How to choose a retail space. Leasing commercial real estate - the intricacies of the process Where to look for premises for rent

Renting out real estate is a very profitable business if you approach the procedure with care. maximum responsibility. Constant passive income is always pleasant, but what if the idea arose to provide commercial real estate for rent? This will require a slightly different approach, because there are a big difference between renting an apartment and a large office.

Step-by-step instruction

The process of leasing an object is divided into the following stages:

Determination of rental value.

The first step is to review and evaluate greatest number available offers on the market. The larger the sample, the better the result (a more accurate indicator of the average rental cost for commercial premises).

During the analysis, you can use popular sites like Avito or CIAN. Information can also be studied in a variety of printed publications. If you have no desire to study other offers yourself, it would be wise to hire a realtor or broker.

The price for such services can hardly be called high, but saving a decent share of nerve cells and time is quite possible.

Rent price commercial real estate should suit not only the owner, but also potential clients. A deliberately high bid is unlikely to be successful, but the formation of the price tag may be influenced the following factors:

location of the building/premises;
infrastructure (presence of cafes, free parking in the immediate vicinity, building security);
building class;
quality and level of repairs;
layout functionality;
various communications features (uninterrupted power supply, Internet, availability of bathrooms, etc.);
other bonuses that can potentially improve the productivity of tenants (Wi-Fi router, coffee machine, comfortable furniture).

After analyzing the prices on the market, you can contact other landlords and try to reduce the cost. Often, the price indicated in offers is indicative and approximate. The value that can be achieved during negotiations will be enough to find out the average rental rate for similar proposals. 5-10 requests are enough to get comparative data on rental rates.

The most important thing for a commercial property landlord is to find the right client. You can do this yourself, or you can hire a realtor. Both situations have their pros and cons, so choosing what to do is a personal matter for everyone.

When searching for a tenant on your own, a serious advantage is having your own database. However, its absence will not lead to big problems, but you will have to spend more strength.

In a good way finding a suitable client is to create a website with commercial offer. It is better to promote such a site using contextual advertising with a focus on key audiences. Thanks to such advertising, you can easily find an interested audience and avoid high commissions to agencies.

It is most advisable to do this when renting out premises with an impressive area. Such offers are sought out by clients who expect high returns from their planned activities, and who trust websites most of all.

If a person wants to buy a very expensive car, will he look for it on dubious resources or will he prefer the official website? The tenant of commercial real estate is of the same opinion.

A completely different matter is small premises for rent. There is no point in creating a website and free online message boards (even small ones) are perfect.

Realtor services.

If you don’t want to search for interested parties yourself, there is the option of hiring a realtor. This person will independently find the right tenants, make contacts and even independently conclude the required lease agreement.

On the other hand, search the right people– the matter is delicate and quite complex/labor-intensive. Not all realtors will agree to this, and masters of their craft in serious agencies will require a sum of money for such services in the amount of 50% of the rental price for 1 month. And sometimes even more than that.

But still, with this method of searching for tenants, the owner will free himself from significant difficulties. In the end, it will only be a matter of drawing up the contract and preparing all necessary documentation.

Payment for the realtor's services is made only after the conclusion of the lease agreement. If a realtor or agency requires you to make an advance payment or pay the amount earlier, they may be scammers.

Required documentation.

After a tenant has been found and that's it key points If both parties are satisfied, you can begin to draw up the contract. An agreement on the lease of commercial real estate must necessarily contain the following clauses:

complete information about each of the parties;
exact address of the rental property;
amount and payer utilities;
monthly rental amount;
the date when the property will be rented out;
necessary actions each party in the event of force majeure situations;
description of the quality of repairs and existing furniture;
Key conditions under which a lease agreement can be terminated.

If there is a shortage necessary knowledge or experience, it would be wiser to involve a qualified lawyer in the procedure for concluding a contract.

A contract is not the only thing you need when renting out real estate. You should also have with you:

passport of a citizen of the Russian Federation;
document confirming ownership;
floor plan.

When all the documents are in hand and the parties have successfully concluded the contract, all that remains is to receive the proceeds and monitor the frequency of payments.

Commercial real estate includes office buildings, industrial premises, sports facilities, shops, garages, warehouses and even hotels.

You can speed up the leasing of commercial real estate by reducing the rental rate. Taking into account fixed costs for the maintenance of the premises, it would be more correct to rent out real estate at an average or even low rate than to put up high price, but for the whole year.

