Barberhacks is an online entertainment network focused on barbering. This blog is geared towards individuals looking to create a better barbering experience for themselves and others.
Ever wonder why the person next to you is a lot busier than you are at the barbershop? Is your career stagnant? Having a hard time attracting new clients?
I’m going to highlight five areas where you might be having trouble and offer solutions to these trouble areas so that you can make a quick turnaround.
CONSTANTLY BEING LATE
We’ve all heard that the early bird catches the worm, and as barbers that the first and last people in the shop are the ones that are busy, and this is true.
So when you arrive five minutes before your shift, or fifteen minutes after you are showing the owner and your clients that you have complete disrespect for their time.
Even if you are the hottest barber ever, full chair every day, all day, a celebrity in your city, being punctual, and early when you can be will show your customers that you care about how their day runs.
If you are on appointments and are running behind, be sure to mention, or have someone mention this to your customers as they arrive. If you are constantly behind, consider booking fifteen minutes more for each client.
If you are behind by an entire client, recommend someone in the barbershop that has the time.
You can make the choice to be on time. It involves getting rid of the stress and excitement caused by cutting it close to the wire and planning ahead.
Create a habit by arriving at work very early for two weeks. Bring a task (social media, cleaning your station, learning something from a co-worker) and do that while you wait for your shift to start.
I’ve yet to meet a barber that can’t improve some part of their game. You might be the best barber in your shop, the fastest, the one with the smoothest fade.
Are you the best in your city? Or your state? The country that you live in? Maybe you are. I know that I’ve been in the hair industry for sixteen years, but that doesn’t mean a thing to me.
I know that my sections aren’t clean enough, that my outlines aren’t crisp enough, that my vocabulary for certain types of hair are lacking. I can’t braid hair, I have never used an airbrush to highlight someone’s beard or hairline. I’ve never cut a psycho quiff. But I’m learning.
This isn’t about an, “I’m better than you” scenario, but more about being a humble barber. I know my worth, I’m a decent barber, but I can get better.
If you’re the best barber in your shop, are you teaching the people in your shop? Are you pushing yourself to have the best customer service in your shop? Are you trying to add to the environment of your shop?
I fall into this trap sometimes, but I am now at the point in my career where I’ve been humbled so many times that I know better than to think that that assistant, or beginner barber won’t be better than me in a year.
We all have to find that edge, that special place that brings the best out of us. Doing this for an everyday job might seem insane to you, but it is the very thing that drives me to work every day, and makes me want to improve my work and take care in my work.
We’re talking about feeling in a predominantly male industry? Yes, we are. Without thinking about the clients in your chair, you are just going through motions.
So, during those moments when you’re just worried about your car payments, step back, breathe, and look at the job that you are doing. If you are pushing out garbage haircuts, even at a low price point, you are damaging your reputation.
This is one of the biggest sins that I can think of when it comes to barbers. I know earlier in my career that I cut some bad hair. Even later in my career I’ve done it. And generally it has been when I’m thinking about money.
I’ve worked in establishments that charge a lot of money for a haircut, and I’ve worked in bulk, pushing out 30-40 haircuts in one. 99% of the time I care about the haircut that I’m doing. I’m think about it as though I’m being paid to care about someone’s haircut.
I’ve also fixed a lot of haircuts in my day, and I’ve seen the frustration and anger bubble up out of someone who has had their trust in their barber broken. I always say to my customers, “You pay me to care about your haircut,” and I mean it. If you don’t care, get out of the business.
If you are too lazy to do this...quit this job altogether.
If you are too lazy to take care of yourself, I imagine you are too lazy to take care of others. Too lazy to clean your equipment properly, just too lazy.
So quit because, we barbers don’t want you anymore.
That is what I was told to do and I applied myself to it in such a way that I didn’t live much of my 20s and 30s. I worked myself into a frenzy. Literally. There were days when I didn’t eat and drink.
I still have days like that because that is the way that I learned how to work. I’m 38 and I still don’t know how to take care of myself sometimes, because I get too busy.
