I started Sugarbabes Boutique with one hundred dollars. One hundred dollars! And here we are today celebrating our 3rd Anniversary. When I started Sugarbabes Boutique, I had just left an office job that I had been at for over 12 years. It was simply time for a change. Time to do something fun and include my daughter, Cali. I had always wanted to own my own business, which I had done a little of in the past, but this time, I wanted it to be for the long haul. So, I started the boutique. Afterall, my daughter and I love shopping and we love clothes!

So, with nudges from my family, I started the process. I registered my business with the county, took my $100 to the bank to open a business account, designed my own website, purchased merchandise and hit the launch button on our online store April 1, 2019!

We participated in several in-person markets that summer (boy is that A LOT of work) and was constantly asked “where is your store located?” So, we quickly realized we needed to open a brick-and-mortar location. In October 2019, we opened the doors to our Pittsboro location. It was exciting and scary all at the same time! We have met a lot of customers who have become great friends, and I still get gitty every time I spot our merchandise on people around town!

Five months later Covid hit, and we were forced to shut down. Thankfully, I already had the online store up and running so we were able to stay afloat, but it certainly wasn’t without its challenges. I moved inventory back and forth between the boutique and my house multiple times. Cali and I did a few live Facebook sales, but it really wasn’t our thing. (We like helping people shop in person😊) We offered free shipping to try and not pass the burden of online-only shopping to our customers, and we also did free local delivery ourselves, (Cali and I drove around delivering to Pittsboro, Lizton, and Brownsburg) all just to try and keep sales up because well, the rent on the building space was still due each month even though we couldn’t use it. Our customers stuck with us and we were able to persevere. (So glad that’s over!) It was a tough time, and I am proud to say it didn’t “shut us down.”

Here we are now celebrating our 3rd Anniversary and I couldn’t be more proud! Cali is a huge help as she has learned how to enter merchandise into the system, tag and arrange merchandise in the boutique, and she can run the checkout counter without supervision. (If you have ever been in the store, you have likely been checked out by her, and I thank you for your patience as she was learning! So many of you were very kind and gave her encouraging words as she rang up your merchandise, collected your payment and bagged up your goodies!) She also models when I can talk her in to it! 😜 We have been able to add two beautiful young ladies to our team, Kendall and Annie, and they have both not only been a big help but a lot of fun too! (Thanks ladies❤)

Like I always say, you can likely find similar items at Kohl’s or Target or Maurice’s, but I can assure you your business means so much more to us. It allows me to show my daughter how to be a strong businesswoman. It allows us to give a young lady her first job, to be a place where moms can share a story while they shop, to support several community events and sports leagues, and so much more. Please continue to shop small and help us keep this dream alive. Share our Facebook page and new arrival posts to help us grow! Your share can help me gain a new customer! 💜

Thank you!