Owning a store with your sister can be hard at times. I (Anne) tend to be good at BIG IDEAS and I want to rush into the next big thing... Kate (my younger sister and co-owner) tends to be good at perfecting processes and thinking things through thoughtfully and carefully. 

But, somehow, someway, we miraculously got on the same page about one thing: we're ready for something new and something big for Lively.

We gave this a lot of thought.

Here were our possibilities:

1. Open a second store. So, we did this before. We had a pop-up in Hyde Park when we first opened and it was amazing but so much work. We were driving product around, hiring and managing employees in two places, and losing focus on our Oak Park store. So, we ruled this option out for now (but check out this picture of our Hyde Park store just 7 days before we opened!)

2. Do pop up stores in nearby suburbs to grow our brand recognition and get online sales. I'm still in love with this idea and I'm going to keep foisting it on Kate. Maybe when her kids are older, she'll get on board?

3. Buy a step truck and convert it to a mini-store and pop up at block parties and street fairs. (Side note? This is still my dream but Kate is a big giant party pooper).

Ultimately, we decided after SO MUCH discussion that instead... drum roll...

We're going to do a Lively Men's Store in Oak Park for October/November/December 2021!!! YAY!

This idea is still in its infancy, and might fail along the way. We figured we'd blog the process of opening a second store, so you can follow along if you're so inclined, and see the trials and tribulations- and potentially huge failure- that go with any small business venture!

First item on the agenda: a name.

Here are our rough ideas, and as you can see, they're all perfection.