[Seeking Advice] I've Built a Web App to Help Small Businesses Fill Empty Appointments – Which Niches Need This Most?

[davegibbs]

It’s not even an app. It’s a website.

From my experience in both the web and mobile worlds, app's a LOT more difficult to get a solid user base from, as the downloading is a massive barrier to entry

 

[davegibbs]

The only way this is ever going to work is if it’s integrated and automated.

And you are an SEO magician. If anyone searches for a cleaner or whatever you need to be number 1.

And the slot needs to be available. Which means as soon as someone books the van driver the listing gets deleted.

There are significant marketing and technical challenges to overcome. It’s all doable but won’t be easy or cheap.

I think you have a good point about the integration and automation. Much easier to get a product adopted if it's part of the users work flow.

With regards to SEO and marketing in general, this is par fo the course and very much expected in a project like this. I've been a professional software developer since 2009, so have a lot of experience with this side of things.

The slots are also designed to disappear from the business's booking page when someone requests it.

 

[Paul Carmen]

Unfortunately it's likely to be none, it's a solution looking for a problem.

It's too niche; a business needs to have spare capacity in the very short term, realise this in time to do something about it, update your web app in time (and have this frequently enough to pay you for the web app).

A customer needs to be looking in your area, for the relevant service, and need it ASAP.

You need to rank for what they look for, they need to then book via your web app.

This all needs to happen in the timeline before the ASAP booking slot expires...

Customers are rubbish at keeping GBPs and websites up to date, even though most of their leads often come from them! This sort of thing only works for bigger companies with live booking systems, and they have their own solutions and lead gen traffic.

 

[fisicx]

The slots are also designed to disappear from the business's booking page when someone requests it.

That only works if the booking was made through your platform. If I call Dave and ask if he can pick up my piano tomorrow your app won’t even know.

When I said integrated, I meant a plugin they install on their website that integrates with their existing booking system.

Except of course Dave does everything off the cuff and doesn’t have a website he just uses a GBP. He isn’t going to pay you for something he doesn’t need.

 

[davegibbs]

Unfortunately it's likely to be none, it's a solution looking for a problem.

It's too niche; a business needs to have spare capacity in the very short term, realise this in time to do something about it, update your web app in time (and have this frequently enough to pay you for the web app).

A customer needs to be looking in your area, for the relevant service, and need it ASAP.

You need to rank for what they look for, they need to then book via your web app.

This all needs to happen in the timeline before the ASAP booking slot expires...

Customers are rubbish at keeping GBPs and websites up to date, even though most of their leads often come from them! This sort of thing only works for bigger companies with live booking systems, and they have their own solutions and lead gen traffic.

That only works if the booking was made through your platform. If I call Dave and ask if he can pick up my piano tomorrow your app won’t even know.

When I said integrated, I meant a plugin they install on their website that integrates with their existing booking system.

Except of course Dave does everything off the cuff and doesn’t have a website he just uses a GBP. He isn’t going to pay you for something he doesn’t need.

Thanks so much for your feedback, fellas. Trust me, I get it 100%, and through what we've discussed in the chats, I tend to agree with the points you've made.

I'll keep pushing on with the thinking, but try not to clog the top of the forum up with this post.

I do still believe this could be useful in some capacity, so I'll keep plodding on. And as for being too "niche", that's actually what I'm looking for. I'm not too bothered about making millions here. Just want to work as a solo dev and put something out that enough people find useful, whilst I make a living doing what I love.

Thanks once again for your incredible feedback, guys

PS. If you really want the inside scoop, sign up for both a "fake" business account and customer account at Availabook, and see how the system works for yourself. Might inspire you as to where it could fit in the world. There's delete account functionality in the settings page once you've finished playing. All properly GDPR-compliant and all that

PPS. If I find my niche, I'll definitely be adding a UKBF link in support of what you guys do.

 

[GLAbusiness]

The basic user is Jo Public. The average Jo will not bookmark your website, will probably not even visit it directly. Jo will consult Google, Bing, ChatGPT or CoPilot etc.

So your task is to get your web site to show in these services. I'm Guessing it would cost a lot to get traction on all these services.

The implication is you need to partner with a resource which already shows up on these engines. If you can identify a partner maybe consider a licence model.

 

[GLAbusiness]

For some weird reason this thread has sparked my interest!

Disclaimer - my gut says you do not have a viable business model.

However, here is a brain dump.

1. Suppose you partner with a service like Checkatrade That gets round the first problem of getting Jo Public connected.
2. So Checkatrade could offer a link to your website for its clients who want your last minute service.
3. So the client would need to pay Checkatrade a premium rate (so that Checkatrade can make some money and set up the link on their service)
4. Now the client would pay you for an account on your web site (how else would you monetise it?)
5. Now the client must have enough spare slots to justify the extra cost of Checkatrade and your web site.
6. The client must invest time to keep the web site up to date.
7. The cost to the client must be less than the cost of a lost slot.
8. small scale use of the service is not cost effective
9. You are looking for clients with frequent free slots, a high cost of cancellation, and who advertise on Checkatrade.


