Hair What I'm Saying
"Hair What I'm Saying" is created to share real life experiences with real people in the beauty industry to promote healthy relationships with consumers and Beautyprenuers. We will get into the nitty gritty of the backend of hair/salon business to help consumers understand why certain policies are implemented in order to sustain a healthy balanced salon environment for both parties, while consumers share their unprofessional and challenging experiences behind the chair. The goal is to bridge the gap to understand one another's perspective in hopes of clarity and unity.
Hair What I'm Saying
"Reinventing a Legacy: The Journey of a Barbershop Entrepreneur with Omar Lavender"
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What happens when impatience with conventional education leads to an unexpected and successful entrepreneurial journey? Join us as Omar Lavender, a former barbershop owner, shares his inspiring transition from a frustrated student to a successful entrepreneur in the barbering industry. Omar's candid storytelling in this episode highlights the bold decisions that shaped his career, the pivotal support from his mother, and the serendipitous moments that helped him build a thriving barbershop business from the ground up.
Omar reveals the emotional rollercoaster that comes with entrepreneurship, including the burnout and social media fatigue faced by many young business owners. We uncover the reality behind the glamorized image of entrepreneurship often portrayed on social media, discussing the importance of patience, a strong support system, and the power of community engagement. Our conversation also touches on the unexpected closure of his barber college during the pandemic, exploring the challenges of managing a business while navigating personal struggles.
In this rich episode, Omar offers insights into rediscovering passion and simplifying one's career, ultimately finding fulfillment beyond the hustle. His reflections on the importance of authenticity, community connections, and embracing each phase of life's journey provide valuable lessons for anyone navigating their own career path. Whether you're an aspiring entrepreneur or exploring other career avenues, Omar's story is a testament to resilience, growth, and the beauty of taking your time to enjoy each step of the process.
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Welcome to today's episode, where we dive into a powerful story of transformation and reinvention in the world of entrepreneurship. Our guest today is a former barbershop owner who built an empire, only to face the challenges that come with such success. But rather than giving up, he embraced reinvention, turning setbacks into new opportunities, from creating a thriving community to navigating the emotional journey of closure and new beginnings. His story is one of growth, vision and resilience. Let's hear how he reinvented himself and his business and the valuable lessons he's learned along the way. Welcome to the Hair what I'm Saying podcast. I'm your host, kenetra Stewart. Today we are in Phoenix, arizona, with Omar Lavender. Omar, how are you Welcome?
Speaker 2:to the show. Thanks for having me. Thanks for coming in.
Speaker 1:No thank you for sharing with us. Thank you for being a guest and carving some time out of your schedule to be here with us.
Speaker 2:It's too easy, too easy, too easy.
Speaker 1:That's good, that's good to know. Well, we'll just jump right into it. If that's what you want to do, just jump right into it. If that's what you want to do, you got something you want to say, or something you want to.
Speaker 2:Let's get right to it.
Speaker 1:Let's get right into it then.
Speaker 2:Hear what I'm saying.
Speaker 1:What inspired you to drop out of high school and pursue your dream of becoming a barber?
Speaker 2:So I wasn't really good at school. So that made it easy right there. Um, I just I had a hard time at school. So when I got to my senior year my last year in high school um, I just left what do you mean?
Speaker 1:you had a hard time, like I just had a hard time.
Speaker 2:I got left back in the third grade so like academically academically.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I had a hard time just keeping up with the pace and learning and you know, just going through school I was just tired of it. You know I had a hard time picking it up. So it made my decision easy Once I knew what I wanted to do, it made my decision easy. It wasn't the best decision but you know, at that time I was really impatient. So you know I wanted to get right to it and I wound up leaving school and joining a barber school.
Speaker 1:What grade were you in when you dropped out? 11th 11th, yeah, and how did your parents support you?
Speaker 2:I was in 11th grade, but I only had credits for like 10th. I was really yeah, I was bad in high school.
Speaker 1:So you also did.
Speaker 2:You have a behavior problem too, no, no, no when I say bad, bad academically.
Speaker 1:Oh, okay, gotcha.
Speaker 2:It was hard for me to pay attention. It was hard for me to focus.
Speaker 1:Were you not just interested?
Speaker 2:I was not interested.
Speaker 1:Okay, Not one subject just.
Speaker 2:Not one subject.
Speaker 1:Wow.
Speaker 2:Maybe history sometime, because some of the things are are interesting. But for, like, math science, I left out in science, like I hated science, I didn't feel like why, why I needed to be here, like I didn't, you know, at that time I was just super impatient with myself did you know what you wanted to be when you were being impatient like, did you know?
Speaker 1:like I just want to be a barber. Or you just knew, you just didn't want to have nothing to do with school.
Speaker 2:I know, I just know I didn't want to have anything to do with school.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:But I used to always shake myself up and cut people in my neighborhood. So I knew we had a barber school in the county that I was in and I used to always, you know, drive past it. So one day I picked up a pamphlet and I just like had the pamphlet, the brochure, in my in my room. This was probably like my junior year, like that junior year that summertime, before school started, I picked up a pamphlet.
Speaker 2:I just walked in there, picked up a pamphlet and I had it for like two weeks, so like I didn't last too long, that in the beginning of that school I probably lasted like two weeks and I got up out of there, talked to my mother, told her what I wanted to do, and we made it happen with the school.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it was super, super like impulsive. Yeah, it was.
Speaker 1:That's what I'm sitting up here processing, I'm like, because I'm thinking maybe since you were a kid, you had dreams of being a barber. But it just sounds like you just kind of had a natural gift and you just went with it.
Speaker 2:I don't even think it was just a gift, it was a decision. I just made a quick decision. You know I was having a hard time with school. I was like I'm not going to be here until I'm 19, 20. Right you know, so Okay, yeah, I did not want to be there at 20.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And that's what it was looking like for me to catch up with my credits. It was like 19, 20. I was like, nah, I'm not staying here.
Speaker 1:Do you think you would have been or you would have excelled academically if you would have been interested? Or you just like your mind is like one of those, like you just block it if it just don't want to have nothing to do with it no, I think I was.
Speaker 2:I was really serious in high school. I had a girlfriend I was real serious with. I wanted money, you know, so you're trying to grow a family yeah, I wanted like a car. I wanted to be able to take her out to dinner like I liked, having money in my pocket. So, and I knew I was kind of good at cutting hair, you know, and I just took that chance.
Speaker 1:What did she think about you dropping out?
Speaker 2:Who.
Speaker 1:Your girlfriend.
Speaker 2:I don't even remember, I don't know, I don't remember it wasn't really important, you don't remember? Yeah, I don't really remember how she felt about it, but yeah, I was serious in high school, like I was like you feel like you was more mature too, being like a grown man.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, okay.
Speaker 2:That's how I felt like too, just rushing in a rush.
Speaker 1:So when you entered into barber school, how long was barber school for you, like? How many hours is that?
Speaker 2:It was 1,500 hours. I finished it in nine months.
Speaker 1:Oh so you were passionate about that. Yeah, Finished it in nine months. Oh so you were passionate about that, yeah.
Speaker 2:Okay, that's all I was doing. I wasn't going to school, so I was treating that like school, like my last. My senior year would have been, you know, that time would have been like I was going to school. So. I just used that time like I was going to school, I was out by like that next September I was out.
Speaker 1:Yeah, because $1,500 usually take like a year. Depending on how long the days are, it can take like a year and you got out of there in like nine months. Yeah, yeah. So whenever you completed barber school, did you go straight into opening up your first barbershop or you did work under somebody.
Speaker 2:Nah, I worked for somebody for three and a half years.
Speaker 1:Yeah, how was that?
Speaker 2:It was cool. It was cool, it was good. I worked in like an older age barbershop probably like 35 and up. Most of the barbers was like 35 and up. It was cool. I learned a lot. It was a good starting place for me. You know I was super young around all of these OG barbers. It was really good. I was around like older men at that time Was that in. Woodbridge too, yeah okay, yeah, right in the same town. All of this is right in the same town okay.
Speaker 1:So after three years, like what motivated you to just start your barbershop. Like what made you feel like, okay, I have enough, you know, skill set practically, but also some type of business management in order to feel confident to start your first business. Like what inspired that.
Speaker 2:It was just out of frustration, kind of like how I left school. It was just out of frustration. I was kind of getting into it with one of the like. We brought another barber in that was around the same age as me.
Speaker 2:I was in there shining and you know kind of me and him was kind of butting heads a little bit. So I was just I had in my mind set like I'm not leaving here to go work in somebody else's shop, oh, okay. So I already had in my mind like once I leave here I'm going to my own spot or I'm doing a whole nother career, I'm doing something else, okay, yeah. So why were y'all bunnies? Just because we was just like he was just trying to get more clientele, like he he was. It was a competition thing. Like I don't do competition, like I don't. I never liked competition right you know.
Speaker 2:so I felt like when, when he came in, it was just like a young barber thing, like he just felt like I I was competition to him and and we just kind of got into it a little bit and that was enough for me. Me Like I don't like kind of getting ignorant, especially at somebody else's barbershop. That gave both of us opportunities, absolutely. You know, it would have been nasty. So once I had that situation I had my mind on like going to go get my own shop and it didn't happen. Like it didn't take too long for that to happen.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I was going to say how long did it happen?
Speaker 2:It was like right away. It was like within a couple months.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so what happened? You was driving down the road, saw a building. Tell me what happened.
Speaker 2:So yeah, kind of something similar to what you just said. Like it was a barbershop a few miles away from my house, I went and I looked inside of the window. It didn't have any for sale signs or anything Okay, but it had like checker print floors and I just remember seeing that right and I had a crazy dream just about the checker print floors right.
Speaker 1:Afterwards.
Speaker 2:Right after that night, uh-huh, because I just peeked in there just to see what was going on. Just to see what was going on.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:And I had to dream, right and um, it was just. It was just these black and white floors. I don't remember nothing else about the dream, but the floors, right. So then, so within those I don't know how long like after that, I was, uh, searching online for barbershops for sale in Woodbridge and I put that simple verbiage in Google barbershops for sale in Woodbridge and it took me to a website called buybizcom oh yeah yeah, and I got in touch with the realtor that was, uh, that had, uh a barbershop for sale yeah and I called the realtor and it happened to be that barbershop.
