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(Left to right) Naomi and Constance Lee |
(Note: this is the fifth in a series of stories on AV抖阴 alumni entrepreneurs. If you are a business owner and a AV抖阴 alumni and would like to have a story written on your business, please contact rick.goins@uafs.edu)
Sisters Constance and Naomi Lee have always been close. When Constance, the older sister by three years, got a job as a waitress at a local restaurant, Naomi got her work permit at age 13 so she could bus tables alongside her. As kids, the two spent a summer in Michigan detasseling corn, an experience they describe as 鈥渉orrible鈥� but are able to laugh about now.
During the rehearsal for Constance鈥檚 wedding, the priest joked that he was afraid he would say 鈥淐onstance and Naomi鈥� rather than 鈥淐onstance and Kent,鈥� simply because of how often the two鈥檚 names were grouped together.
鈥淔rom day one, we鈥檝e just always been close,鈥� Constance said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e just always enjoyed being around each other, and everyone has always seen us as a pair because we do everything together.鈥�
So when Constance decided to start a clothing store, it went without saying that Naomi would be her business partner.
The result was Indie, a fashion boutique that initially opened on Rogers Avenue before relocating to downtown Fort Smith this spring.
With the store, which sells a variety of women鈥檚 clothing and accessories, the two sisters want to provide a fashion-forward boutique for Fort Smith.
鈥淲e try to stay on trend as much as possible,鈥� Constance said. 鈥淲e try to carry basic pieces because they sell well, but we want to bring in unique items too that you鈥檙e not going to see in every other place in town.鈥�
Constance had the idea to start the business after a one-year stint in Oklahoma, where she disliked the rigid corporate structure of the department store chain where she worked.
鈥淓verything that I had wanted to do wasn鈥檛 what I thought it was once I got into it,鈥�
she said. 鈥淚 disliked the corporate atmosphere, and I wanted a job that gave me more
independence to do what I wanted to do.鈥�
Not just that, but she missed Fort Smith 鈥� and her sister Naomi 鈥� as well. When she moved back, she thought about what she wanted to do with her life, and had been dwelling on her dream of opening a fashion business.
Ultimately, the support of her parents made her decide to take the leap of faith.
鈥淢y dad jokingly made the comment that we are already young and poor so we might as well do it while we have nothing to lose,鈥� Constance said. 鈥淏ut it really is true. I recently got married, and thankfully my husband is very supportive also because it's hard 鈥� financially, physically, and mentally 鈥� to open a business. I kept thinking that if I waited and we had kids and more responsibilities that I would never take the leap for fear of not being able to help support a family and pay bills and put the time and effort I want to into a family.鈥�
There was cause for hesitation for the two sisters to start a store together. Going into a business venture with a family member was risky, as it had the potential to ruin relationships in addition to possible business failure. But the only qualm Constance had about Naomi joining her in opening Indie had nothing to do with potential squabbles.
鈥淐onstance was asking me if I would make it to work on time,鈥� Naomi joked. 鈥淭hat was the only thing she was hesitant about. She knows I like to sleep in.鈥�
Instead of a detriment, Constance and Naomi saw their familial bond as a strength, in part because the sisters complement each other as polar opposites. Where Constance is shy, non-confrontational, and girly, Naomi is outgoing, candid and hip. Where Constance enjoys marketing and merchandising, Naomi likes paperwork.
鈥淲e are total opposites, but we pull from that,鈥� Naomi said. 鈥淚f there鈥檚 a delay from one of our vendors, Constance will have me call them and ask what the hold-up is. We are always thinking about our strengths and weaknesses and make tasks for each of us based on what we鈥檙e both good at.鈥�
Accompanying their differences in personality are distinct tastes in fashion, which helps them relate to a spectrum of customers.
鈥淚 have a more feminine style, and Naomi is more edgy. But that鈥檚 good, because we can bring a mix into our store since not everyone has the same taste,鈥� Constance said. 鈥淓ven working with customers, we can relate to different ones, and that helps us cater to a wider variety of people.鈥�
But the most important key to their success as business partners is honesty and quick inclination towards forgiveness. During their interview, Constance and Naomi laughingly admitted they had gotten into an argument that morning.
鈥淲e鈥檙e fine now. When you鈥檙e sisters, it鈥檚 like, 鈥榃hatever, I still have to love you,鈥欌�� Naomi joked. 鈥淏ut if we were just business partners, it would be different.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 harder for me to address issues sometimes. So for me, having a family member made it easier to talk through things,鈥� Constance said.
Just as the sisters rely on each other to be successful, they also rely on the education they received from AV抖阴. Constance, a 2014 graduate, earned a degree in media communications, while Naomi is still a student pursuing a bachelor鈥檚 degree in organizational leadership.
Naomi鈥檚 dual designation as entrepreneur and college student ensures she stays busy, but being a business owner allows her a unique platform to apply her learnings from the program.
鈥淚鈥檒l learn something in class, and then I鈥檒l tell Constance we need to implement it in our business and tell her how it鈥檒l help us,鈥� Naomi said. 鈥淚鈥檝e learned a lot about incentives and how to get people to work harder, and what makes coming to work worth it for them. We鈥檝e worked on that with some of our employees.鈥�
For Constance, she pursued a media communications degree out of an interest in the field but has found plenty of areas for application as the owner of a boutique.
鈥淢y degree has been invaluable as I鈥檝e been marketing the company and even as I鈥檝e been reaching out to different businesses and people to help grow our store in terms of making connections,鈥� Constance said. 鈥淎 lot of my classes were geared towards social media, and the classes at AV抖阴 really prepared me build an online presence with Indie.鈥�
They鈥檝e also seen intangible benefits of attending AV抖阴 鈥� namely, through a community who supports the university and its alumni.
鈥淎V抖阴 graduates stay around here for the most part, and they want to give back to students,鈥� Naomi said. 鈥淎nd I think with me being in college and Constance being an alumni, with both of us opening a business, a lot of people wanted to be supportive of that.鈥�
Naomi and Constance see the future of Indie in expansion to other cities and expanding online offerings, although they also want to keep their Fort Smith location.
鈥淲e have a lot of ideas for how to reach out to people all over the nation who shop online,鈥� Constance said. 鈥淔ort Smith is a great area, but there are so many possibilities when you reach out to millions more. I think a good online presence helps with expanding brick and mortar locations also because your name is out there.鈥�
But no matter what challenges the sisters face, with the business and in life, they will face them together 鈥� even if Naomi moved away.
鈥淚'm married to a guy I met at AV抖阴 who is from the area, so it was easy for us to plant our roots here,鈥� Constance said. 鈥淣aomi has any possibility ahead, and we both know that. There is the possibility of her moving one day, either for Indie or to spread her wings and try something new. I'd be sad if she moved, but we would talk every day, just like when I lived in Norman, and keep in touch. Nothing would change our friendship.鈥