This is just an example of some of the issues you face

 

[SpriteScenes]

From my experience in both the web and mobile worlds, app's a LOT more difficult to get a solid user base from, as the downloading is a massive barrier to entry

So, if an app could pass the 'Download Hassle' test with enough downloads, and users used the app regularly and often enough, would this not indicate that you've found an audience and that therefore the app has potential and is perhaps worthy of further development?

Perhaps you could try something like this with a web app. Minimize the time spent on development by using object-oriented design and programming (OOD and OOP). That is, create reusable software components. You would require most of the software components for other features, so you need to create them anyway.

After you've created your overall system, trying new features becomes much easier. Edison developed the light bulb, but he also needed to create an electrical system that could support it in towns and across the country, not just in single homes. It turned out that his electrical system could support countless other appliances as well. This approach would also provide some protection from large vendors who would copy your idea in a matter of days or hours if they saw it was successful.

 

[NickGrogan]

Aesthetic and wellness services - terrible idea for a niche. People want to go to clinic that they know, they like and they trust. Not a random one that can see them tomorrow.

Same with hairdressers, people will happily drive across towns to get the "right" hairdresser and change salons when "their" stylist leaves.

Plumbers, etc makes more sense, most people dont have regular plumbers, etc but then more likely to ask a friend or check on line.

With all the tools that you could make, why did you settle on this one?

 

[davegibbs]

Aesthetic and wellness services - terrible idea for a niche. People want to go to clinic that they know, they like and they trust. Not a random one that can see them tomorrow.

Same with hairdressers, people will happily drive across towns to get the "right" hairdresser and change salons when "their" stylist leaves.

Plumbers, etc makes more sense, most people dont have regular plumbers, etc but then more likely to ask a friend or check on line.

With all the tools that you could make, why did you settle on this one?

I'm tending to agree with you haha! All your points are very valid. I haven't settled on aesthetics, and am actively looking for a better fit. I don't think plumbers would be a great fit though either, as they tend not to be as tech minded to use a service like this. Most of the plumbers i use have a notepad as a booking service, and I do tend to stick to the same people.

I've actually chatted to a few dog walkers/boarders, and that seems to be a better fit, as they aren't necessarily looking for the app to get them more clients, which eliminates the lead generation part of the app. They seem to think it would be useful as a way to manage cancellations more effectively with their current client base. They'd let their customers know of the booking link, and if they need last minute availability (eg. a family member has fallen ill, and they need the boarding kennel to look after their pet for a couple of days while they visit them). The booking 'slots' could be any time scale essentially. I could give the options of hour slots, or day slots.

The website would essentially be a quick way to save the hassle of texting/phoning, etc, especially for last-minute walks (eg. 3 hour dog walk tomorrow, while I see friends for lunch - dog walked, so another job off the list).

 

[fisicx]

A lot of dog walkers, cat sitters etc already use an app like rover:

Book Dog Boarding, Dog Walking and More

Connect with 5-star sitters and dog walkers near you who offer dog boarding, dog walking, house sitting, or doggy day care. Book and pay securely.

www.rover.com

 

[davegibbs]

A lot of dog walkers, cat sitters etc already use an app like rover:

Book Dog Boarding, Dog Walking and More

Connect with 5-star sitters and dog walkers near you who offer dog boarding, dog walking, house sitting, or doggy day care. Book and pay securely.

www.rover.com

Rover would most likely be the next destination after Availabook. A dog-owner would probably try their current sitter first than leave them somewhere they're unfamiliar with. After all, a great number of pets are practically considered their children, so they would want the best option for them.

Another insight I got from pet walkers/sitters, is that the animal needs to be pre-approved, to ensure it's not aggressive and the pet would be comfortable with the walker/sitter. This strengthens this specific niche as a better fit for Availabook, due to not worrying about lead-gen but making it a quick check-in to see current availability with your favourite walker/sitter, before exploring other avenues.

 

[fisicx]

Rover spent a ton of cash on marketing.

If you only wanted to operate locally would there be enough paying customers to make it viable. Especially as they all probably have a booking system already.

 

[davegibbs]

I think the local approach would be viable, as i could start in my hometown and expand out over time.

Can I ask a question @fisicx? Short of throwing away the entire codebase, what would you recommend I do with the this general idea for the business?

 

[fisicx]

I’d change it round and make it so locals can make a request and trades or whoever can make an offer.

The biggest problem as always will be getting providers to sign up.

I’d forget monetisation. I did something similar a few years back, got loads of traction and traffic but nobody was prepared to pay. It made a few bob from adverts but that was it.

