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<p>The Bridal Collection shop sat quietly, still full of white lace and taffeta, but eerily absent of the usual beaming brides and gushing mothers-in-law. Owner Lynn Crandall mulled over the situation in her chair. How could a bride say yes to a dress while saying no to social contact? And how could The Bridal Collection continue to make money when so much of their business relied on in-person interactions?</p>
<p>“The financial ramifications for small businesses are huge, and we’re trying to hold on,” Lynn said. “We’re still paying all of our full-time and salaried employees, and I’m literally praying each day ‘God, provide for us.’”</p>
<p>The Bridal Collection has already been forced to close its special occasions department, leaving prom fantasies suspended on hangers. The business now relies solely on income generated from wedding gowns&#8211; wedding gowns brides can’t try on in the store.</p>
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<h2>&#8220;The financial ramifications for small businesses are huge.&#8221;</h2>
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<p>In the face of this bleak reality, Lynn hatched a plan to bring the magic of choosing a dress into the safety of brides’ own homes.</p>
<p>“We’re giving brides an at-home gown viewing celebration,” Lynn said. “We’re doing curb-side, no-contact pickup with a bottle of champagne, or we’ll ship it to them complimentary. They get to have a dress try-on party at home.”</p>
<p>When brides find that perfect dress, they send a picture of it with a ‘yes’ sign to The Bridal Collection. The store then offers them a discount through Podium payments, a secure, straight-to-your-phone payment system.</p>
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<p>Podium released the tool right before the quarantine hit, and it has proved essential to The Bridal Collection’s new way of doing business.</p>
<p>“Podium is great because it’s completely no contact,” Lynn said. “We don’t have to take credit cards into the store and get germs on the machine; we can do it completely remotely. Podium has been a godsend for us in this journey”</p>
<p>Despite not being able to have brides come into the store, The Bridal Collection has been able to process over $200,000 through Podium Payments during the no-contact period. Lynn encourages other businesses not to give up hope.</p>
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<h2>&#8220;Think outside the box and brainstorm new solutions&#8221;</h2>
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<p>“Think outside the box and brainstorm new solutions,” Lynn said. “ For us, we were able to utilize Podium in a way that we hadn’t thought of or developed before. We were able to take the tools that we had access to and then brainstorm a new way to do business with them.”</p>
<p>While it’s no secret that local businesses are facing unprecedented challenges and an uncertain future, nothing brings us more hope and energy as a company than hearing about business owners like Lynn who are coming up with creative solutions. Now more than ever, we admire the courage it takes to run a business. We stand behind you. We support you. We respect you.</p>
<p>In the face of an uncertain future, does Podium really believe that America’s local businesses can think outside the box and emerge victorious?</p>
<p>We do.</p>
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How a bridal company said yes to COVID19 adaptations