If you’re young make a habit out of taking care of yourself mentally and physically because being young doesn’t last forever, and even if you’re young health issues can still creep up on you.
I suffered my first anxiety attack in my late 20s, and as time progresses my anxiety has gotten worse and worse, to the point that I have had to take weeks off at a time just to let my nervous system take a rest.
I partied a lot, drank a lot, did a lot of drugs. I figured that this lifestyle would give me the status that I wanted when it came to being ‘cool’ and the like. In truth, it just retarded my personal growth and put my health in peril. But you couldn’t convince me of that when I was in it.
These days, when my nervous system lets me, I work out. I eat well, cook for myself. I take breaks at work to eat and drink, most of the time. I meditate. I attempt to do yoga on a semi-regular basis (stretching is great, as standing behind a chair has made me a very stiff individual).
I don’t drink, do drugs. I don’t even drink coffee these days, and limit my sugar intake to a minimum (this is probably my one little vice), and these little adjustments to my life allow me to work to the peak of my abilities on a regular basis, and allow my to grow as a barber and an individual everyday. I recommend that you attempt to scale back any activities that you know are harmful to your day-to-day.
It is okay to be human, to have late days, to have days where you care about money, to not take care of yourself for a day or two, to not have the most on-point beard, to have a raging ego that causes you to be inconsiderate to others, but if you make a habit out of any of the five points that I have discussed here it will affect your health, your mental state, your income, and your interpersonal relationships in the workplace.
If you have noticed any of these habits within yourself, reflect on them, and see where that brings you, affect change through creating a habit through discipline, self-love and caring about others.
Thanks for reading this week,
Crowbarber
Ever wonder why the person next to you is a lot busier than you are at the barbershop? Is your career stagnant? Having a hard time attracting new clients?
I’m going to highlight five areas where you might be having trouble and offer solutions to these trouble areas so that you can make a quick turnaround.
CONSTANTLY BEING LATE
We’ve all heard that the early bird catches the worm, and as barbers that the first and last people in the shop are the ones that are busy, and this is true.
So when you arrive five minutes before your shift, or fifteen minutes after you are showing the owner and your clients that you have complete disrespect for their time.
Even if you are the hottest barber ever, full chair every day, all day, a celebrity in your city, being punctual, and early when you can be will show your customers that you care about how their day runs.
If you are on appointments and are running behind, be sure to mention, or have someone mention this to your customers as they arrive. If you are constantly behind, consider booking fifteen minutes more for each client.
If you are behind by an entire client, recommend someone in the barbershop that has the time.
You can make the choice to be on time. It involves getting rid of the stress and excitement caused by cutting it close to the wire and planning ahead.
Create a habit by arriving at work very early for two weeks. Bring a task (social media, cleaning your station, learning something from a co-worker) and do that while you wait for your shift to start.
THINKING YOU’RE BETTER THAN
You’re the hottest barber you’ve ever seen. Your clients sing your praises to the gods. Everything haircut you push out is golden. Or that’s what you think.I’ve yet to meet a barber that can’t improve some part of their game. You might be the best barber in your shop, the fastest, the one with the smoothest fade.
Are you the best in your city? Or your state? The country that you live in? Maybe you are. I know that I’ve been in the hair industry for sixteen years, but that doesn’t mean a thing to me.
I know that my sections aren’t clean enough, that my outlines aren’t crisp enough, that my vocabulary for certain types of hair are lacking. I can’t braid hair, I have never used an airbrush to highlight someone’s beard or hairline. I’ve never cut a psycho quiff. But I’m learning.
This isn’t about an, “I’m better than you” scenario, but more about being a humble barber. I know my worth, I’m a decent barber, but I can get better.
If you’re the best barber in your shop, are you teaching the people in your shop? Are you pushing yourself to have the best customer service in your shop? Are you trying to add to the environment of your shop?
I fall into this trap sometimes, but I am now at the point in my career where I’ve been humbled so many times that I know better than to think that that assistant, or beginner barber won’t be better than me in a year.
