Eeeny, meeeny, miney...No. 🙅‍♀️

One of my great fears in life (besides clowns) is being suddenly thrust into a talent competition. I’m not a singer, I don’t play any instruments, and while my dance floor skills are excellent, my training came from the 1994 Bat Mitzvah circuit, so not exactly Julliard.

I have, however, realized that I do have some very specific…abilities?...that sometimes elicit responses like an “oh, wow, that’s cool.” Since you’re dying to know, I’ll share:

🍺 I’m very good at identifying the alcohol content of beers by taste

🥃 I can quite accurately determine the volumetric measurement of a liquid in a container by sight

🎤 I have near perfect accuracy in picking the “wrong” horse, so to speak. Pick an American Idol winner? WRONG! Pick the fastest line at the grocery store? WRONG!

In fact, I’ve gotten so good at picking the wrong winners that I now end up accurately picking the right one. Will Golden Bachelorette Joan pick Chock or Guy in the end? Since all my spidey senses told me it was going to be Guy, I knew it would be Chock. #personalgrowth

So given my “broken picker,” my absolute favorite part of the retail leasing process is how you don’t actually have to do any real “picking.” There’s no handwringing or “but they’re both so special and I can see a future with both of them” moments. Over the roughly three months of space tours and LOI negotiations, the “one” just emerges from the pack.

In the very beginning of the process, there’s a natural desire to compare potential spaces immediately and try to determine which is best. This works when we’re making simple decisions like “chicken or fish or vegetarian option.” But retail spaces are a whole lot more complicated.

It’s common for first time retailers to see their options like this:

🍎 Space A: OK area, cute space, $35psf rent

🍎 Space B: Nicer area, space needs more work, $37psf rent

🍎 Space C: Nice area, space needs a lot of work, $27psf rent

But in reality, when we actually put the deals together for these three spaces, the comparison gets a lot more complicated. Here are some examples…

🍎 We negotiate six months of free rent for Space C, but not A or B. That means you could pay down your loan WAY faster and pay less interest.

🍊 Space B requires Landlord’s Work and your own buildout - that means two sets of plans and permits (3+ months each) plus construction. You’ll save money by having the landlord do some of the work, but it will take you longer to open in Space B than in A or C.

🍇 Space A is slated for a potential redevelopment; it may not happen, but the landlord won’t give more than 5 years of lease term just to keep his options open.

🍉 Space C is historic, and your signage options are super limited.

So while the comparison gets complicated, it’s also meaty and specific, and refreshingly NOT vibes-based. Armed with the parameters and priorities you’ve so painstakingly developed in your business plan, you’re able to get in the weeds and figure out which option will actually suit your business best with all the facts on the table.

It’s this natural emergence of a winner that makes my broken picker brain so happy, and it’s always like a balm telling clients that they don’t need to stress about this one or that one. We don’t have enough information yet…but we will soon.