The price of such premises is also affected by the availability of:

parking;
points Catering(in the same building or in close proximity);
infrastructure;
high cross-country ability, etc.

In such conditions, rents can be significantly higher than the market average. And, of course, there will be a client for it.

Openness to the wishes of future clients also plays a significant role in the delivery of commercial real estate:

Help with planning.

A potential tenant may need help or advice with workspace layouts. It would be wise to prepare in advance and offer several ready-made options right away, and the key changes will remain up to the client, which he wants to make.

It is much easier to change something ready-made than to create something from scratch. Such attitude towards the tenant will undoubtedly be appreciated.

Discussion of details.

The color of the walls in the room, the number of maximum connections to telephone network or the Internet, as well as discussing all other features will help gain the tenant’s favor and persuade him to rent this particular property.

It is small psychological technique: The more a person goes into detail, the higher the chances that such a conversation will be etched in his memory. This means that he will focus on him first of all, weigh the pros and cons, etc.

However, if the entire rental process is based on such tricks, there will be a big risk of losing your reputation. If the quality of the rental is significant only in words, then this can lead to very serious consequences.

Holidays.

If the commercial premises allocated for renting do not have finishing, then you can offer the tenant a payment holiday. That is, he will carry out repairs at his own expense, but while the repair crews are doing their job, the client will not pay rent for the premises.

This is quite a significant plus for a tenant who has clearly decided to rent the property:

if there is no extra money to pay rent and repairs at the same time, then this action will cause extremely positive emotions and increase the reputation of the landlord;
Also, renovation holidays will help persuade a hesitant tenant to purchase this particular property/premises.

In general, you can temporarily exempt a client from paying rent in a variety of situations. The main thing is that there are no serious financial losses for both parties. These are basic features of doing business, and tenants (as well as landlords) of commercial real estate understand this very well.

That is why such actions are widespread, although their use is not mandatory. Especially if the delivery of commercial real estate is not urgent.

Lessor reliability.

This is a very important point, most clearly manifested when preparing documentation from the owner for the tenant. The more guarantees the client receives, the greater the chances of successfully leasing the premises.

An abundance of supporting documents, no tricks when signing an agreement and a good reputation are the keys to successful leasing of commercial real estate. The reason is simple:

when renting an apartment, the issue is often dealt with by ordinary citizens;
and if the premises are planned to be used for commercial purposes and to earn serious money from this business, then the tenant will study each document as scrupulously as possible.

Risks and other difficulties

Not only the tenant is exposed to risks - the same applies to the landlord. The most common causes of conflicts are:

insufficient definition of the legal obligations of the parties regarding the leased property;
delays in monthly payments and other payments;
use of rented property for other purposes;
damage/loss of property belonging to the lessor;
taxation disputes (according to Article 146 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, the obligation to pay VAT is assigned only to the lessor with the possibility of deducting the amount of tax by the lessee if the appropriate document is available).

All these conflict situations directly depend on the concluded agreement. Each of the points should be described as accurately as possible, since this minimizes the risks for both parties at once. It is important to take a responsible approach to concluding a contract in order to avoid such situations.

Renting commercial real estate is not much different, but has a number of key features. The most important thing is the conclusion of the contract. In any situation, the parties will rely only on it, therefore, when concluding a transaction, they need to concentrate their attention on this document.

If you are going to develop a chain of stores, then to successfully solve this problem, you will need to develop and implement a premises search system. Let's look at such a system using the example of the development of a pharmacy chain.

The first step is to purchase on paper or electronic media a fairly detailed map of the city, on which individual houses, transport stops, etc. are highlighted.

Then you need to contact the pharmaceutical committee (or through any other channels) to obtain information on all pharmacies in the city and their affiliation with one or another network.

When we map pharmacies into areas, we categorize them based on their competitiveness.

Municipal pharmacies are weak market players; you can hardly pay attention to them, but in the future someone will buy them, and then they will be successful. It is necessary to evaluate who is more advantageously located in relation to the main consumer flow.
Individual commercial pharmacies or small chains, medium-sized competitors.
Commercial networks with developed technologies and management are the strongest competitors.

It is interesting to look at the indicator - the “density” of pharmacies per 1000 inhabitants, and compare it by region. From these figures we can make an assumption about the saturation of the local market and assess its development potential.

