When it comes to reclaiming valuable time and energy that translates into saving hard earned dollars and cents, few professionals understand the benefits of online scheduling like a professional braider. Hear how Booksy helps one independent stylist better manage her clients and successfully run her business without ever missing a beat.
Julia Maples, better known as JuJu Braidz, is a local sensation with a reputation for creating intricately styled braids for the men, women, and children who sit in her chair. Although this Booksy Ambassador has only been working professionally for five years, she’s created a gushing fan base with over 33,000 Instagram followers and roughly 110,000 TikTok followers.
At this stage in her career, JuJu also works as a social media influencer for notable styling products. Despite the fact that some of her services at Juju Braidz can take between 4-6 hours, JuJu manages to independently juggle a busy appointment book better than most. And she uses the online scheduling tools that Booksy offers to make everything happen.
Take a moment to learn why JuJu decided to change online scheduling apps and switch to better booking by joining Booksy. And find out how she uses Booksy to help turn her online followers into customers, while simultaneously doing the thing that she loves most—creating hairstyles that twist and turn with unmatched beauty and style.
JuJu is the type of stylist who welcomes anyone and everyone into her chair. Her Instagram page showcases a host of different clients who range in age and ethic background. They sport different styles of braids and locs. And the one and only thing each client has in common is that every one of them looks like a newly crowned king or queen, after just one session.
JuJu is based in Los Angeles, California. But she has worked with clients from different parts of the country, from coast to coast. Over the years, she has mastered a broad range of braiding styles. Some of those include, two strand twists, box or feed-in braids, locs, and re-twists—just to name a few.
The reviews on her Booksy profile and social media pages reveal a string of compliments. But the general consensus is that her small but far from delicate hands create looks that “give off a whole vibe.” And that speaks volumes considering that JuJu works in the second largest city in the country, where there’s a host of competition behind the door of every salon or barbershop.
When JuJu first started out, she used a different online scheduling app, simply because that’s what the staffers in the shop were using. But when she made the switch to Booksy, she noticed a host of differences in regards to ease of scheduling and keeping clients happy.
“Booksy just makes booking appointments easier for my clients, which is necessary because I cater to all types of clientele. Young people, old people, people who aren't phone savvy can just click an appointment. And it’s that easy,” said JuJu.
Switching online scheduling apps without a doubt helped her clients. But Booksy also helped JuJu attract new customers. In particular, she was able to get more bookings from social media followers, which JuJu wanted to convert into loyal clients to keep her business growing.
According to major news reports, TikTok became the most downloaded app in 2020. Even before TikTok became a major trend, JuJu was quick to start uploading video content. Because of her efforts, JuJu has showcased video content onto her TikTok profile that has been viewed almost a million times. And it was Booksy that helped her convert followers into customers.
When it comes to using Instagram, JuJu was able to publish her unique Booksy link, which is called the Book Now Button, directly onto her home page. That simple step made it easier than ever for her social media followers to schedule an appointment in her chair. Most importantly, JuJu saved time and energy by avoiding speaking with each person via direct message.
“A lot of my followers ask how to book an appointment. With Booksy, it’s easy to send them my link to my Booksy profile page. Booksy gives them instructions step by step. It’s so fast. And if I want to refer them to another service provider, like a barber, it’s just as fast and easy. I tell them to just use Booksy, because it’s so convenient,” she said.
Another way that JuJu uses her unique profile link is through an automated message on her phone. Whenever she receives a text while she’s with a client, her phone responds with a message. That message lets any potential client know that she’s unavailable. But they can access her schedule through Booksy, her online scheduling app.
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For a stylist who spends up to six hours on just one service, the online scheduling features that Booksy offers is without a doubt the number one tool that JuJu relies upon. Naturally, she has to give each customer her complete and undivided attention to make sure that appointments stay on schedule. And that means avoiding answering the phone.
However, the feature that she looks forward to completely mastering is the No-Show Protection. Trying to find ways to eliminate no-shows and reduce cancellations can be a major hurdle for any beauty professional. But it’s even tougher for a braider. A missed appointment means hundreds of dollars wasted and a four hour block of lost time—caused by just one no-show.
“So, when there's a cancellation fee, say if I require a $40 deposit before the service upfront for the person to book an appointment with me, they’ve already paid $40. If they decide not to show up, I still get a nice percent of that service rather than not getting paid at all. So, that feature really does help, as a braider, just to avoid wasting a lot of time and money,” she said.
The No-Show Protection feature is designed to help industry experts eliminate no-shows and cancellations in minutes. JuJu knows all too well that clients are more likely to commit to an appointment after paying an upfront cost or knowing that last minute cancellations will result in a fee, regardless of the cost of that fee.
JuJu isn’t the only provider who raves about No-Show Protection. According to our research, which is based on average percentage changes in cancellations for Booksy providers, a month after implementing No-Show Protection settings, providers had 20% fewer cancellations. Despite the decrease in cancellations, there was no significant impact on bookings.
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When JuJu first became introduced to Booksy, it was through a barbershop owner. At the time, she was renting a chair at his shop. But since she’s made the switch, Booksy has been a tried and true tool that’s enticed new clients to book, while keeping loyal customers happy.
Most importantly for JuJu, the Booksy online scheduling software keeps evolving. We created Booksy to help professionals like her better manage their businesses. As an effort to make sure the software continues to eliminate the stress from scheduling, we recently released Booksy Biz Pro and Booksy Biz Lite. These two software solutions are able to help providers continue making progress as small business owners.
“Booksy is such a lifesaver, because it's easy for clients and for service providers. If I were to refer another barber or braider to an online scheduling app, I would tell them about Booksy. I would tell them if you want your clients to book, the fastest and easiest way, use Booksy. That’s what I would tell them, because it’s so convenient for you and your clients,” said JuJu.
