Leasing a Salon or Shop? Key Steps & Advice From Pedal Retail Advisors | Sheila Laderburg Tarasiuk | Cofounder & Retail Real Estate Consultant | Pedal Retail Advisors

Signing a commercial lease is one of the biggest and irreversible decisions a salon or shop owner will ever make.In this conversation, Sheila Laderburg Tarasiuk of Pedal Retail Advisors explains what it truly means to be transaction-ready and shares the essential steps, costs, and protections every beauty professional needs before moving into a retail space.Follow/subscribe to be the first to know when new episodes are released. Like what you hear? Leave us a review!KEY TAKEAWAYS:🔅Be transaction-ready before you even look at a space — Sheila stresses that you must have a full business plan, financial clarity, and a real understanding of commercial real estate before a broker will take you seriously.🔅Know what you’re signing — leases are long, binding, and hard to escape — A commercial lease isn’t casual paperwork; Sheila explains it can be harder to exit than a marriage and comes with years of personal financial commitment.🔅Have real money ready — opening a salon usually costs around $200,000 — Even “simple” or “turnkey” spaces require deposits, build-out, signage, legal fees, utilities, and upfront operating capital.🔅Don’t go in alone — the landlord’s broker does NOT represent you — Sheila’s direct warning: every building has a broker, and their job is to protect the landlord’s interests, not yours.🔅Your business plan must be detailed, researched, and math-driven — A real business plan takes months, not a weekend, and requires deep thinking, budgeting, and market analysis before approaching landlords.🔅Preparation is what keeps you grounded when emotions hit — When clients panic at the final signing stage, Sheila brings them back to their business plan to make sure every assumption still holds.RELATED LINKS👉Follow Pedal Retail Advisors on Instagram👉Connect with Sheila on LinkedInThe Hairdresser Strong Show is all about Salon Owners, Rising Stylists, and Seasoned Stylists sharing their experiences, successes, failures, and advice to inform, educate, and empower their Fellow Hairdresser. We won’t stop until we are all: Hairdresser Strong.CONNECT WITH US📬 Subscribe to our free newsletter📸 Connect on Instagram🎵 Connect on TikTok📺 Watch on YouTube📝 Check out our BlogThe views and opinions of our guests are theirs and important to hear. Each guest's views and opinions are their own and we aim to bring you diverse perspectives, career paths and thoughts about the craft and industry so you can become Hairdresser Strong! They do not necessarily reflect the positions of HairdresserStrong.com.