Rent, Own, or Grow: Navigating Commercial Real Estate

For many business owners, the leap from renting a space to owning one can feel out of reach. The market seems opaque, financing feels complicated, and it's not always clear who to ask. Whether you're leasing your first location, outgrowing your current space, or considering ownership for the first time, the choices you make now can shape your business for years to come.

That's why we're bringing together a local commercial real estate broker, Zing Credit Union, and B:Side Capital specialists for a session covering the entire path to ownership: evaluating a property for location, zoning, and space needs; understanding how a buyer's-rep broker works on your behalf; how credit unions evaluate a small business loan application; and how alternative capital tools like an SBA 504 loan can make ownership possible when conventional financing alone doesn't get you there.