🎶So no one told you life was gonna be this wayyyyy 🎶
If you clapped along, you’re ahead of the curve - today, we’re talking about friends. (With a lowercase “f” – but reply to this email if you’d like us to dissect Central Perk’s ☕️ real estate choices.)
We’ve heard it said that you find out who your real friends are when you open a business. It takes courage to go after your dreams, and you’ve got to get seriously vulnerable if you’re going to open a brick-and-mortar business because EVERYONE is (hopefully) watching 👀.
And so, it’s natural to want a bestie or two in your corner to 📣 pump you up along the way – and, it’s natural to assume your community of friends is going to be ...
Generally speaking, I am not a DIY kinda gal. I never shy away from hard work, and I’m an advanced Ikea assembler, but I didn’t learn to use a drill properly until I was 35, and I definitely believe in paying for expertise whenever possible. So it might surprise you to know that whenever I hear that someone wants someone else to write their business plan, I want to throw down my $1 soft serve cone and say, “Nej! You MUST do this yourself!”
Now if you’re asking yourself, what could be SO BAD about ghostwritten, ChatGPT written, or “for sale on Upwork” written business plans, that would make me shout and waste my delicious $1 treat? I’ll tell you. Business plans only work when you do...
I (Abby) do not have any tattoos. This will come as a surprise to many, who are surely thinking “but she SO cool and edgy. So counterculture! She really makes redlines seem punk rock.” 👩🏻🎤
I do, however, have a number of retail real estate truisms that would come in handy if I ever DID have them tattooed on my body. Chief among them? “EVERYTHING IS NEGOTIABLE”
As we negotiate our deals, Pedal Retailers learn this is true. Pedal Retailers save $115,000 on average per lease – and that’s just just the tip of the iceberg.
✅ Need three months free after you open to ramp up sales? Let’s ask for it.
✅ Need short term parking out front for online order pickup? Let’s ask for it.
...
We hear about it every day from start-up retailers. They call a “for lease” sign, have a (usually) pleasant conversation with the landlord’s broker, and then…nothing. Calls, emails and prayers all go unanswered.
They’ve just disappeared and left a specter of anxiety and dashed hopes. What in the flying phantasm?!
This is usually when the haunted house in your brain kicks into full gear…
😱 Did they think my business concept was stupid?
😱 Do they think I’m an idiot who can’t pull this off?
😱 Am I such an obvious loser that their k
...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 you’re not a little nervous about signing a lease, you’re not thinking hard enough.
Truly – it should cause you some anxiety to make a multi-year, legally-enforceable commitment since you literally have no idea what the future holds. Unless you’re a regular at the high-rollers table in Vegas, making a bet valued at hundreds of thousands of dollars (or more) is pretty terrifying. And even indie retailers who have signed leases many times over still get nervous.
So how are you supposed to get comfortable with signing a lease if the uncertainty of the future looms so large?
✨ Your business plan is how. (Did you guess I was go...
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...
Our dramatically dwindling attention spans (hello, TikTok) and culture of instant gratification (hello, Amazon Prime) is reshaping everything around us. We can order bulgogi bowls, a case of Modelo, toilet paper, a phone charger, and a hot date…all from our phones and all delivered to our doorstep within 60 minutes.
So, when we tell aspiring retailers that it’s going to take 10 months to a year (or more) to open their brick-and-mortar, we brace ourselves for their disappointment. Most of the time, when we talk to first-timers, they share their plans to open for business in a new space “by the summer” or “in time for the holidays.” Almost always, those opening dates are about three ...
