148. Four Things Every Retailer Should Do Before Signing a Lease

Show Notes  It’s easy for us as passionate retailers to quickly fall in love with the “perfect” space and location, but how do we know it’s the right business move? In this episode, I’ll talk you through four things you need to know and do before signing a lease for your retail business.   As a retail coach and the daughter of a father who was a retail leasing “guru”, I can share from experience that I have seen a lot of lease agreements go sideways or have surprises.  Here are a few things shop owners need to consider when leasing a new location:   Set a budget. Talk to leasing agents regarding price/square foot, average rental prices in the area you are looking to open a shop in. Be aware of what leasehold improvements you will want/need to make.   Do your due diligence.  What can you negotiate? Lease length Rent increases Allowances What should you look for in the lease that you might miss? Hidden costs Utilities/Internet Tax/Insurance requirements   Be sure everything is in writing and have a mentor and/or professional look it over.   Know what YOU can afford. Do you know what % of your gross sales should go to rent, or how much you will need to make to pay that rent? I share that industry average % and more in this episode.    “Our heart can convince our head of anything, so we want to make sure it doesn’t convince us to get into trouble.  So put your CEO hat on and your heart and head can have a conversation with all of the right information.” - Wendy Batten Full show notes here https://wendybatten.com/148-2/      

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How do I attract more customers to my store? How do I get more sales? How do I book out my shop’s events and workshops? How do I do retail marketing and social media for my store? These are the questions that creative retail business owners ask Wendy Batten, creative retail coach and mentor. Wendy works with creative shop owners all over the world and with industry leaders. Her speciality is working with creative retailers to get control over their brick and mortars to avoid burnout and overwhelm while achieving more success and profits. In Creative Shop Talk, Wendy digs into the problems and solutions that “accidental shopkeepers” and hobbyists turned retail business owners face. Wendy dives deep in mindset and best practices for retailers with masterclass trainings, business strategies, expert guests and industry insiders, and more. Each episode is designed to help busy and passionate creative shop owners take action, work through their overwhelm and get focused on strategic business areas. Thinking about opening your own creative retail shop? Ready to stop playing shopkeeper and “winging” the business stuff? Looking for more foot traffic? Want to turn your brick and mortar into a viable business? Want predictable profits? Want to take the next step to run your store and not let it run you? Turn to Wendy Batten to take the proven steps to achieving your dream store, living your creative life and helping your amazing customers.