The DMV (Washington, DC | Maryland | Virginia) Business Show

In this week's episode we have Jay Jeffrey, Founder and Owner of Lumber JAKKSS Millworks in Frederick, Maryland!  They are millwork company that makes custom furniture, desks, and basically almost custom everything using complete solid wood fabrication.  He was born and raised in Bangor, Maine and grew up watching his father in the woodworking shop making things as a side hobby.  He went to college in Massachusetts at 17 years old and after college he moved down to Maryland for a business opportunity.  He had several businesses before, working with high school teams helping them raise money to an event planning company which all did not do so well when COVID hit.  He mentions the story how Lumber JAKKSS Millworks was started which was by getting his own lumber to build a pavilion on his farm while having extra time during COVID and how the name came about (initials of his wife and 4 children).  In July 2020, he pitched the business idea to his wife and that was the beginning of it all!  Jay shares the ups and downs of his journey and never expect to be where he is today.  He loves creating cool pieces and looking forward to the astounding growth they have continued to experience!

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This is the latest episode of Commercial Real Estate Question!  Where anyone can ask a commercial property question and I will help answer it.  Today we will focus on the question, "What Is The Latest Office Amenity?"

Enjoy!  Let me know what you thought.

Have a commercial real estate question, and I will feature yours?

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Text Me!  240-706-7584

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Dominic DiPietro is the CEO and Owner of ROI Construction in Savage, Maryland!  They are a second generation roofing company providing customers with a positive Return On Investment (ROI) with their roof, siding and gutters.  They do not hire third parties to do any of the work, they are vertically integrated and handle everything internally.  Dom grew up in Silver Spring, Maryland and his father established the company in 1974 and was featured in the Washingtonian Magazine.  He grew up in roofing his entire life, as soon as he could walk his father would bring him along to do roofing estimates.  Dom comes from an entrepreneurial family with his parents and siblings.  When he was 12 years old he opened his first business, a vending machine business called Dom's Snacks.  There was a small problem, he was eating all of the snacks and inventory.  He later had different businesses from selling T-shirts to a recreational sport business before going into roofing.  In 2017-2018 he decided to revitalize the company and brand and it became ROI Construction, and they have been continuing to grow like crazy doubling in size every year since and shares a strategic method he used to help the business grow!  He mentions how he was patient, short term thinking is not always going to yield long term growth.  Dom talks about the importance of having the right team members around him and investing in the company but more importantly investing in himself, in self-improvement by waking up early, working out, listening to audio books, and staying disciplined.  He is a real estate investor himself and gives advice and how to purchase your first investment property.  At the end of the day for him it is about making a contribution by making the world a better place and leaving a legacy!

LET'S CONNECT!

LinkedIn:  http://www.linkedin.com/in/ottosevilla

Instagram:  http://www.instagram.com/theottosevilla

Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/TheOttoSevilla

YouTube:  https://youtube.com/channel/UCp3fOa-IgbYwiQfgkB3SbaQ

Email Me!  [email protected]

Text Me!  240-706-7584

In this week's episode we have Mary Abbajay, President and CEO of Careerstone Group in Washington, DC!  They help create positive and productive workplaces  in organizations.  She is originally from Toledo, Ohio and moved to DC  over 31 years ago because her sister was living here.  Growing up in  Ohio she called herself a nerd, she was into reading and sports.  Her  first job in DC was at children's museum as a director and she shares  some great stories about meeting celebrities and entertainers,  especially one about Michael Jackson.  At one point she was the Co-Owner  of the Toledo Lounge, a very popular bar and club in Adams Morgan.   Mary shares amazing applicable steps you can take to advance your  career, and about how her best-selling book Managing Up: How to Move Up, Win at Work, and Succeed with Any Type of Boss came about.  She mentions how someone starting out should specialize  and focus on managing the relationship, and to remember that the world  is not a meritocracy it is about who knows you!  This episode is jammed  packed with so much actionable advice anyone can implement, whether you  have a boss, you are a boss, or aspire to be a boss!

LET'S CONNECT!

