Beyond the Barbershop: The Rise of Private Suites

Bree discusses key points of why hair professionals may gravitate toward a private suite over a conventional barbershop or salon.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hello there. Welcome to Philosophy of the Barber, where I chat at you about various life topics from the perspective of a friendly neighborhood barber. A quick introduction on who I am. My name is Brie. I have been a barber for 15 years. At one point I owned a barber shop of three to six chairs for a period of 10 years, and I currently operate a semi-private suite. I have a master barber and a school instructor license in the state of New Hampshire. And I currently serve on the New Hampshire Board of Barbering Cosmetology and Aesthetics. Speaking of, here's a quick disclaimer. So I wanted to start on the topic of why private suites are so popular now. Forgive me if I keep looking to the left of the camera because that's where my notes are. So first I wanted to talk about a bit of a cultural shift that I've noticed. Or it could also be a generational shift. But let's be honest. COVID did a number on a bunch of industries, certainly the hair industry. And I feel like that caused people to really take a look around and evaluate how their time was being spent, the expectations that they were having to meet from their employers, um, and you know, the type of life work balance that they wanted with their families, and really just figure out what they wanted, how they could maintain happiness in life and you know, the ups and downs and the uncertainties. And really make decisions that were best for them and no longer prioritize sacrificing for the people you work for, especially if it's more on the corporate end of feeling like you're a number or that you're disposable when it comes to certain industries. So I I could certainly see how private suites look more appealing, especially if you were in a less than ideal work situation before or during. Secondly, is it's a bit of a sad transition where historically barbershops have been uh a community hub for people where people go and it's usually multiple chairs, people can share information and you find out news and gossip, scuttle butt, and you really s see what's happening in the world, or very least in your community, because barbers still to this day have the expectation of knowing what's going on in the community. I feel like COVID definitely changed how the public views the spaces they enter. But thankfully, we're in an industry that uh favors uh sanitizing and making things safe for the public. That's why we're licensed in the first place, though the public doesn't necessarily know that. Uh but I think that through COVID, they one found a new value for us, but two began to enjoy more one-on-one connection. And that takes me to my next point of why private suites are becoming more popular and why personally my clients appreciate my one-on-one time. So before I sold my barbershop, I had transitioned myself from being on the main floor where I had five chairs and five barbers cutting hair, and so it was it was loud, it was busy, it was active. And I shifted myself to a private backroom space because that worked best for me. I am naturally an introvert. I the way I tell people is I don't compete for sound. So if I find myself in a space that is loud, especially if there's music or television or lots of loud, boisterous conversations, um, that makes me feel like I don't want to add to that because it's already putting pressure on me. I'm very sensitive to that. So I'm not going to compete by making myself louder. Realistically, if I make myself loud, I just sound like I'm upset. Um so I move myself off the main floor to a private room where I could perform more intimate services, like more facial massages, skincare routine, um facial shaves, like things that are more of calming and relaxing, winding down. It's not great when you know somebody's buddy comes in while they're in my chair and I'm trying to give them a shave or a haircut, and they come over and are like, oh, my turn. Like, it's all good if that's your guys' dynamic, but like I'm trying to connect with my client. I don't appreciate people kind of butting in without being invited. So that was before COVID. I already had transitioned and gone to an appointment-only business model for myself. So going through the transition of COVID was not difficult for my clients because they were already used to it. Um, but that means that I've already tailored my clientele at that point to people who valued that one-on-one, more private experience. So when I finally sold my shop and transitioned to a private suite, that transition was not stark. That was not like a whoa, where are we going? What's happening? It was a okay, we're we're moving to this location. But the atmosphere, the connection, the quality of service offered, none of that would changed. So there wasn't a learning curve that I had to worry about with my clientele. I do think that from a professional standpoint, why suites are appealing is partially because of our access to information nowadays. One of the benefits of entering a shop straight out of barber school was that, especially with multiple chairs, is that you had the opportunity to learn many things from many barbers. They could help grow you in your skill set, but also your experience and business understanding and customer service, like those things that there's no way for you to properly learn that entirely in barber school, especially given that you only have so many hours to learn the trade of cutting hair and shaving faces, and sometimes chemicals, depending on what state you're