If there are 300 pharmacies in the city today, then within a year another 100 will open. They will open in different places and will be successful to varying degrees. Of the existing ones, some will close because they will be uncompetitive, working with outdated technologies. So, in those places where newly opened pharmacies will remain, you should be there. This happens from year to year, and we can still say for sure that not all good places in cities are occupied by strong competitors. This situation will last another year or two. And then competition will come mainly due to marketing activities to attract traffic, tougher price competition.

Features of searching for premises for different formats

We work with a map of residential areas.

We are looking for where there are options - the entrance to a residential area - but there are no competitors nearby. Usually at the entrance to a residential area, this is a very clear location - literally ten to fifteen meters from the final stops, etc. This situation is promising for you and is a priority for exploring the possibility of putting your pharmacy there. Mark it in color on the map! This is the highest localization priority. The next one is where there are competitors, but weak ones. This is the second priority, in a different color.

We work with the map on streets with high traffic.

We highlight the central streets of the districts, transfer points, places near large shopping complexes. We localize places that are interesting in terms of traffic and flow quality; there are probably pharmacies there. We assess the degree of competition and assign the highest priority to those places where competitors are weak or absent.

We work similarly with the map for shopping complexes.

You must immediately begin to establish contacts with the owners and management companies of existing and under construction shopping centers and indicate your interest. They, as a rule, ask for an application describing the characteristics - power requirements, ventilation, availability of a bathroom, finishing, etc. It is necessary to constantly maintain these contacts, as well as gradually establish them with developers and large food retail companies.

We are starting to go on site in locations with the highest priority and assess our ability to install pharmacies. Three options may arise - rent, purchase, construction. First of all, you are probably interested in renting, although other options can, in principle, be considered.

In one to two weeks, it is quite possible to establish contacts with the owners and managers of shopping centers, assess on the spot the possibilities for making priority efforts to evaluate and select a location for opening your pharmacies, and look at the most promising options.

After the initial personal assessment, we begin active work with real estate agencies. First, it is worth concluding agreements and assigning tasks to 7–8 agencies, in order to then select 3–5 of the most effective ones. We set them tasks to:

requirements for the location - traffic, area, rental range, etc.
specific places - we want premises here and here, here are the requirements, look for options
possible objects - this is the specific premises we want, negotiate

The criteria for the offers you are interested in should be formulated in as much detail as possible - locations, state of documents, rent, etc. You must visit each agency with which you are working at least once a month, otherwise work with them will gradually fade away.

Within a few weeks, an influx of proposals appears from the agencies with which we are working. Every day one or two proposals may appear, with which you need to work to evaluate them until a decision is made to open.

Evaluation of the characteristics of the proposed objects,making decisions about opening

It is appropriate to emphasize here that the main part - more than 80% of proposals - is eliminated at the preliminary stage of assessment, when we calculate the possible turnover, check ownership documents and the transfer of former apartments to non-residential stock, find out the terms of the lease and use the coefficient of two times the excess of the estimated turnover over the output turnover to breakeven.

Opening pharmacies and bringing them to break-even

Planning, coordinating and monitoring the implementation of actions to open and bring a pharmacy to break-even. Activities are broadly grouped as follows

Repair
Layout ( retail store equipment and office equipment)
Hiring
Preparation of all documents and licensing
Security terms of reference to open a pharmacy
Marketing promotion activities
Control and increased attention before breaking even

This stage takes a significant time resource. Therefore, the sooner the pharmacy manager is hired and the more coordination and control of the implementation of the opening plan and achieving break-even can be delegated to her (him), the better.

Ideally, a candidate should be in mind already at the stage of consideration of the premises, so that if a decision is made to open, the manager will be immediately hired.

This option leaves you time to perform your other functions.

Even in the largest cities, it is sometimes very difficult to find suitable premises for work. This is especially common among small businesses. Obviously, the owners of the premises do not really want to bother with renting out the premises in parts - it is much more profitable to give everything at once to a large market player. If a large premises is rented out in small areas, then the cost of rent may increase significantly. As a result small companies are forced to settle for inconvenient or even semi-legal work premises. What to do in this case? In such a situation, there are two options - sublease or cooperation. Let's look at each of them in detail.

There are quite a lot of sublease offers today. Often such areas are rented out by owners of grocery, cosmetics and other stores who still have “free” space after renting. In other words, over time, the owners of such companies realize that they rented too large a premises and only a certain part of it is enough for them to fully operate. In order to reduce rental payments, they, in fact, offer sublease to other entrepreneurs. Such proposals can be completely trusted, especially since large and successful companies They try to choose the most accessible places in good areas. The only drawback here is the lack of a separate entrance for the tenant, but this is not always a problem. Based on this, small companies willingly rent such space.

