Four tools, and nothing connected.
Asher’s booking process was spread across Google Forms, Instagram DMs, Google Drive and email, and none of it was connected.
I was using Google forms for my intake questionnaire, and the hassle of having to go back-and-forth finding a time that works for the appointment, having their appointment booked and spending 10 minutes on Google forms, trying to find the right form so I can see the reference photos was just too much.
Reference photos were the hardest part. Clients sent them through Instagram, so they could disappear at any time.
People would delete their Instagram and I wouldn’t know who I was tattooing, and they don’t take you seriously so sometimes they don’t send a deposit.
Then came the same questions, again and again: “How much do you charge?” “How much would a sleeve cost?” “How far are you booked out?” Every reply was time that could have gone to tattooing.
Asher is open about how his ADHD made it harder. When he already knew a task would be a hassle, he put it off.
The more difficult the process the harder it was for me to start the process.
So client requests sat unanswered, sometimes for too long.
Sometimes I would even lose clients because I had procrastinated replying to their form so long that they went with somebody else.
One place for every request.
Every single thing I need is in one place.
Asher ChenTattoo artist & studio founderRequests, reference photos and email threads now sit in one spot instead of four different apps. Asher doesn’t use every feature InkDesk offers, but it ended the juggling.
He shaped it around how he works, too. A shortcut on his phone opens InkDesk in one tap, so replying to a booking takes almost no effort.
I have a shortcut created on my phone so it’s one click and then I use talk to text to answer my emails. Bookings take me a minute to send back!
The features he gets the most from are the preview icons, which show a client’s reference photos at a glance, and the FAQ section, which answers the usual questions before clients even ask.
The preview icons, the FAQs are amazing so now I don’t have to waste replies answering the same things.
He also chose InkDesk over other tools because the team is easy to reach and builds what artists ask for.
I asked for the changes I needed and the team made it happen!
50 hours a year, back.
Asher did the math himself:
I would say that it saves me probably 10 minutes per client that I had to get booked in. I take about 300 clients a year. Which means I save 50 hours a year. I charge $250 an hour. So I saved $12,500 in admin time I don’t get paid for.
Asher ChenTattoo artist & studio founderAnd that’s only calculating the time saved on the client I do book in. Not considering the potential clients I would’ve lost with the less efficient system I was using before.
The FAQ section alone changed how clients reach out:
People don’t message me to ask questions anymore. They just message with the booking to let me know what they want thanks to the FAQ section.
It’s painful to watch my other tattoo artist friends who don’t use InkDesk wasting their time answering stuff like this.
Booking stopped feeling like part of the job.
Made it so streamlined. I mostly just worry about tattooing. Answer a booking request or two through talk to text and that’s it. I feel like booking tattoos is not even part of my job anymore.
Asher ChenTattoo artist & studio founderWith the admin off his plate, Asher put that time into marketing: creating content and videos.
So I focus now on marketing. Creating content, videos. It could be a coincidence but I gained over 20k followers since using InkDesk.
He runs three studios, each with its own feel. Boo Radley is a warehouse-style open space with maximalist decor and French provincial furniture. Mockingbird Tattoos is two floors of soft leather and metallic touches. Naughty Comrade has “your grandmother’s living room vibes”, where clients’ friends fall asleep on the couch.
Keeping on top of bookings used to mean sitting at a computer and digging through Google Drive. Not anymore.
I don’t have to sit at a computer to do my books / look through Google Drive when I design my tattoos. I can just click the shortcut for InkDesk and look at what’s tomorrow.
What matters most to Asher is how it all adds up:
The security I have in my clientele, being able to raise my rates, be pickier with my projects, focus on marketing, it has a cumulative effect that’s hard to measure.
He also trusts InkDesk not to let him down when it counts.
The creators are so easy to reach. Friends of mine have used companies where the owners are not the developers. They had a system crash, and my friend couldn’t figure out anything that had to do with her job / who she was tattooing the next day. And that would never happen with InkDesk.
Asher’s advice to other artists.
After eight years of tattooing, this is what Asher tells other artists:
People need to understand that the faster it is from the point client messages you, till they’re booked in and send the deposit, the more you’ll make/earn/can charge. Every single back-and-forth with a client reduces their chance of actually booking in. The longer you wait between those messages, the less likely they will book in.
And if you’re waiting to answer your messages or DMs or Google forms because it’s a hassle, you’re losing money, and the trajectory and potential of your career. From eight years of tattooing, that has been tried and true.
The faster you get from point A to point B. The faster you’ll be able to charge more and more have more security.
