This week I’ve been listening to a four-part series about the Medici on one of my favorite podcasts, The Rest is History. Anyone with a mild interest in art history is surely familiar with the Medici family from Renaissance Florence who commissioned some of the most significant artworks in western history like Donatello’s David (the scrawny one, not Michelangelo’s ripped version) and Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus.
Not surprisingly, as the Medici banking business passed from grandpa Cosimo to son Piero and then to his son Lorenzo, the business acumen and attention to detail started to wane as the gout and baller-lifestyles grew. So when a feisty party-pooper friar named Girolamo Savona...
✨ Welcome to a four part series we’re calling “What makes Pedal so unique and effective in the retail real estate industry.” Otherwise known as “Why we need our own TV show pronto.” ✨
Today we’re discussing point #1:
Our business model is not reliant on lease commissions or equity in our clients’ businesses.
Have you ever spent 23 minutes trying to get the attention of a bartender on a busy Saturday night at a nightclub? Have you stood on your tip toes and tried waving cash? Have you wondered if maybe they don’t see you because you’re only five feet tall, or because you’ve never been able to dress cool like you’re at a club in your 20s even when you’re clearly at a club in your 20s
...As new retailers we expect to sacrifice our weekends and holidays, dry-clean-only clothing, and possibly our lower backs. But we do not have to sacrifice our mental health, personal relationships, or overall well-being.
When you're planning your business, you have the opportunity and obligation to carve out the boundaries that will make your business sustainable for the long term.
Your lease will run five to ten years, so it's critical that you build a "sustainable" model that will allow you to stay healthy, stay married (if you want), participate in your child's life, etc.
So how do you do this? Start with the ideal scenario. The realities of the numbers and the things outside of your co...
Remember the “I was today years old when I learned…” moment on TikTok where we all learned a lot of trivia like Australia is wider than the moon? Or the IRL moment when Sheila (at 35) finally figured out that Free Slurpee Day is always on July 11th (get it? 7/11!)
Today, we have one for you: big retailers are able to thrive in commercial real estate (when mom-and-pops struggle) because… retail real estate is actually a core business function for these larger companies.
Think about it -- if you’re Starbucks, your real estate is not something you have to deal with periodically… it’s an everyday thing. You’re constantly opening stores, closing stores, renewing leases, making modif...
Dear Pedal,
There is a space in my neighborhood that has been vacant for, no joke, probably four years at this point. Definitely since before the pandemic. Season after season I watch the “For Lease” signs in the window fade and age, and it doesn’t look like there’s anything happening.
So, my question is this – why wouldn’t the landlord lower the rent to make the space attractive rather than just let it continue to sit vacant? It is seriously killing me… this space could be the home to some awesome local business instead of the nothing/ eyesore it currently is.
Yours truly,
Thoughtful Neighbor
Well, hi, Neighbor, and thanks for your excellent question. Here at Pedal, we get differ...
It’s that time again. Whether you love or loathe the holidays (it’s probably a mix), we’re all about to pull out our wallets and buy stuff out of tradition, love, and obligation. This is, of course, the perfect time to put our money where our mouths are and support the small, independent businesses we so value.
Let’s take a moment to consider “Black Friday” for a second. You remember why it’s called “black,” right? November and December are the months when many retail businesses are most profitable, and their bottom line numbers appear in black (rather than red) on their P&L reports.
While the big “doorbuster” deals at giant national retailers like Best Buy and Walmart really put Bl...
You know how the saying goes...
💯 Good
⏱️ Fast
🤑 Cheap
You can pick two.
The internet is undecided (shocker!) about the original attribution of the phrase we’ve all heard in some form or another. While we might not know who first spoke this into office decor legend, we know that it’s true…especially when it comes to retail real estate.
💯 + 🤑
Looking for a good space that’s also cheap? It won’t come fast, because spaces like this are hard to find, and negotiations take a long time.
🤑 + ⏱️
Looking for a cheap space that lets you open up shop next month? You’re not going to get a good spot in a prime retail area.
💯 + ⏱️
Looking for a good retail space that lets y...
If I had a dollar for every time an aspiring retailer told me they didn’t have their startup budget solidified because “it’s impossible to know until I find the right space,” I’d probably have a downpayment on a vacation home.
Nailing down a budget for a retail space feels impossible if you’ve never rented a space before, but here’s a pro tip:
✨ The space does not determine your budget – your budget determines the space. ✨
Imagine if I called my residential realtor and said that I was in the market for a new home. And when she asked me for my budget, I responded, “well, I really don’t know yet because it all depends on the space.”
💸 Should she show me a $4M historic home tha...
