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...

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...

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...

Apparently we’re in the tail-end of salmon migration season, and that’s got us thinking about lessons we can learn from these delicious piscine endurance athletes.

You already know that it’s a challenging journey to open a bricks-and-mortar store, and perhaps you find moments of respite in imagining the day when things line up perfectly and you can sit back and just enjoy the ride. But seasoned retailers will tell you that at some point (sooner or later) you’ll realize that this day of coasting will never come.

So if the salmon were giving a TEDTalk about retailing, they’d tell you:

You will always feel like you’re swimming upstream. Salmon swim some 900 miles, which is completely amazi...

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...

A decade feels like an eternity until it's over.

When you live inside the commercial real estate bubble, a ten year lease term doesn’t seem like a big deal — like a long weekend on the Cape (since that’s obviously where you’re going if you work in CRE.) But to many new retailers, the thought of committing to a lease for TEN WHOLE YEARS feels more like being sentenced to the federal pen for a white collar crime.

If that new retailer sounds like you, here are some things to keep in mind:

+ Your lease locks down the rules for the entire term.The longer your lease, the longer you have to operate your business on your own terms since you’ll have negotiated the rent and other important financia...

I’ve got a confession to make - I don’t pre-rinse my dishes before I put them in the dishwasher. Don’t believe in it. I heard on a podcast once that modern dishwashers are designed to wash dirty dishes, and the pre-rinse just wastes water. So, basically, I’m a #DomesticDutyQueen AND an environmentalist.

Also, I am obsessed with efficiency and I abhor extra steps. This may surprise some of you, since so many of my working hours are spent crafting and negotiating the LOI, a document with no legal standing that gets crumpled up and thrown out in favor of the almighty lease. (Hopefully recycled, because the environment.) So, what’s the point?

Let’s pretend your lease is like a house that you...

Have you ever been 💘 love bombed by retail real estate? Oh, yes, it’s a thing.

It goes like this: you’re just minding your own business when POW! [cue the romantic lighting and flattery] In an email, phone call, or personal visit — it’s a retail real estate broker who 😍 loooooves what you’re doing and has an amazing new location for your amazing business, or she wants to help you find some because you are 🔥 hottttttt.

When you’re running a successful (or successful to outside eyes) business, it’s really just a matter of time before you’ll start receiving unsolicited offers to consider new real estate opportunities. Now I know from personal experience running a retail business day-in-and-...