This is part of an exploration of Power, Partnership, and Symmetry.

Landlords offer property in exchange for fees to pay for it. This is still a partnership; both sides need what the other provides and both truly require mutual respect to be successful, though a landlord may have 10 houses and the tenant only the need for one. Many a landlord has been trapped by a cruel tenant; power when it enters this relationship can abuse both ways.

My landlords have invested in the value of the building where I run my business. They have taken a risk and want to profit by that risk and I acknowledge that this needs to be viable for them to continue. I also know that I have value to them. Not just as someone who pays them rent but by being someone who cares for their investment, shares their values, and offers a financial and emotional stability to their risk. Academie Duello would not be where it is, nor would my landlords be able to rest as easy as they do, if we had not found a way to be empowered together to meet the challenges of the recession several years ago.

More tomorrow…