Sisters Nikki McKean and Natalie McKean-Petersen always knew they wanted to start a business together, but it wasn’t until 2021 that they made their dreams a reality. Two years later, Pistil and Thorn, their houseplant shop on Bountiful Main Street, is thriving. 

“This is the most fulfilling spot that I’ve ever had in my entire life,” McKean-Petersen said. “If I died tomorrow, I’d die happy, being able to do something more with my life than sitting at a desk.”

The sisters started brainstorming ideas for their business in 2018, when they worked at law firms down the street from each other in Salt Lake City. 

“We would take lunches all the time together and walk around downtown Salt Lake and talk about our dreams,” McKean-Petersen said. “We felt kind of unfulfilled if we were going to be doing, you know, the legal world for the rest of our lives.”

Nikki McKean said it was difficult to get the business started at first. 

“We knew we wanted to be on [Bountiful] Main Street, but nothing was open,” she said. “And then COVID hit and [. . .] it just kind of went on hold.” 

During the pandemic, the sisters noticed a rising interest in houseplants and decided that was what they wanted to sell. Their grandmother, who loved plants, was an additional inspiration to them.

“She had a green thumb, indoor and outdoor plants,” McKean-Petersen said. “So that’s how we delved into houseplants.”

They decided on the name “Pistil and Thorn.” An FAQ section on their Instagram explains how the name came to be. 

“A pistil is the female reproductive part of a flower,” the post says. “With the shop being sister-owned, we thought the name was fitting. [And] we both love cacti and thought [“thorn”] had a nice ring to it.”

McKean-Petersen owned a home in Kaysville, and when she sold it in 2021, it gave her and her sister the funds they needed to finally start their business.

Despite having a plan and the funds to support it, finding a storefront proved challenging.

“We felt like because we were women and we had no business experience that landlords didn't want to take us that seriously,” McKean said. 

The sisters found a realtor who finally helped them secure the perfect spot: an old antiques store a few doors down from the post office on Main Street. 

It took the sisters three months to prepare the store for opening. They had to pull out the old carpet, paint the walls, set up shelves and more, all while balancing their families and full-time jobs. With help from family and friends, they got the store ready and opened on Aug. 6, 2021.

McKean said that they started small and have been growing ever since, just like the plants they sell. Local vendors now sell pottery, jewelry and more in their store, and now they even share the back of their space with Split Leaf Coffee. 

“It's been great,” McKean said of the decision to open the coffee shop. “[We’re] sharing a customer base and just creating a cool space for the community to hang out.”

There have been growing pains, but overall, the sisters are proud of the work they’ve accomplished. They said their relationship as sisters has remained strong even as they’ve become business partners. 

“She has her strengths and I have mine, and we just do our thing within those realms,” McKean said. “And for the most part, it’s worked and we agree on things. If we don’t, we've been able to work it out.”

Natalie prefers to focus on the numbers and finances of the business, while Nikki said she is on the more creative side of the store. This allows them to do their work without stepping on each other’s toes, although they also fill in for each other when necessary. 

McKean said they sometimes experience “imposter syndrome,” but they’ve worked hard to get where they are. 

“We look around sometimes and I’m just like, ‘What? We have a store?’ This is weird, you know, it’s crazy,” she said. “Especially with no real business experience.”

The sisters have one main piece of advice for anyone thinking about starting a business.

“Do it,” McKean-Petersen said. “Don’t think too hard. You want to be smart, you want to get your numbers, you want to have your goals and make sure you're not being dumb about it. But I think you can’t think too hard, or else you just wouldn’t do it.”

McKean added that she would have regretted not starting the store, and is glad she and her sister took the risk.

“If someone's that passionate about something, and really wants to do it, I just say you’ve got to at least try,” she said. “You don’t want to regret it, you know?”

The sisters said that while others who want to start their own businesses might also face prejudice or other obstacles, there is always a way forward. 

“Don’t let that stop you. At least get out there and try,” McKean said. “Once you get in, you can prove yourself, and hopefully that goes away.”

McKean-Petersen added that having an advocate, like the realtor that helped them find their storefront, is essential. She said that people are better able to grow when they make connections.

“I think the more women who are building these businesses, the more will get taken seriously in the first place and not have to have someone help [them] out,” McKean-Petersen said. 

Pistil and Thorn is thriving, and the sisters say they love being part of the small-business community in Davis County. They said they hope others are able to feel that same sense of belonging whenever they walk into a local business.

“Small businesses are huge for community,” McKean-Petersen said. “It’s really, really cool to see people come together in different ways.”