home you like.

Boring Title: Featuring Katie Wethman

By ARLnow.com Sponsor

Title insurance is boring, but Allied Title & Escrow is here to decode the jargon and make it (somewhat) more interesting. This biweekly feature will explore the mundane (but very necessary!) world of title insurance while sharing interesting stories of two friends’ entrepreneurial careers.

Welcome to this week’s edition of Boring Title!

This week, Allied Title & Escrow’s CEO, Latane Meade, sits down with Katie Wethman of The Wethman Group.

Katie talks about multiple offer situations and the good and bad that come with them, as well as what makes The Wethman Group different from other real estate teams.

Have questions related to title insurance? Email Latane and Matt at [email protected]. Want to use Allied Title & Escrow when you buy a home? Tell your agent when you buy a house to write in Allied Title & Escrow as your settlement company!

Arlington Pet of the Week: Sierra

By Airey
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Arlington’s newest pet of the week is chatty cat Sierra.

Here’s what her owner, Manu, said Sierra had to say:

My name is Sierra. My mom, Manu, was a foster mom for a local rescue for 3+ years and I am proud to say I am the first kitty she couldn’t give back! Some people say we look alike. I am an orange tabby and my mom has orange hair too (though she claims it’s red).

I am a little over 1 year and now that I’m settled in my forever home in Arlington, I love to snuggle with mom and play. I love when her boyfriend (I call him cat daddy Sean) comes to visit, because he will get out this little laser thingy… one day I’ll catch this darn dot!

I have toys all over our little studio. When mom cleans them up, I find them and scatter them tastefully across the room. I am just making sure people know this is MY home!  My favorite thing to do is to hide all my little toy mice everywhere! Mom finds them in bed, the hamper, under the stove — great fun!

I talk a lot and make sure everyone knows how my day has been. I am very good about not leaving the apartment when the front door is open. Usually that’s when my mom talks German to me (she told me that’s where she is from) and I know I better turn around or I won’t get treats filled in my small treat ball — not going to jeopardize getting treats!!

Want your pet to be considered for the Arlington Pet of the Week? Email [email protected] with a 2-3 paragraph bio and at least 3-4 horizontally-oriented photos of your pet. Please don’t send vertical photos, they don’t fit in our photo galleries!

Each week’s winner receives a sample of dog or cat treats from our sponsor, Becky’s Pet Care, along with $100 in Becky’s Bucks. Becky’s Pet Care is the winner of six consecutive Angie’s List Super Service Awards, the National Association of Professional Pet Sitters’ 2013 Business of the Year and a proud supporter of the Arlington County Pawsitively Prepared Campaign.

Becky’s Pet Care provides professional dog walking and pet sitting in Arlington and all of Northern Virginia, as well as PetPrep training courses for Pet Care, CPR and emergency preparedness.

Small Biz Focus: 5 Things To Get You Noticed

By ARLnow.com Sponsor
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This column is sponsored by BizLaunch, a division of Arlington Economic Development.

By Tara Palacios

Each day we are bombarded with advertisements on TV, online, radio and print.

We are constantly exposed to information to entice us to buy products and services. Adding to the mix are the various platforms where these ads can reach us: Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, blogs… and the list goes on and on. According to several leading marketing experts we are exposed to 4,000-10,000 ads per day.

How does your business stand apart and get noticed?

This question is super important for a business in 2019. It all leads back to the clutter. With so much information hitting our target markets daily — how do we stand out? Here are 5 Quick Tips we believe can help you:

Tip #1 — Tell a Story 

Everyone has a story to tell. Interweave it into your business. Make your unique story interesting and part of your business. We remember people through the stories they tell.

Tip #2 — Design a Solid Plan

I can’t emphasize this enough. Don’t throw everything and the kitchen sink at what you are trying to do. Develop a feasible marketing strategy that is clearly defined and keep doing it (lather, rinse, repeat) to build your pipeline.

Tip #3 — Understand Your Customer’s Needs, Not Your Needs

Your customer’s needs. Ask your clients directly what they like and don’t like about your product or service. Never assume you know what they need. ASK.

Tip #4 — Be Different by Being Distinct

Your branding is important. If there are industry trends make sure you incorporate those into your business brand; however, be distinct so that you stand out from the crowd. Whether attending a networking event or showcasing your product — dare to be different. It will make your business memorable.

Tip #5 — Be Yourself, Be You 

Being yourself is a great way to feel comfortable in any given business situation. Don’t be something you’re not in trying to stand out from the crowd. Your competition and clients know when you are authentic.

If you’d liked to learn more about making your business distinct, please join us June 13, from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. at Arlington Economic Development as Zack Miller presents on Anomaly: How to Finally Stand Apart from the Crowd.

Zack started his first business at the age of 10. Since then he’s spent decades helping other people successfully start, grow and dominate their businesses through his company, Hatch.

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