Speaker 2:I didn't know it because you know they can't give you certain information unless you unless you like send in your ID, like it's confidential information of the locations that they post until until they feel like you serious enough and they'll give you the address and they'll tell you how much is going for and all of that. Uh, so that's how I came across that just like everything just happened like right after that incident, I swear maybe that next day I just was driving I was like, let me just put a peek in here and see what's going on, and it just lined up Next day, maybe a week or two after that incident.
Speaker 1:You were already building your barber shop after a week of having that altercation with the barber.
Speaker 2:No, that's how I found it.
Speaker 1:Oh, a week, okay, I'm like dang, that was fast Okay so how long did it take for you to actually move into your place, your own place?
Speaker 2:How long did it take?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean what you mean, so you know from the time you started looking like, how long did it take for you to make that move and go ahead and start your own business?
Speaker 2:I want to say like like January. February was when I was getting in touch with the, with the, the realtor, and we kind of finalized everything like in March.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:And yeah. So I got like the okay and everything. So it took me like three months. I remember it took me like three months because I went to the owner and I asked him can I tell my clients, you know that I'm getting my own shop and all that? And it was like three months in between. I opened up in July. Okay so from like March, when I got the okay and everything kind of the processing, from like March to about July.
Speaker 1:Was it already built out like a barbershop?
Speaker 2:It was already built out. Everything was already there.
Speaker 1:So you just moved in.
Speaker 2:I just moved in, yeah.
Speaker 1:Oh, dang did so. You just moved in, I just moved in. Yeah, oh dang. That's why the process was so quick, because I was thinking, like you had to like remodel everything and get it prepared to be a barbershop.
Speaker 2:You know it was a key turn business. Oh wow, so all the chairs was there. It wasn't set up. I had to clean it and make it to my liking, but everything necessary was there already okay, all right.
Speaker 1:So I know from working with you and my experience with you, what I noticed the most was like that strong sense of community that you were able to build once you got well, you actually had two locations by the time I learned about your business. But how did you build that strong sense of community? Was that intentional?
Speaker 2:No, it wasn't. None of this shit was intentional. Yeah, it wasn't intentional. It was just like one of the guys came with me that worked in pro styling with me at the first barbershop I went to. I knew him already before we started working together. So I had a relationship with one person already and I got another guy from the barber school and me and him all three of us kind of built a tight bond. And then people just start coming. Once people see like a tight bond, they want to be a part of a part of something you know. Once people see like you know there's something going on here with this group, like it draws interest to it. So that's kind of how I drew, uh, you know community to, to, uh, to my barbershop, just having a good group of men in the shop. You know know, people just seeing that Right.
Speaker 1:And you know communities, just start developing after that. Mm-hmm, and like the passion, like seeing that you were driven, you were serious, you know. Yeah, I'm sure that helped. We was all on the same page.
Speaker 2:We was all like kind of all on the same page.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:So after a while it just started multiplying, like you know. So after a while I just started multiplying.
Speaker 1:More barbers or just more clientele?
Speaker 2:More barbers more people, just more interests, more interests, yeah. Okay, and how long were you at that location before you started?
Speaker 1:your second location Four years, four years. Okay, yeah, about four years, about four years. So whenever I started, you know, working with you, I think I walked into like the no shave November. No, it was the breast cancer awareness. Like what inspired you to want to, you know, spread awareness with your organization and your business. Like, you know, making sure you let the community know that you are involved in these. You know these awarenesses are important to you. What inspired it?
Speaker 2:Well, I mean, I had a friend personally that was going through that situation. I had to cut her hair and she used to always bring her son to the shop, so she was kind of known, you know, in the barbershop and we and I just talked to the guys and told them you know what was going on, and we all came up with that idea to do something like breast cancer awareness. I mean, a lot of people are affected by cancer period.
Speaker 2:So, you know, a lot of people just kind of caught on and as far as the barbers and the clients go, they kind of just caught on because everybody kind of relates to a situation around cancer.
Speaker 1:Absolutely.
Speaker 2:So I did it personally, though, for a friend that was going through a situation. Matter of fact, she passed away too from that.
Speaker 1:How long after?
Speaker 2:Probably like five years maybe.
Speaker 1:Oh wow, I'm sorry to hear that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, she fought a tough battle, but that was my inspiration behind doing that. Talk to the guys about it. It was all cool with it, you know, and, um, you know, after a while you start talking to people like anything else you know, and then people start helping, other organizations start to join in with you yeah so yeah, I thought that was pretty dope, because I've never seen a barbershop do that, ever.
Speaker 1:Not where I'm from, where I'm from. You just get your haircut and you go home. I mean, it's a community where you come and gossip, talk about what's going on in the community. But yours was more to me. It was like an organization, not just a shop, but it was like an organization, you know, not just a shop, but it was like an organization too, you know, and so much intention went into how you were building your community. I don't know if you were aware that that's what you were doing.
Speaker 2:I think maybe it was just kind of acting in the moment, you know no, it's just like when people like, when people come into you and they patronize your business, you gain, you have a, you grow a bond. But what?
Speaker 1:I'm saying is did you know that that was gonna?
Speaker 2:happen for you.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so that's what I'm saying, yeah so I don't think it was your intention, but because you're listening to your clients and listening to what's going on with them or just whatever's going around in woodbridge, it's like you just attracted it because of what you were doing. So I I guess my question was like, was it intentional at all? And it just seemed like you're just listening to your clients and you just want to be there for your clients and show up for them in like different ways. Right? Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:That's what keep us going. I mean, that's what keep the business rolling. Like business rolling, that's what keep societies going. It's just like regular, like regular, ordinary, everyday people that you're dealing with so right yeah, that was easy. That was just an easy thought. And then somebody losing their hair.
Speaker 1:Just like you kind of try to do things to cheer people up, like yo, it's all right, like I'll cut my shit off too yeah cutters you know the shell cutters like women came in there, got cut like, so it was cool how did that make her feel like when she saw y'all making that movement for her based on her story?
Speaker 2:yeah, she was shocked. She was just shocked and, you know, amazed that somebody put something together like that for her. You know absolutely I mean, we didn't make it direct at that time, directly you know. But yeah. She knew what it was for, and you know, yeah, that was. It was a good turnout, it was really good it was and I walked into it, you know.
Speaker 1:So I was like, wow, this is amazing, I never seen really anyone do that. You know, I hadn't been in the industry very long I probably was in the industry for about three years but even just watching and following stylists that I know, I never seen nobody do that. So I was like this is a really great place to be. You know, like what you were doing for like everyone, Donating hair.
Speaker 2:Like the hair that we cut, you donate it to people, hair is a big deal, yeah for sure.
Speaker 1:So I was especially impressed when we attended the IBS in New York. Do you remember that we went to the IBS in New York? That was so much fun. So what made you say like I want to be a part of this as well, because the IBS to me is more for, like hairstylists, estheticians. There are like a small community of barbers that come, but not a lot. So what inspired you to say like, hey, we're going to get together and we're going to go to the IBS and we're going to show up and network and all of the above?
Speaker 2:Any opportunity I get to travel, like, go have fun, I'm going to go do it, Okay, so, and also that bring together the team too. Like you know who doesn't like traveling, who doesn't like traveling with people with the same things in common. You know we all work together. We got a lot of things in common. You know it was just team building at the same time. That is so I like to have fun and team building. It was easy.
Speaker 2:I was trying to incorporate a stylist to. You know, create a barber stylist team and I think it would have been good to just go as barbers and a couple stylists that I did have all up there together and go to New York. Who doesn't like traveling?
Speaker 1:We had a great time. It was so much fun, yeah, it was a good time.
Speaker 2:I think it's important to do stuff like that, though. When you got a team and you got to, you know not just working together, but you guys are, you know, go eat lunch together every once in a while, go out of town together every once in a while. You know, that's the way I thought back then in team building, and it really helped.
Speaker 1:I feel like it did, it really did. And when you're mentioning team building, I feel like that's what's missing in a lot of these places. It's like doing things outside of what we do at work in order to create a bond outside, you know, of what we just do day to day. You know the connections that you, you know, have with these people outside of what you just do. It just to me like the barbershop community of what you was building. It just keeps you kind of more committed, you know. It's like family, it becomes more like family, and that's what it felt like.
Speaker 1:It felt like family, you know, coming in there day-to-day working. It just felt, it felt really good, like you wanted to be there, like sometimes you just don't want to go to work. You know it has nothing to do with anything outside of you don't want to go to work, but I never did not want to come, you know, because it was always a good time. It was always good music, always good vibes, always good people. The clients were even amazing and you could tell that they had a good time too, you know. So I that's that's what I loved about it, as it's a lot of things I loved about it, but that was like one of the things I really miss.
Speaker 2:That was a good time.
Speaker 1:It was a movement. You know, like you had a movement going. It was like the 90s. Like I told you, it was like an era, and I don't know if you remember, but I remember one day you know how your barbershop was built, with that little stage which was so intimidating for a lot of my clients. They hated and you had me on the end to the right so they had to walk that green mile just to get to me. They hated it and so, uh, it was like it just felt like everybody looking at me, you know. But, um, I remember sitting on that little stage and you were cutting and I was like you have a really great thing going on. I was like I can see like celebrities pulling up here one day like come to get their haircut, and you was in so much disbelief you was like, uh, you know, like maybe, but I was like I don't think he see what he have going on here. Do you think you saw it in those moments?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think I seen it for like community-based, like we could be big here, uh-huh, like we'll get a lot of people in Woodbridge and the town that I'm in.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:But I didn't see it as big as like how you were seeing it, like celebrities could come in, like people that are well-known, you know, on TV and stuff like that. Like I didn't see it at all like that. But I felt like I did see it like a lot as a pillar in the community, just by like taking a glance over at you know how it was set up, just looking over and seeing just Matt, just a lot of action going.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it was. You know what I mean.
