Managing her calendar was initially a major challenge for tattoo artist Dorina Fekete, who works with a unique schedule of 7-hour appointments. When booking clients, she faced long wait times and difficult coordination, making the smooth organization of her work challenging.
In this blog post, we showcase how the Minup booking system helped Dorina manage her calendar more efficiently, and how it offers a solution for others who also have unique work schedules.
Today, Dorina Fekete is a well-known name among tattoo art enthusiasts. She began building her tattooing career in 2017—a completely new direction for her, as she had previously played competitive handball. In 2012, following a severe cruciate ligament injury, she had to reconsider her future career path. That was when she began exploring the art of tattooing more deeply, teaching herself the fundamentals entirely on her own.
"I ordered the necessary tattooing supplies and practiced on fake skin so I wouldn't be experimenting on a screaming person for my first try."
Thanks to her active presence on social media, she quickly caught people's attention, and a tattoo studio even invited her to join them. There, she learned the ins and outs of running a studio, but she soon realized she wanted to follow her own path.
The challenges of self-employment and calendar management
After establishing her own style and clientele, Dorina decided to continue as a sole proprietor. She has had her own studio for two years now, but launching her business was not without its challenges. Her friend, who is an accountant, helped her a lot in navigating the bureaucratic maze. However, Dorina also struggled with scheduling appointments.
Coordinating bookings via email took up a lot of her time and energy. Often, weeks would pass without a reply to an offered date. This was a significant problem, as Dorina can only take on one client per day—it is not uncommon for her to spend 7 hours working on a single tattoo.
"I would ask via email if, for example, September 2nd worked for them. I waited, and sometimes weeks went by with no response. Until then, I couldn't offer that slot to anyone else."
If the client ended up declining the date, another few weeks could pass trying to find a suitable time.
Favorite features: Calendar synchronization and Specific time slots
With the introduction of the Minup digital booking system, Dorina experienced a significant change in her workflow. Thanks to Minup, she now handles bookings effortlessly. Clients can choose from the available dates, which immediately appear in Dorina's calendar.
"What I like best about this is that I can simply plug in my available dates, say two or three months in advance. Once everything regarding the tattoo’s style and design has been agreed upon with the client via email, I immediately send them the link to my Minup booking page, and they can conveniently pick a slot for themselves."
Dorina found several features that made Minup particularly appealing to her. She really liked the calendar synchronization option, ease of use, and clarity. The "Specific time slots" feature proved absolutely essential for her, as clients can only book appointments on certain days and time windows.
"What I really liked about Minup is that you can set more than just standard business hours; I can tailor it to my personal schedule by setting up the specific days clients can book an appointment with me one by one."
An easy-to-use calendar that clients love, too
Dorina finds digital appointment booking far more reliable than writing entries into a traditional paper calendar. Bookings are automatically added to her calendar, and both she and her client receive reminders.
"I have 7-hour appointments, so it would be very awkward if I booked a client into the wrong slot. What’s more, people also come to me from abroad, traveling to Hungary just for this."
With Minup, not only did Dorina’s workflow become smoother, but the process also became faster and more convenient for clients.
"I have received a lot of great feedback about this, even from returning clients with whom scheduling used to take a lot of time. They also mentioned how much more convenient it is online, and that they had never booked a tattoo appointment like this before."
With the help of Minup, Dorina was freed from the burden of scheduling appointments. Clients can easily book a slot in just a few clicks based on their own preferences, and everything is recorded in Dorina's calendar completely automatically and seamlessly.
Dorina's success story is a great example of the positive impact modern technology and innovative solutions can have on running a creative business.
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