Tag: Business

Lynnwood’s Development and Business Services Office

Carl Setzer

I’m pleased that the City of Lynnwood is reinvigorating (?) the word of the Permit Center (FYI, this office is not by the city offices on 44th by the library. Rather, it’s just south of 196th, kitty-corner to Goodwill). Hopefully, they can smooth out/simplify the permitting process and keep the dynamic business environment that is Lynnwood vibrant. Our little city is growing, and I’m confident details like this help.

 

 

Lynnwood Washington

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Over the Counter Reviews Return to Lynnwood’s Development and Business Services in February

LYNNWOOD, WA (January 13, 2016) – The City of Lynnwood is pleased to announce that Lynnwood Development and Business Services, formerly known as the Lynnwood Permit Center, now offers Over the Counter (OTC) plan review to expedite and simplify your projects. The OTC review is intended for smaller, less complicated projects that can be reviewed quickly.

Beginning February 2, the OTC reviews will be held every Tuesday from 9:00am – 11:00am at the Development and Business Services Center located at 4114 198th ST SW, STE 7, Lynnwood, WA.

Projects that may qualify for Over the Counter review include:

  • Small residential additions and remodels
  • Most decks, carports, porch covers and sheds
  • Plumbing and mechanical for residential
  • Commercial mechanical roof top unit (RTU) replacements
  • Simple tenant improvements (to be determined by plan reviewer)
  • Plumbing and mechanical for tenant improvements

For more information on Over the Counter plan review and the types of required documents, visit our Business & Development Services webpage.

About Lynnwood Development & Business Services:

Lynnwood Development & Business Services is home to four departments working together to help homeowners, businesses, and developers succeed with their development projects.

Is Nationstar about to completely rebrand itself?

Carl Setzer

As an agent who’s part of the Xome network and has worked with Nationstar with several REO listings, I read “Is Nationstar about to completely rebrand itself?” with interest. Will Xome be able to offer this unique service environment in such a way as to catch fire? I wonder. It’s a novel idea, this end-to-end, full service idea. Novel enough that it’s no sure bet, either way. I give Nationstar/Xome points for innovation and risk.

With players like Zillow, Trulia, and Redfin changing things up, it’ll be interesting if Xome can get enough traction to grab enough mindshare. My team and I thinks that there’s a place at the new real estate table for them. They are a big player and have plenty of resources to put against this. I certainly wouldn’t write them off.

Meandering Alderwood Mall And Other Delights

Carl Setzer

I’ve spent the last several hours wandering Alderwood Mall. Today, I won the nail in my tire lottery, and the nearest tire shop I could find: Sears (an open one, at least). The past three times this happened were Sundays. I wonder about this, for no really good reason. Perhaps the universe rages against me. Or my memory’s subjective nature took hold. Whatever…

I remember when this thing was built (the Mall, not my van). During construction we drove over, monitoring progress. Decades passed by, changes take hold: stores move, or go extinct, the food-court relocation and redesign (well done, I might add. Well, if you enjoy light). This entity’s changed with the times. Lynnwood, and the north-end of Puget Sound has changed dramatically. I don’t see old Camaros any more. And the number of BMWs grows exponentially.

With that, I noticed many stores that I’ve known for years, awareness-wise, but really know nothing about. Claim Jumper, Urban Outfitters, just to name a few. And there are a few I know well, but have lost focus on. Eddie Bauer comes to mind. After the sale to Spiegel, I stopped paying attention as quality plummeted, and, well, any sense of it as a Seattle company vanished. Lastly, I look at the Anthony’s restaurants here and think of the local chain, and how little I know about it.

Well, with so much to learn, there will be no shortage of opportunity to write in the near-term at least. If there’s anything you’d like me to add, send me a note or add a comment.

Thanks so very much for reading!

Startup letting strangers share hotel rooms. What could go wrong?

Carl Setzer

Just read this over at Geekwire:

This startup plans to let strangers share hotel rooms to save money

By Taylor Soper

A Seattle startup wants to help you save money on hotel room fares — but only if you’re willing to share a room with a stranger.

My first thought was “ick”. However, as I think of things, there’s a bit of this already going on. Sites/apps like Couchsurfing.com already facilitate something similar. Also, if you look over our culture’s history, sharing rooms with strangers wasn’t uncommon at all. Think about the beginning of Moby Dick, and the meeting between Ishmael and Queequeg.

After reading the article I expect that they’ve been thoughtful of the risks and concerns of this venture. I expect they should do well. I think there is a market for such a service, as long as the risks of carefully mitigated.

Wishing Winston Club the best of luck!