Speaker 2:It was just you know it was people waiting in the front when you first walked in and then you have like this little soul train line. It kind of looked like on both sides you got barbers and you know stylists on both sides. It was just a lot of action like I tried to. I just tried to make it like new york and what I, what I thought a barbershop, what I grew up seeing barbershops like yeah and yeah, that was my focus, just making it like, like the genesis that I went to genesis.
Speaker 2:The barbershop is named after the um, the shop that I used to go to as a kid one of the shops I used to go to as a kid, one of the shops I used to go to as a kid, oh wow. That was my big thing, just recreating that in Virginia.
Speaker 1:It did have a New York vibe, yeah, so barbershops are like that regularly in New York.
Speaker 2:It's live yeah.
Speaker 1:They are not like that where I'm from at all. So when I walked in there, I was like this is different. I've never experienced nothing like this.
Speaker 2:And it was respectfully live too Like it wasn't like it was. It was everybody kind of like felt comfortable. It was everybody felt the colors. I chose the right colors. It was just bright, so it wasn't like it was a lot of you know nonsense and shit going on. It was positively like a lot going on, like a lot of traffic, good traffic it felt good when you walked in yeah, it did, it really did.
Speaker 1:Like I said, I was always looking forward to coming to work, like I never dreaded coming there. You know I always wanted to be there. Even when you had me at the first location, you know it still felt good to come in there you know, but it was so much better at the second location, you know.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it was time for you to come to the other spot. Man well, I was so happy.
Speaker 1:I'm glad you came to the first one though. I was so happy when you came down there and sat and talked with me and asked me about coming to the second location. I'm like, yes, this is cool, but it's cooler there, you know, yeah, yeah, there, you know, yeah, yeah. Um, did you ever feel overwhelmed or burnt out, balancing your personal life with running the businesses that you had?
Speaker 2:yes yes yeah, very burnt out because it's like it never stops business never stopped. You gotta uh compartmentalize, like your your relationships, you know you gotta put them in compartments and close them yeah you know, I didn't know, I still don't.
Speaker 2:Really, I don't know if I know how to do it now, but I got so burnt out. I'm just not good at that. So it's just like you go from one, you go home and then you carry some stuff over, you know, to the business and after a while doing that, so many years, you get kind of burnt out, especially when you're passionate about when you're passionate about your business. And you know, you know I didn't go to school for business, so I'm kind of learning business as I'm doing it. You know, raising a young family, like it was just a lot. So yeah, it was a lot, it was a burnout.
Speaker 1:How old were you?
Speaker 2:Oh, I was 23 when the shop opened. Yeah, like super young 23 when the shop opened.
Speaker 1:yeah, that's a lot of responsibility, you know.
Speaker 2:I had no business doing that. Like none, Like none, Come on tell me about what you mean.
Speaker 1:I know what you mean, but I want you to tell the listeners what you mean. You had no business doing it.
Speaker 2:It was just way. I was just expecting, like, results to happen way too fast and things was happening for me because I had the energy, so I had to push to do it and it was happening and, um, I just I wasn't ready for it.
Speaker 2:Like I like, there's steps that need to be taken. There's a process for everything. Right, you know there's steps that need to be taken before you do everything. And if you just if you miss those steps, then sooner or later you're gonna get burnt out and the whole everything you build is going to collapse because you didn't take those those steps. You know it's kind of like leaving school. You know I missed out on, I didn't get a lot. You know that comes with just finishing high school, the confidence that come with having a high school diploma.
Speaker 2:I didn't have that on the intellectual level, like I could go out and go make shit happen for myself, but like it, like I needed to go through certain things before I got to where I started working and then I needed to go through things, even in somebody else's barbershop. That wasn't uh. Three years wasn't enough for me to go and open my own shop. You know, I probably should have handled that situation a little different, like talk to the owner, like yo, I can't work here with this dude, like it's not going to be good. You know, I could have handled that situation a lot different, instead of handling it out of frustration and making an impulsive move and saying like yo, I'm about to go get my own shit at 22.
Speaker 1:You know what I'm saying. Yeah, that's young, that's a lot of responsibility you know, for somebody so young and also, like you mentioned, like you didn't have the business, I guess, management background and experience to know how to really build that strong, solid foundation so that you could just really store it.
Speaker 2:Foundation was faulty as hell.
Speaker 1:But sometimes it is. I mean, are you the first generational entrepreneur?
Speaker 2:Yeah, my home's like nobody owned the business.
Speaker 1:Yeah. So I feel like the first generation that's just what's going to happen, and the ones that kept going and made it happen.
Speaker 2:I'm like sheesh, it's a lot of work, yeah it'd be tight if you had guidance along the way or somebody that did it before you. That you know. But even if you did, would you, you know, would you listen Like sometimes you? So you know you got that energy at that age. You so ambitious, you so much a rebel, you know it doesn't matter what somebody telling you sometimes, so you know you could have a business owner in the family. Somebody could tell you like yo, slow down, you need to go through certain things. I might not have heard that the right way, so I got to learn this way. So this is the way I know how to learn. And it's a harsh way to learn how to maneuver. But everybody learn different, I think if you would have told me.
Speaker 2:Anyway, I still would have been like no.
Speaker 1:Exactly so when you say that I'm like, oh, I relate to that on a whole nother level, because I know I'm the same way, I can hear somebody trying to guide me into, you know, these steps that you need to take in order to make it work. But it's like in that moment, you know, you just I think it's excitement too. You know, on top of being like ambitious, I think you're excited, you just ready to see those results too, and it's like I don't want to wait, I want to see them today, you know. So, that's that's. I heavily relate to that, for sure, because I'm learning today to stop doing it. You know like, listen to these people with experience, you know that can guide you so that you don't be burnt out. Because I feel like burnt burnout do come from the inexperience. And then it's like you had to fail to learn it. And then it's like, damn, now I gotta go back and and figure it out again. I don't have the energy. So now I'm burnt out, I don't, I don't have the energy, you know.
Speaker 2:So oh, dusty and burnt out.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, that's true yeah, yeah, seriously, for real. So you were a barber before social media blew up and now, after it's become such a big deal, what's the biggest difference you notice in the industry? You know pre and post social media for you.
Speaker 2:Pre-social media things were a lot more organic, easier going, less stressful. Business was so much better. It was a better time in business before social media. You got to pay so much attention to social media. Take away from the key the main ingredient. Take away from the key. What's the key? The main ingredient. Take away from the key. What's the key. You got to focus on what'd you say.
Speaker 1:What's the key?
Speaker 2:The key is to serve the client. So, whatever your service-based business or your product or whatever whatever your business is right Like you got to put so much energy towards social media and marketing that way that, uh, it robs you of your, your happiness, it robs you of of, it robs you of a lot of things, Cause it's, it's, it's uh, uh, it's like, it's like, it's like never ending, Don't stop. Social media is 24 hours. You feel like you always got to be posting. You always got, you always got to be on it.
Speaker 2:You know, word of mouth is like you know it. You know it's an easier way to to get your, your business, out there in the natural, in the natural way, and it flows, it comes out naturally. So it doesn't seem exhausting when, when all I got to do is make sure that this product is always consistent, or my service I just got to make sure my services is always consistent and and I'm good I'm, you know I'm putting all my focus there. Now, like a lot of that focus have to go on advertising with social media, because it takes a lot out of you. Even if you have a social media team, nobody's going to sit in your business or nobody, nobody's going to sit there for hours and and and and know how to give organic reach to potential clients. So you got to kind of still be involved in it, even if you are hiring a social media staff.
Speaker 1:Yeah, because they need to be able to, you know, create a vision.
Speaker 2:You got to communicate with somebody, right?
Speaker 1:Yeah, you got to create the vision that you have, you know, for your marketing purpose, on social media for sure.
Speaker 2:And then if you're a small business entrepreneur, you're doing that yourself right so that means you're seeing all of the. You're seeing it not move. You're seeing you paying for posting ads but something that you might not have chose for. The algorithm didn't work. Whatever this, whatever shit. They might have just changed yesterday, right because, that's how much the change is up so yeah it's like you always got to be on it and always learning it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and and, and. You know, the only way for you to really not be involved in it in is if you have a lot of marketing dollars like a lot of money to where you hire in top notch a marketing team that you don't really have to do nothing right and that's not most of small businesses, right? They don't have that yeah can't afford it it's too much.
Speaker 1:You know it costs a lot of money. I don't know if you ever checked out the prices of these social media content managers. They're not cheap. Because I have, because I didn't want my hands in it, no more. Because, for all the reasons that you mentioned, you know, like you said, it did take away those relationships that you have with your clients, like sitting behind a chair, talking, just catching up about whatever, whatever's going on on reality TV, whatever you want to talk about. It did take that away Because now we got the cameras in their face. You know, and like when we were talking earlier you mentioned they're not models.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 2:Yeah, now you want to take pictures to show your work on social media. Now the client feel obligated to take the picture. Now they're not going to tell you no.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:Maybe a certain age group, a younger age group, they might not have a problem with it. But when you start growing with your clients and you get to that 28, 30, you know they're not. They're just trying to come get their hair cut and and and go. Or they're trying to get their service and go like, oh yo, take a picture for me every time, like spinning them around, you're trying to find the right lighting. Now you're a photographer. Now you got, you got cameras set up on your station. It's just a mess. You got all these gopros. You know you're trying to. You're trying to do it it is a mess.
Speaker 2:You're staying up late trying to figure out photography now, yeah you're in a late night like really trying to figure this out yeah on top of trying to trying to figure out advertising, on top of staying on top of the latest trends for haircuts or whatever. Whatever the main ingredient is right. Yeah, you know, you still got to attend to the main ingredient too, whether, like I said, that's a product or that's a service or whatever.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:Like that shit still need attention.
Speaker 1:It sure does. It needs the most attention.
Speaker 2:Yeah, just because you've been in business for X amount of years don't mean that you could put that on autopilot, because the main chick always need the attention. Yo, oh, wait, a minute Wait a minute the main chick.
Speaker 1:So the side chicks are like the photography, the videography.
Speaker 2:In the way, in the way, all of it. Get rid of all of the side chicks. Go old school and just pay attention to the main Jane.
