Great neighbors make for great business 🤝

If you're interested in the top ten most critically acclaimed films of all time, then surely you’ve seen Troop Beverly Hills. Okay, so maybe it’s only in my top ten, but it’s a masterpiece, and I’m standing by that claim.

This 1989 cinematic gem provides content for multiple newsletters (yes, Abby and I can relate everything to retail real estate), but we’ll start with a simple one today.

ICYMI: Troop Beverly Hills is about a very fabulous and kind shopaholic, Phyllis Neffler, who becomes the leader of her preteen daughter’s troop of “Wilderness Girls,” which is basically knock-off Girl Scouts. They are all underestimated. They earn patches. They persevere. They learn to believe in themselves. They are redeemed. Perfect.

Along the way, the girls have to sell 1,000 boxes of cookies in order to earn their spot at the annual jamboree. So the girls set up their cookie pop-ups all over town — at a star-studded fashion show, at Spago, at a celebrity book signing, and…right at the entrance of Jane Fonda Workout. Where better to sell cookies than the 1980’s mecca for women with food issues.

This concept — of locating your business next to, or very close to other businesses that attract your customer — is called cotenancy.

Now if you’re not familiar with the term “cotenancy,” you’ve definitely seen it in practice. Cotenancy is exactly what it sounds like.

• co: “together with”
• tenant: “someone who rents a property from a landlord”

When you are a tenant, the other businesses together with you at the property are your co-tenants.

🐶 If you own a pet boutique, it would be very helpful to be located next door to a veterinarian.

🍷If you own a wine bar, it would be fabulous to open across the street from that buzzy restaurant with a two-hour wait.

And on the other side of the same coin,

🚨If you own a yoga studio, you'd want to avoid the space right next to the fire station.

When we think we’ve found a great space, the good kind of “this other business makes my marketing easier” cotenancy is like icing on the cake. But the “I can’t do my business with this guy next door” cotenancy can rule out a space entirely.

So, as you’re thinking about your ideal location, remember your neighbors. You and your broker should be clear on these questions:

 1. What types of businesses does my target customer already frequent? (Dog owners take their dogs to the vet.)


 2. What types of businesses are complimentary to my own? (People waiting for a table want to grab a drink while they wait for their table.)


 3. What types of businesses would detract from my business? (Fire engine sirens and savasana are not compatible.)


Considering cotenancy along with your core real estate criteria is the ultimate “work smarter, not harder” hack.  Wilderness Girls approved.

And since you were wondering, despite having their "jewelry appraisal," "money laundering," and "divorce court" patches revoked by the WG authorities, the girls of Troop Beverly Hills sold 2,000 boxes of cookies. They earned a spot at the jamboree fair and square, and can you guess who finished in first place? We’re crediting the power of the right cotenancy!