 

[BusterBloodvessel]

The very fact that you keep coming round to "I just need to find the right niche for it" should tell you you have a problem. How and why have you build something without knowing who will or might need it? It's completely backwards.

My first reaction was actually "hmm, could be a good idea". But I think it would have to be where people post a "deal" i.e. "I've got a hairdressers slot I need to fill tomorrow, get £10 off a cut & blow" type thing. Where people use the app as a general "deals" opportunity - a scroll through to see what's available. But that then means;

A) It just doesn't suit certain industries. Nobody impulsively booking an MOT or a boiler replacement and on a whim after they've seen an offer
B) For the kind of service it would fit, you're going up against, as has been said, the business' own social media - I follow a couple of very popular restaurants, a hairdressers and a go-karting track as examples just off the top of my head that I regularly see with "last minute cancellation for today/tomorrow available" on their story and it's usually followed up pretty quickly by a "now sold" story
C) You're running into existing "offer" apps like Groupon, Wowcher etc


So then I understand your idea to try and pivot into a certain industry, but at that point you'll be hard pressed to find an industry where a booking site doesn't already exist. There's the dog walking one as mentioned above. There's multiple platforms for Garage/MOT bookings (all of them struggling to make a profit, despite huge financial backing btw), there's ones for tradesmen... so why would yours be any different? Any of these can be updated the minute someone has a cancellation, so the available slot will show on these sites. What's the point in putting that slot on your app?

Rover would most likely be the next destination after Availabook. A dog-owner would probably try their current sitter first than leave them somewhere they're unfamiliar with. After all, a great number of pets are practically considered their children, so they would want the best option for them.

Another insight I got from pet walkers/sitters, is that the animal needs to be pre-approved, to ensure it's not aggressive and the pet would be comfortable with the walker/sitter. This strengthens this specific niche as a better fit for Availabook, due to not worrying about lead-gen but making it a quick check-in to see current availability with your favourite walker/sitter, before exploring other avenues.

See, all of this just makes no sense. If I already KNOW my dog walker/sitter, and I need them last minute - I'm going to pick the phone up to them, or send them a message. Why on earth would I look on your site? Especially where the site would only show me a blanket "yes or no" slot availability whereas if I know them it might be "I can move a couple of things around for you" or "I can have your dog but it would have to be a group walk with others is that ok?" etc etc


So, if I don't already have a dog sitter (or they're not available) at that point I'm just looking blindly for one I don't know. And so I'll just use Rover, which I know is established going to be full of purely dog-sitters, and can have up to date availability on it because reiterating my earlier point, anyone with a cancellation can just update their availability on there.


Well done on seemingly being open to pivot and to feedback rather than taking it all as a personal attack (unlike many people who come on here!) but I just cant think of any industries or circumstances where this has a place.

 

[davegibbs]

Thanks for the awesome reply @BusterBloodvessel. Some great feedback!

The very fact that you keep coming round to "I just need to find the right niche for it" should tell you you have a problem. How and why have you build something without knowing who will or might need it? It's completely backwards.

Haha! It ain't half! As a software developer, I wanted to build a project using React, as I mainly build iOS and Android apps, and didn't have a great deal of web projects to show off. I had the general idea for all business types to create a simple "last minute appointment" website, where instead of missing out on a last minute cancellation, they could quickly post it to their dedicated booking page.

So I started building the website, and after a while actually thought I may have something that might work in the real world, that people might pay for.

I think originally I thought it would suit GP appointments, because they're like gold dust these days due to long waiting times for an appointment, and difficulty in actually getting an appointment! For our local GP surgery, if you want an appointment within the next day or two, you have to ring exactly at 8am, and within 30 seconds they're all gone. Usually end up getting the "you are 30th in line" answerphone. Anyway, GPs would've been ideal, if patients actually cancelled appointments, which they don't. If they can't make it, they just don't show up. Plus when dealing with the NHS, I don't think it'd be too easy to do anything tech-related with them.

So here I am, trying to find my little corner of the internet, where I'd make some a little bit of revenue providing a service to people most in need of it. Easier said than done

I'm currently looking into the idea of changing the offering from a full-stack standalone application into an integration for something like Square, SimplyBook or Wix, where existing users can bolt it onto their site. For example, there seems to be a lot of dis-satisfaction with Wix's own Booking integration with Square, judging by the reviews:

App Integrations for Your Business | Square App Marketplace

squareup.com

I'm actually pretty sure this isn't gonna work as a website, mainly due to the comments mentioned by yourself, @fisicx and the other awesome people in this community - such as marketing, competition from socials, existing websites doing the same thing, etc.

So, I'll keep thinking and seeing if there are any other avenues to explore. Thanks once again for the feedback

 

[Chris Ashdown]

How about Flying schools, the instructors only get paid per flying hour if the student fails to turn up or cancels say the night before, the app would be great for finding another student to step into that slot, also the hire of club or school aircraft
There must be plenty of other places like ladies hair dressers and so on