March 2014 - 1on1 Business & Marketing Mentoring

Before you set out to get a lease for your shop or kiosk from a mall, there are a number of things that you have to get right, so that you can be sure of a good deal with respect to your lease agreement, so that you can get everything right from the start, and also to safeguard yourself from the lease going awry.

Most malls set their rent per square feet or meters, so it is important that you ask about this beforehand. Ask whether there is any service charges involved in getting the lease, and if possible, whether the mall operators provide the AC for FREE of if this is included in the service or utility bills in the contract.

You should find out what the opening policy of the mall is in the event that the mall is yet to be opened. There are malls that open with 50-70% of the stores occupied, while others will only start operation with 30-40%, and later on replace some of the stores that are failing. On the same note, take some time and look into the track record of the company that is managing the mall, their operation history and how they handle their clients. Remember that not all malls are the same, and that some can take up to one year to really pick up traffic, while others can take up to three.

Take some time and speak to the neighbours to know how much they are paying for their service and utility bills and any other costs that they have to incur to do business. Are there any expected brands that will or might rival or complement your brand? Also take time and look into the entrances, the gates, and determine whether or not they are suitable for you. As you enter into contract negotiations, consider the length of the lease, and the action when the lease expires. There are mall owners who will demand in the agreement that you completely renovate the store after your contract expires, and this can really eat up into your profits earned so far. At the same time, it is also important that you find out if and how much the rent will be increasing per year.

There are some malls that for some reason have their own companies that carry out the repair and maintenance works inside the mall. The costs involved in such can usually be higher than you would have to incur if you hired your own contractors. Because of this reason therefore you need to look into this clause and find out whether or not you are able to handle the costs involved.

Most malls will set different rates depending on the time within which you intend to open your store. In the event that you are dealing in stuff like toys, November and December would be ideal months for you, but remember that you should have at least 6-12 months’ budget in order to be able to survive the challenges involved after you open your store.

Look into the terms and conditions before you sign any document. The pages might be long and boring, but they have a reason for that. If you cannot do it, get your legal advisor to take you through them one by one before you can commit. There are others where you will be required to set a security deposit, while others will want a profit or revenue sharing agreement. Also, consider whether or not there are controlled standards in place for making any renovations in the mall.

The nature of your merchandise will determine the type of the lease you are getting, and whether or not the mall in question is suitable for you. Try and talk with either the mall owner, the General Manager, Leasing Manager or whoever can get you as close as possible to getting a good deal, and understand the contract details.

It is important for you to negotiate a number of free months within which you will be carrying out some repairs, setting up your infrastructure and other structures in the mall. Be very keen on this because most malls offer it but only if you ask for it. Therefore, if you move in and start setting up, you will not need to start paying rent immediately. If you are making any changes or some construction work during the free months, be sure to inform the management if these will require some approval from external authorities. This is important so that you do not have to start paying for time while there is a delay in the approval process.

The termination policy is also an important thing that you have to look into. If you are to terminate the contract before it expires naturally, would there be a penalty, and how much would it be? Knowing about this will help you limit your liability. Consider the installation of the HVAC systems, and whether they are centralized or if you are supposed to install yours on your own? Besides that, find out whether there are enough parking spaces not just for your clients, but also for your employees if possible.

You can also negotiate with the mall owners the nature of the rent agreement once the contract expires. Will they increase the rent, and if so, by how much? This is important if you intend to stay in the mall for another lease period. The other thing that you should not forget is to find out if there is a penalty for not opening your store on the agreed time. If this is there, try and negotiate to shift the date later or to remove the clause altogether in the event that you are not so sure about when you will open. This is because in most cases the penalty is always more than you would be paying for rent.

In today’s hectic world, it seems as though we are all struggling to get more done. While we are spending more and more time working, sometimes it seems as though we are actually accomplishing less. What I have discovered is that the key to accomplishing more is having a to-do list. Having a to-do list is extremely important when you want to achieve more and be more productive and efficient.

I actually use an app called 2Do, which is available on MAC, IOS and Android. If you are going to use it on your phone, I recommend that you put it on the main homepage of your smartphone, and if you are using an iPhone then add it to the bottom fixed bar so that it is readily available and visible. You also need to get in the habit of programming yourself to actually use it and checking in with it throughout the day so that you can stay on track of what you need to accomplish.

With 2Do, you have a tremendous amount of functionality, such as the ability to star the tasks that you create and prioritize tasks based on the priority level that you assign to them. Additionally, you can sync it with your MAC so that everything is updated automatically.

Different Tabs / Tasks with different Priority level (From the 2Do app on my iPhone)

It also allows you to create checklists, create projects, create different tasks, etc. Most people use it to create tasks, also you can use different due dates for tasks, assign certain action for your task such as texting or phone calls that need to be made, so that know what action needs to be taken for that particular task. You can even put a time and a location so that if something is nearby, then you will know about it. Audio notes can be added, as well.

New Task Details

As you can see, you can have different tabs on the left side of the app. There is a tab for everything, where you can see all the tasks, projects and 2do lists that you have created. There is also a tap to show you only today tasks. The app will even tell you what the deadline was so that you will know how many days past due it is.

Different Tabs / Tasks with different Priority level (From the 2Do app on my iPhone)

You can also add different tabs based on what it is that you want to achieve. For instance, you might add a computer tab so that when you are at your computer, you can check in and see what you need to do. For most people, it is a good idea to create a work tab for their general work, but you can also create different tabs for different businesses. If you are out and about a lot, you might want to create a to-do list or tab for that as well, so that you do not forget anything while you are out. You could also create a future projects tab for those things you want to accomplish in the future, such as books you want to read, etc.

To Do List (From the 2Do app on my iPhone)

Project List (From the 2Do app on my iPhone)

Another great way to use this app is to create a calls list for the people you need to call. You might also consider creating a home tab where you can enter things you need to buy for your home. In the event that you delegate tasks to someone else, you could also create a special tab for that, as well to shift the delegated tasks into that tab. Also, this app will show you the list for items that are completed, so you know what has been done. There is also a main sidebar that shows all of the tabs you have created with different colors to distinguish the various tabs. Shifting tasks to different tab categories is also very easy to be done through this amazing app.