Pen, paper and postage
Before Giggio, Chris ran his admin by hand: a pen-and-paper diary, printed contracts posted to clients with stamped addressed envelopes, then the drive into town to bank the cheques. He tried other software around at the time, but it was clunky and wasn't designed for entertainers.
“I used to spend more on postage than what it costs for Giggio!”
A PA without the PA
"I'm a magician, I'm not a PA - but Giggio is like having a PA without actually having an office with a PA sitting in it. It does everything from the contact forms on the website through to following up with pricing inquiries, generating the PDF contracts, taking the payments, following up with thank-you emails and reminding me when to invoice."
Setting up took less than an hour, and the difference showed immediately. "It was very, very easy to use. I love how professional it made everything look - it suddenly slickened everything up. All my contracts were slick and tight, and it took very little time to do any of the admin. So suddenly I had all this extra free time to do what I love, which is magic."
Smooth for the client, too
Chris is quick to point out that Giggio works on both sides of the booking. "It's clearly been designed by an entertainer for entertainers - and I get lots of feedback from clients saying my booking process was so smooth and simple. They can do it all on a phone."
On payments: "It's incredibly easy for clients to confirm a contract, instantly get an invoice and pay it online by card. The system tracks the payment, tells me it's come through and sends the receipt. I literally have to do nothing."
“It's incredibly easy for clients to confirm a contract, get an invoice instantly, and pay online with a card. And from my side, the system tracks it, tells me it's come through, sends the receipt. I literally have to do nothing.”
Admin from anywhere
As his business has grown busier, the Giggio app keeps him responsive between gigs. "If I'm on the train on the way to a gig, or waiting at a wedding for the speeches to happen, I can still be managing the business - contracts, invoices, tracking - because I've got the Giggio app on my phone. I've done contracts on a train, on a plane, by the pool on holiday, and on the school run. It's basically taking a PA everywhere with you."
Thirteen years on
What would he do without it? "I think I would just go back to magic being my hobby. I don't think I could make it into a professional business without Giggio."
"It's basically like having a PA everywhere with you."
Thanks to Chris for being part of Giggio for 13 years and counting. You can find out more about his work here:
here
