New business creates communal work suites for small businesses

BROOKFIELD — Monique Quiles has always forged her own path— creativity just came naturally to her. When she went off to college, she picked somewhere she could create her own major. When she was was deciding what line of work she wanted to go into, she became an entrepreneur.

This year, Quiles is taking that creativity and entrepreneurial spirit and creating a space for others.

The Collective Salon & Wellness Suite Rentals opened its doors in an official ribbon-cutting ceremony on Jan. 2 after a successful soft launch in early October.

On its website, The Collective describes itself as “a high vibe network of independent artists and small business owners who rent turn-key suites.” Quiles created the co-working, suite rental space, the site says, to support growth, expansion, and collaboration among business owners. It also seeks to empower entrepreneurs by providing them with the resources they need to grow a strong business.

Business owners and entrepreneurs can rent out Quiles’ new suite spaces or salon areas, which come fully furnished with all utilities included. The Collective offers year-long leases, as well as shorter term and daily rentals, Quiles said.

Inspired by co-working spaces and suite rental business models in Manhattan, the Brookfield native wanted to try this new concept with small businesses in her hometown. Specifically, Quiles wanted to support businesses that specialized in health, beauty, fitness, and wellness. After finding a perfect space at the Raymour & Flanigan Plaza— a hot shopping area in town— she put her vision into action.

Creating space

The owner didn’t want the lot subdivided, and Quiles had an idea.

“Most hair salons don’t need 7,000 square feet,” Quiles explained. “It was a huge space, so for me, I saw that as a great opportunity to be able to offer this type of business model.”

Along with space rentals, The Collective offers business resources and workshops for owners in the community. There is also a communal event space can be rented out and used for seminars, workshops, or group activities.

“The whole concept behind it is really trying to make it easy for new business owners and entrepreneurs to focus on what they love,” Quiles explained.

The location at the plaza is also one that will soon be home to a highly anticipated new grocery store, rumored to be an Amazon Fresh, which was due to open in December but experienced some delays. Quiles said the area sees high shopping traffic volumes and she’s had significant interest from business owners interested in the spaces.

Already, the rentable suites inside The Collective are filled with various wellness, beauty, and health companies— from chiropractic practice, to meditation, spray tanning, hair styling, body contouring, fillers and Botox. All in, Quiles said seven new businesses have joined the space so far.

“We’re like a one stop shop wellness center,” Quiles said.

“It is so nice to see a Brookfield native bring a business to town that offers opportunities for other small business entrepreneurs,” said Community Development Specialist Greg Dembowski. “They did a great job renovating that space and have created something unique to Brookfield.”

A vision of ‘togetherness’

Quiles, who has always worked outside of Brookfield, has been an entrepreneur as long as she can remember, and when the pandemic hit, she saw how many small businesses had to shutter while still paying rent.

“I felt really sad about what was happening in the community,” she said.

While everything else was going virtual, or adjusting to remote work, Quiles recognized that massages and haircuts didn’t translate to the Zoom-world. Eventually, these businesses would be trying to reopen, or even launch a new concept.

“I thought that, you know, it would be wonderful to be able to share resources and lighten the load during the reopening time,” she said.

Her most recent consulting job had just ended, and she started to get to work on what she calls her “passion project”— The Collective.

Quiles added that she felt the need to foster a sense of “togetherness” during a time when things felt tense and divided.

“I had this vision of this synergistic community of small business owners and entrepreneurs where they’re able to grow and thrive by sharing resources,” she said.

And so far, one business owner, Sara Keo, said she’s been having an amazing experience at The Collective.

Keo started her own hair salon, Bella’s Artistry, at The Collective. Her business opened its doors for the first time Wednesday.

“At this point in my life, I was ready to create and work and grow something of my own,” she said, referencing her 17 years in the hair business. “It’s very nice to have the opportunity to be your own boss.”