My Niche Appointment Software Makes $5K/Month
Who are you and what business did you start?
Hey guys! I'm Chetan, the founder of Schedo ( https://schedo.app ). I built an online appointment scheduling software that generates $5k monthly recurring revenue (MRR).
Schedo is a user-friendly scheduling solution for solopreneurs and small businesses like real estate, DMV, lawyers, pet sitting, and recruiting services. However, more than 50% of our audience consists of solopreneurs like financial advisors, life coaches, personal trainers, accountants, photographers, and sales professionals.
My goal is to help entrepreneurs automate their scheduling, streamline their operations, and ultimately increase sales for them.
How do you come up with the idea for Schedo?
UX is my passion. It truly boosts my efficiency as a product designer. I was overwhelmed by daily meetings and searched for a good app or software, but none of the scheduling tools I tried were up to par. They seemed outdated, more suited for the 2010s than the 2020s, and no one had a built-in calendar. That was a non-starter for me.
Over the years, I explored numerous leading scheduling tools like Calendly and their counterparts, but each fell short of my expectations.
A critical feature was consistently missing: a branded booking page experience that could show all meeting types a business offers, under one roof with customization like you can add website, social media proofs etc.
That's when the idea struck me: "Why not build it myself?" That was the birth of Schedo. And my expertise in coding made me more excited about it.
I unveiled our initial version within just six months. It was an instant success, particularly among my tech-savvy friends grappling with the same challenges.
How did you build the initial version of Schedo?
Frustrated by the market's gap, I forged my own path, I dedicated six months to designing and developing the product.
Being an experienced IT professional, I didn't need much in terms of investments.
I bootstrapped Schedo with the little resources we had in my hands. Being a product designer, helped me ideating, validating, researching and designing the product.
The initial release was modest, lacking many features that define our current version (such as integrations with payments like stripe. Nevertheless, it resonated with like-minded individuals who appreciated my vision.
I launched the standard version first and posted in several slack and discord communities to try it. The response was satisfactory. Their feedback helped us fix some bugs and greatly motivated me.
This gave me the courage to advance my efforts, leading to the development of the current version of Schedo.
The development process took 4 months, culminating in a new interface that looks cozier and offers significant usability improvements. This iteration boasts a fresh design, enhanced features, and broader integrations.
I also launched Pro version, which offers unlimited meetings and integrations for growing businesses, advanced settings etc.
How did you launch Schedo and get initial traction?
As I began organizing meetings using Schedo, my colleagues and friends became curious about this new tool and started using it themselves. This widened user base provided us with a wealth of feedback, which became crucial for planning enhancements for the subsequent release.
I got Schedo’s first customer the same way.
It was a local business (window cleaning) trying to develop a dynamic company website. They booked the meeting using my scheduling page, liked what they experienced, and asked to integrate Schedo scheduling with their website. That's how I got my first $12/month customer, and they are still with us.
To attract more users, I first decided to spread awareness through our social media pages. LinkedIn and Reddit were helpful in this regard. People asked many questions, and some tried one-time pass version (about 15 people). All in all, we got around 7 premium subscribers within two months.
Following the release of version 2, I shifted focus towards search engine marketing. At first, we tried PPC ads, but we are currently investing in SEO and developing valuable content to attract and engage potential users.
Cutshort to today, Schedo is making $5k a month.
What are the biggest lessons learned from building Schedo?
If I were to restart today, I would prefer to hire an expert marketing team from the start. The good thing was that I realized the importance of SEO and quality content very early on.
Promoting Schedo on Reddit and LinkedIn was a good tactic that got me early clicks. That's why I plan to revisit social media advertising strategy following the launch of version 2 as I believe the app will be more suited to this type of advertising.
Similarly, PPC Ads helped me get going. However, one cannot rely on it, especially if you are short on marketing budget.
The most valuable aspect of the campaign was the user feedback I received. This feedback has been instrumental in refining the product, allowing me to enhance each new release and steadily increase conversion of users into paying customers.
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