Locating Your Business – Fusion Pilates

I have to say when I was looking for a space in San Francisco to open up my business, it was a bit overwhelming. I felt like little red riding hood battling the big bad wolf. Every space I drove by had a big bad realtors sign on the property. Most of whom never called me back so I could view the spaces listed. I knew exactly what I wanted, it was a matter of "getting in" the space and into the circuit of agents to find the proper location. I was actually very lucky when I did get a hold of an agent because he was great. I know this is not the norm, I have heard some horror stories. Even though my agent was extremely helpful, I did most of the leg work on my own.

I have been through the leasing process twice in San Francisco, I would definitely say the most important thing anyone can do when looking for space to lease in San Francisco is to do your homework. You can't just take the agents information as fact. You need to back up and confirm all information you are receiving about any property for a potential lease. Hit the pavement, ask local merchants what they pay, how long they have been in their location, who owns their building, does their landlord maintain the property, how long has the neighboring space been vacant, why did the other tenants close their business, and anything else you can think of to ask the current tenants surrounding the space you're interested in leasing. The more information you can pool, the better decisions you can make about how to negotiate a lease. Remember you are negotiating with the landlord and the agent.

Most agents will block you from attaining the information that I previously mentioned. This is where Rofo could make all the difference for new entrepreneurs. I spent a significant amount of time doing the legwork myself, since their wasn't an online source for me to cross reference all the information that I was getting from agents. I considered multiple locations both times I was looking for space. Which meant I had multiple agents giving me different second hand information. Rofo can make this process so much more time efficient for entrepreneurs. So they can stay focused on making their business a success and not spending all their time on chasing around brokers and agents to secure a great space with a solid lease.

Last updated: 09.16.2008 10:50 AM

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