⌛️ Why does is take so damn long to sign a lease?

Many first-time retailers are pretty surprised to find out that it takes such a looooong time to sign a lease and get open. Some even think, “oh wow, that’s like being pregnant with a baby,” but they are wrong, because it’s really like being pregnant with a donkey. How do we know this? We googled it. Turns out, donkeys have a gestation period of 11 - 15 months (also — unrelated but fascinating — a female donkey is called a jenny.)

Anyhow, if you can get your lease signed in the time it takes to bake a human baby cake, good for you! But it’s more typical for you to be on burro-ed time (fair warning - more donkey puns coming.)

There are at least four distinct stages in the process, and these don’t even start until after you’ve written your business plan and secured your financing. So starting from that point, you’re looking at:

Space search 3-6 months — Scouring the market with your broker for the right space based on your criteria and budget set in your business plan

LOI 2-3 months — Negotiating the most critical business terms in your lease

Lease 3+ months — Your lawyer and the landlord’s lawyer duking it out over all the juicy legal bits of your lease

Buildout 1 - 6+ months — Turning the space into what you need it to be for your business

Why exactly does it take so long? Well there’s a whole lot of back-and-forth, and each pass requires consideration by both parties. Also, your deal is one of many dozens that your landlord and her broker are negotiating, so your lease-jenny has like 30 other donkey babies to feed at the same time.

There’s not much you can do to speed the process, but you can control your attitude and expectations. It's easy to get frustrated by the timeline, but remember - this deal is probably one of the biggest committments you'll make in your life. It requires measured, careful consideration that can't be rushed. Make good decisions now, avoid feeling like a jackass later.