Barberpreneur Podcast

David Raccuglia is the co-founder of the popular brand American Crew, a product line that is still standing strong after 25 years. Join us as we discuss the importance of products for the modern-day barber. David is a perfect example to follow for any barber who dreams of being an entrepreneur, as he created sustainable businesses that allowed him to step away from the chair.

Ep 15. Benefits & Downfalls of Your Barber Network

Have you considered the positive & negative impacts that clients can have on your life? Some clients can help you elevate to new levels while others love to drag you down with them.

In this episode, I share the benefits and downfalls of the network involved in your barber business. We go into detail regarding issues while dealing with people, the amazing impact that powerful clients can have, and the potentially disastrous consequences that you can incur as you meet shady individuals.

Some of the downfalls could include a few of your close clients using your kindness to take advantage of you, while drugs and other products that are not legit can jeopardize your barbering career. Since you meet different people, part of your network might want to use you as an intermediary, which could be harmful. 

On the flip side, the beauty of being a barber is acquiring knowledge from clients who have successful businesses. Such clients can enlighten you on managing businesses and handling money. Being a barber can allow you to get game tickets and other free goods such as food. Also, you get to meet people who help you better yourself and increase your network and chances of connecting with other powerful people. 

Tune in to listen to this and much more.

Key Highlights from the Episode

[02:40] Downfalls of your network to your barber business.

[02:50] Being taken advantage of.

[05:37] Involvement in drugs and other illicit products.

[10:59] Client’s personal problems can become yours.

[15:15] Benefits of your network to your barber business.

[16:28] The impact of clients with successful businesses.

[19:19] Free goodies from clients.

[21:55] Meeting new people that can help out.

[27:33] It is about helping people

[30:12] Connect with Us

Notable Quotes

• When you become a barber, you meet people who not only want to do business with you but also know the importance of your network.
• It's cool to be nice to people, but business is first; you're not in this to make friends. You're not in this to please anybody. You're here to make money. 
• Be aware that your network could harm you and your business. 
• Don't ever take time off work to potentially make money when you can definitely make money at the barbershop. 
• The best thing about being a barber is having a fire network. 
• Being a barber increases your network and gives you more power to do things. 
• It's not about what you know; it's about who you know. 
• Be mindful of your network and use it to your advantage. 
• One of my favorite things about being a barber is that you can connect with all these people and connect to a point where both parties are winning.

Resources

Connect With Us: 

Ep 13. 5 Free Ways To Sustain & Grow Your Client Base 
Shownotes 

Being a successful barber is dependent on having a solid clientele. 
 
Would you benefit from learning actions you can take to retain and acquire clients? Are you taking these steps to grow your income consistently for you and your barbering career? Then put your headphones on and listen as Mike breaks down 5 techniques that you can apply to your business today. 

What You Will Learn From This Episode.
-How to make sure you are giving quality customer service. 
-What is quality control and how to apply it to your career. 
-How to schedule their next appointment after their service. 
-Social media techniques to get seen by locals. 
-Getting your clients to post on your behalf. 

Timestamps. 

1:10 – The importance of having clientele 
2:22 – Customer service & the customer service industry. 
3:39 – Listen first, do not be disagreeable. 
4:42 – Giving suggestions, keeping options open. 
6:04 – Hear, understand, and consider client’s requests. 
8:42 – What is quality control? 
9:22 – Using the handheld mirror to ensure quality control. 
11:13 – Schedule their next appointment after the service. 
13:44 – Using social media to grow your clientele. 
14:51 – Using the location tab on IG to boost your visibility. 
16:43 – The best way to use word-of-mouth advertising. 
17:17 – How to get your client to post on your behalf. 
18:20 – How to reach 1500 people with just 3 people. 
20:30 – Episode Recap. 

Key Takeaways 

“Customer service is the number one thing you have to prioritize, making sure that your clients requests are heard, understood and considered, give them options but never, never tell them that they are wrong” 

“If you have good customer service, and good quality control, the next thing you should do is to rebook them, ask them if they would like to book their next appointment now” 

“When you let your client post a picture on your behalf, you are reaching ALL of their followers, if you post 3 pictures, and each of them has 500 followers, you just got in front of 1500 people” 

Connect with Barberpreneur Podcast: 

The Beginning of Your Career in 3 Steps, pt.3 

Do you want to learn how to get people to trust you even when you’re still a beginner in cutting hair? Do you want to discover people whom you can talk to as you start your career as a barber?

