Friends who own businesses together on Long Island: How they make it work

Does spending hours working with your best friend sound like a dream come true? It’s, in fact, a reality for a number of people, some of whom actually started businesses with several of their friends from childhood.

Since their days at Longwood High School, The Hype of Coram’s owners Yardley Bonhumme, Kristoff Galloway, DayShawn Andrews and Eric Lee have been buying, selling and trading merchandise and apparel like Air Jordan and Nike SB Dunk sneakers.

“That’s how we really came about getting into the business,” says Lee. “It’s always been something that we’ve been doing.”

The Coram natives have a knack for what's trending in sneakers and casual streetwear, often promoting drops of popular and vintage items on their social media accounts.

“We all just like shopping in general, so we decided to open up a store,” says Bonhumme, adding that the four of them would often shop in the city for the kinds of clothes they now sell and Long Islanders would often notice and comment on them. “So we decided to put it in our neighborhood.”

The four friends, who graduated from high school together in 2011, opened The Hype in early 2021 to sell Jordan,  Yeezy and Supreme sneakers. In addition to kicks and clothes, the shop also carries TELFAR handbags, which seem to be a big hit with customers. 

Here are local businesses run by best buds and tips on how to make it work.

The Hype

This group of friends took their passion for luxury streetwear and turned it into a business. 

“We do have a used section, but everything for the most part is new,” says Bonhumme.

Some classic Jordan and Nike sneakers are really sought after and hard to get, but The Hype manages to find some of these more exclusive products and sells them at the shop.

The four owners divvy up their roles based on the area in which each excels. For example, Lee used his construction background to help build out the space; Bonhumme is the go-to guy for sourcing merchandise; Galloway utilizes his business degree to handle the business side of things and Andrews is the ultimate salesman.

“Everybody has acknowledged what they’re capable of doing and we went from there,” Lee says.

The key to making their business work is believing in the same thing, notes Bonhumme.

“We’re trying to make this successful and make it work,” he says.

To anyone considering teaming up for a business, Bonhumme advises, “Just have patience and don’t expect everything to go your way. Sometimes you face adversity: just keep on working.”

But the key to running a business for these friends is communication and quality time together.

“I believe that communication is the biggest thing,” says Lee, adding that every Sunday, they try to do team building, which could mean watching TV together or just hanging around talking. "Just being there for one another so everybody knows we’re all in it together.”
More info: 1879 Route 112, Coram 

Lovers Lane Home Décor

This fall will mark three years since lifelong friends Jacklyn Scheiner and Nicole MacGowan opened Lovers Lane Home Décor in Seaford.

“We both love home décor,” says Scheiner, who teaches art at Oceanside Elementary School.

The pair went to school together in Wantagh, became fast friends and are now family — MacGowan married Scheiner’s cousin. The friends decided to open their business in the fall of 2020. 

At that time, MacGowan who owned the spa A Brazilian Reasons in East Meadow, decided to move her business into the back of the Seaford shop so they could work together. 

“She was ready to move into a bigger space for her business, so we thought let’s combine the two: We’ll have a shop in the front for home décor and where people can get things for holidays and gifts and she’ll have her spa section in the back where people can come and get waxed and facials,” Scheiner says.

At Lovers Lane, Scheiner uses her artistic talent and experience with woodworking to create custom signs for children’s rooms, porches, weddings and personal and holiday gifts, offering a choice of woods, finishes and designs.

A fine arts major, Scheiner made her first sign for her twin daughters’ first birthday, which was a big hit at the party. Her most memorable creation was a sign she created for her friend’s mom’s wedding, which, since her nuptials, she’s displayed prominently in her home.

MacGowan, who’s been in the spa business since 2017 and is applying to nursing school with the aim of expanding A Brazilian Reasons into a medi-spa, helps select the home décor for the shop.

“I love making my clients feel beautiful and now helping our clients beautify their homes is simply amazing,” MacGowan says.

The shop carries foam navigational buoys that they handpaint with nautical designs or personalize for customers and seasonal items, such as wooden pennant flags, beach pillows, wooden whale signs and beach-themed wooden signs.

In home décor, there are mini-wooden houses, decorative pillows and pillow panels with sayings that can be switched out, and a selection of soy wax Happy Camper Candles made in Deer Park.

In children’s gifts, there are weighted wool unicorn and elephant bookends, mini-stuffed animals and decorative signs and for wedding gifts, there are frames, wineglasses, cutting boards, pillows, signs and wine bags.

Trust and communication are essential, both in their business relationship and friendship, notes Scheiner.

“We also hang out all the time outside of work, our children play together, our lives are intertwined by the love of our families, which keeps our business thriving,” she says.

More info: 1704 Washington Ave., Seaford, 516-376-7279, loverslanehomedecor.square.site 

Let’s Accessorize/Let’s Bag It

Lauren Harris and Lisa Sher met at a Moms and Tots class about 30 years ago when their sons were toddlers.

“We became friendly because I actually know her husband from high school,” says Harris.

The duo soon had concessions at the same shoe store, Pamela’s Shoes, from 1998 to 2004: Harris selling handbags; Sher selling jewelry. 

“Our business grew so much that we decided to go out on our own. And with that we ended up owning three businesses,” says Harris, noting that they’ve since closed two of the shops. 

Sher opened her jewelry business 25 years ago in Merrick and Harris joined her three years later. In 2013 they moved their Let’s Accessorize/Let’s Bag It shop down the street from the original location, focusing on their two areas of expertise: bags and jewelry.

“The bottom line is she buys the jewelry, I buy the bags,” Harris says.

Selling bags you won’t typically find in department stores, Let’s Bag It carries its own line of leather bags, many designed by Harris. There are also vegan bags, which run from $70 to $90, and leather bags that cost $200 to $600, and the very popular Bogg Bags, which are perfect for an outing at the beach.

Over time, the shop has also become a family affair. Shers' daughter, Morgan, and Harris’ daughter, Julien, assist with buying merchandise for the millennial and Gen Z clientele, and help manage the social media accounts.

In addition to on-trend jewelry in the Let’s Accessorize part of the shop, Sher sells  house gifts, including trays, platters, bowls, mugs, and napkin holders, as well as the store’s brand of candles. 

In jewelry, Let’s Accessorize It features 14 karat gold plated sterling silver, Swarovski crystal, stackable bracelets and necklaces that can be layered. 

“We’re catering to the kids, the moms and the grandmoms,” Sher says.

For Sher, the secret to getting along with her business partner and friend is “a lot of open communication, a lot of helping each other out.”

Says Harris, “Lisa and I have been in business together for 22 years and we’ve had two disagreements. We’re friends so we just kind of work it out.”

Adds Sher, “We shop the shows together, we don’t step on each other’s toes. We give each other opinions when we need to.”

More info: 2203 Merrick Rd., #1, Merrick, 516-223-1977, letsbagitonline.com, letsaccessorize.com