This is a subscriber-only article.

For a limited time, join Entrepreneur+ and save 50% during our Cyber Monday sale. Use code SAVE50.

Join Now

Already have an account?

Sign in
Entrepreneur Plus - Short White
For Subscribers

Can't Afford the Location You Want? Consider Bunking Up With a Fellow Entrepreneur. Two companies, one affordable retail space: Here's why you should consider co-retailing.

By Kate Rockwood

This story appears in the November 2016 issue of Entrepreneur. Subscribe »

Jesse Chehak
Kate Jotzat (left) of Chroma K8 and Jenny Duranski of Noktivo are big fans of co-retailing.

Jenny Duranski was eight months pregnant, on her hands and knees, cleaning up a flood in her eco-friendly nail salon, Noktivo. She'd signed a lease for the Chicago retail spot just nine months earlier, but as her belly grew, so did issues with the shop: Plumbing leaked after every rain, and this latest flood -- caused by a burst pipe -- would shutter her business for weeks. "It was an old building, and the landlord never fixed anything," she says. She had to move, but her savings were depleted. When another entrepreneur, Kate Jotzat, offered to let her rent out a room in a hair salon, Chroma K8, Duranski jumped. "I was certain it would be temporary," she says. "I planned to stay just long enough for me to find a location on my own."

Related: How This Buzzy Startup Saved Itself from Imploding

Instead, Noktivo found a long-term home. For the past year and a half, the two companies have shared one retail space -- with separate logos out front plus distinct hours and personnel. Duranski still pays the neighborhood average for commercial retail rent ($50 per square foot), but now it covers utilities, wi-fi and common cleaning. "I don't have separate bills to worry about," she says. "And I've maintained the same amount of sales. Because it's a smaller space, I'm making more -- I've gone from $100 to $600 [in earnings] per square foot."

Editor's Pick

Related Topics

Business Ideas

This Teacher Sells Digital Downloads for $10. Her Side Hustle Now Makes Six Figures a Month: 'It Seems Too Good to Be True, But It's Not.'

When one middle school teacher needed to make some extra income, she started a remote side hustle with no physical products and incredibly low overhead. Now she brings in six figures each month, and offers courses teaching others how to do the same.

Living

'I Haven't Ticked All the Boxes Yet.' Hilary Duff Reveals Her Next Venture After More Than 2 Decades in the Spotlight — and the Surprisingly Relatable Key to Her Enduring Success

The actor talks entrepreneurship, secrets to success and her latest role as chief brand director for Below 60°, a product line of air fragrances.

Business News

An Ivy League University Is Teaching the Secret of Taylor Swift's Success

Several major universities have added courses dedicated to studying Swift's star power.

Marketing

Google Is About to Delete Inactive Accounts. Here's How to Avoid A Massive Gmail Bounce Rate.

Google will start deleting inactive accounts soon. For businesses like yours, that means many Gmail contacts will probably bounce. Here's how you can avoid that – and keep your business emails landing in the inbox.

Leadership

Great Leaders Must Be Great Coaches — Here's How to Become One

To be a successful leader, you must become an expert in how to help others grow and develop. Here's a research-driven approach for entrepreneurial leaders to coach and effectively develop their teams.