We all have to find that edge, that special place that brings the best out of us. Doing this for an everyday job might seem insane to you, but it is the very thing that drives me to work every day, and makes me want to improve my work and take care in my work.
BEING ALL ABOUT THE MONEY
Let’s be real here, we’re all in this for the money. Without the money we’re homeless and living on the street. Barbering, however, is about people. You have to have a certain sense of empathy when you’re dealing with another person.We’re talking about feeling in a predominantly male industry? Yes, we are. Without thinking about the clients in your chair, you are just going through motions.
So, during those moments when you’re just worried about your car payments, step back, breathe, and look at the job that you are doing. If you are pushing out garbage haircuts, even at a low price point, you are damaging your reputation.
This is one of the biggest sins that I can think of when it comes to barbers. I know earlier in my career that I cut some bad hair. Even later in my career I’ve done it. And generally it has been when I’m thinking about money.
I’ve worked in establishments that charge a lot of money for a haircut, and I’ve worked in bulk, pushing out 30-40 haircuts in one. 99% of the time I care about the haircut that I’m doing. I’m think about it as though I’m being paid to care about someone’s haircut.
I’ve also fixed a lot of haircuts in my day, and I’ve seen the frustration and anger bubble up out of someone who has had their trust in their barber broken. I always say to my customers, “You pay me to care about your haircut,” and I mean it. If you don’t care, get out of the business.
NOT CARING ABOUT HYGIENE
I hope I don’t have to write about this one too much, but cleanliness is part of our profession. Wear clean clothes, brush your teeth regularly, manicure your nails, keep your hair and beard on point.If you are too lazy to do this...quit this job altogether.
If you are too lazy to take care of yourself, I imagine you are too lazy to take care of others. Too lazy to clean your equipment properly, just too lazy.
So quit because, we barbers don’t want you anymore.
NOT TAKING CARE OF YOURSELF
GRIND. That is what I hear coming from our industry. Rise and grind all day long and you will become rich and famous.That is what I was told to do and I applied myself to it in such a way that I didn’t live much of my 20s and 30s. I worked myself into a frenzy. Literally. There were days when I didn’t eat and drink.
I still have days like that because that is the way that I learned how to work. I’m 38 and I still don’t know how to take care of myself sometimes, because I get too busy.
If you’re young make a habit out of taking care of yourself mentally and physically because being young doesn’t last forever, and even if you’re young health issues can still creep up on you.
I suffered my first anxiety attack in my late 20s, and as time progresses my anxiety has gotten worse and worse, to the point that I have had to take weeks off at a time just to let my nervous system take a rest.
I partied a lot, drank a lot, did a lot of drugs. I figured that this lifestyle would give me the status that I wanted when it came to being ‘cool’ and the like. In truth, it just retarded my personal growth and put my health in peril. But you couldn’t convince me of that when I was in it.
These days, when my nervous system lets me, I work out. I eat well, cook for myself. I take breaks at work to eat and drink, most of the time. I meditate. I attempt to do yoga on a semi-regular basis (stretching is great, as standing behind a chair has made me a very stiff individual).
I don’t drink, do drugs. I don’t even drink coffee these days, and limit my sugar intake to a minimum (this is probably my one little vice), and these little adjustments to my life allow me to work to the peak of my abilities on a regular basis, and allow my to grow as a barber and an individual everyday. I recommend that you attempt to scale back any activities that you know are harmful to your day-to-day.
IN CONCLUSION
Being a barber is hard work, physically tiring, mentally demanding, and it takes a lot out of us everyday. It can be difficult to maintain a level of excellence from one day to the next.It is okay to be human, to have late days, to have days where you care about money, to not take care of yourself for a day or two, to not have the most on-point beard, to have a raging ego that causes you to be inconsiderate to others, but if you make a habit out of any of the five points that I have discussed here it will affect your health, your mental state, your income, and your interpersonal relationships in the workplace.
If you have noticed any of these habits within yourself, reflect on them, and see where that brings you, affect change through creating a habit through discipline, self-love and caring about others.
Thanks for reading this week,
Crowbarber
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