Massive career change - becoming a barber
Discussion
I have 4 barber shops in a square mile section of my town.
One is a "Turkish" with a (Money) washing machine I can hear them running in the back room constantly the other one is a fancy chain, they close at 4pm Saturday and I went in at 330 with one of them sat on his arse and didn't even know the time but decided he didn't want me on the seat before he finished.
Say 10 haircuts a day at 15 quid eventually comes out if you work 5 days a week all year at 36k...surely better money elsewhere?
One is a "Turkish" with a (Money) washing machine I can hear them running in the back room constantly the other one is a fancy chain, they close at 4pm Saturday and I went in at 330 with one of them sat on his arse and didn't even know the time but decided he didn't want me on the seat before he finished.
Say 10 haircuts a day at 15 quid eventually comes out if you work 5 days a week all year at 36k...surely better money elsewhere?
Petrus1983 said:
h0b0 said:
Petrus1983 said:
Absolutely. Genuinely have no complaints about my precious career - it afforded me more than I'd have thought possible, but always felt like Dairylea slices vs an authentic Brie. I've never been overly money focused.
Were you not the poster who said if your earned less than £100k you were not living life and you should sacrifice everything for the dime? If it was you, I am curious about your journey and how you became enlightened. Others may benefit from your experience. fourstardan said:
Say 10 haircuts a day at 15 quid eventually comes out if you work 5 days a week all year at 36k...surely better money elsewhere?
You'd be doing nearly ten womens haircuts a day at vastly more than £15 per head, a decent barber would be doing ten haircuts in less than two hours at a typical buzz cut place.PRO5T said:
The "Turkish" (a lot look Turkish and claim to be but many aren't) are drugs money-laundering, the Chinese nail salons are Prostitution money laundering (hence why you see quite a few asian kids running about in them-they pull the brass out the knocking shops when they get pregnant and get a few years in the nail salons until the kids are old enough to be trafficked into some other game).
Quite a few CID officers were clients of one of my shops and used to give me the low down on who was who.
One other thing to note-hair like any traditional fashion is very cyclical. The "Peaky Blinders" skin fade has been in for years now and is dangerously close to being out of fashion.
Once this fad runs out (and believe me, it will in less than five years) the barbering game will be decimated. The proliferation of men getting a weekly haircut to support that style has fuelled the explosion of barber shops and when it dies a lot of them will too.
Interesting take on what sounds like a valid reason for there being 3 multi-chair Turkish barbers within a 100m radius of where I go for my usual grade 1 back n sides (£11).Quite a few CID officers were clients of one of my shops and used to give me the low down on who was who.
One other thing to note-hair like any traditional fashion is very cyclical. The "Peaky Blinders" skin fade has been in for years now and is dangerously close to being out of fashion.
Once this fad runs out (and believe me, it will in less than five years) the barbering game will be decimated. The proliferation of men getting a weekly haircut to support that style has fuelled the explosion of barber shops and when it dies a lot of them will too.
Do you really think they are supported by the current trend for a high fade and a tidy beard? Both of which look scruffy very quickly.
I'm more inclined to believe they are fronts for drug dealers, prossies and people traffickers though....much more exciting.
Petrus1983 said:
The girl I'm seeing has a very successful hair dressing company - she's going to ensure I'm more than just the '9 week' product.
I'm surprised she's not begging you to become a proper hairdresser then, a male stylist is a license to print money. Barbering always will be limited by how many bums you can get on seats. You might end up known as the best lad in town but you really can't charge that much more then Samir down the money launderers.Whereas a proper hairdresser (which admittedly will take more like a couple of years to learn), the sky's the limit.
A hairdresser can work alone for whatever they want. A barber can too but the earning potential is massively smaller. That's why any good ones get their own place and rent out chairs not only to make ends meet but also to handle demand at peak times.
Then you've got the hassle of training them up, deal with the inevitable f
k ups as they learn on the job, proving to the VAT man you don't really employ them and are all separate entities (yeah right) and then watch them become successful and fking off with half you clientele base once they fancy giving it a go themselves.If you don't mind me asking Petrus-how old are you?
dave_s13 said:
PRO5T said:
The "Turkish" (a lot look Turkish and claim to be but many aren't) are drugs money-laundering, the Chinese nail salons are Prostitution money laundering (hence why you see quite a few asian kids running about in them-they pull the brass out the knocking shops when they get pregnant and get a few years in the nail salons until the kids are old enough to be trafficked into some other game).
Quite a few CID officers were clients of one of my shops and used to give me the low down on who was who.
One other thing to note-hair like any traditional fashion is very cyclical. The "Peaky Blinders" skin fade has been in for years now and is dangerously close to being out of fashion.
