There is nothing worse than a scramble to shave your legs and try to find your socks and put on lipstick at the same time because your client booked at the last minute.

We all live busy lives, and that means many of us cannot even handle last-minute reservations. Maybe you have college classes to attend, a day job, or young kids, which means you can't wait on the phone to make reservations 24/7.

Whatever the reason, it can be a good idea to know you have reservations in advance. Knowing your workload in advance means:

More time to prepare mentally and physically for reservations More financial stability and the ability to plan for the future More control over your schedule and routine Less worry and sleepless nights about how to pay the bills More freedom.

So how can you encourage customers to book in advance? Here are my tips.

# 1 Make sure your availability is up to date

If you want your customers to book early, you need to make sure of your future plans as well. If you know you have future commitments, be sure to update your availability as soon as possible.

It can help to have a real-time calendar with specific dates and times, rather than general availability (for example, Monday through Friday 9 AM-10PM). However, providing more specific availability can be a privacy concern for some. If this is the case, try creating a password-protected availability calendar that you can give regular customers access to.

# 2 Offer incentives

I have never found discounts for early bookings to work well. However, I found penalizing last-minute bookings to be effective. For example, you might charge an additional $ 100 for same-day reservations. Remind customers who call to make last-minute reservations that these additional fees apply. They will either book regardless of the fee (great, an extra dollar for you!) Or learn to book in advance.

# 3 Be consistent

If you don't really want to make last-minute reservations, you need to be consistent. It might be tempting to say "yes" to this reservation to earn a few hundred extra dollars. But I always try to think of my work in the long term rather than the short term. I aim for longevity, not quick criticism.

If you have consistent availability and consistent 'rules' about how far people should book in advance, customers will eventually learn. I always had a specific holidays. Initially, I was constantly getting messages asking me to make reservations these days. I have consistently declined these inquiries, saying I am unavailable these days. Over time, clients have learned that these are fixed limits for me and are no longer asking me if I am available these days. Instead, they work according to my schedule and make sure they can see me on the days when I'm available. I still earn money regardless. You need to be assertive and constantly reinforce your boundaries while thinking about what you want your work and life to look like. You are in control. Worthwhile customers who really want