A few weeks ago, we talked about why you shouldn't be afraid of a ten-year lease term, but we know that many new retailers are most comfortable starting with a five-year term (or even shorter).

If you determine that a shorter lease term is best for your business, here are two tips to keep in mind:

1. Ask for multiple renewal terms of at least three to five years a piece. If things are going well, you do not want to find yourself homeless with a growing business.

2. Negotiate your lease like you're committing to it for ten years or more. You may be tempted to think that you don't need to think long term in a short term deal...

BUT leases are like dogs, and just as you house train a puppy ...

In my experience, the strangest part of being a retailer was the constant state of emotional turmoil. There’s a lot that goes into this feeling, but one of the biggies is the total disconnect between how you think you're supposed to feel — fabulous and empowered and like it's always (as Lizzo would say) "bad b*tch o'clock" — and reality.

Because, on the one side, you’re the boss. The owner. The founder. The creative mind behind the concept. The one in charge.

But at the exact same time, you’re always feeling bossed around by everyone and everything else pretty much all the time…

Perpetually at the mercy of your customers. Your staff. Your vendors. The weather. The HVAC system. The...

You probably already know that the cost of building out a retail space is often the single largest line item in a pre-opening budget. The fact of the matter is that there’s not a whole lot to be done about this. If you need to modify a space to suit your business, you’re going to spend some serious cash — the more dramatic the changes, the more dramatically you’ll need to dig into your wallet.

If you’re do any sort of construction work, many of the costs will be beyond your (and even your contractors’) control. Every commercial contractor is working with the same framework: labor, materials, overhead, and profit. Remember, they’re running businesses, too.

So, even though there may not be a...

I am ten years out of a commercial lease, and I am almost out of the hole. My scarlet BK will be removed from the sweater of my credit report in September.

Today, I am committed to helping people make good decisions and get good deals on their leases, because I know what it feels like to have it all go very wrong.

I’ll tell you the whole story of my first child (RIP: Punk’s Backyard Grill 2009 - 2013), another time. But for now, let’s start here...

If my experience were a cocktail, it would have been equal parts severe anxiety, disappointment, luminous pride, absolute ridiculousness, and deep joy. The day-to-day was just those five parts auto-cycling every 12 hours.

And when I think ab...

When I got accepted to UVA (early decision, of course, because I’m an achiever) my grandmother said, “that’s great, there are lots of men there!” And wouldn’t you know — she was right! And I managed to find and date the WORST one for way too long #achiever.

My grandmother is not the only backseat driver out there. Everyone around you is going to have an opinion about whatever you're doing, and those opinions usually have zero to do with you — their opinions and “feedback” are usually entirely about their own fears and anxieties. In the best cases, the feedback is coming from a place of love, but it’s still 100% annoying.

So unless those people around you are actually experienced in what yo...

Sometimes, it feels like I specialize in mind games. I try my best not to play them with my partner (Dio, if you’re reading this, that’s definitely NOT what’s happening when I stop doing the laundry at the same time as I’m trying to win a multi-day argument), and yet, as a broker, interpreting the subtext on the other side of the negotiating table is a big part of my job advising Pedal Retailers.

If you’ve signed a retail deal, you know what I mean - and the worst of it is when the other side goes quiet, which happens all. the. time. If you’ve never signed a retail deal, you might assume that going quiet may as well be killing a deal - and you’d be wrong. Over the course of negotiating an...

Would you ever sign up to be on Married at First Sight? (That’s a TV show, mom.) No? You wouldn’t? Because it’s a terrible idea to marry someone you don’t know? Especially in public?

Well if you have enough sense to know that making a commitment like that is a bad idea, then why would you sign a lease on the first space you seriously consider? But since there are apparently no shortage of people willing to do this (the show in on season 14, wtf?!) you can bet that there are a lot of people who sign leases WAY TOO SOON. And guess what…signing a lease is a whole lot more consequential than marrying Drew the IT manager from Pensacola. 

There is a whole lot of “dating” that needs to happen bet...

We're always talking about how LONG retail leases are...

"Longer than most first marriages!"
"Longer than a presidential administration!"
"Longer than undergrad!"

But sometimes life happens, plans change, and even if your business is humming along, there may be a time when you need to exit your lease before the expiration of the term (translation: get out before you're supposed to).

Since we sign leases with the intention to stay for the whole term (and maybe longer with some renewal options), the instances when we want or need to exit early really are (and should be) rare. Obviously if your business is not succeeding and the end times are nigh, that's a clear occasion where you'll exit y...