What is a lifestyle? It’s how you choose to indulge in and enjoy your favorite things, either inside or outside your home. Food, entertainment, design, décor, travel, family….
Let’s talk about all of that. Welcome back to the Signature Movement.
Come on in; we have cake.
TDF
In This Issue:
- New for you
- Season’s Eatings: Fall Favorite Treats
- Real Estate
- Small Business Corner
- Story Time with Choppy, Z & the Big White Dog
- Recipe of the Week
- On My Soapbox
New for You
Scholarship Pageant
A call to action!
Hey sis,
My good girlfriend sent me this announcement. She is helping host this really cool scholarship pageant on Nov. 7th in Washington, D.C. Let’s support this effort!
I like this organization bc people of every age, shape, color and size can participate and they create a really beautiful family like atmosphere where everyone is celebrated and appreciated! They welcome participants of literally every age from 0-100 and they work very hard on community service and promoting women’s empowerment! We are accepting contestants from DC, VA, West VA and MD!
Please share this with friends, family, students and coworkers! 🙏🏽
Register here.
The Early bird registration discount ends 10/22!
Please let me know if you have any questions!
Thanks in advance for your time and consideration!
Signature Body Care
This week we added new body care products to our SM Marketplace; we are still looking for other items to showcase. Are you a maker? Do you create wonderful products that fit our mission to enhance mind, body and home? We’d love to add your handcrafted lifestyle items to our store too.
Visit our terms and conditions page at: https://makesignaturemoves.com/shop/vendor-tc or email us at: [email protected] and tell us about your creations so we can see if it’s a good fit. Looking forward to working with you.–TDF
Season’s Eatings!
-
Signature Pies$30.00 -
Gingerbread$20.00 – $40.00 -
Cobbler$25.00 – $60.00 -
3-Layer Cake$85.00 – $90.00 -
Banana nut bread$20.00 – $40.00 -
Sticky Buns$24.00 – $48.00
Real Estate–(I’m licensed in DC and MD btw)
Up and Coming
Baltimore, MD—I took a drive through East B-More a few weeks ago, and I’ve been stalking the listing activity over there since August. Let me tell you, it reminds me of Northeast DC before the big gentrification plot unfolded.
Detached SF homes with yards, close to several universities. Updated row houses (townhomes) are going for just under $200K; you can still find a fixer-upper for under $100K but those are getting really scarce. I have a 2100 sq ft listing in 21212 zip priced at $175K; many properties in that zip are priced $180K and up, but with less sq ft. And then there are the million-dollar properties just across York Rd….
I smell big changes coming, fast. Somebody say Air B n B….
Call me; let’s take a ride.
Holding Steady
PG County has calmed down quite a bit since the mad summer rush. You might actually get to negotiate for your buyers now. It’s quite possible they can even get closing help in some cases. I’m optimistic. Look to spend at least $350K for roughly 1400 sq ft.
MO County is also showing promise for buyers. I say throw your hat in the ring this fall and see what happens.
Charles County and beyond…hold up. Prices have taken a sharp upturn since this time last year. New roads, lots of shopping and eating—you get the point. Look to spend upwards of $350K down Route 5 these days. And that’s a townhome budget. Things are not like they used to be.
If you’re looking for “affordable housing,” you’ll be riding up B/W Pkwy a bit, unless you’re into condos with substantial HOA fees. You might even get a pool pass or a parking space. No guarantees though.
If anything changes, I’ll let you know.
Out of My League?
Yep, DC is still asking a cool million for the most part. There were several possibilities this time last year in the Northeast zips, but those have dwindled down to pretty much nothing under $500K. Unless you’re okay with fractional properties—you know, 3 units where one family used to own the entire property.
Listen, you keep hearing how you should not sell Grandma’s house, and to keep it in the family. But if the family can’t get along, and you could use a little coin, look at your neighbors and say “oh that’s really modern.”
They’re helping out your property value, yes; but nobody’s just going to pay top dollar for the 100-year-old pipes and radiators you have in there. If you can, invest in HVAC, baths and kitchens. If not, be willing to entertain a reasonable offer, considering all the rehab the place needs.
Hey, ask me some questions. I’m here to help.
Small Business Corner
Solopreneur Blues
Listen, when I tell you my head is about to explode, please believe me. It’s partially my fault, because I obsess over EVERYTHING when it comes to my business. Take this newsletter for instance. It’s not a novel idea I’ve had here, but I always want to be original when I create.
