Sharing Office SpaceHaving an office mate can help your business--just make sure you choose wisely.
ByGerald Kinro•
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Kevin Yen thought he was done with having roommates. Then, in1998, he opened Designer Body, a food supplement store catering tothe fitness-minded. The location he found on a busy street inKaneohe, Hawaii, seemed ideal. There was a problem, however: Thespace was too big, and the rent too high. Easy solution: Yenapproached a friend, Joey Aukai, 35, who was looking for a locationto practice physical therapy. Aukai agreed to share the space andrelated expenses.
Although Yen moved out of the space in January, both partiesagree the time spent sharing an office was beneficial to bothbusinesses. Designer Body's customers, because of theirinclination toward physical activity, often get injured, so whenthey learned there was a physical therapist on-site, they becameinterested: "Many [ended] up seeking treatment fromJoey," says Yen. The reverse was also true: Aukai'spatients or their family and friends often became DesignerBody's regular customers.
Continue reading this article — and all of our other premium content with Entrepreneur+
Join the internet’s leading entrepreneur community! With your subscription you’ll get:
- Unlimited access, including premium content
- No ads
- Subscription to狗万官方magazine
- Four free e-books a year
- Subscriber-only events with our experts