in. But like really learning the nuances, especially if you've not had a customer service job before, like really learning how to interact with the public, how to interact with coworkers properly, um, how to be professional. But even like the business side of things, especially if you're hopping in to a shop that, rare though it may be, has a W-2 business model and has employees. And then even more so, you're kind of counting on somebody to educate you on the concept of an independent contractor situation where they're gonna 1099 you or you're paying a flat booth rent. So all of those things for the average person are completely foreign if you've never had that sort of uh employment structure before. So it was it's very helpful to go into a multi-chair shop to acquire that info information, but nowadays it's not it's not necessary, it's still advantageous, don't get me wrong, but if you know where to look for the information, you can very easily, if you're motivated, educate yourself on it. And unfortunately, there have been a number of instances, just in my time in the industry, of people being taken advantage of because of their ignorance in the field, because they're green and just got out of school and went to a shop where the shop owner was not going to be kind, and instead of like taking care of them and growing them and educating them on the different pathways that a barber can take as far as payment takes advantage and gives them a low percentage, or you know, has a a setup where the shop owner's skimming tips from credit card sales or something like that. Like, unfortunately, if you're not motivated to educate yourself on some subjects, there is the possibility that you can be taken advantage of by somebody who isn't gonna help you. They're in it for them. Those bad actors exist everywhere. But with the internet, you have access. Everybody has a smartphone in their pocket. Everybody in the, you know, general sense. Recently, I've been watching a lot of Mr. Rogers content. Now, as a 38-year-old millennial, I did not grow up with Mr. Rogers in my house. Um, I was aware of his existence. Honestly, as a kid, he made me very uncomfortable, but that's a me and my upbringing situation. It's not knocking Mr. Rogers at all. Uh, in fact, as an adult, love Mr. Rogers. Confused by anybody who doesn't. I digress. In one of his interviews, I want to say it was with Charlie Rose, he discussed the importance of one-on-one attention. And I really strive to give that to my clientele, and that's really my preferred way of interacting with people, is one-on-one. I personally find it very difficult to split my attention between multiple people. That is one issue I had with shop ownership and management was that when I was on the main floor with my barbers, I was so focused on the room as a whole, making sure that people are having appropriate conversations, making sure that children aren't choking on Legos, uh, making sure people are being greeted when they walk through the door, making sure nobody's walking out or stealing anything, um, that I had a hard time connecting with the person sitting in my chair whose hair I was cutting, because my brain was doing a bunch of other managerial things when I'm trying to give someone a service. So I tell people, I can either give you a haircut and have a personality, or I can pay attention to ten things and give you a haircut. I personally prefer giving someone my undivided attention. I view that as a sign of respect and appreciation when someone does that in return. So in a private suite, there are no distractions. You can give your full attention to your clients. And especially if you're someone who is tired of the culture as far as in a salon culture, where it's common to uh double book or you know, squeeze a haircut in while someone's processing under the hood dryer, things like that. I could not, I could not do that. I would be so anxious the entire time. And feel as though that I'm not giving someone my all. I think that the people who can do that are magicians. I am so impressed by anyone who can juggle that many things. Uh I, however, cannot guarantee the quality of service that I like to give people if I'm trying to service multiple people at the same time. I just can't do that. My limitation. I do think in the barber industry there is an interesting phenomenon with at least here in New Hampshire, and most likely the industry in the US, there's been quite the influx of new people in our industry over the last 10 years. And growth in any industry is gonna be great. It helps improve things, move things along, the market grows, it's fantastic. And realistically, one barber only needs 400 to 400 people to stay busy, depending on the length of haircut you like to give and the price you like to charge. Barber math is simple, if it makes sense and it works for you, great. But I do think that there is a major shift in barbers of various generations, and especially now post-COVID, where people shifted a lot to an appointment-only model. I myself, as I said, I went to an appointment-only model before COVID, but it became the industry standard now. I do know of barbershops that still do walk-in only, but they are by far the outliers. Most barbers, just like restaurants, if you don't have the option at least to book an appointment online, like people value their time a lot more now. People are busy, they want to make sure that they know when they're gonna get in and when they're gonna get out. They don't want to go and sit and wait for two hours when they have a list of things that they need to do that day, or they have kids going to sports and all sorts of stuff. Like we have lives, and we're