How A Little Gelly Nails the Perfect Booking Experience With Acuity Scheduling

Ambria Little, aka Gelly, is a nail technician and single mom from North Carolina. Having aspired to become a nail artist since she was four, Gelly officially obtained her nail license in 2017 and later left the corporate world to pursue her passion full time. That’s when A Little Gelly was born.

A luxury Gel-X nail studio, A Little Gelly specializes in Gel-X nail extensions, offering custom nail designs that delight clients with long-lasting durability and creative charm.

Balancing motherhood and entrepreneurship

Like many solopreneurs, Gelly’s journey from founding to growing her nail business wasn’t without challenges. Balancing her work with motherhood meant that her schedule needed to be adaptable, especially as her son started school. “A huge challenge I faced was that my schedule was not the same every day,” Gelly says. “With my kid in school, I would need breaks in my schedule for carpooling.”

She needed a way to get organized, to manage both her time and her client base efficiently. “From the moment I decided I wanted to become a full-time nail artist, I knew I would need a booking site that would allow me to organize my schedule,” she emphasizes.

After hearing about Acuity Scheduling from a friend in the beauty industry, she realized the scheduling software checked all her boxes. Not only did it come highly recommended by her peers, Acuity offered the flexibility she was looking for as a mother and small business owner, while also providing a polished, user-friendly experience that could showcase her art and make it easy for clients to book a session.

“Acuity stood out because of its personalization features, ease of use in creating schedules, and reputation. Everyone in my circle uses Acuity.”

A standout booking site for nail techs and salons

Acuity has given Gelly complete control of her time and what she displays to clients. “Acuity allows me to set up my ‘regular hours’ as well as set my schedule based on the specific day if needed,” she explains. “I’m also in control of what clients pay at time of booking, specific to the service. It doesn't have to be the same across the board.”

The scheduling software is now a central part of the nail studio’s daily operations. Each morning, Gelly checks her calendar to prepare for the day, ensuring she has all the necessary tools and products ready for her clients. "Acuity’s layout saves me time when I just need a quick peek at my schedule with agenda and daily views,” she says.

She especially appreciates the daily schedule emails, “notifications that arrive seconds after a new booking,” and the ability to color code appointments—all of which helps keep her on track.

And as someone who prefers apps over visiting web pages, Gelly’s grateful she can rely on Acuity’s mobile app for its convenience and powerful payment integrations. “I love that my customer info is shared between Acuity and Square without me having to,” she adds, “and I also have the ability to accept payments through the Acuity app.”

Turning heads with an on-brand booking page and package perks

Not only has Acuity helped streamline operations on the backend, but it helps A Little Gelly look good, too. Gelly has customized her online scheduling page to match the brand, with visitors getting a visual glimpse into the nail studio and Gelly’s past designs.

“One of the first things I loved about Acuity was the ability to personalize my site for clients. I spent hours tailoring my designs to ensure it matched the aesthetic of my business,” she says. The result? A nail appointment booking experience that’s just as engaging as her nail art: “To this day I still receive compliments on my site.”

When selecting a service, clients can choose from a variety of nail appointment types and sets, from shorties to frenchies. Gelly also offers bookable 1:1 Gel-X trainings, where she teaches the proper techniques to others. “From the client’s perspective, Acuity has made the booking process easier by highlighting various service groups, add-ons, packages, and trainings. Clients are also able to see pricing info.”

Packages in particular have been a huge hit with A Little Gelly’s regular clients. These service bundles help to boost revenue, encouraging spending and client loyalty by offering exciting perks like priority booking and an aftercare kit.

“I never thought about implementing packages for my business until I noticed the feature available on Acuity. Now I have 7-8 clients that only purchase packages. These packages have made a huge impact on my revenue.”

Automating reminders and workflows for zero no-shows

Another standout feature is Acuity's email, SMS, and app notifications. By automatically sending appointment reminders and follow-ups to clients, Gelly keeps no-shows to a minimum and enhances her client experience: "Most of us are busy and we just need a little reminder at times. The email and text reminders have helped make my no-calls/no-shows nonexistent.”

Her clients appreciate these automated reminders, as well as the clarity provided around policies like payments and cancellations. Gelly's ability to customize everything, from appointment types to booking terms and client intake forms, has added a professional touch to her growing business without giving her extra work.

"Being able to create my own terms and conditions as well as creating forms for my clients to respond to during booking has also brought structure to my business,” she says.

Taking the pressure off booking nail appointments

With her business thriving, Gelly sees Acuity continuing to play a key role in her growth. She’s excited about the platform’s ongoing updates and innovations, confident that it will continue to offer new features that make her life easier and her business even more successful. “I love that my booking site has grown since I’ve been in business. Acuity is steadily implementing updates and the app has a lot more features from when I first started using it,” she shares.

“I am so happy to have found Acuity. It never crosses my mind to try out other booking sites because I feel I have all I need.”

For other nail techs and business owners considering nail salon scheduling software, Gelly has one key piece of advice: don’t wait. The sooner you implement an online booking system for your nail salon, the sooner you can enjoy the benefits of organization and streamlined operations.

"Organization is key in growing your business and building client relationships. Work-life balance is just as important when you're self-employed,” she says. “Tools like Acuity relieve the pressure of having to remember everything and help your clients to become more self-sufficient.”

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