Before you open the doors it is important to perform a final inspection of the space and bring any deficiencies to the attention of the landlord. Make sure your insurance is in place and you have your occupancy and business licenses.

This part is typically called the space build out or tenant improvements. Several different parties may be involved in this stage including your space planner, your general contractor, their sub-trades as well as the landlord’s contractors.

The documentation of your mutual understanding of the transaction comes after you have negotiated the transaction. While I am not a lawyer, and am not about to offer legal advice, there is a concept in law that applies to contracts.

Entire books and courses can be written about this step alone. I know, because I have written them and teach them. However, this will give you a brief overview of some of the key negotiating points I think are important.

Many business owners start at this space viewing step foregoing all six steps that comes before it. I hope you now see the wisdom and reasons for conducting those other steps first.

Before we discuss the need to analyze the landlord, we should pause and recap the process of finding space. In Step 4 we looked at the market where we want to locate.

Once you have selected your general area or areas it is time to drill down and find current or future space availability, depending on your timing.

In the first three steps we started with the business plan and became more specific with each subsequent step. These steps set the stage for being active in the market and securing the right space. Now we are going to look at the bigger picture again.

In the first step we looked at how your real estate needs must fit into the business and marketing plan. Unfortunately, this is typically missed by most entrepreneurs.