For established businesses
Who really owns your customers?
You spent years earning their trust. They search for you by name. But when they book, Fresha shows them three competitors.
Your customer. Their profit. This isn't a bug — it's the business model.
The discovery myth.
Marketplaces promise discovery. Here's what actually happens.
Customer finds you.
Via Google, Instagram, word of mouth. You earned this.
They decide to book.
"Book Now" redirects them to Fresha or Booksy.
Now they’re in the marketplace.
Competitors advertised next to your name. Commission charged on the booking.
The marketplace isn't helping you get found. It's inserting itself after.
You spent years building a path to your door. Then someone built a toll booth on that path, and started handing out maps to your competitors.
This isn't a bug. It's the model.
They own the relationship. They own the data. They build tools to keep customers coming back through the platform, where you're just one replaceable option. Amazon did it to sellers. DoorDash did it to restaurants. Fresha and Booksy are doing it to salons.
How customers actually find you
of consumers use the internet to find a local business.
of consumers rely on Google reviews before choosing one.
Source: BrightLocal 2025
When marketplaces help. And when they trap you.
Months 0–6
Marketplaces help.
New business, no customer base, no reputation yet. The marketplace brings you your first bookings. You get instant legitimacy, discovery for an unknown name, no upfront capital.
What you get: real value. Bookings you wouldn’t have won on your own.
Months 6–24
The equation flips.
80%+ of bookings are now repeats and referrals. Your Google presence is strong. You have a following. And yet you’re still paying commission on customers who already know you, building their brand equity, feeding them your data.
The realization: they’re not bringing customers. They’re intercepting them.
24+ months
The lock-in.
Five hundred reviews you can’t export. A customer list you don’t control. "Just send the Fresha link" is muscle memory for your staff. And the sunk-cost voice says leaving would waste everything you’ve built.
Meanwhile: competitors shown to your customers, commissions creeping up, their moat widening on your data.
The pattern
Every marketplace starts as a partner and ends as a landlord. By the time you feel the rent, moving out seems to cost more than staying.
We've been here before.
Three acts. Same script. Every marketplace runs the playbook.
Act 01
Attract.
"Partner with us! Great terms!"
Build critical mass. Create network effects. Become the default everyone lists on.
Act 02
Extract.
"Everyone’s here now."
Raise rates. Add fees. Control visibility. Lock in the data nobody can export.
Act 03
Replace.
"We don’t need you."
Launch competing services. Algorithmically downrank the originals. Make businesses pay for visibility.
Here are some examples.
Amazon
Analyzed seller data, launched Amazon Basics, gave it preferential placement. The original sellers got buried.
DoorDash
Started at 15% commission. Now 30%+. Owns the customer relationship. Restaurants work harder for less.
Uber
Decreased driver pay year over year. Algorithm controls every ride. Drivers absorb all the risk. Now on its way to introducing driver less cars.
The timeline.
The question
Would Fresha or Booksy be different? They're VC-backed, need massive returns, and already control your customers. Will you wait to find out?
Own your business. Don't rent it.
There's a different model. One where success compounds for you, not for the platform.
They own the relationship. They control the communication.
You own all customer data. You talk to them directly.
Trapped on their platform. Can’t move them to Google.
Reviews live on Google. Portable. Yours.
Commission on every booking. Zero equity built.
Flat monthly fee. No commission. Equity compounds.
Look like everyone else on the marketplace grid.
Your brand, your booking flow, your way.
$120K spent. Zero equity.
A few thousand invested. Full ownership.
Making the switch.
The common objections — and the honest answers.
"But I have 500 reviews on Fresha."
Keep Fresha. Add Askie alongside. Gradually shift returning customers to direct booking and build Google reviews in parallel.
"My customers are used to the app."
They adapt in one booking. Most just want easy booking. Loyal customers follow you, not the software.
"Setup time?"
Two minutes. Start taking bookings the same day.
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