Through sickness and in health... 💍

One of us at Pedal is in full wedding-planning mode, and the other is mid-way through year eight of marriage. We LOVE using the marriage metaphor for leasing, because this sh!t is SERIOUS, and it's not always pretty.

Here's how we see the leasing process through this exceedingly relevant lens:

Writing your business plan is an exercise in self-exploration. It's your time to travel through Europe with all your belongings on your back, drinking cheap wine, and going to that sketchy club with Franz-with-the-hair from Bruges. When you come back home, you'll return to your life, but you'll know yourself (and probably some other people) a whole lot better.

Okay, so this "self-exploration" isn't actually traveling -- it's really just sitting in front of a screen thinking through who you are as a business, what your goals and priorities are, and how you'll achieve said goals. Still, this process is so critical, because you have to know yourself to know what kind of long-term commitment (ahem, lease) is right for you.

When you know what you're looking for in life or in this case, a lease, you can start seriously dating. This is when you're ready to move to the LOI stage -- when you start talking seriously with a landlord about making a life/deal together (for at least the next 5 to 10 years, but hey, most marriages last 8.2 years so...)

Once you sign the LOI and both you and your landlord start paying lawyers to negotiate your lease, you're basically engaged. You book a venue and a band and start sending out invitations. You can still back out, but not without losing your deposits.

Your commitment isn't final until you reach the altar -- or the courthouse podium if that's your style. This is basically the point where you're holding a 50 page lease document with a line for your signature at the end. You can walk away at any point until you sign, because that's when you'll hear, "by the power invested in me by the state of wherever, I now pronounce you Lessor and Lessee," and things get really real.

So take your time, and think hard about what you're really looking for before committing to a bricks-and-mortar-ball-and-chain.