Appearances really do matter ✨

I was a cheerleader in middle school. Like many other eighth grade girls, I did it mostly for the outfits, but also because I don’t have much athletic ability, and if I didn’t pick a sport, I had to do P.E. instead of study hall. 

Now this was the late 1900’s (as the kids say), and the current brand of seriously athletic cheerleading had not yet made it to coastal Virginia. Our squad wore uniforms that included turtlenecks, sweater vests, and embroidered polo shirts. Of course we had orange and blue pleated skirts, but they had button closures and nary a thread of lycra. We did a few stunts and some dancing, but our specialty really was spelling. All that practice is why I never misspell S-U-C-C-E-S-S.

All that’s to say that my cheerleading experience couldn't have been farther from shows we see on Netflix – first Cheer and most recently America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. These cheerleaders train from early childhood in dance, tumbling, and hair styling just to have a shot on these teams that are incredibly demanding, fairly dangerous, and terribly underpaid. So not surprisingly, these unusually talented people and mild situation drama make for some good TV.

So obviously when Abby and I watched the Dallas Cowboys cheerleader show recently, we had a lot to discuss at our weekly meetings. Like most everything we watch and read, we saw themes that really resonated with our retail real estate orientation.

For the sake of argument, let’s set aside the many elements of the show and entire DCC organization that fall somewhere between questionable and downright objectionable. Clearly, these women are voluntarily trying out for the team, so we won’t rail against the patriarchy in this newsletter, but you can bet we shot plenty of side-eye at our TV screens.

Anyhow, here’s what made us think about retail real estate:

💄 Looks matter.

These women are DONE UP every time they show up. Long hair curled and styled. Full face, 24-step makeup. Lashes on lashes on lashes. The powers that be have very specific aesthetic requirements for the squad…because they believe it’s an important part of what brings in the big bucks. 

We get it. 

When it comes to showing up to the leasing process, looks definitely do matter. 

The way your business plan looks when someone opens the PDF matters. Whether you look well represented by having a retail real estate broker matters. Whether you look prepared by being familiar with retail real estate terminology matters.

Everyone on the other side of the table, so to speak, will make fast and consequential decisions based on how you LOOK when you show up. The stronger and better you look, the better your outcome.

💭 There’s a lot of subjectivity.

At the very beginning of tryouts, hundreds of women – DCC hopefuls – have followed instructions and choreographed their own 60-second dance routines to showcase their skills and “personality.” Every woman is exceedingly talented, and they’ve done their best to anticipate the judges’ expectations. While the panel of judges assigns points to each routine, the final decisions are ultimately up to the three women who run the show (well, really one woman…the team owner’s daughter.)



What do these women look for? “That X factor.” Does anyone know EXACTLY what that means? No. It exists entirely in the minds of these three women, and it’s ever evolving and impossible to define. One might say they rely on their “spidey senses.”

Who else has spidey senses? Landlords and their brokers. 

Of course you are smart, and of course you have a good business concept. Of course you’re going to show up with a business plan (right?!) But even with all this, there is no guarantee that a landlord or their broker will engage in negotiations with you. Sometimes they’re looking for a really specific type of tenant, and sometimes they’re looking for some “X factor,” and you won’t know what that is until you try. The best you can do is show up super strong, lashes on  – the way Pedal Retailers show up – and do your best high kicks. 

⏳ The whole process takes a long time.

DCC hopeful Reese lived at the Gaylord National for months while she made it through each round of tryouts. Poor girl was desperate for some decent scrambled eggs. The road to being 100% sure you’ve made the team is long, and you have zero security along the way. It looks like this:

 • Preliminary round – submission of an application, two photos, and two videos


 • Prep classes – three months of classes every Friday night in Dallas


 • Prep intensive – two days of prep before auditions


 • Semi-finals – original dance routine in front of a panel of judges


 • Finals – more dancing plus a written test (!) and panel interview


 • Training Camp – TEN WEEKS of nightly rehearsals


 • Final team is confirmed


Reese lived in a hotel room because she wasn’t from Dallas, and she wouldn’t know for sure that she made the team until the very end of training camp. 

Does all this sound familiar?

 • Business planning – 2-3 months plus fundraising time


 • Searching for space – 2-3 months


 • LOI negotiations – 2-3 months


 • Lease negotiations – 3-4 months


 • Lease is signed


Yep, your retail dreams are living in a mental hotel room for a looooong time. The process is long and arduous. It takes A LOT of resilience (ask any Pedal Retailer). 

But here’s some good news…

Unlike the DCC gals who have to try out for the team EVERY YEAR, your lease will typically last for five or ten years, and your renewal options will extend that timeline. So once you make it through, you won’t have to listen to Thunderstruck and land in jump-splits again for a long, long time.