One of my clients owns a shopping center and has offered me a small space for next to nothing in rent for which he also is willing to barter.

My initial question is:  Does anyone here have a store front in retail space? What do you show? I certainly am not trying to compete with the big boxes. Since a majority of our business is service related, the concept would be more along the lines of a stand alone Geek Squad with Automation demonstration/experience areas.

Any and all help in making a responsible decision is GREATLY appreciated.

You should really take a look at the demographics of the shoppers AND get an understanding of the overall area.  This will determine what the best bet would be.  Because maybe you don’t want to have experience areas - that may not be an effective use of the small amount of space.  Maybe the best use of the space is to setup a very functional conference room and offer it as the location for the local chamber to have their meetings.  Or you could host weekly Toast Masters meetings in it.  Convert the room from conference to small theater for free kids movie night on friday or saturday.  Perhaps offer it for hourly rental during some business hours to local businesses that may need a place to hold meetings.  Don’t just think of experience center - because the foot traffic it attracts may not do anything to help you grow your business.  Before you invest ANY additional money into equipment or tenant improvement work - you really want to make sure you do it at a level that will work.  If you are in a high end retail center and you 1/2 heartedly setup a small area with 12 pairs of speakers with a speaker selector and expect to make sales - you get the idea.  If you can’t afford to do what the clientelle will want to see to move them to buy - then don’t waste the money on a bad setup.  But be willing to be creative to take advantage of a great deal that may put you in front of more potential customers and bump up the credibility of your company.