LinkedIn:  http://www.linkedin.com/in/ottosevilla

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Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/TheOttoSevilla

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YouTube:  https://youtube.com/channel/UCp3fOa-IgbYwiQfgkB3SbaQ

Email Me!  [email protected]

Text Me!  240-706-7584

In this week's episode we have Michael Rivero, Co-Founder of TopShotPro in McLean, Virginia!  They are a real estate marketing technology company that help real estate professionals grow their business by growing their personal brands and marketing capabilities across the board.  Michael was born in La Paz, Bolivia and was raised there until he was 13 years old when he moved to Manassas, Virginia in 8th grade.  Growing up he was into computers and soccer, and was entrepreneurial trying different side hustles starting in high school at one point becoming one of the largest shoe resellers in the area.  He shares for the first time an incident that happened that made him get out of the sneaker reselling business.  He mentions the four important phone calls that led him to start TopShotPro.  Michael shares his secrets on how he has been able to amass and grow his followers to over 73K in Instagram.  He chats about his three principles of marketing, and the significance of being a content creator!  Goes into depth on why you should know how to do everything in the business but it is okay to not do it all yourself, in fact you should not do it all yourself if you want to grow your business.  He shares with us how they have been able hire, track, and scale the team in just three short years!

LET'S CONNECT!

LinkedIn:  http://www.linkedin.com/in/ottosevilla

Instagram:  http://www.instagram.com/theottosevilla

Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/TheOttoSevilla

YouTube:  https://youtube.com/channel/UCp3fOa-IgbYwiQfgkB3SbaQ

Email Me!  [email protected]

Text Me!  240-706-7584

Anthony Closson is the Founder and CEO of Colossal Contracting in Annapolis, Maryland!  They are a defense and civilian contractor focused on providing primarily IT solutions and elevating the mission of the government.  Originally from South New Jersey not far from Philadelphia, he moved to Atlanta, Georgia around middle school and went to college at Georgia State.  Has a South Jersey mentality, tough and worked as a security and bodyguard to pay his way through college until three years later he was running out of money and did not have any scholarships he decided to join the Air Force.  He shares how in the beginning when he joined the Air Force it was not easy, a part of him almost had to die to properly serve.  He came up with the idea of Colossal when he was deployed in 2007 observing other contractors.  Anthony mentions when starting the new company you need to determine your value to others and make others see it and you have to be able to adapt and change with the times, they now offer many more products and services than before when they first started  13 years ago.  He shares a tough lesson he learned during the beginning of his business about diversification.  We chat about Jocko Willink and what we can learn from him and how discovering jiu-jitsu changed him.  He mentions to go after your dream, have a plan, know your value, embrace the suck, and keep pushing because there is no other way!  Anthony goes deep into the amazing culture they are creating at Colossal in which Michael Jordan plays a role!  You cannot afford to miss this episode!

LET'S CONNECT!

LinkedIn:  http://www.linkedin.com/in/ottosevilla

Instagram:  http://www.instagram.com/theottosevilla

Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/TheOttoSevilla

YouTube:  https://youtube.com/channel/UCp3fOa-IgbYwiQfgkB3SbaQ

Email Me!  [email protected]

Text Me!  240-706-7584

Andrew Dana is the Founder and Co-Owner of two award-winning restaurants Timber Pizza Co. and Call Your Mother with locations in Washington, DC and Maryland!  He grew up in the same neighborhood as me in DC, we're just two kids from Mt. Pleasant that went to the same middle school Alice Deal.  Did not know it but lived only a several blocks away from each other.  Recently President Biden made his first DC restaurant visit as President and went to their Call Your Mother Deli location in Georgetown.  It does not matter where you start, it matters where you're going and Andrew is a prime example of that!  After earning his undergraduate degree he sold windows door to door, went to business school afterwards and did not feel fulfilled in his corporate job that he eventually left to open a mobile pizza food truck!  Now, years later with several locations and more in the pipeline and over 150 team members he takes us behind the scenes of how it is growing his restaurant empire!  He chats about several pivotal moments in his business, one of them being named Bon Appétit Top 50 New Restaurants in the Country - sales basically went up over 40% overnight!  Andrew talks about the importance of just showing up no matter what and to put in the time and hard work, and how you need to have attention to detail on everything!  He shares how they treat their team and the benefits they give them, it is more like a family!  He mentions how we need to keep things as simple as possible and remove the grey area, and focus on growth!

