The one way to sign a lease ⚡️ FAST ⚡️

Our dramatically dwindling attention spans (hello, TikTok) and culture of instant gratification (hello, Amazon Prime) is reshaping everything around us. We can order bulgogi bowls, a case of Modelo, toilet paper, a phone charger, and a hot date…all from our phones and all delivered to our doorstep within 60 minutes. 

So, when we tell aspiring retailers that it’s going to take 10 months to a year (or more) to open their brick-and-mortar, we brace ourselves for their disappointment. Most of the time, when we talk to first-timers, they share their plans to open for business in a new space “by the summer” or “in time for the holidays.” Almost always, those opening dates are about three months away. 

Their initial response to our timeline “real talk” is usually tinged with annoyance. Many respond with something like, “yeah, sure, some people take that long, but not me…my situation is different…I don’t need anything big/complicated…my needs are small/ simple/ uncomplicated.” And those who don’t say it are probably thinking it.

But you know what? They’re right. Retailers CAN be open for business in three months.

…as long as they just sign whatever the landlord hands them and don’t negotiate anything.

Most everyone we talk to understands the value and importance of negotiating a lease, so when we explain that the major bottleneck in the process is the back-and-forth of negotiation, the ice starts to melt. The doubt is replaced by a resigned acceptance…but the annoyance persists.

We get it. Everything else is on demand, buy-it-now, listen on 2x speed, but negotiations remain agonizingly, painstakingly slow.

No wonder we resist being told that our plans to open a business are many months away. Anything that takes longer than shipping a couch on a slow boat from China feels like NEVER.

No wonder being told we have to wait for something feels like we’re being told we can’t have it at all.

Everything moves so fast these days, but anything of lasting value takes time. Expertise. Relationships. Trees. All the important things that we want to be good and strong and lasting and to make our lives better take patience.

So yeah, you can kinda DoorDash a lease. But what happens when what’s delivered doesn’t match what you thought you ordered? You’re the one stuck dealing with missing meatloaf when you were supposed to be watching the movie already.