Speed v. Efficiancy: It All Come In Time

Filling a chair at Covenant Barbershop

    So today I want to talk about an issue that affects everyone in the hair industry (barbers and cosmos) and that is finding the fine line between speed and efficiency. 

    When I got out of barber school I knew one thing and that was to become the barber I wanted to become was going to take time and experience. Unfortunately right out of school it seemed like everywhere I was working was expecting me to be 100% on point but I was either to slow or just not very good yet.

    When I moved back to California the first shop I worked at (I have only worked in a couple of shops since coming back to CA) was a chop shop. The shop only charged $4.50 so to make any money you had to work your ass off!! The guy who was cutting hair next to me would crank out 30+ haircuts in a day. Just because this guy was fast did not mean he was very good.

    I have now been at my current shop almost a year and in the time I have found my speed get better in my haircuts but more importantly the quality of my haircuts have gotten better. Am I as good I would like to be...No. Will the time come where I want to be....Yes.

    When you get out of school and get behind the chair realize that in time the speed will come but it is more important to work on efficiency because being able to do good haircuts or color is what is going to keep customers in your chair. The speed will come in time and you will begin to notice it.

    On a final note....To the bosses, owners, master barbers, be patient with the  new guy behind the chair because you used to be that kid. You never know you may have the next Ivan Zoot behind that chair!!

   

Murphy's Traditional...An experiment

   So after my post about pomade makers and those who claim to make handcrafted pomade but in all actuality they are having others make it for them I decided to go through the process of making my own pomade.

BeesWax from Tower Health

   Murphy's Traditional is what I am calling my pomade for this project. So the first thing I did was spend a ton of time looking for recipes on a pomade and surprisingly enough I did not find as many as I thought I would. So after finding a base idea I needed to figure out what I wanted it to smell like and how heavy I wanted it.

   So I decided to work on two weights...A medium hold and a heavy hold so I hit up Tower Health Food in Fresno,Ca and picked up a couple of small bags of beeswas pellets (melts fairly easy and evenly) and a small bottle of orange oil for scent (this is going to be the medium hold). For this experiment I hit up my local dollar store and purchased several cans of petro (buck a piece, can not beat that).

    So finally get a some time after I get done with my day at the barbershop grabbed metal mixing bowl, some crappy beat up measuring spoons and a pot of hot water. Melt down the wax, added the petro and orange scent then grabbed a couple of empty can I had laying around the house poured the ingredients in the cans and let it cure for the night.

    Next day I checked out my little concoctions and had to figure out what I needed more of. Melted them back down added a little more petro in both, added more orange in the medium weight and had to add some more rum to the heavy weight (yes, I said rum. Sailor Jerrys to be exact). Let it cure again over night.

First Can Of Murphys Original

   I got to work this morning with my small can of the medium weight (orange scent) and used it in my own hair and so far it is holding in a fashion that I was hoping for. Not super hard but still easy to manipulate. The heavy weight still has some tweaking to be done. One of the keys it to keep track of everything you are doing....Write that crap down!!!

   So what is to become of this project...My own Frankie The Barber brand pomade. Who know, but I will tell you this a huge thumbs up to all you guys out there putting out good product. Keep up the good work. We appreciate it!

Customers...Ya need em!!

So I will be honest I have had a couple of slow weeks here at my work. if you follow my Facebook you will know the GoldStar Barbershop has only been open since November. This week I have been trying to find some ideas on not just trying to get new business in the shop but just as importantly....Keep the older ones coming back in.

So for me I am finding it important to stand out from other barbers in the community and try to develop a "brand" so I am working on flyers and other items that will get peoples attention hence the first Frankie The Barber sticker with a logo and contact info for myself is coming soon!!

Today while it was slow I grabbed the schedule books from the day we started keeping track until now and started writing down all the clients that have been in the shop that I have seen consistently and wrote there addresses down. I am going to be sending each and every one of them a postcard saying "thanks". This is a good way to not only stay in touch with clients between appointments but this lets you touch base with clients who have not been in for a while.

Postcard are cheap and postcard stamps are even cheaper!

The last couple of weeks since the shop opened

   So GoldStar Barbershop is now open and we are in week three and it has been pretty cool. Frank and Liz Zaragoza are awesome and there vision for the shop is a good thing. We had our first write up in the newspaper this week. We were covered in the Fresno Bee in the new business section of the paper. You can click on the above link to read the article. Business is still a bit slow but we are already seeing things pick up because of the article. December 8th is going to be the grand opening and ribbon cutting for the shop. If you are interested in coming out feel free to get a hold of me so I can get you an invitation.

This week Ivan Zoot from Andis posted in his blog about the best flat tops in Hollywood. It was a cool post and got me to thinking Who has the best flat tops? I went straight to Tom Sizemore from when he was in Black Hawk Down. Simon Cowell also has a fairly sharp looking flat top hybrid and you can not forget Play from Kid n Play with his pimp hi top flat top!!

    Speaking of Ivan Zoot. This week at work I was helping one of our employees at the shop and she was doing a haircut on a customer with dark and I see she has a white Andis clipper comb and I find myself explaingin to her "Dark comb, light hair, light comb dark hair. You can not cut what you can not see"/ "I was like what just came out of my mouth!!" I sounded like I knew what I was talking about...Thanks Ivan!

    So now I need feedback. I need to find a new razor for work. I have been using the same Mr. Charles razor since 2007 but it is time to find something new. Give me you feedback and what you guys are using.

   Well as we go into the Thanksgiving week please keep in mind what is important...It is not money or the job but our families and our friends. Have a great Thanksgiving everyone!!