Speaker 1:Ooh, that analogy is everything I freaking love.
Speaker 2:That, Would you those are the sides. You think you're doing something with, the side you think you, you know, you think you it looked like you busy and you maneuvering and you and you doing it, but you really just making the making a big mess, that's what you're doing. You're just making a big mess.
Speaker 1:Right, that's what you're doing. You're just making a big mess, right, especially when your hands got to be involved in all of it. You know, yeah, if you could like you mentioned, if you could hire these people to take like you hire a photographer, hire a videographer y'all do y'all job. Social media content managers y'all do y'all job and all I want to do is cut and talk to my client, but it's just so much money. And then, when you try to incorporate that into your business, then you got to go up on your prices. And then, when you go up on your prices, the client is is expecting that value back, not understanding you balancing all these hats. You're not getting paid for all these hats and you know, I think that also leads to burnout.
Speaker 1:You know, because it's like I'm doing all these, and you want them to be models it's just too much you know and you bouncing all these different jobs, that's that I feel like that also leads to burnout yeah, social media is the devil it's the devil social media, the devil's work.
Speaker 2:I think everybody should go old school. Yeah, but everything around the board right you know, yeah everything around the board, like not just, not just even talking about business, just slow it down like that should just make things move way too fast yeah you could get a hold of anybody like anybody like yeah everybody's opinion is shown for everybody the world, for the world to see. It's just, it's a big mind trick, man. It's hard Like it's tough. Yeah, people really struggling with it, mm-hmm, people really struggling with it, like.
Speaker 1:Yeah, they are With the like comparing.
Speaker 2:Comparing themselves.
Speaker 1:Yeah, mm-hmm, they are. I I always say hopefully one day they create like specific days and hours where you can have access and you just can't after that. I feel like that will also help, which is, people are so invested in social media now that they don't socialize in person. Like you see it everywhere, people's phones are I mean people's heads are down in their phones. Nobody's talking to no one, unless you are a person that really genuinely still enjoy human interaction outside of the Internet.
Speaker 2:And that's got to go both ways, like you got to hope the other person feel the same way too.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's what I'm saying, yeah.
Speaker 2:Why is this person?
Speaker 1:talking to me, so I guess I don't have to ask you do you prefer the way things are now versus back then?
Speaker 2:yeah, no, like social media isn't going nowhere, like it's never going, like you said, it's never going to have them break down days, you're not going to wake up and it's just not going to not work.
Speaker 2:Like it's too big of a business now too much money get drawn to it and it's like a big distraction capture like. You know that's what we. You know that's like a whole other subject, but it's a distraction Like. It's like it was, like people would say about TVs, you know so it's not going nowhere, you know. So I feel like you just got to learn how to like, monitor it and take things the old way. Take some things the old way as much as you can Like, don't do so much advertising on it or don't show so much of your personal life, but still have fun with it.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Like look at it sometime when you got downtime and you need to laugh, like go check out your favorite comedian. You know what I'm saying, but try not to be too much. Don't give it too much. And it's easy to give too much because that's how much it grab you.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that shit is good, it is.
Speaker 2:It's a big thing.
Speaker 1:You'll be in a rabbit hole. You'll go down a rabbit hole literally just scrolling, just scrolling and scrolling.
Speaker 2:At one point do you feel like it helped your business in any kind of way or not. In the beginning, I felt like it drew a lot of attention because I was into it more so than learning it, which took me away from clients. It took me away from becoming a better barber, a better stylist but I paid a lot of attention to it in the beginning, when it first came out I want to say maybe 2010, when businesses really started using Instagram for marketing.
Speaker 2:Right start using um instagram, uh, you know for for marketing, right. But yeah, it definitely drew attention to, to what I was having going on in my barbershop because I could just show, like I would just show live footage, just live live stories and and just regular people just walking in and out, just yeah just just showing what's going on like the day-to-day operation day-to-day and that that was.
Speaker 2:That was fun to me. That was cool. I seen a return on that. You know a lot of people was coming to check it out because it was there. It was showing like live footage, right yeah. Okay so yeah, in the beginning I did see like it being helpful, but that was before. Everybody kind of, you know, everybody became a business owner after a while.
Speaker 1:They did.
Speaker 2:So it just kind of flooded it.
Speaker 1:It flooded it Social media created it Like thinking, having people thinking that they can be business owners and entrepreneurs. They were pushing it. They still push it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, pretty heavy, heavily Heavy. Yeah, they do Heavy.
Speaker 1:At what point did it feel like I don't want to do social media no more, Because you said in the beginning you did enjoy it. So what led to this is affecting my business in ways that not could potentially hurt your business, but it's keeping you away from that organic, you know, reach that you want with your clients. Do you remember that?
Speaker 2:Do I remember which part what you're saying Like?
Speaker 1:when that shift happened, from you enjoying it to like this is consuming my time. I'm not able to be who I was before and that person I really enjoyed in my business.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think the more, the more um in advance with with businesses, especially especially after COVID, oh so you.
Speaker 1:you enjoyed it for quite some time then, because COVID was in 2020 and you started like in 2010. Yeah, I want to say 2017, 2018,.
Speaker 2:I started feeling like it was getting a little weird.
Speaker 1:Okay, you know.
Speaker 2:I felt like in order for you to get certain views or certain push, you needed to be artificial. You needed to have more of an artificial look to your haircuts. I felt like you needed to be more animated in your videos.
Speaker 2:You kind of needed to be more of an actor and just showing like regular day-to-day and regular haircuts it wasn't enough right so they needed kind of like uh, they needed more, more attention, because it was like the more, the more you start seeing how the algorithm worked, the more you post, the more you. So now I gotta keep posting, and now what I have to post has to be uh, out of this world looking. It can't just be a regular haircut, it has to be out of this world looking. It can't just be a regular haircut, it has to be an enhanced haircut.
Speaker 2:Or it has to be heavily photoshopped, it has to look a certain way for the views to get across and for a certain amount of people. So once I felt like the robot was playing a game for me, I was like I'm out, I can't do this shit.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:I can't figure this shit out.
Speaker 1:So if you could have figured it out, do you feel like you would have kept at it with social media?
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, but like you said, after a while you get burnt out. If that's all you're doing, that's fine. You could probably figure it out.
Speaker 1:But yeah, with all the other hats.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but I was trying to do so many other things that I couldn't keep up with it, and that was probably like 2019, like right before the vid.
Speaker 1:Gotcha, what inspired you? To open a barber college.
Speaker 2:Just having a hard time finding barbers and training them in my barbershop.
Speaker 1:So when they?
Speaker 2:would come there. I would have to train them in the shop and I was just like man, this ain't cool, I got to train you on the floor while I got clients walking in. So it was just like I want to be able to have a facility where I train barbers whether they come to me or not, it'll just be good barbers out there in the town so just to put out good barbers and when I say good barbers, it's barbers that like we community people, we not rappers, we not you know what I'm saying Like we not like a movie star or like all of this, like we don't look like that. We community men, like we out here, we, you know, sometimes, coaches, you know what I'm saying? Yeah, so I wanted to kind of develop that mindset, like just kind of reproduce myself just over and over and over again.
Speaker 1:Yeah, for sure, yeah, do you feel as though also along with. So that was also a demand that was pulling you away from your clients as well.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:So when you opened the barber college, it was at the first location.
Speaker 2:I turned the first barbershop into a barber school.
Speaker 1:Right, okay, and so then Fourth into a barber school, right, okay, and so then.
Speaker 2:Fourth year.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but then you opened. I think didn't it open up right next to Genesis 2?
Speaker 2:No.
Speaker 1:No.
Speaker 2:No, so I made the first shop of barber school after the fourth year.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:And then I moved to a bigger location because we was having more barbers and eventually the students from the barber school was going to graduate. So I went and got a bigger location and that's the Minnieville spot, probably like 10 minutes away from my original location.
Speaker 1:Right. I don't know why I thought the barber college was in there too. I don't know.
Speaker 2:In where? Oh, in the bigger barbershop.
Speaker 1:Yes, yeah, so eventually it shifted right.
Speaker 2:Eventually, yeah, it shifted I did a lot of shifting around. Which is okay so eventually I made that a barbershop slash, barber school yes, and turned the turn, the barber shop, the original shop, back into a shop yes, yeah, okay, I just wanted to make sure I had that right.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so is there a reason why you decided to bring those barbers to Genesis 2 and then transform Genesis 1 back into a barber?
Speaker 2:uh, I mean, yeah, back into just the barber shop, you know, versus the barber college yeah, I wanted to sell my first shop, like I wanted to start selling them, you know. So, eventually, like my, my initial plan was to just have the school you know and just develop these Genesis barbers, like that was just my plan.
Speaker 1:And develop these.
Speaker 2:Genesis barbers. After after, after a while, that became my plan okay so yeah, like I had, I had envisions on selling my, my barber shop to maybe one of my barbers or whoever.
Speaker 1:Oh, ok, got you. That makes so much sense OK.
Speaker 2:So I turned the bigger barbershop, I split it, kept that a barbershop and after the school, Can you share what led to the closures of your shops in Barber College? Yeah, I can share it, okay. So when I decided to close the Barber School the second time, I built it out in a new location, COVID hit.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:I started it in November and it hit that March February. I had my grand opening.
Speaker 1:That's right, because it was a 10 year anniversary it was a 10 year anniversary In 2019. Yeah, that's right. Oh, my goodness.
Speaker 2:So COVID kind of messed me up a little bit because a lot of my barbers they decided around COVID time which everybody was doing. It was just you had a lot of time on your hands so it kind of made you like look at other options. A lot of my barbers like left. So it kind of affected my barber school as well because they they was going hand in hand Like I was just I was just like taking from one to make sure another one, you know, could financially be stable to just be up Right. So there was kind of working hand in hand together.
Speaker 2:So I lost a lot of people, like just in the barbershop you know, key barbers.