Once this fad runs out (and believe me, it will in less than five years) the barbering game will be decimated. The proliferation of men getting a weekly haircut to support that style has fuelled the explosion of barber shops and when it dies a lot of them will too.
Interesting take on what sounds like a valid reason for there being 3 multi-chair Turkish barbers within a 100m radius of where I go for my usual grade 1 back n sides (£11).Quite a few CID officers were clients of one of my shops and used to give me the low down on who was who.
One other thing to note-hair like any traditional fashion is very cyclical. The "Peaky Blinders" skin fade has been in for years now and is dangerously close to being out of fashion.
Once this fad runs out (and believe me, it will in less than five years) the barbering game will be decimated. The proliferation of men getting a weekly haircut to support that style has fuelled the explosion of barber shops and when it dies a lot of them will too.
Do you really think they are supported by the current trend for a high fade and a tidy beard? Both of which look scruffy very quickly.
I'm more inclined to believe they are fronts for drug dealers, prossies and people traffickers though....much more exciting.
However, the current fade trend does lend itself to immigrant barbers as they have grown up cutting and wearing hair that way. The reason white caucasian need it re-doing each week is that our hair doesn't lend itself to growing it out well. Same as hair braids on white people-they go baggy as our hair doesn't curl into them as it grows.
(if your "barber" was an actual fully trained stylist they would be able to cut white caucasian hair scissor over comb and the fade would last three weeks at least)
To be clear, the money launderers will remain no matter what happens with hairstyles as they are there to simply wash money. It all looks a bit more legit if they are busy but it's not necessary.
What will happen when the fade cut is put in the fashion bin is all these modern new barbers who aren't laundering money will be out of work as men go back to getting a haircut every three to four weeks instead of their business model of every week or two maximum.
If you have your finger on any sort of pulse you'll see the change happening already. The fashionable kids are now dressing as we did in the mid to late 1990s. Combat pants, Puffa jackets and even the boot cut jean is making a comeback
If I had to make a guess, it'll be floppy hair and curtains that'll be the next hot haircut for men. Incidentally both styles that require a decent knowledge of cutting technique to achieve good results and not just firing some clippers over a comb.
EmailAddress said:
TownIdiot said:
What's the going rate for cut in west wales?
Work out how many you need to do to hit your future income target and see if it's realistic.
I'd imagine it's an awful lot of 12 quids to to get to where you need to be.
12 quid... when did you last get your hair cut... 1995 Huddersfield.Work out how many you need to do to hit your future income target and see if it's realistic.
I'd imagine it's an awful lot of 12 quids to to get to where you need to be.
p4cks said:
loskie said:
Isn't that an Iranian place?
Well there are Turkish flags on the walls and ‘Turkish barber’ in the sign, not IranianPRO5T said:
The "Turkish" (a lot look Turkish and claim to be but many aren't) are drugs money-laundering, the Chinese nail salons are Prostitution money laundering
PRO5T said:
p4cks said:
loskie said:
Isn't that an Iranian place?
Well there are Turkish flags on the walls and ‘Turkish barber’ in the sign, not IranianPRO5T said:
The "Turkish" (a lot look Turkish and claim to be but many aren't) are drugs money-laundering, the Chinese nail salons are Prostitution money laundering
Car washing was also very popular in the area but one got done for selling drugs - which must have worked very well for them, a very easy cover. Plenty of Turkish restaurants - I presume these are for the more ambitious criminals but could be legitimate as some do good business.
But getting vaguely back on topic. The OP's posts in other threads suggest that he should progress to ladies hair dressing, as he does appear to be quite in demand! It could be a goldmine
Edited by Andy 308GTB on Tuesday 18th June 07:04
Petrus1983 said:
After a career in HNW financial management and then a very short stint with a FTSE100 insurance company I've felt a little lost. I've been looking for jobs but nothing seems to be available, especially in my new home town (west Wales). I've always been interested with style/fashion and recently couldn't get a haircut as they were fully booked for 4 days - and that got me thinking. I've found a barbering course - 9 weeks of intensive training. I appreciate financially I'll earn a lot less than I was use to, I'll be on my feet a lot - but I'll get to meet nice people, it's a trade not affected by technology, if I have my own place I can incorporate other aspects to make more money, I'm in control.
What am I missing? I'm meeting the training course person tomorrow.
Making a wild guess that the 1983 refers to the year of your birth, you are now in your early 40s.What am I missing? I'm meeting the training course person tomorrow.
You have had a career in the financial world and you are n0w thinking of becoming a barber.
Don't.
Stay with what you know.
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