Business hasn't been going well for many local small businesses in the past year because of the pandemic. In fact, many were forced to close their doors for good. That's not the case for one local woman-owned business though.

Northern Lights Hydroponics opened their doors in September in The Liberty Plaza and have been successful. On Wednesday, the storefront lights were installed and the owner, Kimberly Daugherty says it makes her business feel official.

“My space is so narrow so you could drive by and never see it,” she says. “I was super excited the sign went up today.”

The sign is lit and business has been growing at Northern Lights Hydroponics for the past four months.

“Every day I have new people come in,” Daugherty says.

So what is hydroponics? A question we asked this business owner.

Basically it’s growing plants, usually crops without soil. It is indoor gardening for these cold winters, although Daugherty helps with outdoor gardening tasks too.

“It uses less water, it’s less labor-intensive and it grows about 50% quicker,” she says.

Her store sells all of the necessary equipment for hydroponics.

“Grow lights, grow tents, all the different types of fertilizers,” Daugherty says.

But the business wasn’t always booming like it is now. A year ago she almost had to close.

“I was struggling in the beginning of 2020,” she says.

But now she is seeing triple the customers from a year ago and online sales have really picked up. The pandemic has encouraged people to start growing their own produce.

“More people are now wanting to be more self-sustainable because of the virus,” she says. “People don’t want to be out in the supermarket handling the lettuce that somebody else might have touched.”

She says produce grown at home is bigger and fresher. This new craze that can be done year round  has upped her online sales and has drawn more people through the doors.

“I was getting one or two customers a week and now I’m getting at least 5-10 customers a day,” she says.