Speaker 2:So you know, covid played a big role in just I was going through a personal situation with my family splitting up, a personal situation with my family splitting up and just mentally I wasn't, I was still trying to trying to push through and and and and, um, and go with what I said I was going to do, because I wrote it down. I said I was going to do it. Me just being fucking, you know. Me just being Omar, right, just what does that mean?
Speaker 2:like just doing shit, just doing things, you know, even though I planned for it and this is what I want to happen, and I had the school rolling for like four years already, so it ain't like I didn't know what I was doing and you know, I just felt like I knew I wasn't well mentally to make that go.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:I didn't have certain members on my team at that time and I was just trying to do everything myself. So, like the four years that I did have a barber school role, I'm like I had a good, solid instructor team. I had people to help me build that.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:So I was still trying to make that, you know, happen without those key players being there, like that's how important a team is, like you can't do this shit by yourself, you know. So yeah, I had to just downsize you know yeah. And that was like probably one of the toughest things that I had to do ever in my life.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:You know, was let people go and tell them that. You know students that joined it, that believed in me, you know they seen what I did before. But you know, like I said, like I had a team, I had a team then when I had it going and you know I had to let a lot of people go and that shit was rough, Right.
Speaker 2:So it was just a combination of the world changing, with COVID and my personal things going on, financial shit happening, so I just had to, like, come down to my original location and I, you know, kept my original three guys and just closed and finished that lease out there after probably like in 2020. Yeah 2022 is when I just finalized my last barbershop.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:So whenever you let the Barber College and Genesis 2, whenever you let it close, did it kind of feel like, OK, finally some burden is lifted, even though, like yeah, it was good, it was finally a burden is lifted.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, it was definitely that feeling.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:But it was also a sad feeling too. I had to let potential students go that took a chance with me. You know what I'm saying. So you know that was tough. So I couldn't really feel that. I still had that feeling in my gut, like that uneasy feeling. Still it wasn't like all the way like I got that shit off my back, you know. And now I still got two more guys that I don't want to fucking, you know. You know, tell them that is not looking good, but I'm still trying to figure out what I'm doing with these, with this situation here in the original shop. You know the two guys that started it with me from day one, you know. So, yeah, that was a tough ass time.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I can only imagine Looking back. Is there anything you would have done differently? That was a tough ass time. Yeah, I can only imagine. Yeah, looking back. Is there anything you would have done differently? Yeah, yeah, I know.
Speaker 2:Can't even look at me with a straight face.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I know yeah, but if I had a chance, but if I, yeah, I mean, if I had a choice.
Speaker 2:I, probably, I probably would do this whole thing over.
Speaker 1:How.
Speaker 2:You know, I don't know how. You know, I don't know how, but I probably would like knowing what I know. Now, if I could take a little piece, like just the patience piece, it would be completely different, for sure.
Speaker 2:So, patience, you feel like, was probably the number one reason. Yes, I was so in a rush to do everything I don't know. Like I hope my son take heed to. Like you know, understanding how important patience is. Take heed to. Like you know, understanding how important patience is like being okay with going through the process. It's okay even if it take you super long, it's okay, you know. Well, you know, the slowest study wins the race. Every time like you're trying to hurry up and get there, bro, you're gonna burn out yeah, for sure you're gonna make some mistakes like I hope that you could come back from them shits.
Speaker 2:They're not really bad mistakes. Yeah, yeah, I would definitely probably do it all over again If I could take a little piece back with me with my brain, and that little piece would just be patience.
Speaker 1:Yeah, because when you are speaking about the journey, it do sound like you were eager and like excited yeah, I don't know what I thought.
Speaker 2:I don't know, maybe I thought I was gonna like die soon or something. I don't know why I was living like that. Oh my, I'm glad you said that maybe that was.
Speaker 1:That was like right, it's like I gotta get this done before god called me home. That was me too, like I was literally there mentally. I even posted a facebook status about it before we moved to virgin and I was like my only dream is just to finally do this before I leave the earth. And everybody was like you got to chill. That's crazy. You say that because I'm thinking like it's me, like girl, you doing too much. You know for you to say that I'm like no, for real. I think that is, for some people, what it is. That's crazy Because I was definitely there.
Speaker 2:I need to chill and let life come to you. But I don't think you get that until a later age, or you might see your parents move like that and that might be how you move. Like my parents are like anxiety-driven. You know what I mean.
Speaker 1:Like it's just anxious. Was it survival-driven too? You think so?
Speaker 2:Yeah, like oh like we, just you know, we, you know. Yeah, it came from you know parents that is just figuring it out too when they had you. So they're not moving like smooth and calm and collective. Right, you know what I'm saying Like they moving kind of funny too Like they moving through life. So you grow up seeing that you want to control everything. You know why you feel like you want to control everything. You said why?
Speaker 2:yeah, because that's what I think, that's what I'm, that's what I, that's what I came from. Okay, you know. Now I'm in a different place in life. Like I'm, you know, I don't move, I don't I'm. I'm 37 now, like I had to. It took me this long to feel, to feel like yo. You know, you got to let this shit come to you, bro. You're trying to go and grab everything. It's running from you and you're stressing yourself out.
Speaker 2:You're killing yourself trying to get it. Just let it come to you. You show up consistently and do what you need to do, and it's going to come to you every time. It might take three years, it might take five, it might take 20.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and that's OK. You know. I wish people would talk about that more, because I know Sam Walton is like the owner of Walmart I think he was 44, you know, when he opened up his first Walmart. And when you learn that these people are like, oh, they're not in their 20s, you know, whenever they finally, you know, whatever business plan or structure they have, it's like they're in their mid-40s. You know, but you don't really know this stuff. And you also thinking like, oh, they have a different life than I do too, which I feel like it's very valid because they do. You know, know, but I'm learning these people don't take off to their like in their mid-40s. You know, hardly ever situation is different yeah.
Speaker 2:I'm saying like everybody going through, going through their journey with different backgrounds yeah for sure.
Speaker 1:Yep, are there any misconceptions or rumors about the closure you'd like to clear up with the barbers and community you built in Woodbridge?
Speaker 2:Nah, like it probably didn't look good. So I'm sure there's probably nasty things said, I mean, of course, but I don't have nothing that I would want to personally like clear up. I would just want to just thank people like yo, like thank you for rocking with me. You know, thanks. It was other barber schools around, you know. So I appreciate people like taking their chances on me and, you know, signing up with the school and really being down with the movement, because I try to make it look like a movement.
Speaker 2:It was a movement, so you know I don't have no, it would just be a big thank you. So you know I don't have no, it would just be a big thank you. Like even for people that barbers that chose to step from behind the chair to help me instruct. You know I can't, I couldn't compensate barbers what they would get compensated to come help me with these students. They just did it out the love. They just did it out because they messed with what was going on.
Speaker 1:Right, they believed in your vision. Oh yeah.
Speaker 2:So I? What was going on? So right, they believed in your vision. Oh yeah, so I mean if there's rumors, let them.
Speaker 1:Let them be rumors.
Speaker 2:I guess, but yeah for sure. Yeah, I'm sure that didn't look good. I don't like the way it look, you know do you care about how it look?
Speaker 2:do I care? Yeah, I care about, I care about myself and but I I know, now that I'm in a space, now I know that's what needed to happen, because I wasn't well up here. You know what I'm saying. Like I wasn't well up here, like my shit was just I was running on films, just hoping that, hoping that like it worked out, like I didn't have that drive, I was just doing it because I said I was going to do it.
Speaker 2:You know that second time around, it wasn't passion driven, it was just something I felt like I had to do because I said I was going to do it. I was so, so hurt and just I was just in a bad place. I couldn't, like, I couldn't motivate you couldn't motivate the students how I needed to motivate them. I couldn't motivate the team of instructors and barbers that I needed to help me. I could, I couldn't. I did as most as I could. Like I was out of shape. I was looking crazy. I didn't like people. I didn't like pictures being taken of me.
Speaker 2:You know I didn't like my appearance. I didn't like the way I looked in the mirror.
Speaker 1:So it was tough. Well, maybe it's because you have been so many things for so many people, maybe you needed somebody to be there for you. Maybe that's you was looking for that thing. You know, because you gave a lot, you know, even you know, yes, you have barbers that step from behind the chair to help you because they did believe in your vision, but you still put out a lot to help the community. So it's like, well, what are you getting in return? And that's going to lead to burnout too. You know, because, at the end of the day, we doing all this hard, heavy work, mentally more than anything, you know you need somebody to be there for you as well. So it could be that too, you know. Yeah for sure. How did it feel having to let everyone go, especially knowing that some understood the decision while others may not have.
Speaker 2:I said it felt terrible, like it felt crazy. I felt like I knew I needed it. So I was okay having those conversations, but in the dark, when I was in the shop by myself, I let it out. Then you know all the sadness cried yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 2:Like I lived in that shop, like that last year the lease, like I stayed there.
Speaker 1:Like you were living. That was your home, I was living there.
Speaker 2:That was my house before I left Virginia and came out here.
Speaker 1:So what do you mean that?
Speaker 2:was part of me having to close it too. My living situation wasn't too good. It kind of messed me up. Closing all that shit down left me in debt. I'm still going through a lot with it, absolutely.
Speaker 2:I know I had to change my location and that's what I did. So I'm still regrouping from them and post of decisions that I made. I'm still trying to like regroup myself, but I know like I come first, like, so I know I got to take care of my shit first, you know. So yeah, before I left Virginia, I was staying in the original barbershop for a year For a year. Yeah, for a year.
Speaker 2:Oh, my goodness, that's why I had to let my two guys go so that you can have a place to stay, and I didn't want to tell them that because then they would have just probably made it that so yo, you could stay. I don't want to be an inconvenience to anybody you should have said something you know. But I knew I had a spot that I was, I was, that was my, that was my, that was my home, that was my baby, you know I'm saying that was my, that was my, that was my home, that was my baby.
Speaker 2:You know what I'm saying. Like that was, I stayed there and I made it, made it do it. You know I had to do so.
Speaker 1:Even outside the inconvenience, and you would have let one of them know and they would have offered you know, you a place to stay. Do you feel like that could have kind of helped, because they would have still been there at the barbershop and then you just needed some temporary time to just get back on your feet in order to keep your shop running? Do you feel like you know if you would have done it?
