Two sisters Annie Claire Bass and Chelsey Laborde Blankenship recently celebrated their first birthday of their online boutique SoSis. Now, a year into their business these girls are working harder than ever to bring their passion for online shopping and affordable fashion to Baton Rouge.

Chelsey, who graduated in public relations from LSU, and Annie Claire, who graduated in fashion merchandising, put their degrees and experience together to create a powerful duo for an online boutique. After almost a year of planning and drafting a business plan, they officially launched on Oct. 9, 2014.

One sister is passionate about buying affordable clothing and providing top-notch customer service and the other focuses on web design and marketing, and today they’re dishing on the blessings and challenges of running their own small business.

Read today’s full post for my Q&A with Sosis!

SF: What are a few perks of running Sosis with your sister? What has been the best part of working together so far?

Chelsey: Annie Claire and I have always been passionate about two different sides of our business. I get excited to develop a blog strategy, draft a mass e-mail and add new products to the website. Annie Claire is passionate about finding the highest quality clothes at affordable prices. Our interests compliment each other and that’s what makes running a business with my sister so much fun. And you just can’t beat a sister’s encouraging words when you’re feeling overwhelmed and over it. That’s really my favorite part.

SF: What has been the biggest unexpected challenge of running a small business in its first year?

Chelsey: Website development. I can’t say this is completely unexpected, but I may have overestimated myself a bit. I am the primary web developer and not actually a web developer. We’ve faced some difficult challenges and I’ve learned as we grew. I’m very thankful for all that I’ve learned throughout the process and without SoSis forcing me to learn new trends in web design, our site wouldn’t be what it is today.

SF: Now that you’re a year in, how would you describe the brand and focus of SoSis?

Chelsey: Our focus on trendy clothes to add to what’s already in your closet is still in tact. However, we’ve seen that what catches someone’s eye online is different than what that same person may grab in-person. So, we’ve increased the amount of flowy styles and are even adding plus size clothing to the site before the end of 2015.

SF: What’s in store for SoSis in year two? And what can we expect to see from SoSis in the future?

Chelsey: More size options, more statement pieces to add to your everyday wardrobe and more collaborations with bloggers. The biggest addition you’ll be seeing before the end of 2015 is the addition of plus sizes. We are so excited to be able to offer trendy, boutique-style clothes to women of all sizes.

SF: Finally, what advice can you pass along to other girls who are thinking of starting their own business?

Chelsey: Be flexible with your vision and adapt. So many times this year, it was hard for Annie Claire and I to shift our focus based on what we learned from experiences. It’s important to adapt as a young, small business and discover what makes you different. It’s something I think every business strives for and we are determined to get better at it.

Photos by Lacey Rabalais