 Now that you’re already equipped with education and some techniques, it’s now time to put all those things into practice!
 In today’s episode, we’ll be discussing how to actually start cutting hair. Remember, this is the Barberpreneur Podcast. Whether you’re trying to be a professional or are just starting out, rest assured that you’ll learn ways beyond the basics -- all the things you can apply to better your career!
 What you will learn from this episode:
 ●      Embrace the necessity of going through and having mistakes, but also understand that certain mistakes can only be done once;
●      Understand how to get people to trust you, by using your barber appearance as a tool; and
●      Find out how to put all what you’ve learned in the last 2 episodes into practice while reminding yourself that you do not need to be skilled to perform any of these.

 Topics Covered:

 02:25 – Start with low tapers: Why a new barber should never start cutting hair from the top
04:01 – The Learning Barber Mindset: “Mistakes are inevitable and necessary. It’s okay to make mistakes”
06:01 – The many ways to cut hair, why as a new barber you are open to ask for help.
09:57 – ‘To be a barber, you should look like one’: What look should you achieve to become a trusted barber to potential clients?
13:37 – You got the ‘barber’ vibe, what’s next? Who should you look to if you’re trying to actually practice your skills.
17:08 – Building the barber authority: Have a business structure, a booking app, and a portfolio
19:10 – Your service list and how to upsell for more profits:  Debunking the stigma that you need to be an expert to sell more barber services.
22:26 – Short recap of today’s main points of how to build you barber career.

Key Takeaways:

 “When you start cutting hair, I don’t want you to ever start from the top. Don’t ever go to the crown. Don’t ever go to the lining. Don’t start there, it’s very hard to fix those mistakes, even for a professional. If you’re just starting to practice, start low. Start with low tapers, the temple/nape area. If for some reason you mess up, you could always send these people to a professional. They can fix your mistake in your behalf.”

 “If you make a mistake, I want you to know one very important thing -- mistakes are inevitable and necessary. But I do have a single rule for myself, and that rule is; certain mistakes are only allowed once. You are allowed to make mistakes, no matter what the mistake is, you’re not perfect. Everybody makes mistakes, so be gentle, be kind to yourself. Don’t let that discourage you. We’re all gonna make mistakes, and those are gonna be those lessons that’s actually going to make you into a better barber.”

 “If you look like a barber, they’re more likely to trust you. Look like a barber. Have that appearance ready.”

Have you ever thought of having a hair care business but you’re always being halted by your doubts as to the fact that you haven’t experienced running a barbering business yet?

Well, sit back and relax as Barberpreneur Podcast leads you the way towards the crown!

We talk about educating ourselves here in this episode, especially in terms of the techniques, as well as the where-to’s and how-tos of having your own barbershop.

From tips to resources, we all got that covered! All you have to do is take time to dive into the world of barberpreneurs and be one of these cool guys later on!

What you will learn from this episode:

• Find out why educating yourself – especially with the techniques – is a must when wanting to become a barber;
• Understand how beneficial YouTube, barbershops, and barber schools are in one’s journey towards starting a barbering career; and
• Discover the three most influential barber mentors to follow on Youtube that will give you an idea of the things you’d need to know when it comes to being a barber

Topics Covered:

01:33 – Talking about who this episode is for

02:27 – The first step: The importance of educating yourselves

03:45 – Why you should educate yourself in the technique

04:06 – How powerful YouTube is in educating people

05:13 – The three most influential barbers in social media to look up to

07:13 – Learn locally: Where to go when you can’t find someone to educate you

08:56 – Enrolling yourself in a barbering school

10:09 – The story of a friend named Freddie who went to a cosmetology school

12:46 – Summarizing today’s points

13:17 – Check out the podcast and join us in fun and interactive courses

Key Takeaways:

“YouTube has all the help that you need to get started. There’s no need for fancy colleges. None of them. YouTube has great educators for free. You will learn things there that they don’t teach you in school, and that even mentors or barbers around you won’t teach you.”

“Going to college, going to barber school, will teach you a bunch of stuff. You’d gotta feel like you’re wasting a lot of time in barber school; they’d B.S. you a lot. There’s a lot of non-important stuff that you need to do, but promise you, the repetitive stuff that you do will come in handy in the long run.”

“The more time that I dedicated to it, the more I fell in love with what I’m doing, the more I fell in love with the journey, the process, and the more I fell in love with my baby. That course is my baby.”

People / Resources Mentioned: