It's flipping freezing outside, and that means we've been binging spending plenty of quality time at home with our friends Netflix and Hulu thinking about Miranda. No, not that Miranda) - we're watching true crime and thinking about Miranda Rights. You know,

You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you. Do you understand the rights I have just read to you? With these rights in mind, do you wish to speak to me?

We got to wishing there were Miranda Rights for retail space tours. Don't get us wrong - there is no shortage of laws designe...

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...

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...

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...

Last month I got a question so good that I decided to write a whole newsletter about it.

The question was:

“A landlord is offering a space for a long term lease - would she lease it to me as a pop-up, for just six months or so?”

It is such a good question that I couldn’t pack a full answer into the end of our Q&A. Here’s what I said in the webinar: Don’t worry about what a landlord will or won’t let you do. Instead, stay true to YOUR business plan and make a plan that works for YOU.

But, let’s assume you’ve done just that and concluded that it does work for your business plan to pursue a short term deal. Would a landlord even be willing to entertain it?

The short answer is maybe. Deal...

I had a stack of books and a daily newspaper during the holiday break, but it was a recent article in The New Yorker that really got me thinking. So you can thank Cal Newport's “The Year in Quiet Quitting: A new generation discovers that it’s hard to balance work with a well lived life" from the December 29th issue for today's naval-gazing newsletter.

Newport argues that like the Boomers and Millennials before them, Gen Z is just taking its generational at-bat of reimagining the balance and intertwining of being a person and needing a job. As an elder millennial approaching my 42nd birthday, I could recognize the generational differences between my parents, my peers, and kids these days.

ICYMI:  “LOI” stands for Letter of Intent, and it refers to the short document that you and your landlord will trade back and forth to nail down the most important business terms of a potential lease -- the fundamental elements of your relationship together.

We’ve heard it so many times from first-time retailers. “Oh, I already got an LOI on that space, so this is how much the rent costs.” NO, SIR! This is not Crate&Barrel where standard shams cost $39 and a glittered foam apple costs $72. 

When you start searching for the right space, you’re not in a Crate&Barrel at all. You’re in a loud, crowded Turkish bazaar. You browse stalls until you find something that catches your eye, and then th...