Speaker 2:maybe If I would have asked like to stay at somebody's spot, what?
Speaker 1:do you mean Like one of the barbers?
Speaker 2:No, I don't think that was enough to kind of keep that shit going Like that needed to happen.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:Like, yeah, that that shit going, like it needed that needed to happen. Okay, like, yeah, that needed to happen for all of us. Like one of the one of my guys got his own suite like I felt like that was power move for him you know, and then one of my other guys is, you know, working with another guy that that he that he likes working at working for. Like you know, I think it needed to kind of happen I wasn't growth, right?
Speaker 2:yeah, it needed to happen, even though it was you. It was sad and you know that was my baby, but I had to let something like I let your baby go, you know.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:I let it go yeah.
Speaker 1:Everything you were going through? Did you deal with it on your own or do you feel like you did have some support?
Speaker 2:I had support people that I would talk to, but what support. You got to go through shit on your own Like what is that venting?
Speaker 1:Yeah, you know, like maybe emotional support, because you say you had to let it out. You know, did you cry to some people sometimes and talk about what you went through and did they offer some you know, any type of support to help you? Or you just kept this all to yourself and you wanted to handle it all on your own?
Speaker 2:No, I definitely had people to talk to and, you know, not so much try to support to like keep it open or nothing like that. I think everybody seemed like I just I wasn't even looking good. So everybody kind of know like, oh, this shit, where are you down, bro? Yeah.
Speaker 1:This might be the best option for you to just like close everything. So they were supportive and they did understand that part, yeah.
Speaker 2:Because they seen how I was not like how you were nothing like that guy and see, I didn't see that guy. You know, I only know you came around when I was on fire.
Speaker 1:You was oh my gosh like you had like flames just constantly underneath your feet. Yeah, yeah, and you were, so I could tell that was your baby and you cared about it and you nurtured it. You did whatever you had to do to make it run.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I had people Talk to, but after a while it's only so much somebody could do Only so many times. You want to keep telling the same story so many times, even though it's different people, you want to come around moping and after a while you got to start faking the funk and then you know it becomes a. It becomes a your natural. You just forget about it after a while. It becomes your natural in the dark Don't nobody want to be around somebody that's looking all sad all the time and shit.
Speaker 1:So you kind of mask it until the masking becomes part of your personality for that time that you need to get over that. Yeah, gotcha.
Speaker 2:Well, what inspired you to move to Phoenix after all this?
Speaker 1:It's peaceful here, super peaceful, that's super peaceful.
Speaker 2:That's what I was headed to california. I stopped by here so I was headed to cali. I got some friends in cali. I wanted to just start all over with new career and everything. I was so frustrated with the barber industry, with with the way that I handled shit, I was just frustrated with everything and I stopped here for a few days, for three days, and I just felt a sense of peace, like super peaceful it's. It's. It's a lot of building. This is desert. It's a lot of building that could be done here. I just felt like it was a, it was a new, uh, it was a fresh slate. Like it wasn't too fast paced. I could focus on you know myself and what I need to get right.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:Phoenix is one of those spots where you know, yeah, I like it here.
Speaker 1:Like you said, the pace is slow, you know, but like it's so quiet, you know, it's like walking outside in a library. Well, the girl that done my makeup she was like well, you know, you come around here on the weekends. It's a little different, you know. But yeah, I noticed that like people are so nice, they're so friendly People are pleasant.
Speaker 1:They are so pleasant. I'm like this is a vibe, especially for like in your situation. I think this is a great place to like, collect, recharge, regroup, reflect all those things, because it gives you that time and that peace and that space to do that, especially when you constantly surround around these people who are like hi, you know, they just thought they like, they happy to see you or something yeah, you feel like you're needed and welcomed.
Speaker 2:Yeah for sure, with a smile on your face.
Speaker 1:Yeah, when you moved to Phoenix, did you know that you would eventually get back behind the chair? Or you were also thinking, maybe I want to do something different, make a career change.
Speaker 2:No, I kind of waited until things got really bad, to where I was almost like didn't have any, like any resources left before I made that decision, because I was still I didn't know what I wanted.
Speaker 2:This is the only thing I ever done that shit when I tell people that like they look at me and be like you never had a job. Like no, I never had a job, never. I did one interview and I didn't get the job. It was for timberland outlet and that's the only time I even tried to go get a job yeah, when I was a teenager, but after that it's been barber school, barber shop, my own business yeah, for sure I didn't.
Speaker 1:I don't know where I ain't know where to go.
Speaker 2:It's just like I knew I wanted to do something like uh, uh, construction wise, but I didn't know how to get into it. I don't know how to talk to somebody about getting into that. You know, this is all I know. I put so much effort into it. I know this so well that it's just like am I really going to go start a whole new chapter in Korea in my life?
Speaker 1:It's still kind of figuring out right now, but right now.
Speaker 2:This is like I had to make a decision and I'm happy with. The decision I made was to go go work in somebody else's shop like I'm having a great time how does it feel? To be working why?
Speaker 1:why is it so amazing?
Speaker 2:well, first of all, I'm happy that somebody let me work in their shop that I came from all the way, virginia. You know I don't have no clientele here. I know what that's like having a barber coming here, so I get like I felt welcome, like so I felt I felt good about that, like somebody kind of took me, it took me in, they shit but I know what it's like to be on the others, I know what it's like to be a barbershop owner.
Speaker 2:How long is this dude gonna last? He coming from all the way over here. Who is he? You know what I mean. So, like, I appreciate the opportunity that I have here and I'm making the most of it you know so.
Speaker 2:I'm just having fun, I'm cool, like I'm just focusing on the client. You know I chill with the barbers. It's not. It's not that uh boss, barber type of relationship. You know I like having like we all in this together, we here, we gotta spend 10 hours in this barbershop together, whether it's slow or whether it's fast. You know what I'm saying so you're enjoying the simplicity I love the simple shit like I love the plain jane.
Speaker 2:Simple life right now yeah I don't think I'll ever go back to having so many things going on in my life at one time yeah, has this chapter helped you rediscover anything about your passion for barbering? Um, yes, it made me rediscover like how barbers are to young boys that come in there with their dad, have certain conversations in the barbershop that could lead to people getting job opportunities, just community.
Speaker 2:It brought that back for me because I kind of got drawn away from that, having all of those other situations going on trying to start a school and trying to open up other locations, and you know you kind of get drawn away from the simple ingredient the main chick, you just forget about it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's simple. It's so peaceful and not to say that it's easy but you're able to like, really be intentional and focus and be present. You know it's really hard to juggle so many hats. It is.
Speaker 1:You know, and when you focus on one thing, you'd be surprised how quickly it can elevate and grow. You know, instead of like having your hands in multiple things, that's when it's going to slow down somewhere. You know, that's even my problem. You know, we talked about this. You know, like where Stiles was, like you need to find one thing, nurture that and you become the all-in for that one thing, instead of juggling all these different things. Even if you can do it, don't do it. You know, don't do it, yep, and I feel like Not even as a hobby.
Speaker 2:Just don't do it, just leave it alone.
Speaker 1:Leave it alone. Yeah, the riches are in the niches. That's her whole. You know it's not her quote. You know that she made up, but that's what she lived by, you know. And she was like I'm not tapping.
Speaker 2:The riches are the niches.
Speaker 1:The riches are in the niches, or the niches, oh, yeah, yeah, so that's a fact. And not even just, you know, in a monetizing way, like in a peaceful way. You know, like from within. You know because I know people to me, whenever they say that they're talking about money, I'm talking about it all, not just the money part. You know, because when I was focused on bridal, and bridal only, I was happy. I didn't do nothing else. All I'm gonna do is pull up, do your hair and leave, you know. But then when I start, you know, trying to juggle all this other stuff because and then clients will influence you too. Yeah, you have to be careful with clients, because they see all this in you. You know like, oh, you should do this and you should do that. And next thing, you know you're trying it and you doing it and now you're getting away from that thing that made them come to you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, let me ask you a question. So why didn't you just rock with the bridles? If you was finding it, I'm guessing it was paying you well.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And you was happy doing it and it wasn't too much stress on your back why you feel like you needed to dabble in other things.
Speaker 1:Well, like you, needed to dabble in other things. Well, because we moved from Virginia and Virginia's clientele is completely different from the Austin market. So when I moved to Austin, when I was trying to build the bridal clientele in Austin, it was not like Virginia. You know, virginia, I feel like. You know, those people are more, you know, cultured and it doesn't matter what your skin tone is, that if you can do hair they're gonna book you, you know.
Speaker 1:But with me being in austin, it's like oh, you black, can you even do white hair? You know? Or you white, can you do black hair? It's, that's a real thing. I even got x that when I set up as a vendor at a bridal expo and I didn't get one but one booking but she didn't book me right then. And there her friend convinced her to book me.
Speaker 1:But when I went to a bridal expo in the DMV I got three times my money back and I wasted money in Austin. So it's also, the clientele is just different there. So I had to be forced to get back behind that chair because I wasn't going to make no money just doing strictly bridal. I learned that because the black community also is very scarce and being that we are not trusting each other to do each other's hair. I'm not booking you, so I was just like I guess I'm gonna get back behind the chair then. Yeah, because that demand was higher than black women getting married in Austin. If they're getting married, it's kind of like in Dallas and Houston, you know, and they get married in Austin too, but it's just on a very small scale, right? Yeah, so that's why I didn't stick with bridal. But I did stick with bridal in Virginia, like I left from behind my chair and I was just doing doing bridal and I was doing great, because I had no overhead, I didn't have to buy a lot of supplies.
Speaker 2:Winning right there.
Speaker 1:Yeah, just with no overhead, I'm just showing up doing the hair and I had, you know, got in contact with a stylist who would let me use her studio or her space so I can do the trials, because I needed a space for that. So that's why I ended up back behind that chair, because I wasn't making no money.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Nobody was booking. Do you think you'll own a shop or a barber college again one day?
