Two sisters used social media and their free time to turn an idea into a successful company.

Alyssa and Erica Pietraniello, of Yorktown Heights, say the idea derived from realizing how much time they were spending in loungewear during the pandemic.

“All we were wearing was sweatshirts and sweatpants,” says Alyssa Pietraniello. “We were just so bored watching movies all day or going on Tiktok.”

The sisters decided to form AEPCUSTOMZ, a loungewear company, from a passionate project.

The duo began selling items on Instagram, Etsy and finally a website. “Yesterday, we actually became an official LLC,” says Alyssa Pietraniello.

Their inventory includes smiley icons and positive slogan sets that have been seen on some of social media’s favorite stars.

Alyssa Pietraniello tells News 12 that the business became so lucrative that they had to slow down.

“It got to a point where we had so many orders that we had to end up capping it off because we weren’t going to be able to get them all done in time,” says Pietraniello.

Along with being new business owners, they also had to juggle their virtual schoolwork.

“I was getting up at like 6 in the morning, working on orders, then doing my online classes,” says Alyssa Pietraniello.

Now in less than a year, the Pietraniello sisters have profited about $15,000.

Their mother, Vera Pietraniello, tells News 12 the opportunity is allowing the girls to really learn the ins and outs of business.

“They’re learning hands-on every aspect of business, whether it’s management, financing, marketing, accounting, gross profit,” says Pietraniello.

News 12 is told the money made is invested into new equipment and their education with Alyssa already paying off her last year of college in full.

Erica Pietraniello offers this advice to those contemplating starting a business: “Put all your effort into it if you really love it.”