Another advantageous option is joint tenancy. For such purposes, you can cooperate with entrepreneurs with similar profiles. For example, this could be the sale of meat and fish or, say, auto parts for cars of different brands. Of course, this allows you to get more customers, because a buyer who comes for one product can at the same time purchase something along the way. Some businesses even have similar requirements for opening branches, for example, you can open a point only near the cash desks of large hypermarkets. This approach significantly saves rental costs and allows you to get good customer traffic.

Rules for searching commercial premises

So, now let's proceed directly to the search itself. First of all, it is necessary to determine the criteria on the basis of which premises will be selected. Often this happens spontaneously and only according to general ideas. This approach cannot be called correct. It is important to understand that you may have to work in rented premises for many years and, of course, profit very seriously depends on the correct choice. It is also important to consider the company’s development prospects. If, for example, the company’s staff constantly increases, then it will certainly require a larger area over time. It will be problematic to look for new premises later, so it is better to take care of solving this issue in advance. Again, do not forget about the convenience of the location of your company - it should be located in a place where it will be more convenient for both you and your clients to get to. By providing at least these initial criteria, it will be possible to avoid as much as possible the likelihood of searching for a new premises.

Among other things, we do not recommend looking only at market prices. First of all, you should start from your own budget. It is important that the rental price is not too high compared to the income. In addition, prices may not always be fair. Statistics show that usually most entrepreneurs pay no more than fifteen percent of their earnings for rent. Do not forget that at some point you may need additional (working) funds, and due to high rents there will simply be nowhere to get them. As a result, the enterprise will be forced to close and the entrepreneur will be left with nothing.

The correct calculation of the final rate is also important. Often in advertising, property owners indicate one price, but in the end it becomes completely different. Somewhere, for example, the cost will be indicated without utility payments, and somewhere – without paying for the Internet, cleaning or parking. Naturally, you may then need to pay for repairs, furniture and all kinds of equipment. Even the smallest expenses can seem like a lot over months and years of rent.

Let's not forget about the agreement itself. All information printed in it must be studied carefully. Please pay attention to the fine print, if present. Data such as the term of the contract, the terms of its renewal and changes in the rental rate are of great importance. By the way, it is important to discuss the latter with the owner in advance, since when this indicator increases, many entrepreneurs often close their business.

You can find out in advance what “bonuses” are possible for future rentals. For example, the owner may make repairs to cover the rent, provide additional parking spaces, and make other improvements. Perhaps payments will even decrease over time and that will be even better. In exchange for this, again, the landlord can offer prepayment for a year in advance and there will be nothing extraordinary about this.

Ways to find commercial premises

All methods here can be called traditional - these are print media, social media and notice boards. In large cities, there have long been separate catalogs for such real estate, so there are usually no special difficulties in this regard. If still on at this stage problems arise, don’t forget about self-publishing advertisements with the corresponding request - this option may allow you to dictate your own terms. That is, with this approach, you can immediately indicate in the ad the maximum budget, on the basis of which you will receive offers from the owners. Perhaps in some individual cases you will have to independently visit the relevant organizations and find out whether their premises are rented out or not - this is also not a particular problem. As a rule, most owners speak openly about such proposals.

The area in which the premises are located

Naturally, any entrepreneur wants to work in the area that is most convenient for him. Only in this regard there are some nuances. When choosing a premises, you need to clearly understand who your company will be aimed at. Taking into account interests and location target audience, you can find a suitable room much faster and easier.

For example, for a coffee shop in the “take-to-go” format, you should look only for places with high traffic - these can be both shopping centers and kiosks on the street. As for bars and shops draft beer, then you should focus on people who walk in the area on weekends or in the evening. At the same time, we should not forget that it is better to sell craft beer in the center, and regular draft beer - in a residential area of the city. The same is the case with hairdressers/beauty salons: it is better to open a fashionable barbershop in the center, but something more budget-friendly and without frills can be opened in the most ordinary residential area. If you plan to open a cafe or restaurant, then you need to choose the location very carefully, since everything depends on the traffic.

Again, don’t forget about the presence of competitors - if they exist, then it is better to be located away from them. However, this point greatly depends on the field of activity. As you know, in many markets competing companies are located almost close to each other, but this does not prevent them from receiving a sufficient flow of customers.

