FORWARD FEST: Commercial Real Estate Leasing 101
Leasing a commercial property can feel overwhelming—especially when you don’t understand the process and terminology.
Lets face it, the world of commercial real estate is complicated and you’re lucky if you get a call back!
This class will familiarize you with the basics of commercial real estate leasing. Understanding the flow, what you need to know, and how to best prepare. No two deals are the same although there are fundamentals that are important to be aware of as well as expectations from both tenant and landlord.
Topics include:
- The commercial real estate process
- The NNN Lease defined and what you need to know
- Selecting the right firm/broker for you
Bring your questions—leave with clarity.
Registration Information
Date: August 21, 2026
Schedule: 10:00 am- 11:30 am
Location: Live Virtual
This no-cost session is being hosted as part of Forward Fest 2026! By completing the registration links below, you will receive information for this SBDC-hosted session.
If you are interested in attending other Forward Fest sessions, sign up for a Forward Festival pass, and then add your desired sessions to your schedule.
Registration Summer 2026
Date: August 21, 2026
Schedule: 10:00 am- 11:30 am
Location: Online (link will be sent to participants shortly before the session date)
There are seats available for operating, for-profit businesses under 500 employees. Financial support for these seats is being provided by the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) as part of the Main Street Bounceback Program.
These businesses should register below:
We have a limited number of seats available for nonprofits, pre-venture (not yet started) businesses, and those participants from a company of over 500 employees.
These organizations should register below:
Note for Forward Fest Attendees: This no-cost session is being hosted as part of Forward Fest 2026! By completing registration at the links above, you will receive information for this SBDC-hosted session. If you are interested in attending other Forward Fest sessions not hosted by the SBDC at UW-Madison, you will need to sign up for a Forward Festival pass, and then add those sessions to your schedule.
Cancellation Policy: Due to program costs and space limitations for these programs, participants are expected to cancel their registration at least 24 hours ahead of the program. Cancellations that occur less than 24 hours prior to the start of the program will be considered no-shows and may be removed from future programming and/or charged a course fee.
Disability Statement: Reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities will be made if requested at least two weeks in advance. Contact the UW-Madison SBDC office at sbdc@bus.wisc.edu to request accommodations.
Heather Ewing, CCIM
Heather Ewing is the Founder | CEO of ABSTRACT Commercial Real Estate LLC, a boutique commercial real estate firm specializing in Retail-Restaurants with an emphasis in Mixed-Use Developments. She has represented over $151M+ New Mixed-Use Developments brokering NNN leases and sales for local and national Developers, Landlords, and Tenants.
Heather has chaired and serves on various boards from CCIM to CBG and the City of Madison BID. She currently serves as 1st RVP with CCIM. She is a requested speaker at CARW, REJournal, NAIOP, interviewed by Channel3000, WKOW 27, iHeartRadio, and others.
Heather grew up and has resided in the Madison area for over 40 years. She enjoys giving back to community through her annual Bright Lights Run-Walk Fundraiser to benefit Girls on the Run and founded CRE + Coffee to mentor UW Madison real estate students on a quarterly basis. To keep life balanced, Heather is an international marathoner.
The Wisconsin SBDC Network is a proud part of the Office of Business & Entrepreneurship within the Universities of Wisconsin. It is funded in part through a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration. The Wisconsin SBDC at UW-Madison is also part of the Wisconsin Entrepreneurship Hub at UW-Madison.
The Wisconsin SBDC at UW-Madison helps entrepreneurs succeed at any stage. We offer no-cost, confidential consulting and business education across a wide region, primarily serving Dane, Sauk, and Columbia counties. SBDC services are provided in a nondiscriminatory way to all legal residents and citizens in the US.
Reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities will be made if requested at least two weeks in advance. Contact us at sbdc@bus.wisc.edu or call (608) 263-2221.