Before You Sign A Lease
Small Business Week 2026 opened with one of the most practical conversations a business owner can have: what happens before the ink dries on a lease. Featuring Pat McGilberry, Chief of Inspections for the City of Montgomery, the session walked entrepreneurs through the critical steps that stand between a great business idea and a legally operating location — zoning verification, building inspections, Certificate of Occupancy (CO) requirements, and the fundamentals of lease negotiation.