Miali
Grace is a braider in Kilimani, Nairobi. Her knotless braids are clean. Like, pixel-perfect clean. But her bank account didn't match her talent.
The Problem
Grace worked alone. When she was braiding (6-8 hours a day), she couldn't touch her phone. By the time she replied to DMs at 8pm, the potential clients had already found someone else. She was the bottleneck.
The Solution
She set up Miali on a Tuesday. It took 10 minutes.
Ten minutes, three screens:
- Services: She listed her three braid styles with photos and real prices. No "DM for pricing."
- Hours: She blocked 8am-4pm as bookable and locked everything else, so nobody could sneak in a 10pm request.
- Deposits: She turned on a required deposit. No card, no slot.
Then she grabbed her booking link and posted it on her Story: "I'm braiding. Don't DM me. Click here to grab Friday's slot."
What Happened
She checked her phone 4 hours later. 3 New Bookings. Fully paid deposits. Instant Alerts had already told her each time it happened, she just hadn't looked. She didn't speak to a single one of them. "I felt like I had hired a secretary," she said.
The "Fill The Gaps" Strategy
Grace got clever. She noticed she had a gap on Tuesday morning. In the past, she would have posted "Who wants to book?". Crickets. This time, she sent an SMS blast via Miali to her top 10 regulars: "Flash Sale: 20% off any knotless style this Tuesday morning only. First to click books it: [Link]"
It was gone in 3 minutes.
The Stats (Month 1)
- Revenue: +210% (Tripled).
- No-shows: Zero. (Deposits fix that).
- Time on Instagram DMs: -90%.
Takeaway
Grace didn't get better at braiding. She got better at business. She removed the friction. She let people give her money easier.
Be like Grace. Get started free.