I spent a lot of time sitting in parking lots. You can learn a lot just watching cars go by at different times of the day. For example a location may be great in the morning, but lousy in the afternoon. Or maybe the parking lot is full at lunch, but empty the rest of the day. You should also consider which side of the road works best for you. For example a drive thru coffee shop has a much better chance of success if its located on the side of the road with the morning rush hour traffic, while a takeout joint has a better chance of success if its located on the side of the road with the going home traffic.

This week we discuss the negotiation and signing of one of the most dreaded legal documents any entrepreneur will ever fail to read: the commercial lease (insert scary music here). Before we dive in, understand these points; there is no such thing as a lease thats in favor of the tenant. Trying to break a lease is like trying to sweet talk your way out of Alcatraz. Landlords are your best friends until you miss a rent payment or two. And although I could find no written record of anyone actually having turned over their first born at a lease signing, Im pretty sure its happened many times over the years. In fact, theres a rumor that Donald Trump has entire warehouses full of nothing but his tenants first born children.

This week continues my series on opening a brick and mortar retail store from scratch. This week we discuss how to find a capable building contractor to build out the location. And as this series has been thus far, this segment is based on my personal experience and offered to you warts and all. As with all of my columns only the names have been changed to protect the innocent, the ignorant, and the overly litigious.

When I was a kid there were five words I heard more than all others combined. Usually coming from my father, they were, Boy, what were you thinking? Those words typically came after he caught me doing something I shouldnt have been or more often, after talking my younger brother into doing something really stupid that could have but never did end in his demise. I hadnt heard those words in many years (at least since my younger brother got taller than me). And I havent really missed hearing them (no sentimentality there). But a recent business venture of mine had everyone I know asking, Man, what were you thinking?

One of the cool things about being an entrepreneur and business author and speaker is that I get to use all kinds of big words and phrases that make me sound much smarter than I am. For example, just saying the word entrepreneur makes me sound quite educated and continental, despite the fact that the only subject in school I failed miserably was French. After an entire school year the only thing I learned to say was, Mon professeur est un porc de verrue, which loosely translated means, My teacher is a wart hog. You can see why I got la F.

Weve all wished that we could go back in time with our heads full of knowledge and our belts busting with experience and do it all over again. The proverbial second chance is something weve all wished for - some of us more than others. Imagine how different our lives would be if we came equipped with unlimited do overs.

Is the pressure of being in business getting to you? Do you feel like you have the weight of the world on your shoulders? Do you lie awake nights with a thousand points of worry flashing through your poor, tired brain? Welcome, my friend, to the wonderful world of entrepreneurship. Come on now, you really didnt think it was going to be that easy, did you? Forget all those reasons youve heard as to why businesses fail. Its the pressure of entrepreneurship that sends many folks running back to the supposed security of a real job. Ive seen perfectly good businesses flushed down the tubes simply because the owner couldnt handle the day-to-day pressure of keeping the doors open.

In business and in life people judge you everyday, just as you judge everyone else. And most of us base our opinion of others on our first impression of them. We make the decision to either like them or loath them within the first minute and you know as well as I do, my holier-than-thou peers, that we do not do business with people that we dont like. First impressions are hard to change, so make every effort to make every first impression a good one.

The last time we met I told you about the U.S. Department of Labors prediction that within the next ten to fifteen years fifty percent of the American workforce will consist of home workers, independent contractors, consultants, telecommuters, freelancers, and of course, entrepreneurs. Think about that for a moment, especially if you are a diehard nine-to-fiver who cant imagine yourself leaving the comfort of a regular job to try something different. The workplace of the future is either going to be an exciting or dreadful place, and its up to you which side of the coin you fall on.

When it comes to careers and business, my radio show partner and author of the best selling career advice book 48 Days To The Work You Love, Dan Miller, is a walking, talking encyclopedia of precise industry statistics. While Ive always been comfortable using such statistically noncommittal terms as many, most, and some, Dan prefers to remember and espouse accurate numbers. Ive told him time and again that most people dont mind fuzzy statistics. He keeps telling me that 58.9 percent prefer to have accurate numbers. Who can argue with math like that?