Melissa Taylor, Co-Founder of Flourish of Thomasville, started her business because she wanted to make a difference. She refers to her shop as an “encouragement store” — a hub of products that are practical, affordable and encourage people to feel better.
Based in Thomasville, Ga., Flourish of Thomasville began when Taylor’s friend/Co-Founder Gerriann Kennedy indicated that she wanted to give back to the community. A breast cancer survivor, Kennedy helped develop the foundation for the store concept and its product assortment, which started by providingprosthetics, hats, scarves and wigs.
“But the as we were growing our store, we realized that we could do more for more people,” Taylor said in an interview with Retail TouchPoints. “So we branched out into maternity, menopausal aids, UV protection, organic skin care and makeup, and a lot more. From the broken to the blossoming, we aim to help everyone. Every item has a purpose.”
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But as Flourish of Thomasville and its assortment grew, Taylor required a more robust POS and inventory management system that could scale easily. That is why she called upon Harbortouch POS.
“I am a believer in being prepared for expansion,” Taylor said. “We plan on growing beyond our one store location, and having solutions already in place, like the Harbortouch POS, which are programmed to grow as we do seemed like the smart choice.”
Prior to starting her own business, Taylor worked for a business and helped research, purchase and implement a new POS system.
“Since I was the one responsible for that project, I learned a lot about the process and POS technology,” Taylor explained. “When we created Flourish, I researched and read reviews about more affordable POS systems.”
A Comprehensive Solution With High Levels Of Support
Rather than developing her own in-house system, Taylor discovered Echo. “It was a very cost efficient system that could accomplish all of the goals I needed in a very simplified way,” she said. “Echo was the biggest bang for my buck, and I love that everything is in one place — from inventory management to business reporting.”
Echo is designed to combine the functionality of a traditional POS system with the sleek design of a tablet. Software is customizable, so Taylor can include the features and capabilities that are more important to her business.
“The system is built to grow with you,” Taylor noted. “We also love the support that comes with the system. I think in today’s connected world you can get anything, anywhere, but it is who is at the other end of the computer that matters. Every customer service representative I have encountered at Harbortouch has been fantastic.”
Having a quality and secure POS system also improves customer satisfaction. Touting payment technology that supports NFC and Apple Pay, Flourish has the ability to capitalize on the latest payment trends while ensuring regulatory compliance for EMV.
“Having a system like Echo allows people to feel more secure about shopping with Flourish,” Taylor said. “Unlike tablets, it gives the store a more polished look, which is important when you are new business like we are. I think we have already gotten the most out of our investment. I am looking forward to our businesses growing and seeing how the Echo system eases that process.”
