i co-own a business?!

I’m not going to lie to you. I scheduled this post. I’m writing it at 9:13pm on Thursday, but you won’t see it until Friday morning. I want to make sure everything is 100% official before I announce it.

So what’s the big deal?

You are looking at the proud co-owner of a coworking space! It’s true. My sister and I- hereforth referred to as the Roman Sisters- are partners of Roman Co, LLC, which operates a Downtown Raleigh coworking space!

I have to pinch myself to be sure this is real.

Stay tuned for many, many updates, pictures, stories…and possibly freak-outs!

And if you’re in the Raleigh area, follow @raleighcowork for updates. We’ll be holding open hours in the space ASAP!

P.S. It was just May 2  that I wrote a blog post on sister entrepreneurship. So much can happen in just 3 months! As we always say, our best decisions happen quickly.

an incredible gift from my incredible sister

When I left for college, my sister bought me a book of photos featuring landmarks in the Triangle. I didn’t appreciate the significance back then because, as I mentioned before, North Carolina was just a stepping stone for me. However, I’ve always kept the book- which shows the North Carolina State Fair, our childhood favorite Pullen Park, and Duke Gardens, among many other places close to my heart- in a prominent spot in my dorms and apartment.

When I graduated from college some three long- and short- weeks ago, my sister gave me a book of Washington, DC photographs- photographs of the historic landmarks I pass every day on my walk to work or on my morning run. The White House, the Arlington Bridge, the Georgetown Waterfront.

In the front of the book, she inscribed the following message, which brought me (and still brings me) to tears:

Cris,

As you end this phrase of your life and begin an exciting new adventure, hold on to these four years and the place that shaped who you are today. You left NC and fell in love while you were away. I hope this book makes sure you always remember another city that holds a special place in your heart. I love you, and I am so incredibly proud of you. Here’s to the start of your new life in Raleigh.

I love you!

Sara Rose

I plan to showcase these books, side by side, in my new apartment because to me, they represent both my close friendship with my sister and my close tie to two incredible, life-changing cities.

{Thank you for putting up with this corny post 🙂 }

sister entrepreneurship

I was chatting with a co-worker recently about how we both wanted to start businesses with our sisters.

“Sister entrepreneurship” is all the rage right now: Katherine and Sophie, the “sister-owners” of Georgetown Cupcake now have their own TV show, called DC Cupcakes. The Kardashian sisters co-own Dash, a line of clothing stores. Apparently the rollable footwear line FootzyRolls was started by sisters Sarah and Jenifer.

Who better to start a company with than your sister? In the case of me and my sister, we know each other’s strengths and weaknesses, we push each other in a positive way, we’re more productive when we can bounce ideas off each other..and we have an absolute blast together.

We’ve talked about a promotion company, which would leverage both our shared strengths and our unique skill sets. For example, we are both very capable in terms of promoting, but I am more experienced with social media, while she is great at interpersonal communication.

Sure, there are risks involved. There have been many times that my sister has helped me out financially or I’ve fronted money for our phone bill. Having both of our assets wrapped up in the same company is more financially risky. Most importantly, there is always the possibility that a work issue will affect personal relationships.

Should we decide to move forward with our venture idea, I’d insist on a “sister contract.” This document would essentially say that, if push came to shove, our relationship would take precedence over our business. Also, it sounds incredibly silly, but we take pinky promises very seriously. They basically constitute a sisterhood pact; they are never to be broken. A pinky promise about family over business would definitely be in order!

Any other “sister-owners” you know of out there (famous or not)?