All The Cool Kids Use Instagram...Part 1

   Ok so I was going through my Instagram like I always do and realized I follow some cool people and some really good barber and tattoo artist so I got to thinking why not share a few of my favorite people, shops and tattoo artist that I follow on Instagram with all you guys. So I am going to post my top 10...The first 5 today and part 2 next week....Enjoy and feel free to share your favorites as well. Also note the kids in a few of these pictures....We love our kids!!

10) Omar Rubio (JEDIXLESS): Omar is a young tattoo artist living up in San Jose, California. He is a young dad husband. He is one of those artist that you know is going to be successful because he is going to learn everything about what he does from making machines, ink and everything that goes along with being a great tattoo artist.

9) Luis Orosco (Master_Barber): Good friend, talented barber and owner of Fresno,Ca's COVENANT BARBERSHOP. Been in business for a few years now and works hard, loves his family and his job.

8) Franks Chop Shop (FranksChopShop): One of my regulars got to visit FCS during the summer and told me it was dope. I have been a fan of FCS and there caps for a while. I finally got my own FCS cap last time I visited the New Era store in LA. Check out there NYHC snapback collection now available

7) Jan Hella (therebelrouser): Jan Hella is barber student extraordinaire. He runs The Rebel Rouser blog and I think he is going to be a successful barber when he is done and in the shop. he is developing a niche of his own...So look for him!

6) Dylan Johnson (Kid_Ridiculous): Dylan Johnson is a barber at Long Beach, California's SYNDICATE BARBERSHOP and also a member of the band Sidepipe Motorbike. he is a dad and a hell of a barber. Make an appointment next time you are in LB!!






Final 5 next week!!!

Some thoughts for the night

First things first....The holidays will be coming really soon and I am one of those guys who believes in sending a greeting card to my clients or any kind of rep I may deal with in the business. The problem is I am not going to send out some cheesy cliche Christmas card so last year I contacted an artist in Spokane,Washington who was actually doing design custom cards for the holiday season.

Jeff Allison is an artist and illustrator who has done design work for companies and events all across the country. If you are looking for a great and cool looking card for your cutomers you really need to get a hold of him and get your card designed before it is to late. you can e-mail him here:jeffallison@hotmail.com

2010 X-mas Card by Jell Allison

Listen I know you are thinking "Frankie why are you talking about the holidays already?". The truth is Christmas is right around the corner!! So it is time to start trying to make things easer for your customers. Everything from getting them into the chair before those big holiday events to helping them come up with cool gift ideas for certain family members.

Listen I get it some barber shops do not do appoinments for whatever reason but for the holidays it is a very good idea....encourage your customers to book there appointment early so not only will they be able to get in but just as importantly you are not stuck in the shop when you want to be spending time with your family.

Now to the gift issue....If you do not normally offer gift certificates think about doing so for the holiday because not only could it bring it extra money (listen I would buy my dad a gift certificate to a good barber as a stocking stuffer) and if you play your cards right it could bring you a few new customers and we all know that during the holiday season it can be tough to get new business into the shop.

Lucky Tiger  has cool packages!

Cheap gift ideas for your clients: develop gift packs or even buy them pre-packaged. I know that during the holidays American Crew sells gifts packs (my brother will usually get one). Spend the extra cash to have things around to give your customers gift ideas for their dads, sons and brothers. Below I have posted a couple of sites that have some cool gift ideas:
www.eshave.com
www.getluckytiger.com