not getting any slower unless you're making an effort. So I do think that the mindset of people who started in this industry with the walk-in model probably look down a bit on people who came in after the appointment priority shift, because um there's a different expectation of dedication in the industry. Like in the walk-in model, you were expected to cut hair until the line was gone. And then, you know, if you had a moment, you could take a lunch or go to the bathroom or whatever break you needed to do because you're a human being and not a machine. It was expected that you would prioritize the customer at all times. Now, with the appointment model, you can schedule yourself a lunch. You can schedule an extra five minutes between clients so that you can use the restroom or take a break, not be on your feet all day. And like these are all healthy things, these are great things that should be prioritized, and in my honest opinion, should have been prioritized long before COVID. But that was then, this is now, we know better now. We're growing, we're moving, yay. But I think that the people who went through the walk-in only era may hold out negative feelings towards people who don't know it. I mean, you could see it in any generation. You know, you don't know what it was like. You think you're you're successful or you're tough or whatever. You won't even pick up the broom. Or, you know, just those things of going, you're so spoiled now. It's like an older sibling looking at the youngest and going, Oh, mom and dad are so easy on you. You didn't, you know, we they were so strict on us, like we couldn't get away with anything. You can get away with everything now. It's like we grew up in that same house, we had the same parents, but yeah, we're gonna have different childhoods. It's just the nature of things. It doesn't mean that I'm any better or worse than you. I am also a human being. These people are also barbers. We all had to learn the same material in school, we all had to take the same state board exams, or I won't say the exact same, they change all the time, but like we had to gain the same license, we have to meet the needs of the same customers, other human beings. So ultimately, it doesn't matter when you went through school, what era of barbering you started in, everyone is due the same respect of being a professional in the industry. And just because you didn't know or didn't prioritize, or both, your health, your work-life balance in that era when you were young, because you didn't know any better, doesn't mean that the younger ones now are any worse or any less than you are. But I could certainly see how that contributes to people wanting to break off from a group shop dynamic if somebody feels like they're pulling more weight than their coworkers. As somebody who grew up having to do group projects in school, I am not a fan of working in groups. I hate working in groups. I'd rather have to do five times the work and guarantee and know that it's gonna get done to my standards than have it be disseminated across five people and somebody not do their part, and then me end up having to pick up the slack anyway. I don't like that uncertainty, so I'm just not going to do that. Now that's me. That's my experience, that's how I choose to solve those problems. But I'm not the only person that's like me in this world, I'm sure. I mean, we're all unique, but I'm sure there's somebody here that agrees with me. So to have that sense of control that you get from a private suite, don't get me wrong, you have to cover all of your overhead when it comes to large shops, especially if the shop owner covers back bar, uh, supplies, things like that, or a centralized booking system, like those types of overhead that individual independent contractors don't necessarily have to worry about. Um, it's it's really nice to have that. But if that group dynamic is not working for you, and you'd rather be like me and you know take on all that responsibility yourself because you're disciplined and motivated and have a clientele that is a great foundation to build off of, then I can see how, you know what, I can just go do my own thing. I have my own space, but it's not a full shop. Like, I mean, it's a full shop, but like it's not a multi-chair shop. You don't have to worry about finding other barbers to fill your chairs or the management aspects of like being a full shop owner versus being a sole proprietor, a sole proprietorship, self-employed. You just worry about you, you can have what all the clear communication with your clientele that you want, and everybody understands the situation where it's just you. Obviously, there are drawbacks. The shop doesn't open if you're sick, the shop doesn't open if you're injured, the shop doesn't open if you're on vacation. So there's a lot of things that will limit you because you don't have coverage for when life is happening outside of the shop for you. But you're also dealing with other human beings who also have lives. As long as clear communication stays with your clientele, it's a perfectly viable business model. I understand why some professionals will dissuade people from going to a private suite. And if you haven't built a clientele first, 100%, I would not recommend having a private suite. But if you have that clientele and you're just not into that group dynamic anymore, I understand. It's really nice. I like it. I'm very comfy in mine. I'd love to hear what you think on the subject. Pro private suite, anti private suite, maybe pros and cons on both sides. And if you have a private suite, how long have you had it and how's it going? I'd love to hear about it in the comments. Till next time.