The Step Forward Helps Clients Reach Their Career Goals With Acuity Scheduling
Navigating a meaningful career can be hard, but The Step Forward makes it easier. Whether clients are just starting their careers, looking to make a change, or preparing to level up, the career coaching and advisory firm offers comprehensive coaching services and personal support to help them think bigger and reach their individual goals.
Mary Jeffries, career coach and founder, ventured into career coaching after over a decade of experience in recruiting. “I started The Step Forward because I truly believe a career you love should be accessible to everyone,” she says.
But to use her expertise to help clients make their dream careers a reality, she first needed a way to meet them. That’s where scheduling software came in.
Searching for scheduling software to design dream careers
Despite having a background in tech, Jeffries wasn’t interested in scheduling software that would require a lot of technical expertise to operate. Instead, she searched for a scheduling solution that would be easy to set up, straightforward for clients to use, and ultimately make the process of booking career coaching services absolutely seamless.
“As I was launching my website, I was looking to implement a scheduling tool that I could use for client bookings that would automate the process and integrate well with the site I was building.”
Acuity Scheduling from Squarespace looked like the best fit, bringing together everything she needed to build The Step Forward’s brand and book clients online with a scheduling page to match. Plus, Acuity ticked all the boxes for ease of use, automation, and integration with other tools and processes like payment processing.
“I love Acuity’s ease of use. The setup process was so smooth, and I was able to implement everything, from scheduling to payment processing and calendar access, right into one platform.”
Acuity makes time for meaningful career coaching
With Acuity automating the most time-consuming scheduling tasks for The Step Forward, Jeffries is able to devote more time to coaching and supporting clients on their career journeys. By setting her calendar preferences, clients can easily schedule and reschedule 1:1 coaching sessions, mock interviews, video resume reviews, and more career sessions on their own, while the Zoom integration makes virtual coaching a breeze.
Using the packages feature, The Step Forward sells 1:1 coaching bundles and comprehensive coaching plans to give clients customized support. Billing for all packages and individual sessions is both fast and secure with Acuity’s payment processor integrations, helping Jeffries to stay organized throughout the day and focus more on prioritization.
“Acuity Scheduling helps me save time and makes my life as a business owner much easier. It’s so helpful that my clients can schedule and update appointments directly versus having to go back and forth via email and me having to automatically send out calendar invites or reminders,” says Jeffries. “It’s also become one of my go-to tools for time management and organization. I love that it syncs directly to my calendar, that I can easily block off times, and also clearly see what my day or week is looking like.”
A brighter future for career bookings (and more)
Not only has Acuity helped The Step Forward manage the day to day of career coaching, but the scheduling software has also proved flexible enough to grow with Jeffries and her business—wherever she takes it next.
“As my business grows and evolves, I love that Acuity has been there along the way as I’ve developed new offerings and services to clients,” Jeffries says. “I recently launched a podcast, and have been using Acuity for my guest booking because it’s so seamless! So I’m excited to see how it will continue to help me elevate my business as we grow.”
Appointment advice for growing businesses
Now a scheduling expert, Jeffries has a word of advice for other business professionals considering scheduling software to make the most of their time.
“Time management and ruthless prioritization are so important, especially when you are just starting your business. So look for things (like Acuity) that will save you time and energy so you can spend more time on what matters most to you,” she says.
“I’ve had a really positive experience with Acuity and would highly recommend it (especially if you are using Squarespace to host your website). It’s very easy to set up and once you give it a try, I feel confident you’ll see the value.”
Ready to take a step forward? Start your free trial of Acuity today.
