Overhead is one of the biggest costs for a small business first starting out. Fetch and Co. in Lakewood found a way that multiple small businesses could split the overhead by splitting the storefront time.
The bell that hits the glass door when you walk into the Fetch and Co., located at 15613 Detroit Ave in Lakewood might be the only thing that stays the same when the clothing business packs up and lets another business take the space over.
"When we first started back in October, we were selling out of my basement," said Fetch and Co. co-founder Abbey Markiewitz.
Markiewitz and co-founder Julia Gramenz eventually wanted a storefront but also wanted to cut the cost and time commitment.
"But oh, this is what rent is each month for a storefront," Markiewitz remembered thinking when they first started looking. "Do we really want to man a storefront seven days a week? No we dont."
Their answer is to share.
"The space is kind of yours to do with what you want," said Gramenz.
Fetch and Co. signed the three year least, but they're only in the shop a few days a week. When they're gone, they're offering to rent out the space to other small businesses by the hour, or for a whole weekend.
Neutral walls, shelves and a table that can be used for meetings when the jeans are gone make the transition possible.
"We wanted to be thoughtful that it was set up for clothing but also if people had furniture or art or pottery," said Gramenz.
It builds a small business community that helps them make the rent payment every month, but also gives a helping hand to local artists and other small business owners who want the exposure, but can't cover the cost themselves.
"Our focus was that every small business will be really successful from utilizing this place," said Gramenz. "We're all going to share clients, we're all going to share social media, we'll all be tagging each other and marketing for each other."
Abbey and Julia say the key to making their idea work is the right business partners. They say other owners and insurance companies were uncomfortable working with their pop-up idea, until the pair found the people they're working with now.
Fetch and Co. has it's grand opening this weekend.
