By Courtland Hickey
One piece of business advice has stayed with me for years: "Buy land—they aren't making any more of it." For independent costume shop owners, I'd add one more thought: if you want your business to outlive you, make owning your building one of your long-term goals.
Like many of you, I've spent years investing in costumes, racks, shelving, display cases, and inventory. Those investments are important—they're the heart of our business. But over time I've realized that one of the most valuable assets we've built isn't hanging on a rack; it's the real estate underneath it.
Time has a funny way of speeding up. Twenty or thirty years in business feels like forever when you're opening your doors, but one day you look around and realize those decades have flown by. During that time, every rent payment has helped build someone else's equity. A mortgage payment, on the other hand, builds your own.
The numbers reinforce that point. Over the last decade, cumulative U.S. inflation has exceeded 40%, meaning something that cost $100 ten years ago now costs roughly $140. Construction costs, labor, steel, concrete, and land have all climbed dramatically, making it far more expensive to build new commercial space than it once was. Existing owner-occupied buildings have become increasingly valuable because replacing them has become so costly.
Of course, ownership isn't perfect. Property taxes—especially in places like Illinois—can be painful. Roofs leak, furnaces fail, parking lots crack, and maintenance never seems to end. You also don't control what happens on neighboring properties. A great building next to a poorly maintained one can affect your business.
But here's the thing: if you're renting, you'll often find yourself dealing with many of those same problems anyway. Landlords don't always make repairs as quickly as we'd like, and in many commercial leases the tenant is still responsible for improvements, maintenance, and a significant share of the operating costs. The difference is that when you own the building, every improvement benefits an asset you own.
One strategy I've found particularly appealing is buying more space than you currently need. Renting part of the building to another business can generate income that helps pay the mortgage while giving your own business room to grow naturally. Instead of moving every few years, your business can simply expand into space you already own.
As costume retailers, we often think our inventory is our greatest asset. It certainly has tremendous value, but it's also specialized. Someday your family may not want to sort through thousands of costumes, hats, wigs, and accessories—or explain why there are six giant mascot heads in the warehouse and no one remembers which school they belong to.
A commercial building is different. Whether your children continue the business, lease the property, or sell it, the real estate remains a tangible asset with broad appeal and long-term value.
There isn't one path that's right for every business, and ownership isn't possible for everyone at every stage. But if your dream is to build a costume shop that lasts for generations, owning the building is one of the strongest foundations you can create. Long after the trends change and the costumes rotate, the building can continue working for you—and for the family or business that follows.
Courtland Hickey is the owner of Chicago Costume and vice president of the NCA.