LET'S CONNECT!

LinkedIn:  http://www.linkedin.com/in/ottosevilla

Instagram:  http://www.instagram.com/theottosevilla

Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/TheOttoSevilla

Twitter:  http://twitter.com/ottosevilla

YouTube:  https://youtube.com/channel/UCp3fOa-IgbYwiQfgkB3SbaQ

Email Me!  [email protected]

Text Me!  240-706-7584

In this week's episode we have Keyonna Jones, Founder and Executive Director of Congress Heights Arts and Culture Center (aka The Center) in SE Washington, DC!  They are creative art gallery first and foremost that promotes black and brown artist, they also do programs and workshops, and have rental space for small businesses and the community as well.  Keyonna was always a creative growing up in South East, Washington, DC.  She was artistic and into fashion, trying to make her clothes and art.  They would use her art in school for brochures and mailers they would send out. She graduated from University of Maryland and went into broadcast journalism and radio, earning two Edward Murrow Awards for her work as a news producer!  Afterwards she worked with her father in property development until The Center was founded in 2015.  She shares how she has been able to grow the nonprofit and what the future holds.  Keyonna mentions how you do not have to be the starving artist and how you can utilize some of the many tactics private companies use to grow and promote yourself as an artist, and for her the success of the organization starts with listening and being in the community!

LET'S CONNECT!

LinkedIn:  http://www.linkedin.com/in/ottosevilla

Instagram:  http://www.instagram.com/theottosevilla

Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/TheOttoSevilla

YouTube:  https://youtube.com/channel/UCp3fOa-IgbYwiQfgkB3SbaQ

Email Me!  [email protected]

Text Me!  240-706-7584

This is the latest episode of Commercial Real Estate Question!  Where anyone can ask a commercial property question and I will help answer it.  Today we will focus on the question, "Is A Relocation Clause Important?"

Enjoy!  Let me know what you thought.

Have a commercial real estate question, and I will feature yours?

Email Me!  [email protected]

Text Me!  240-706-7584

Or DM and follow me at:

LinkedIn:  http://www.linkedin.com/in/ottosevilla

Instagram:  http://www.instagram.com/theottosevilla

Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/TheOttoSevilla

YouTube:  https://youtube.com/channel/UCp3fOa-IgbYwiQfgkB3SbaQ

Leigh Newport is the Owner and Principal Designer of Staged by Design in Sterling, Virginia!  They are a full service home staging and interior redesign company based in Loudoun County and serving mostly the Northern Virginia area, here to market properties and maximize revenue for homeowners.  Leigh was born and spent many years in Newport News in Southern Virginia.  Since 4 years old she always wanted a horse and at 10 received lessons and competed, and for a brief time rode in the equestrian team in college and recently picked it back up around 9 months ago.  She mentions her one month backpacking trip she did through Europe and what she learned.  Leigh worked at Marriott for 15 years and it was a great company to work with, she kept getting promoted and learned an unbelievable foundation of systems and processes she now uses in her business.  She shares different marketing techniques, it is about providing value and becoming peoples go to resource.  Mentions great tips for every homeowner needs to know when looking to sell to get top value for their property!  She talks about the event that changed her business trajectory and it meant getting out of her comfort zone.  Leigh shares how you can prepare and operate as a bigger company, she wasn't afraid of failure she was more afraid of success.  It is about her PEOPLE and making sure they are happy!

LET'S CONNECT!

LinkedIn:  http://www.linkedin.com/in/ottosevilla

Instagram:  http://www.instagram.com/theottosevilla

Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/TheOttoSevilla

YouTube:  https://youtube.com/channel/UCp3fOa-IgbYwiQfgkB3SbaQ

Email Me!  [email protected]

Text Me!  240-706-7584