Teresa Serpentino

When did you first start your independent business?

I first registered as a self employed beauty therapist back in 2016. At the beginning, I was based in a salon but then the salon closed down and I decided to temporarily go mobile. I actually found it was going really well and the demand for mobile beauty was quite high so at that point, I decided to permanently work as a mobile beauty therapist.

What booking software were you using before Solo and why wasn’t it working for you?

Before Solo, I was just using a paper diary to manage my mobile business. I was using the notes on my phone diary to book in all of my appointments and my clients would have to text or call me to arrange their bookings.

When I first started working mobile, I also worked with some of the mobile beauty companies and I was really struggling to keep on top of all the diaries. Sometimes I would even miss a booking or accidentally get double booked.

How has Solo helped your business?

Now I’m using Solo, I don’t have to waste time with the back-and-forth messages, which was making me lose time and also sometimes lose clients. If I was working all day and not able to answer a client’s message immediately, sometimes they would have booked elsewhere by the time I was able to respond.

Solo has helped resolve so many problems for me, such as the back-and-forth and the confirmation of the booking. It definitely saves me lots of time and frustration.

How does Solo make you feel about your business?

I’m feeling much more confident now. Having a professional website and a booking system just makes me feel and look more professional. My clients also give me so many compliments about how good it looks and how it’s easy to use.

What does Solo allow you to do that you couldn't do before?

My life is much better now without the constant back-and-forth with clients and having to reply late at night. Sometimes my clients would text me at 11pm at night but now they can do everything themselves on my website. It’s definitely given me back my social life and improved my private life. My boyfriend is no longer stressed at me for always being on my phone late at night replying to clients.

What would you say to other independent beauty businesses who are still using a phone diary?

I really recommend Solo. It’s not only a booking system, but you also have the chance to build your own website and no other booking software is doing that. It makes you look so much more professional and you can find everything you need in one solution.

You don’t have to pay for a website and a booking system separately, or even another system for payments. That small amount of money I spend monthly with Solo is so worth it. There’s no other software out there that does all of these things in one.