Spotify, Apple Music, And The Masses Of Online Music Choices

Carl Setzer

A few months back, I gave the new Apple Music a go. As a long time Spotify user, I was mainly compelled by access to Apple’s library, with the expectation that the service would have access to the full catalog. Well, that’s not the case. With that, it’s not quite clear when a song is available for streaming vs. only for download. Well, at least that’s how I found it. Ultimately, I found the whole experience underwhelming. Particularly sad considering Apple’s aura as masters of design. Another compelling piece was the price of the family plan. Spotify has been making some noise of matching that plan, though. That would make the Apple benefit small, very small. Lastly, there’s the bit where Spotify’s been arguing with artists over pay. I need to agree that the public discourse Spotify launched was very defensive and, to sound like Wil Wheaton, “dickish”. However, as I dug around the internet for data, I didn’t find much to support that artists are making more with Apple, or that the Apple Music service was going to make them able to subsist.

I cancelled the renewal of Apple music. However, I’m not entirely convinced that Spotify is the best. There are so damn many of these services out there and I’ve only scraped the surface. And, as a Seattle guy, I need to consider to home-spun entries into the space: Real Network’s Rhapsody, probably the oldest streaming service out there.  Then there’s Microsoft’s Groove. As a former Microsoftie, I feel compelled to give my chums in Redmond a fair shake.

My next steps need to include giving some thought to what constitutes “the best”. I know I want access to a large library, one that includes great jazz and classical content besides the latest pop hits. I want to work with a company that’s working hard to ensure their artists are compensated fairly. The interface needs to be clean and intuitive. And music discovery is critical. I want a family plan, so the three of us can all use it with independent accounts. Oh, and it needs to excel across platforms. Any given day I’ll be on Windows 7, 8, Mac, and Android.

So check in and see where this leads. And let me know what you’ve discovered, what you recommend, what pitfalls I should be considering. Your wisdom is what I value you most.

Capitalist Based Issues with Tech Tools

Carl Setzer

I hate, hate, hate feeling beholden to one entity. That feeling of helplessness; ugh! When it comes to tech tools for the business world, Microsoft and Adobe created great tools. However we’re stuck with whatever price they want charge. Take a look at the current shift to a subscription model.  Anyway, I feel a need to find alternatives. I like the thought of open source as well. Software built free of the constrains of corporate agenda. Or, more specifically, the agenda of ONE specific company. Competition is a key element for capitalism to be successful. Breaking free from proprietary technologies is important. Then we’re paying for superior quality and/or innovation, not just to maintain access to our files.

Open-source has some challenges. Many of the tools are hardly “plug-and-play”, and pretty much inaccessible to the average user. Compiling code is outside the skill-set of many users, even power-users. If the goal is to facilitate wholesale adoption, these issues must be dealt with.

So I’ve been building out a list of open-based tools. I’ve tried to find ones that are ready to go for the average user (come as a .exe that you can install like any software you’d buy at Costco or Office Depot/Max/Staples). Hopefully, we can slowly build a suite of affordable yet innovative tools, creating a more accessible marketplace. An ambitious goal, perhaps.

 

Process and Efficiency

Carl Setzer
Bart process is not a dirty word

“Process”, generally construed as a negative, synonymous with bureaucratic, cumbersome and unwieldy, gets an undeserved bad rap. There’s  power in process. When the steps bring in various minds and encourage collaboration. Then its the key element of creating a truly synergistic environment. In an environment based on fear, process’ function is minimizing risk (versus managing risk). When process is about fear and power, it becomes the soul-sucking beast of its reputation.

Process isn’t a dirty word. The surrounding motivations and culture create the challenge. So, manage fear, and keep it from controlling your life.

Spotify’s Seattle Based Competitor

Carl Setzer

I’m sure most people would think I’m writing about Amazon Prime music, but no. Real Networks has been around for years. I used their player before iTunes, before Pandora, I’m pretty sure before Windows XP. They’ve been in this space a long time, but have not have regained the popular attention they had in the 1990s.

And, as Spotify announces huge, game changing pivots in the music/video space, Real brings back their founder and announces they’re moving into photo-sharing. As they’re bleeding cash, it’s hard not to see this as the final flails of a dying company. I deeply hope I’m wrong. Their immanent death has been predicted for years, and wrong. And I root for my home teams!

Yet again: Economists Predict Interest Rate Hike In 2015

Carl Setzer

I’ve ready many predictions about the impending interest rate hike, like this one from Monday over at Housingwire. Now, it probably easy to add snark to my tone, but it’s not there. I understand economics and why interest rates cannot remain at this level. I just find it amusing that I’ve seen “rates rising” predictions for years without the rates really rising (ok, they’ve moved up, but that’s not the point).

It’s probably nearly impossible to predict when the rates will go up. But, really, for most of us, that really shouldn’t matter. What does matter is that they WILL go up, whether that’s this month, this quarter, this year or next; everything about the system demands they rise. Trying to game this and grab rates at their peak lowness (actually, I think that time has past) is foolish. If you are in place to buy or refinance, just go and do it. Remember the African adage: the best time to plant a tree is 5 years ago, the second best time is today.