It is also important to remember that the rental cost directly depends on the traffic of the place. Therefore, than the best option is offered, the higher the probability of its high cost. However, this does not mean that this traffic will allow you to get exactly target clients. Often between sleeping or central area in this regard there are no particular differences. In this regard, you need to know your target audience very well, namely, know where they live, work and what places they visit. Based on this, it will be possible to draw the most correct conclusions and rent a good room for affordable money.

Commercial premises area

Obviously, a lot depends on the area of the room. If you plan to open a stall in the “take-it-with-you” format, then an area of five square meters will do. If you need a point selling draft beer, then you need to have at least fifteen square meters at your disposal. For a small cafe, an area of fifty square meters may be enough. If we're talking about about opening a full-fledged bar, club or restaurant, then you need to look for premises with an area of more than one hundred square meters. To find out the size of the required area, it is better to look at similar companies - this will certainly be able to identify some pattern in this regard. By the way, in terms of rent, it is in many ways better to focus on similar enterprises. That is, if most draft beer stores have a small area and are located in residential areas, then such a point should be opened in similar places.

Traffic and its features

As we have already noted above, the choice and, of course, the cost of a place are also affected by its traffic. Most types of business are focused on two options for attracting customers: people passing by and those who come through advertising. Based on this, in the first case, you should look for areas with high traffic (metro stations, transport interchanges, the central part of the city), and in the second, a place that can be more conveniently reached (even if it is a somewhat remote area). This is the only way to find best option which will save you money. To study this issue in more detail, we will give below several examples that will help you navigate these options.

How to find premises for a grocery store

A grocery store, if you choose the right assortment for it, will be popular almost everywhere where people live or work. Such points very rarely close due to low profits, so the cost of rent in most cases is completely justified. Food products are in demand everywhere, so even with competition, profits are unlikely to decrease noticeably. The only thing you can be wary of is large chain supermarkets, where the choice is much larger and often of better quality. Naturally, their advertising is developed at the proper level, since people still trust big names more. At the same time, to reduce the negative effect of competition, it is enough to open a store on a neighboring street or even in a neighboring yard, because for many people it will be more convenient. We don’t forget to highlight our advantages, for example, longer operating hours and affordable prices. That is, with proper business planning, even a not-so-successful choice of premises can be well compensated by other indicators, but this is not possible in every area of business. In such situations, it is best to study the experience of other entrepreneurs - this allows you to avoid many mistakes. At the same time, one should not exclude renting a new premises over time. Any business can be improved, and the issue of rent is not such a difficult task if you understand it well.

How to find premises for a clothing or shoe store

As for clothing or shoe stores, it is best to locate the business in a large shopping center. People constantly go to such places to shop, so there is consistently high traffic here. It is interesting that even competition here can be beneficial - if a person knows that there are many shoe stores in a particular shopping center, then it is possible that he will ultimately choose your store. When in shopping complex really a good choice, then it is likely that the majority of city residents will come to it. In other words, a client can initially come to one store and choose a product in another. Considering the high-quality advertising of shopping centers, we can say that to some extent they promote their tenants.

What can we say about the adequacy of the rental rate, which in large shopping centers usually does not change and is made as acceptable as possible in the market. Still, the owners of such areas are interested in constant and long-term cooperation. We can say that in such cases the tenant is a little insured against unforeseen circumstances and “changes of mood” of the owner of the premises. In large organizations this issue has been worked out for a long time and usually no misunderstandings arise here. You can even say that developed companies that have been operating in the market for a long time should be completely trusted - they already know perfectly well how to cooperate on mutually beneficial terms.

If the rent is still high, you should not stop at shopping centers. Today, with the help of the Internet, you can get a significant number of clients, so there are few reasons for concern here. Of course, it’s worth immediately comparing how much money will be spent on advertising and how much you will have to pay for rent. If all this is much cheaper than the cost of rent in other places, it's worth considering. It may be better to open a store in a less-than-traveled place and turn it into a kind of pick-up point. We don’t forget about the possibility of delivering goods, but these are more technical issues. Fortunately, in the case of clothing and shoe stores, there is more choice in this regard.

How to find office space

Finding office space also has its own characteristics. Especially often problems arise for those entrepreneurs who do this in small towns. There are quite a few normal areas here and, as a rule, they are more intended for warehouses or trade. In this case, subleasing or cooperation with other entrepreneurs can help out, as we talked about at the very beginning.

