Last-minute appointment cancellations businesses thousands of dollars… and a lot of us aren’t organised enough to plan a haircut for when we actually need one! So, armed with nothing but determination, a Mount Maunganui hairdresser has decided to solve both problems with one website, Got a Gap – she speaks to Lillie Rohan.
On the launch of her first tech startup, Aleisha Sanson cried the entire day.
“I just kept thinking, what have I done?” she tells Capsule with a laugh.
Anyone would be nervous launching a business, sure. But for the Mount Maunganui hairdresser – with literally no background tech whatsoever – it was a bloody huge leap.
But her motivation – and that good old Kiwi problem-solving number eight wire sensibility – was stronger than her doubt. Aleisha had set about trying to fix a problem that frustrates all of us – business owners and customers – alike.
It’s the problem of the gap.
Last-minute cancellations cost Aleisha thousands in lost revenue every year. Frustrating? Absolutely. An opportunity? For sure – by Aleisha’s reckoning, if each of New Zealand’s 6000+ salons are experiencing the same, Kiwi hairdressers as an industry could be losing more than $31 million a year.
And then there’s the lament of the unorganised, last-minute gal who just desperately wants to squeeze in a trim then and there. Surely there had to be a way to bring the want and the need together?
So, Aleisha has taken the leap and launched Got A Gap, a last-minute booking platform created for service industry businesses who have “gaps” in their schedule to fill.
With her said limited tech and marketing knowledge, Aleisha says her story isn’t about going from underdog to top dog, at least not yet! Rather, it’s more about reflecting on her journey so far. Having gone into the industry blind, she, like many other business owners in New Zealand, have found there are a few things you pick up quickly, including “everything takes longer than you think” and “everything costs more than you think.”
From learning tech jargon in between clients to researching effective marketing strategies and the things she didn’t even know about until she was doing them, it’s been a humbling experience, but something she admits is addictive.
“It’s taught me to let go of perfection, trust people, and realise that done is better than perfect. That’s been a huge shift for me, as well as trusting others and not feeling like I have to be the expert in everything,” she explains. “I basically talk to everyone with any experience in anything business or marketing and ask a million questions. I love it. I love learning as much as I can.”
Now 10 months in, with more than 280 businesses signed up, the hustle is paying off and the platform is off to a good start, but Aleisha says even if you think you’re prepared for the New Zealand startup industry, it still feels like a rollercoaster with unexpected highs and lows.
“There are days when I’ve wondered if I’m doing the right thing, especially when money’s tight or I’m too busy hairdressing to deal with Got A Gap content, but then I’ll see a business post their first ‘gap’ and it gets booked, and I’m like okay, this is actually helping people. That’s the fuel.”
Currently, the platform is only available in website format, the budget to develop an app is something she hasn’t quite got yet so for now, she’s focusing on what she can control, like jumping on calls with businesses, talking them through the process, or easing any skepticism they may have – something her mentor has told her is extremely normal for a startup.
“When you’re a new business, there’s often this wariness that comes with it. People assume that there is a catch, or it’s too hard to use, like we’re too good to be true,” she says. “But the catch is that there is no catch. Got A Gap was created because I wanted an easy way to fill those last-minute cancellations or reschedules, and I know a lot of other people in the service industry want that too.”
A recent change on the website driven by clients now means you can list and book an appointment up to 7 days in advance. Aleisha is hoping it’s going to encourage more businesses and clients to take advantage of Got A Gap and the opportunities it provides.
“It’s simple really, the more you list, the more bookings you get, the less gaps you have, the more revenue you make,” she says. “As for customers, there has honestly never been a better time to be a Type B/last minute booker!”