Two small business owners in Dallas — Alex and Kelsey Carroll — were facing the reality of having to close down their company and furlough their workers, until they decided to pivot.
“We’re really thankful and we feel like God had a plan for us in all this because we both, at that moment when everything was cancelled, we felt like, ‘We’ve gotta pivot immediately,’” Alex told Faithwire.
The husband and wife duo were heading into the most profitable week their company had seen in its three-year history. Toss Up Events was working with major brands like Pepsi, General Mills, and the Dallas Cowboys, when everything came to a screeching halt due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Employing 13 people, the Christian entrepreneurs were, like everyone, forced to make adjustments. But rather than apply for federal aid, the Carrolls decided to take their company in a new direction. They started Stand Up Stations.
The new company specializes in creating heavy-duty, customizable hand sanitizer stands. Each stand is hand-welded in Texas and comes with a dispenser as well as a gallon of pharmaceutical-grade hand sanitizer with the option to buy more.
Kelsey said she and her husband “wanted to get a head start” in helping churches and businesses reopen safely, rather than spend weeks filing for government assistance they may or many not ever see.
In addition to offering a much-needed product, Kelsey said she and her husband have been able to save the jobs of their employees, who had been furloughed due to coronavirus-induced restrictions, and hire even more.
“We unfortunately had to furlough all of those people,” she said, “but it wasn’t for long, because once we had something to sell, we knew who we were gonna call. We called up those guys, and they were ready to work.”
The Carrolls are now also employing welders, a local print shop, photographers, and videographers.
“It’s such a cool feeling to go from devastation to rebirth of a company that is employing more people than Toss Up ever did,” Kelsey explained.
As believers, the Carrolls said it’s also important to make sure churches have these kinds of tools, so when they reopen — which Texas is beginning to do — they are protecting the health and wellbeing of their congregants.
The couple’s church, Watermark Community Church, is actually being used now as a testing site for the Stand Up Stations.
“We’ve gotten requests from several churches,” Alex said. “It’s something they’re gonna obviously need as well to welcome everyone back when people start meeting again.”
While margins are tight, because they want to ensure they keep as many people employed as possible, Alex said he and his wife are “doing everything we can to supply [churches] with what they need.”
To learn more about the Stand Up Stations products, or to place an order, click here.