Speaker 2:I don't know, I don't know Maybe, but right now I'm just having so much fun working in somebody else's barbershop and and paying attention to, like the small details, like just the people that come in there yeah and getting back into loving to cut hair and shit like that. So I mean, if something comes up, sure I'll take an opportunity. I'm still crazy. Like I mean, if something comes up, sure.
Speaker 1:I'll take an opportunity. I'm still crazy like that's that entrepreneurial spirit in you, I'm still a fucking psycho but yeah.
Speaker 2:I mean, I'm not gonna go towards that like now. I know, like you know you gotta chill out, you know you gotta chill on making these impulsive moves on yourself. But like if somebody wanted to want to join in with me and do something, maybe I might, you know, but having so much pressure on myself, I think I learned my my lesson the hard way yeah, yeah, in a good way, though good hard way. It's bittersweet that's the only way I could learn. So I mean, I can't.
Speaker 1:I know it's and that's so bad because I'm. I just feel like I'm the same way. I'm gonna have to learn through just messing it up, versus somebody saying, hey, don't do this because of X, y and Z. It's like no, I got to see for myself which is so silly, you know, but I feel like a lot of entrepreneurs are built like that, though you know, we're very risky and we can make some impulsive decisions.
Speaker 2:Entrepreneur that shit is a hard life.
Speaker 1:It is.
Speaker 2:It should just be in the dictionary hard life Entrepreneur.
Speaker 1:What the definition? Just hard life.
Speaker 2:I said hard life.
Speaker 1:Especially if you're going to be like we talked about earlier, if you're going to be the first generation entrepreneur. It is hard. You know. You got to stay committed, you got to stay dedicated, you got to remember your why in order for you to stay there.
Speaker 2:you know a business owner is completely different than an entrepreneur absolutely yes. I feel like business owners don't have nearly the amount of responsibility that an entrepreneur does mentally business owners usually come into it with with funding so they don't have to have certain issues happen for them. You know you got to write them out of network and money. Then you know you can run your business different. But entrepreneurs like it's, like this, shit's just nasty man, it's not attractive.
Speaker 1:It's nasty, it's not attractive.
Speaker 2:I agree, not attractive, it's just a is a hard life yeah, it is.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's why I'm making different decisions. But after all you've achieved, how do you hope to be remembered in the barbering community?
Speaker 2:um, I hope to be remembered as just like somebody that just took the took, took risk and tried to figure it out and tried to make, try to make a barber and an experience for people. You know, when they come to a barbershop, I try to make it an experience. That's what I want people. I want them to feel like. You know, I used to live in Virginia but when I stepped in Genesis I really felt like I was in New York. You know, I really felt like I was or I felt. You know I really felt like I was or I felt this, or you know I listened. I remember this song because I remember my son getting his haircut, his first haircut. So every time this song come on, you know I remember they had the barbecue. I remember who was on the grill because they you know what I'm saying Like that's. I want them to remember everything that you know we did in our community.
Speaker 1:I'm going to tell you what I remember since you bringing up music. When it comes to what people, what you wanted people to remember. I remember the OG Project with Fabulous, wasn't it called the OG Project?
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And I remember J Cole. Oh gosh, I'm so mad at myself. Forest Hills Drive, that's what I remember, yeah, so when you said I'm so mad at myself, Forest Hills Drive.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's what I remember.
Speaker 1:Yeah. So when you said that, I'm like, yeah, you did that for sure, because those are the two albums I remember the most, you know being played whenever they first dropped, and yeah, so you did that for sure.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I just hope they remember like a good barbershop experience.
Speaker 1:It was. It was great, like they remember, like a good barbershop experience it was. It was great. Like I said, it was a movement, it was an era, it was like a vibe. Even the clients, like everyone, wanted a piece of Genesis, and maybe not always in the best ways either. You know, I feel like maybe most were in good ways, but maybe some not, you know, but it was like a sanctuary. You know what? I feel like maybe most were in good ways, but maybe some not, you know, but it was like a, like a sanctuary. You know what I'm saying? Like I'm gonna go here and I'm a chill, I'm still do what I love to do, but I just I feel good, I feel safe here. You know that's it felt safe. That's what it was. It felt safe Like feel like home. You know, I knew each other. That's what it was. It felt safe, like, feel like home you know, I knew each other.
Speaker 2:Yeah, See each other in the grocery store and it's like yo, you go to the shop.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, no the t-shirts.
Speaker 2:Like when I made a t-shirts, like I was surprised at how many clients would buy a t-shirt from a barbershop.
Speaker 1:Yeah that shit, because it's like wearing it's like wearing um, it's like you're a part of a organization, kind of like. Like I say you had an organization.
Speaker 2:You go to the shop.
Speaker 1:You go to the shop too I remember I wore it one day and it was like what is that? Like she was asking me what it was and I think I was in maryland and I wore it was. It was probably like in 2019, actually, when I was visiting. I wore it and she was asking about the business and stuff, yeah, and I was like you should check it out. She was like I have a son, I might have to check it out. You know, yeah, I feel like we. How have the successes and challenges shaped you as a person? Do you want to answer that? Do you feel like you already answered that?
Speaker 2:How has the the?
Speaker 1:successes and challenges. Like you know, your success, and also some of the setbacks, shaped you as a person.
Speaker 2:Yeah, well, you know it shaped me, it made me realize how important patience was and you know it definitely made me a person that just learned how to slow things down a little bit. Take things, you know, slow in and try to enjoy the process instead of being pissed off at the process because you're going through the process and it's not taking you to as fast as you want to get there, Like you know what I'm saying. So it was just like now at this, what everything I've been through. I understand how important every small phases and don't get frustrated and try to skip. Don't cheat, because once you anything, if you cheat at anything, that shit gonna come back and it's going it's going to tear you up.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's just, it's not good yeah, it's not good to cheat and try to skip the process. Just go through the process of everything.
Speaker 1:Man yeah, but in that moment you don't know that you are cheating. It's like I'm gonna do this real quick and now.
Speaker 2:You know what you're doing. I don't know because you're anxious, and you know. You know what you're doing because the intent is there for you to get there faster but do you feel like that's really cheating?
Speaker 1:and you just and it's not just- cheating the system.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you're cheating the system because this is a system. A system has, but in that moment.
Speaker 1:did you know it was a system? So I guess that's what I'm asking did you know in those moments that you were cheating and this is just what you have learned, when you had an opportunity to go back and reflect Because I don't think so Like you were moving with?
Speaker 2:integrity. You don't know, you just going off of adrenaline. Yeah, you were moving with integrity. Yeah, I can't.
Speaker 1:I won't say you cheated the system. I just I didn't see that.
Speaker 2:I can see that that way. Now I can look back and see that now.
Speaker 1:And not in a negative way. You just feel like you skipped some steps, right, yeah, yeah, because I'm like, no, that's not what I saw, that's not what I experienced with you. You were moving with integrity, you had a goal and you just wanted to see it happen. Yeah, you know, that's what I saw, that's what I felt. You know, I didn't feel like it was. You were cheating at all. I could tell you were figuring it out along the way because you were young. Yeah, you know so.
Speaker 2:I thought things could happen like fast Mm-hmm. I got kind of twisted and tied with like the microwave era type of situation.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:I feel like everything like a millionaire could really be like 25 years old, Like nah, it's not, it's not weird, it's not true.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it takes some time, you know.
Speaker 2:I mean yeah, that depends with people, that's inherited certain situations. So I just knew like, yeah, it's not my situation.
Speaker 1:So yeah, for sure.
Speaker 2:And not most people, honestly.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's not my situation. So yeah, for sure.
Speaker 2:And not most people. Honestly, yeah, it's not most people's situation.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's true, it's not. I have noticed most people, what I'm learning. I notice a lot of people around me listen more. Excuse me, that's for sure. That's what I've noticed and what you mean by that?
Speaker 2:Just you know being back in school, when people around you listen more Like being back in school.
Speaker 1:I just see, like, versus when I went to school, like years ago, it was different. Like the kids I'm surrounded around, they are intentional, they're listening, they have a, they're focused. You know and I wasn't, I didn't grow up around that and I'm wondering, like even with social media, how are they able to stay so focused like that? You know, I just I don't know. I don't know that's what I'm experiencing, you know. So, I don't know that's what I'm experiencing, you know so I don't know. If you could speak to your former staff or students now, what would you want to say to them?
Speaker 2:Very broadly yeah, just have fun, keep having fun, keep having fun. It's all supposed to be fun. When it stopped being fun, you either doing too much and slow it back down, but just have fun. Like this is we here to serve the people and, you know, make people look good and feel good. We are important, like so. Don't think that you're not important because you're a stylist or a barber or, you know, an aspiring barber, but I think we do a lot for people. It might just seem like a haircut or a hair color or whatever, but hair is important and the way that you look, your image, is important to how you move in everyday life.
Speaker 2:For sure Just have fun, man, just have fun, and thank you for coming and encountering with me. Thanks for that interaction.
Speaker 1:Do you still see yourself as a visionary and if you do, how are you channeling that energy today?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm definitely a visionary. My vision is just real short these days, though. I'm talking about real short, Like I visualize what I'm doing for the day.
Speaker 1:No. Future vision vision no hell.
Speaker 2:No, yeah, put too much stress on me. Anything could change. Anybody could just walk into your life, or you could walk in the situation and tomorrow.
Speaker 2:So yeah, like, my vision is like day to day, that's that's as far as I go with my shit very slow pace super slow pace, yeah, yeah, go take a hike, yeah, well you and you feel like the past taught you how to do that right, yeah having too many visions, having all these books with all of these, this shit just confusing man, then you gotta include a lot of people into your vision. They might move on you know what? I'm saying so just like you're stressing now. You can't enjoy this relationship because you got visions for this person that they don't even know about yeah you was definitely trying to put the clippers in my hand yeah, I had a lot for you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I had a lot for everybody yeah, you did, you really did. I think you saw their potential, or our potential Lady barbers, kill it Like they kill it Like we talking about like 100 grand a year being the lowest, like the pay rate is different for women cutting hair.
Speaker 1:Of course you know so, for very obvious reasons. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:So I mean you was there. I'm going to talk that into you. I'm going to try to see if you're at least interested in this shit. I talk that into you. I'm going to try to see if you're at least interested in this shit.
