Besides negotiating the rental rate for your new commercial space, there are other creative ways to minimize your overall financial commitment  in your lease agreement.  I recently had the opportunity to contribute an article to Gigaom highlighting 8 of them.  It ranges from capping operating expenses to obtaining flexible subleasing rights.  Naturally a lot of this depends on market conditions and available commercial real estate listings.

For most entrepreneurs and business owners the process of finding a space for your business is an important, critical and THANKLESS task.  We went through it recently as a company and it really is a distraction from focusing on your business.  So, if you’re flying under-the-radar of real estate agents, how do you do it efficiently on your own?  Speaking from experience my number one piece of advice is to plan well ahead and allow plenty of time.  Commercial real estate in general is a slow moving business - you will not miss opportunities because of spaces being quickly snatched up.

We recently revamped our real estate advice section to help you out.  We’re trying to arm you with enough information to get started and not overwhelm you with the detailed terminology that you may or may not encounter.

Our guide to common commercial leasing terms is a very good start.  Always feel free to contact us if you have some sound advice of your own.

I read one of the few silver lining stories today on the weakening US economy.  Reuters ran a story today about the commercial real estate leasing opportunities created by the fall out of many national retailers.  Starbucks was one of the bigger stories earlier in the year where they actually planned to shutter a bunch of stores.  That certainly does not bode well for the landlords - but that also really depends on the terms of lease.

The weakening overall retail demand has supposedly created opportunities for the Mom & Pops who typically compete and lose out to the chains.  This part makes sense.  The part that doesn’t make is that the weakening economy is likely having the same or similar impact on the Mom & Pops.  And when that happens these companies tend to retreat a little and refrain from making real estate commitments.  However, in soft markets you will see companies upgrade their space via subleases.

That all said, this company seems to be capitalizing…

I look forward to getting Rofo launched in that market so companies do not have to rely on calling on signs.