How This Skin Magician Found Freedom With Online Booking
Meet Clara, Owner of Pronoia 11:11 Skincare in Miami, Florida.
Let’s give a warm welcome to Clara. Once part of the corporate skincare game, Clara left to pursue her dream of owning a business where she could accomplish her goal of making each of her clients feel good physically, mentally & spiritually through a unique suite of services.
Now, 11 years in, this Miami-based skin magician is thriving. We hope you enjoy our interview with the owner of Pronoia 11:11 as much as we did:
Why did Clara choose Bookedin for appointment scheduling?
Clara found Bookedin as a happy accident 😍. Knowing she needed *something* as a new business owner, she stumbled upon us when she was checking out another Bookedin user’s profile. Once Clara clicked the link she realized straightaway she’d found something “cool.” The moment she saw Bookedin was a spa booking app that took up-front deposits & online payments… it was a match made in heaven. Deal officially sealed.
How did online booking change Clara’s life?
Clara’s business has gotten busier since COVID-19 (yes, you read that right), and Bookedin’s software has been there to help. Now that she’s added her booking link to her website, she’s free from constant interruptions during her appointments and finding it easier (and more financially lucrative) for invoicing.
Thanks to upfront deposits & an online schedule, Clara has more time to take care of her business… you know, beyond just answering the phone & returning voicemails.
You can read our full interview with Clara below:
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Tell me a bit about how your shop got started.
Well, I’ve been an esthetician for just a little under 11 years now. I had tried to start my business prior but I ended up working in a corporate skincare facility. And from there, I just didn’t feel like I was able to grow, so I ventured out. There were other treatments I wanted to do that weren’t being offered where I was at. So I just decided to expand and start my own thing.
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What challenges were you experiencing in your business that led you to look for a solution like Bookedin?
When I started out, I just didn’t know what to use. I was just kinda like, “What do I do?”
I knew there were booking apps out there, but I wasn’t really familiar because I never had to use them — it was always done for me. I just kind of stumbled upon Bookedin by accident, to be honest with you.
I had actually looked into someone else’s profile and the link was in their profile and I clicked on it, and I was like, “Oh, this is perfect.” And I looked into it, went on the website and looked at it and I was like, “This is something cool.”
And then on top of it, I realized that you guys also added a feature where you could take payment on there too, so for me that was awesome, ’cause for deposits and stuff like that, it really works.
For some services our clients do deposits, and others don’t need to put a deposit down. It really helps.
What made you choose Bookedin over other products on the market?
People had mentioned others, even while I was already on Bookedin. I had looked at others, but I’ll be honest with you, I’ve just been so very comfortable already, that everything else is either comparable or is different, and the differences are things that I don’t really care for. So that’s why I’ve always just stuck with Bookedin.
What specific improvements have you seen as a result of using BookedIn?
Well, more specifically, speaking of what’s going on right now (COVID-19), it’s helped a lot. It’s helped a lot with that. Honestly, I didn’t have the link put into anything just yet, I would only give it to specific clients of mine.
And that was because I, for some reason, I don’t know what it was, that I just really liked to have control over my book like that. But most recently, because it’s been getting a lot busier, I’ve given the link out, I’ve posted it.
Now I have it on my website so people can just directly book from there, and it makes life so much easier for me. And actually, even financially, yes, because the way I was doing my invoices before for payments or deposit was a little bit different, and now they can do it directly through the website when they book their reservations, which is a lot easier for me too, versus having to write out an invoice for them.
I guess, what I’m trying to say is, it does benefit me financially, yes, because even people that I haven’t spoken to in the past can just go on the website, and if they wanna book, they just put their deposit there versus where I think people were shy to ask before.
So, now they’re just, “Okay, whatever.” And it’s easier. Because sometimes people, even though I try to pre-book while they’re in my suite, sometimes people don’t know their schedules, so sometimes they do have to book later on.
And I think for them, sometimes it’s easier because still since I’m with other guests, sometimes it takes me a while to answer them. So for them, it’s easier to just go online, book it, and that’s it, and then, it shortens that period of time where they’re like, “Okay. Well, does she have the time or not?”
So they can just do it, and I think it helps and it helps us both, that way I’m not taking time from the clients I’m with & in between clients, I can just do other things
Related → How to Build a Business that Stands Out (and Thrives)
What would you tell other salons who are experiencing similar challenges like you were?
Just to stay positive.
I think a lot of people tend to, when they see things not going right, they tend to just, I don’t wanna say give up, but they just get stuck in this, “I don’t know what to do.” But just keep pushing forward. We all start somewhere.
And then surround yourself with like-minded people that are gonna help you and aren’t scared to tell you, “These are my suggestions, these are my recommendations, these are the tools that I use, and the tools that help me.”
‘Cause some people always see other people as competition, and instead of that, “No, we’re here to work together.” I’m very pro small business owners. I love it, I love it.
Especially nowadays, I feel like they’re coming out more the small businesses, so I’m very pro, “Yeah, go out and do your own thing.” And I give people… Even Bookedin, I constantly, I’m like, “This is what I use, and it really helps me a lot.” So I’ve had a couple of others… I also teach I don’t know if I mentioned that to you before, I teach classes. So I always give them a list of information and things that I use, and I tell them, “As far as booking apps, this is what I use.“
