The fear is always the same: “if I move, I’ll lose bookings.” It’s reasonable — done in the wrong order, a move drops appointments and confuses regulars. Done in the right order, nobody notices anything except the phone getting answered. Here is the right order.
Step 1 — build alongside, don’t switch off
The golden rule: your current system stays on while the new one gets built. There is no gap, no “we’re moving, call us instead” note on the door. Your own site, calendar and phone line come to life next to the marketplace, not instead of it.
Step 2 — move the assets in the right order
First the client list — names, numbers, notes — into a system you own. Then the future appointments, so the new calendar is true from day one. Then the reviews: new ones start landing on your own Google profile, which is the one place they compound — on the map, in search, where strangers actually look.
Step 3 — route your regulars first
Don’t announce anything; just change the plumbing. The booking link in your Instagram bio, the number on Google, the rebooking nudge after each visit — all of it now points at your own site. Regulars, walk-ins and callers were never the marketplace’s clients anyway; stop paying commission on them first.
The marketplace keeps doing the one job it’s genuinely good at: being found by strangers who don’t know you yet.
Step 4 — decide the marketplace’s fate with data
After two or three months you can see it in your own app: how many bookings still come from the portal, and what each one costs. If it still earns its keep as an acquisition channel, keep it — you’re only paying for genuine strangers now. If it doesn’t, cancel it and keep everything you built. That’s the difference ownership makes: either way, you decide.