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While other stores closed their doors, Colonial Heights boutique opened and thrived

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COLONIAL HEIGHTS, Va. -- While other stores were closing their doors forever, one Colonial Heights woman started a boutique that thrived during the pandemic.

"It was a very big jump," said Daffodil Boutique Owner Nicole Pegram. "I thought this is what I want to so, so I went with it."

It all started in January of 2020 inside Pegram's home.

"I was a stay-at-home mom and I wanted to look cute on date night, and I couldn't afford that luxury-priced item, so we wanted to make things affordable for our customers," Pegram said.

"Being in front of the camera, doing lives," said Pegram. In just two months, those Friday night Facebook lives showcasing boutique items for sale lead to a move… just outside the house.

"Today we broke ground on the she-shed boutique," said Pegram, in a Facebook announcement. Her first storefront of her boutique was a 12-by-20.

"I started following her Facebook lives, selling her clothes and then she built her boutique in her backyard, in a little shed," said longtime customer, Meagan Scott.

"Little" soon became a bit of a problem, and it became time to expand…again.

Her hard work, determination and skill with capturing a social media audience soon grew her store out of the shed -- even in the midst of a pandemic.

The doors to her first official storefront opened on January 7, 2021.

"I love coming here, I love shopping here, the owner she's great, they have really great accessories, clothes, mask, pretty much anything that you would want," said another customer, Jamie Croft.

Customers said it wasn't just the products that brought them into Daffodil Boutique. It was also Pegram herself.

Croft said, "I think with just her personality and everything they have to offer here, anyone would be crazy not to come here and go shop."

"I think it's also the type of person she is," said Scott. "She's willing to go out of her to make sure that, her customers get what they like."

"We hired our first employee," Pegram said, reminiscing on when it all started with her in her home.

Now, as more people get vaccinated and begin to venture our more, Pegram often just sits back and ponders her past year of success.

"I sit outside the shop and just, sometimes just sit there and think, this is crazy, all this has happened, in a little over a year," she said.

She believes customer service is one of the keys to her success, but when you meet her, you quickly learn drive, determination and the desire to succeed are the traits making her dreams come true.

Watch for CBS 6 Senior Reporter Wayne Covil's feature stories on CBS 6 News and WTVR.com. If you know someone Wayne should profile, email him at wayne.covil@wtvr.com.

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