Okay, before we start, let me just acknowledge how much I hate the fact that I’m using a woman’s aging as the centerpiece of this article, but you all already know that I do my part in smashing the patriarchy AND I love a perfect metaphor. So here we are.

I saw this meme the other day about how Anne Hathaway looks pretty much exactly like she did 20 years ago. Now we all know why that’s the case, right? Clearly the woman won the genetic lottery, but she’s also been “investing” in maintaining her 19-year-old face since she was 19.

Now I’m sure this meme was trying to sell me something to stick in or on my face, but do you know what the image mashup made ME think of? You guessed it. Reta...

You’re chatting with a regular when they casually mention the news. Or maybe you’re scrolling Instagram when you come across a cheery, sponsored “We’re Hiring” post. Or, maybe worst of all, you spot a shiny, new “Coming Soon” sign in the window across the street.

No matter how it happens, nothing will ruin your day like learning a direct competitor is coming to your block, to your community, or just too close for comfort.

Competition in business is as certain as death and taxes - it’s only a matter of time before you’re going head to head with another business that will compete for your customers' attention and money.

And while you can negotiate an exclusive in your lease, that doesn...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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-...

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.