Running a fitness studio, nail salon, or beauty studio can be fulfilling, but creating a successful small business can also be time-intensive. One of the best gifts you can give your business is implementing systems to free up time. Start Booking’s WordPress booking plugin is more than an automated scheduling system and supports small business owners by creating more time and freedom to focus on other parts of the business. 

The website, Behind the Chair, cites that by the first week of November, salon appointment bookings double for the upcoming Christmas season. Around Thanksgiving, bookings dip slightly and then triple before Christmas. Businesses like nail salons or med spas also see a rush of customers preparing for the holidays.

The increased demand for business services raises the chance of burnout. According to Small Biz Trends, over half of employees feel additional stress during the holidays. Small businesses will benefit from identifying ways to decrease staff workloads and add efficiency to operations. Start Booking can help through appointment scheduling, automating customer communications, and accepting secure payments and tips online. Here are three ways that Start Booking adds more time to small businesses and helps entrepreneurs stay sane.

Automated appointment booking over answering phones

Start Booking’s WordPress booking plugin frees up time by automating scheduling online and bypassing human interaction before it’s necessary. Instead of answering phones, the online scheduling plugin’s powerful features give your staff more time to interact with customers or focus on tasks that necessitate human interaction. With employee shortages on the rise, the decreased need for administration staff on site will help operations run more smoothly, especially during what is historically the busiest buying season of the year.

Connect with clients 

The moment a potential customer decides to take a chance with you and book an appointment is critical. That is one reason why Start Booking’s WordPress plugin supports customer relationships with ease. Create client profiles, manage marketing preferences, review comprehensive appointment history, and add personal notes all in one place. 

Start Booking fully integrates with CMS systems like MailChimp to easily manage client communication and build better business relationships. Set appointment reminders, automated text check-ins, or run special promotions with one-click simplicity. 

Accept online payments and tips

Businesses who use Start Booking capture secure online payments through Stripe without clients leaving the company’s website. By accepting payments online, small businesses save time, erase the risk of unpaid no-shows, and increase the amount of time staff can spend with each customer. 

In business, success is not always about hustling harder but is often achieved by leveraging tools that add efficiency, connection, and help serve clients better. This holiday season, create more time and ease in your small business with a free 14-day trial of Start Booking.