PROPHETSTOWN, Ill. — Chelsie VanDyke's clothing store started small in 2018.
Now visible as a storefront on Prophetstown's main street, VanDyke's business has a national footprint through its app and online sales. She credits boredom and ambition during the coronavirus pandemic to the company's development.
"I just started doing (Facebook) live sales every day to entertain myself," she said. "It grew and it just has never stopped."
Prior to the pandemic, VanDyke hosted Facebook live sales for Envy Boutique one to two times a week. The entrepreneur now hosts about six live events weekly showcasing nearly 125 styles for her customers.
"Everything we sell, I try on," she said.
Leaders in the town's chamber of commerce organization Prophetstown Proud said after a fire destroyed numerous downtown buildings in 2013, business development has been a focus.
"We have been trying to do a little resurrection," Prophetstown Proud President Bart Dirks said. "(Hoping to) bring some business back to town."
"Thank God she's here," retired Prophetstown Police Chief Bruce Franks said in reference to VanDyke's business. "There's a lot of places this small town offers that a lot of others don't.”
VanDyke estimated that 75% of the store's sales come from its app. Customers order online and then pick up their packages in the store or they are shipped to their mailboxes.
"The app sales also lead to in-store sales," she said.
The boutique's shipments to states across the nation have brought work to other businesses in Prophetstown. VanDyke said her company keeps the post office across the street busy.
“You know everybody that works there and they know everybody that works there," she laughed.
Black Friday and Small Business Saturday are only two days, but VanDyke said she spends most of her year getting ready for the deals.
"I shopped for these items in February out in Vegas," she said. "All those items have been sitting there waiting for this weekend."
Although her reach has grown, she said the local community makes her business operational.
"We are filling a space on main street that people can hop and shop," VanDyke said. "That’s saving you time and you’re putting money where your house is."
Prophetstown has a lineup of events for Small Business Saturday. The day kicks off with deals at local businesses and finishes up with a parade ending at the town's "Light Up the Park".
"When they (community members) spend it in town that money stays in town," Dirks said. "These business owners invest in other small businesses in town. It just helps the community in general succeed."
For more information on Saturday's events in Prophetstown, visit Prophetstown Proud's Facebook page here.