Speaker 1:I wish I would have listened then, because I would be highly interested. It's a great market. It's a great market like it's just yeah, I think so because I was very new, you know, even being a hairstylist, I had only been licensed for three years and that was my first time working at your shop like being consistently actively working. So I think I was just too invested in nurturing that and I wanted to see what I could do with that versus like I'm like, oh, the Clippers, that might be a little bit too much for me right now.
Speaker 2:Yeah, Trying to put I got, I got all this on my plate. I'm trying to put more on your plate. Trying to put more on this on my plate. I'm trying to put more on your plate. I'm trying to put more on this person's plate.
Speaker 1:Look at you projecting. This is too much. You meant well, you know my attention. Yeah, you meant well, you did.
Speaker 2:We had Rocky there, when I seen what one woman could do in a barbershop. I was like yo, we gotta figure out a way to make other women barbers too. Yeah.
Speaker 1:And Rocky was lit, she was yeah for sure. Yeah, like today I don't have the energy, but I would say like three years ago I would have been ready to pick up the clippers. You know, just because I feel like I've already served the time that I wanted to behind the chair as a stylist, and not forever. Just I feel like I learned what I wanted to behind the chair as a stylist, and not forever. Just I feel like I learned what I wanted to learn. I had a solid foundation, but back then I was building the foundation of even what I wanted to do and I also tried to balance family life, because that was a lot. So not nearly what you had going on, but it was a lot for me, you know at the time.
Speaker 2:You know everybody had their journey, and it was hard for you too, I'm sure yeah, it was challenging, for sure juggle all that and you moved a lot, that's a lot yeah like knowing that if, even if I go hard here, I'm eventually gonna have to leave so just me, honestly, me having that mindset of just knowing that this ain't going to be nothing permanent or for a while, it'll probably be hard for me to pull that energy out and do as much as you was doing too, Getting involved on social media and doing all of that advertising and pumping and promoting and shit that you was doing too.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's a lot yeah it's tough. But when that like, I just feel like you'll know, you know, if you ever decide to get back on social media, because you know, like when we close, that's usually what I ask my guests Like, how can my listeners find you? Like, if you want, you can still go to.
Speaker 2:Genesis Barbers, you'll see everything I'm talking about Like. That's why I go back to the Genesis Barbers page on IG and I just look I haven't touched it. Everything is still there, like all of the events that we did. Everything my whole process is on IG for Genesis Barbers.
Speaker 1:Okay, good, because I was wondering, because I know we've had our social media talks outside this podcast and I'm like do he want?
Speaker 2:people to know yeah, go check Genesis' page. I'm sure somebody could pull something from it, or it's just interesting to see the community what we was doing. That shit was tight man. Yeah, it sure was I put together a lot of events and people was able to get together and make things happen. Like I said, certain job opportunities, certain people got married, that met from coming to the shop had kids.
Speaker 1:Oh my gosh, you know what I?
Speaker 2:mean. So it's cool, that's shit cool to go back and look at and be like oh yeah, yeah, oh yeah.
Speaker 1:I forgot that happened.
Speaker 2:I forgot we did that, you know, so yeah.
Speaker 1:I'm glad you still got the page up so you can reflect.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that you know. So, yeah, I'm glad you still got the page up so you can reflect. Yeah, you know, I thought about ripping everything down, but I'm glad I didn't. I just kept everything from like. It probably go back to like 20 2012 maybe dang.
Speaker 1:You had to be really tapped into your emotions in a very intellectual way to not like just delete it all you know and make an impulsive decision to do that would have been a crazy one yeah, what words of advice would you give a 22 year old that wanted to be like an aspiring entrepreneur or barber? What, what advice would you give them?
Speaker 2:uh, just take your time with it and, um, understand that, uh, there's a process. I keep saying that, understand that there's a process. I keep saying that, understand that there's a process and understand what you're asking for at the same time, because it's extremely hard trying to pull pieces together when you're so young and you're still developing yourself, you're still developing your mind. So I would just say, like, just take your time and understand that entrepreneurship is a tough route. So just take your time, have some patience with yourself and even if entrepreneurship, you give it a try. And even if you don entrepreneurship, you give it a try. Even if you don't, there's other options out there besides entrepreneurship like college military there's other options, or you know, there's way more things.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I was going to say so because I know you said that you would have completed your high school. You know career of course but what would have been the next step after high school, since maybe you?
Speaker 2:If I could communicate the way that I know how to communicate now and I think kids and younger people know how to communicate and get their point across a lot better, because you're more heard now. You've got to kind of hear people now.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:You know. So I feel like if you struggle with school, it's okay. It might, they might have a slower pace for you, but don't give up on school. Right, you know. Understand like school is a process, like that's one of the things that you need to. That's something you need to experience right. There's high school or even going to college. Give it a try. College is not Like going to the military. There's plenty of opportunities that you could benefit from at a young age joining the military, you know.
Speaker 2:So I just feel like looking into other things. Don't just be so set on how entrepreneurial look. It might look like you could go take the day off or take a vacation, but that's not true. Sometimes you're working harder and you're making less money than the people that work for you.
Speaker 1:Absolutely.
Speaker 2:Or that work with you. You know what I'm saying. So it's not always nice and sometimes when you're an entrepreneur and you've got to make that choice, you don't have no other choice. Intellectually smart, as somebody else that that might have to make that choice to go be entrepreneurial and go do whatever they need to do to to have a career for themselves, you might be somebody that's super smart. Use that. Don't. Don't. Don't get distracted by how social media is making things look, because it's all. It's all artificial. It's not, not real.
Speaker 2:Nobody's showing the hard part on camera, because that shit is ugly, it's not attractive. So just slow pace and understand. It's going to be a grind and it's super hard. It's just a lot of entrepreneurs. A lot of them don't even make over $50,000 a year. You know what I'm saying. So just you know you have to be really passionate about what you're doing and sometimes it might be the only choice. The entrepreneur that did that, that might have been his only choice, right? You know what I'm saying. Like don't out. I just want to tell people, don't rule out college. Like that should be the main focus. You get so much out of that. Forget all of that, forget all of that. You're going to end up with debt. You're going to have debt regardless. You're American, you live here.
Speaker 1:I know that's right this is what it is.
Speaker 2:Right, you know what I mean. So one way or another, you're going to have debt. So like, don't rule out college, the military. I feel like entrepreneurship should be probably like the third or fourth route that you need to take that route, and that's why the entrepreneurial lane is kind of clogged up now, because you got intellectual people just saying it look, fly to be an entrepreneur on Instagram because it look like you could be famous or you know people, you know how it is.
Speaker 1:I draw you in.
Speaker 2:But you smart, you take you a good test taker. I know you, yeah, you know what I'm saying. Like you can remember certain things that you could just look at something and remember it. You know, a week, a week later, you could still remember that that's a gift, that's your gift, right? This other person that might have took the chance that started up his own whatever business that's, that might be all he can do right, yeah, you know I'm saying I feel like the lane is way too clogged up with just everybody flooding it from social media, yep.
Speaker 2:But just take your time to understand, give yourself time to understand what's for you and communicate. If you feel like school is hard for you, let somebody know so they could twist and turn it maybe, so it could work for you. Absolutely Because there's other options besides you learning one way. Now you know so.
Speaker 1:Especially today.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, they have so many options today Don't give up on school. Like just don't give up, you might not be, I wasn't good at it, I'm still not good at it Like it took me a year to read a book sometime.
Speaker 1:You know what I'm saying, saying is it because, like you're trying to retain or?
Speaker 2:trying to retain it. Yeah, I'm reading the same chapter over and over again because I forgot what the shit was about. Right, like also.
Speaker 1:But or is it also you not being consistent, on top of trying to also retain what you read?
Speaker 2:it could be that too. Yeah, I don't like words. I'm not gonna lie, I'm a physical person. I hate looking at words I like I like action I like I like visuals. You know what I'm saying. Like when I look at A bunch of words, like, yeah, I'm like fuck. Before I even start reading, I'm like, damn, yeah, I gotta read all that. Alright, let's get to it. It's gonna take me hours.
Speaker 1:I just jumped to the conclusion I'd be like child. Let me get on to the bottom. Let's see what y'all Talking about.
Speaker 2:You know they can look at that and read all of that and understand and can recite it word for word. Sometimes we just read one time.
Speaker 1:Yeah. You know, some good advice. Great advice actually, because, especially the way how the world is moving, I don't think people are really thinking about joining the military. I don't think they even thinking about college, because everybody just want to be on social media creating content and making money from social media content.
Speaker 2:I know people living really well at like 35 and retired.
Speaker 1:Oh, I do too. Living really well, I do too.
Speaker 2:And retired from one job.
Speaker 1:One thing.
Speaker 2:And everything else is just on autopilot for their life, yep, and it's an easier life.
Speaker 1:Absolutely.
Speaker 2:A more slower paced life.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'm witnessing it, you know, I'm witnessing it right now, you know, and just being consistent with that one thing, like what we were talking about originally, instead of trying to tap into so many things, just stick with that one thing and make that thing work. You know, it's not supposed to be this many businesses.
Speaker 2:I feel like it's not supposed to be this many.
Speaker 1:Because who are going to be the employers? You know, know, I mean the employees. If you have that many businesses, you know, so for sure. Yeah, you have anything else you want to add?
Speaker 2:no, but thanks for coming to, to um, to uh, phoenix like this is cool. Thanks for having us, thanks for having me, and it's good talking to you, good talking and catching up with you yeah, thank you for the invite.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'm hungry. Now you ready to go eat?
Speaker 1:yeah, of course yeah, show me, phoenix, let's go eat, let's go get some grub I'm hungry. Thank you for tuning in and hearing about this incredible journey of reinvention and growth. Whether you're an entrepreneur or someone looking to find your own path, we hope today's conversation inspired you to embrace change and keep pushing forward. If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to like, subscribe and share with anyone who needs a little encouragement. Stay tuned for more stories that remind us all that reinvention isn't just a possibility. It's a powerful path moving forward.