But don’t be disappointed ahead of time – you need to at least try. After all, the “office” business is also gaining popularity, even if less than chain retail. In general, we can say that finding office space can be much easier, but again, everything depends on the specifics of the business. If traffic, as such, does not matter, then you can rent almost any suitable premises. As practice shows, offices of even large and famous companies may be located in relatively peripheral areas, or even industrial zones. It all depends on the level of the company, the characteristics of the target audience and, of course, the company’s budget. Considering these indicators, we can say that the choice here is quite large. Even with relatively modest resources, you can rent a decent office with a good renovation.

Cost of renting the premises

As we noted above, rental costs should not be more than fifteen percent of net income. By adhering to this recommendation, you will not be afraid of poor profitability and a long payback period for investments. At the same time, not every entrepreneur can predict their earnings. Real information can only be obtained from other partners or from similar companies located in similar places. You should not trust the franchisor company here, which may exaggerate the likely income. It is best to choose a place “with a reserve”, that is, imagine the minimum profit and then calculate the rental cost from it.

Rent discount for small businesses

Don’t be shy and ask for a discount from the owner of the premises - many of the owners are ready to accommodate under certain conditions. According to unofficial statistics, the average discount here is literally five to ten percent for long-term cooperation. In this regard, it is necessary to clarify in advance whether this option is possible or not. Before you start bargaining, you need to study similar offers and find out the rates on them. Naturally, you shouldn’t go too far here and it’s best to have several options in stock. Only in this case will you not be afraid that one day the cost of the premises will increase sharply. There can be many reasons for this, so it is important to thoroughly study the contract and negotiate all obligations. After all, not every owner wants to lose a permanent tenant.

What time of year is best to look for premises?

On the market commercial lease There are practically no seasonal surges. Demand here is stable almost all year round, and most contracts are concluded for a long period. It is more advisable to rent a room exactly when the most profitable season begins in your business - this will reduce many costs, including rental costs. For example, beer stores bring good income starting in the spring, and coffee shops - more often in the autumn season. Again, in the summer, and also after the New Year, there is a possibility that some premises will be cheap. However, you shouldn’t chase insignificant discounts either. The cheapest premises are often not the most liquid ones, so danger can also await the entrepreneur here.

What is better: a room with decoration or without?

Naturally, this question refers to financial expenses. Some entrepreneurs may fall for the most cheap option, however, it is far from a fact that renovating a room without finishing will cost less than renting a similar, but completely finished space. Of course, a lot depends on the characteristics of a particular business, because opening an exclusive restaurant will require repairs in any case. In the case of an ordinary second-hand store, things are definitely simpler - almost any more or less normal room will do.

What important conditions must be included in the lease agreement? For example, room renovation?

The agreement must very clearly spell out the procedure for termination on both sides, the return of the deposit upon termination, the period of notice of termination, the extension of the lease agreement and the increase in the rate upon renewal, as well as the rights and obligations of the tenant and the landlord. It is most profitable to conclude contracts for 3-5 years, prescribing rate indexation within 6-10%. In general, it is better to take into account all the points in the contract, so as not to solve them in an emergency.

Are premises rented more often with or without finishing?

In fact, an attempt to save on renovations and move into what is left of the previous tenant is fraught with the fact that your store or cafe will not have the best best view. If you intend to seriously engage in business, then it is better to take premises with a rough finish and make your own design. Especially if the success of your business depends on appearance premises. Therefore, you shouldn’t be afraid of rooms without finishing, but, of course, if you have the opportunity to save money and take a room with at least some renovation that suits you, then you can do it that way. There are all sorts of options on the market.

A very important aspect: if you move into a premises that has been vacated by a tenant of your profile, you need to very clearly understand why it closed and study all the pitfalls. And if you still decide to take the premises, you need to study what mistakes your predecessor made and try to avoid them. Unfortunately, many tenants are very susceptible to the fact that “hurray, there is no need to do repairs, everything was done just for us,” but we must understand that if everything were so simple, then the previous tenant would hardly have left a good and profitable place .

At what time of year is it more profitable to look for premises for a micro-business?

There are almost no seasonal surges in the retail real estate market, since demand is almost always stable, and contracts are signed for a long period. It is better for the owners to wait a month in January and a month in May, but then rent out the premises on normal terms, rather than have the price drop. Therefore, it is advisable to search before “your” season, when your business will generate high income.

