Pink Moon: A true story of persistence ✨

Some of the most successful Pedal Retailers are called to open their businesses because they can’t find what they’re looking for anywhere else. District Champagne, Pirouette Cafe and Wine Shop, Merry Pin, and Jurisdiction Clothing all spring to mind. They knew there was demand for their business because they felt it themselves, and when they couldn’t take it anymore, they took action to create what was missing.

Jill Adams’ Pink Moon is one of these businesses that simply had to be born. As a Bethesda mother of three young children, Jill was painfully aware of her (and her friends’) struggle to find time and space to prioritize mental and physical health with a community of other mothers that was not only supportive, but also actually accessible. 

With “me time” in such short supply, it felt like she’d have to choose between a parent group for her mental wellness or exercise for her physical wellness (that is, if she could find reliable childcare). Jill - and so many other moms like her - needed all of the above!

And so, Pink Moon was conceived - a self-care community where children are not just allowed, but cared for in an enriching environment while moms participate in fitness and wellness classes, attend lectures, special interest events, or just catch up with friends over a cup of coffee. Goodbye, mom guilt! Hello, holistic health!

Jill came to us, and we got to work! She came in with financial models and a business plan which we put through the Pedal paces, and we were scouring Bethesda for the perfect space in no time. (OK, it took a few months, but still.) 

Two spaces rose to the top quickly as we negotiated LOIs, and after three months, a second-gen fitness space at 7620 Old Georgetown Road emerged as the winner. Everything was clicking along smoothly…

Until the clicking got stuck…on the most boring, most annoying, most mind-bendingly frustrating question of insurance requirements and what each side thought was reasonable and appropriate.

So what is normally a three month lease negotiation process dragged on into a fourth month…and then into a fifth…and in that time, Jill’s brain did exactly what smart-people brains do during protracted negotiations. She started to wonder if this one issue was a sign of more issues to come. 

🚩 Is the landlord’s inflexibility actually a red flag?

💻  Maybe Pink Moon should start as an online community instead of a brick-and-mortar studio?

😵‍💫  What if everything that once seemed so right and achievable was actually going to be foolish and impossible.

The enormity of the commitment Jill was about to make felt really heavy, and really risky.

It was as if she was at the top of the high dive, ready to plunge, and then the lifeguard asks her to wait up there for two hours, soaking wet and vulnerable. Diving off the board had seemed like a great idea when she was climbing the ladder, but now it was starting to feel quite stupid.

So maybe now, while everything felt so struck, the right move was to walk away.

✨ Quick side note…

Many Pedal Retailers experience a similar moment of doubt before signing their leases. For each one, the details are different, and while the experience may be common, it absolutely does not feel like it to them. It is painful and it feels like an eternity. 

While Sheila and I have come to expect it, we take “cold feet” very seriously, and we have the utmost respect for Pedal Retailers’ instincts even when those instincts point away from a lease. Our whole program and fee structure is designed to allow us to support Pedal Retailers even if - especially if - they change their minds about brick-and-mortar.

✨ Now back to our heroine Jill…

Since we already told you that Pink Moon is opening soon in Bethesda, you know the decision Jill ultimately made. After putting in years of hard work (and more than a year with us at Pedal) to bring this specific vision of her business to life, Jill hadn’t fundamentally changed her mind about whether a brick-and-mortar studio made sense as the first step, or whether she wanted to open the business at all. 

When she retraced all of the decisions she’d made that led her to this deal, this space at this time, it all still held up. And after weeks of defending Jill’s position, we resolved that last issue and got the lease signed.

Through this incredibly challenging experience, Jill joined the ranks of independent business owners – all courageous individuals who persevere through myriad obstacles to bring their visions to life. 

Pink Moon’s doors are now open, and the community that Jill and so many other moms need is finally here 💗 See for yourself @pinkmoonmoms!