I’m not bad-mouthing creators who have teams, or those who use templates for those beautiful websites and IG posts; I am simply saying I never want to stumble across my online style anywhere else. Thus, my stressful existence. I could’ve gone on Canva and pushed out a beautiful magazine creation in half the time it took me to figure this out. But NOOOOOOO, typical TDF. I’m so jealous; I want a team. LOL!
In other news, I found a site called Hello Alice that helps small business owners find grants. I put my hat in the ring a few times this week; you should too. They have many offerings for minorities in particular. Go. See. Apply. Trust me, there is nothing worse than having a head full of ideas with no money to implement them. It burns….
Business Startup Guide
Remember that time I told you I made a bunch of mistakes for years, so I compiled a document to help new business owners set up their companies and dropped a bunch of jewels about other tools you’ll need to get up and running? Yup, you can still get it.
Click here to order your digital download and you can be up and running expeditiously (I like that word). In it you’ll find tidbits about how to register with your state, where to get your EIN, what mileage tracker I use, a few words on business credit and many other valuable tools you will most definitely need. It’s years of experience balled up into one little $20 fee. It’s a business expense; write it off with your other expenses.
Speaking of tax deductions, the governing body of this country loves small and large business; the tax benefits far outweigh the startup costs. Check it out for yourself. Order it. Read it. Do it. Be accountable for your own success.
Any questions, hit me up and I’ll do what I can to help.
Story Time!
Our Very Own Superhero
Well, Zahir is now one of the Power Rangers. At first, it just made sense. Every kid at some point has wanted to be, dreamed of being, had every intention of being some kind of hero; right? Why not a Power Ranger? My own son intended to be some iteration of the Red Ranger when he hit adulthood. He has since changed his plans.
Zahir has taken that dream to obsessive heights. I don’t know how he keeps his energy on a thousand, but the boy can go. One day he was doing way too much for my nerves, so I said, “You know, Power Rangers take a break from fighting. They go to school and other stuff when they’re not fighting.” His response: “No, they don’t,” and he kept on fighting. I tried to reason with him, but he persisted. Actually, the look he gave me suggested he was offended that I would try to take him away from such important work.
One of Z’s most important missions as a superhero is to defeat the “giant” in the tower. The creature stands about 6’7″, and is visibly strong. He is much taller and much stronger than our young hero. Yet, up Z goes to challenge the creature, week after week, with improvised weapons and his most cherished weapon of choice—sweaty feet. On one of their last meetings, the giant surprised the young hero and bit his foot!
As you can imagine, that didn’t go over well with Ranger Z at all. He sped down from the tower to tell me what happened, declaring that he would make that giant pay. But on their next meeting, our hero was foiled again. This time the giant made quick work of defeating him. He rushed down from the tower exclaiming, “He is really strong! He’s going to break me! I have to get stronger if I’m going to beat him.”
I explained to our young hero that to defeat one so strong, he MUST eat all his food and drink his apple juice, or there is no way he could win. He gave it some thought, and agreed he would do just that. Then he demanded we order pizza, cause cheese makes him feel strong. And the pizza was enjoyed by all.
Stay tuned for next week’s adventures with Choppy, Z and the Big White Dog. There is always something going on with that bunch. TDF
Recipe of the Week
Roasted Sunshine Chicken with Red Potatoes
What you will need:
- One whole chicken
- Olive oil (rub it all over)
- Tabitha Brown’s McCormick Sunshine Seasoning
- Lemon pepper
- Seasoned Salt
- Garlic Powder
- Parsley flakes
- 2-3 red potatoes per person (depending on size)
- 12-24 oz of apple juice to cover the bottom of the pan (not Mott’s though)
Yep, season that bird up and bake it breast side up in apple juice; don’t tell nobody my secret!
TDF
On My Soapbox
People have no problem wasting your time. Shut it down. It’s your job to set boundaries and enforce them. It’s okay if you realize it one day out of the blue. You have the right to change your mind and how you deal with people.
Make signature moves!
Be great. Be unique. Be proud to sign your name to it and say: “I did that.”
Published 2021 by The Signature Movement
Email: [email protected]
Web: https://makesignaturemoves.com
Phone: 240-660-6777
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