For example, it is better to open beer stores in the spring, and coffee shops, on the contrary, in the fall. Of course, in the summer, as well as in January and May, there are chances to find premises a little cheaper, but there is still no point in specially adjusting to this, since only not very marketable premises are rented out at a discount.

How can I now get a discount on renting premises for small businesses?

Now owners are ready to give a discount to tenants, but within reasonable limits and not all of them. The average discount now is 3-10% of the rate. Also, often with a long-term contract, the owners are ready to give a discount for the first 3-6 months or even the entire first year. But provided that the tenant continues to pay an acceptable rate.

Before you start trading, you should study similar offers and rates on them, predict your revenue, and only then go to bargaining, armed with arguments. What irritates owners the most is when they have already reduced the rent below everyone else in the area, but tenants still come and ask “can we get it even cheaper?” That is, no one likes bargaining just for the sake of bargaining and can lead to you simply not getting the premises.

For example, we have already said goodbye several times to tenants who bargained simply for the sake of the bargaining process itself and their own extra profit. And even when they later came and agreed to our terms, we basically gave the premises to another tenant, who immediately behaved adequately. Therefore, you shouldn’t go too far.

How do rental rates for small business premises vary depending on the area chosen?

Rental rates primarily depend on the foot traffic of the place: the more people pass by the doors of the premises, the higher the rental rate, since this potential buyers or store visitors. At the same time, the “quality” of traffic plays a much smaller role, since goods are sold both in Perovo and on Ostozhenka, so a good premises at the metro exit in a residential area can cost the same as on Ostozhenka or Petrovka. It’s just that their audience of tenants and clients will be different.

Therefore, when determining a rental rate that is comfortable for your business, you should focus on a level at which no more than 10-15% of turnover will be spent on rent. That is, if the store’s revenue is 1 million rubles per month, it is profitable to pay 100, maximum 150 thousand rubles for rent with average profitability.

If the profitability is high, as in beer stores, cafes, expensive farm products, some clothing and shoe stores, then you can consider premises with a rental rate of 17-20% of turnover, and in the case of trading discount goods or services such as a beauty salon, rent should not exceed 6-8% of turnover.

It is important to consider that it is quite difficult for a beginning entrepreneur to predict turnover. Even when opening a store or salon under franchising, the franchisor will always exaggerate his achievements in order to draw you into his model.

You can only get real data from other partners or similar points in a similar place.

Large network companies have special models for calculating the turnover of a future point, but these models are very complex and expensive. But it is still necessary to at least roughly estimate your own revenue before opening, so as not to make a mistake.

Where is the best place to locate a store for maximum customer traffic? What are the features of the location?

Is the search for premises for a hairdresser any different?

Opening your own hairdresser or beauty salon is a very specific business. Now there are a lot of such projects in every area and in every price segment, so first of all you need to find a place where there are as few competitors as possible, and offer clients some feature that will set your salon apart from the mass of competitors.

The choice of location again depends on the model: it is better to open a fashionable barber shop in the center or in expensive areas of Moscow (North-Western Administrative District, Western Administrative District, South-Western Administrative District), and a cheap hairdresser can be opened in any residential area.

Fundamental point: to open successful salon beauty, this business needs to be lived, it needs to be well understood and understood in its intricacies.

The margins of such projects are not very high, so you need to make money from the flow of clients or add some kind of “trick” to the services. For example, a beauty salon opened at Red October, where during the haircut the client can be treated to alcoholic drinks (or sold to him), and at Chistye Prudy there is a beauty salon where they do manicures and pour coffee. These are, of course, very extravagant “tricks”, but you can always come up with something of your own. In general, the beauty market in Moscow and large cities is already very saturated, so rushing into this business for big money is very risky.

If we are talking about a cafe or other format of catering, you need to choose the place very carefully, since people in residential areas do not really like fast food and cafes, however, with the exception of shawarma, since they can eat at home. In residential areas, it is advisable to open either a cafe with delivery or the opportunity to take food home at a reasonable price, or a full-fledged restaurant or bar that will become a place of attraction for residents of the area.

What is the optimal area of the room?

If we are talking about selling food and drinks mainly for takeaway, then an area of 30-50 square meters is enough for you to organize a distribution and cooking area and set up 2-3 tables for those clients who still want to have a snack on the spot. For a full-fledged self-service bar you need 100-150 square meters, and for a cafe with seats and waiters - 150-400 square meters, depending on the expected number of guests.

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