📍 Merry Pin: A true story of partnership

Partnerships of all kinds are tricky, and we learn this fact of life young.

My daughter, Alice, went from an S+ to an S on “cooperates well with others” on her third grade report card this past trimester, and when I asked her about it, she said, “that’s because SARAH was my partner!”

Reality Show Candy GIF by Children's Miracle Network Hospitals

By the time we’re starting our own businesses, we’ve experienced challenging partnerships (both professional and romantic) many times over, and we know what qualities to look for in a potential business partner. But opening and running a business throws real challenges at even the most simpatico partnerships, and you know what can REALLY add friction? Signing and guaranteeing a long-term lease together.

We’ve seen a handful of partnerships struggle during the brokerage process, but one team that really nailed it is Merry Pin, a Pedal Retailer who just opened in Shepherd Park DC.

Merry Pin is the brainchild of the Three Crafty M’s – Megan, Madeleine and Michele – a group of women who initially met professionally in roles supporting local small businesses through DC Main Streets. When they discovered their mutual passion for hobby crafting and frustration with having to order online or go to a big box retailer for supplies, a seed of partnership and entrepreneurship was planted.

The Three Crafty M’s had a lot going for them from the start – they have shared passion, drive and enthusiasm. They have complementary skill sets. And, best of all, they have the X factor - great chemistry.

And while their path to a signed lease at 7350 Georgia Avenue was like most – uphill and rocky at points – they navigated it beautifully as a team. Their success was a result of much more than just having the right composition; throughout the process of securing their space, Megan, Madeleine and Michele were fundamentally on the same page*.

It sounds so simple, yet that’s where we see so many teams fall apart. Whether it’s communication failure, differing visions for the concept or both, when the members of a team don’t actively align themselves over and over again throughout the process, it’s almost impossible to secure the right space for the business.

So if you’re planning to open a business with one or more partners, learn these lessons from the Three Crafty M’s about getting (and staying!) on the same page throughout the long real estate process:

📃 Write the business plan together

Pedal Retailers know that their business plan will be used to open doors to their dream space - landlords, brokers and all manor of gatekeeper will be judging your worth using your plan.

But that’s not its only purpose.

Your business plan is your roadmap, and if you’re a part of a team, working through the details together is an invaluable exercise. You’ll think through the big, conceptual stuff – like your mission, goals and definition of success. You’ll dig into the weeds-y but super significant stuff – like your hours of operation, staffing plan, and target customer. Coming into the real estate process in consensus on these key aspects of your business will mean you’re fundamentally looking for the same thing in a space.

For the Merry Pin team, when they saw 7350 Georgia Ave, where they ultimately opened, they knew it was perfect for their use because the space allowed them to separate the floors by uses (retail and cafe on the ground floor, parties and open crafting on the second floor), and because the location worked so well for their target customer. The space matched their shared plan for the business model.

🗓 Meet regularly outside of vendor meetings

As you get rolling, your calendar will quickly fill with meetings related to your project – you’ll be hiring all sorts of vendors from real estate to design to construction to marketing. The moment when you bring a third party into your plans can be super exciting – finally, your concept will feel like a Real Business and not just a daydream you’re kicking around with your friends.

As exciting as these meetings with your hired professionals are, don’t forget to meet regularly with your own internal team. Starting on the same page is great, but staying on the same page is equally important, and it takes just as much work.

The Three Crafty M’s came to each Pedal working session prepared not only with the latest on the real estate situation, but also with the team’s collective position and questions. It was always evident that they had met, discussed, debated, and concluded together before they shared their thoughts with us – they always spoke with one voice. As a result, our working sessions were super valuable for setting the strategy going forward.

🕵️‍♀️ Transparency is key

Your relationship with your business partner(s) is one of your most intimate relationships, and that means you’ll have to be vulnerable with both your finances and your feelings. It may feel uncomfortable and awkward at first, but honesty is an absolute non-negotiable.

If you’ve got financial skeletons, they are absolutely bound to jump out of the closet with bells on sooner or later in the process, so while it may feel a little weird to tell your business partners about your bad credit or massive student debt, it will feel a million times worse if that fact is revealed during landlord due diligence.

By the same token, starting a business – especially one with a brick-and-mortar space – brings up all kinds of emotions for even the most stoic retailers. Just like your finances, your feelings will come out whether you intend them to or not – will it happen thoughtfully in a productive conversation or spontaneously in an unplanned eruption? That's up to you.

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If you prefer healthy relationships, and if you’re planning on having a successful business (obviously, yes and yes), teamwork done the right way really can make the dream work – and the Three Crafty M's are the proof.

To see Merry Pin in action, shop their curated assortment of craft supplies, learn to block print or make candles or knit, hang with friends and create to your heart's content while nibbling and sipping all the while, stop by 7350 Georgia Avenue!

Check out their website and follow along on Instagram!

* This is a topic for another day, but don’t forget the cardinal rule of business partnerships – you must have an operating agreement. Even if you feel like your partner is your soulmate, and nothing can ever tear you apart, people have freak jet-ski accidents, become addicted to competitive mahjong, run off to live in a Balinese hut with an Efron brother, or otherwise not be a great partner anymore. You know what I mean, and you need to protect yourself and your business.