The Barber Story is proud to announce......

Milestone -
noun
1. a stone functioning as a milepost
2. a significant event or stage in the life, progress, development, or the like of a person, nation, etc.

I guess today marks a new milestone for this blog that I keep writing in.

03.04.15 - I purchased TheBarberStory.com with an idea and some experience.
04.21.15 - First day at Paul Mitchell the school Boise's barber program.
12.29.15 - First day as a commissioned barber at a downtown barbershop.
10.27.16 - Fired citing The Barber Story had become a conflict of interest.
11.01.16 - First day leasing a station in an appointment centric salon.
11.03.17 - Today, I signed the lease for a retail space. The Barber Story is going brick & mortar.
12.01.17 - First official day of the lease. The Barber Story is opened for business.

Holy crap, I just turned an idea into reality.

The Barber Story will be relocating inside the Latah Plaza at 116 N. Latah St. Boise, ID 83705
(a.k.a. 300 ft. south on Latah from Muse. No joke.)

I am excited to announce that Jimbo Davis will be the first barber on staff. 

Over the next year, the blog is going to follow the growth of a barbershop taking a modern approach to classic barbering services. The shop is going to be something a little different and will pay respect to a community I love. I'm going to be a little vague for now, I want to keep a few things close to the chest until next update. But here is some insight on who I want to be as a person during this new chapter.

I have had two years to see what kind of commission/lease options salons and barber shops offer their stylists, and my ultimate goal as a business owner is to be fair to the individuals that want to work in my business. In this past year of leasing my station, I have been able to maintain complete autonomy over my business operations, and that forced me to be more passionate about the pursuit of my personal growth. In an effort to harness that same passion in others within my industry, and own a business that promotes professional growth, I've decided to lease stations out to independent contracts instead of hiring commissioned employees. I believe that the industry has so many great product options out there, that my barbers should be able to sell the products that they themselves support, and best represent the clientele that they bring into the shop. The barbers are putting in the work, and I think the best way of thanking them for that is by ensuring more money gets back into their pockets.

For those that don't know the difference of the hair industry, shops that have commission based employees typically have a 60/40 split on services. This means that in the beginning, it ensures that a new stylist can get paid, but the busier the barber gets, which they will as their client list grows, the shop starts to make more money off of them.

New Barber - 65/35 split
2 haircuts a day, 5 days a week, 10 haircuts a week.
$25 haircut - $16.25 to barber (65%) $8.75 to barbershop (35%)
40 haircuts a month - $650 to barber (65%) $350 to barbershop (35%)

Tenured Barber - 65/35 split
6 haircuts a day, 5 days a week, 30 haircuts a week.
$25 haircut - $16.25 to barber (65%) $8.75 to barbershop (35%)
120 haircuts a month - $1,950 to barber (65%) $1,050 to barbershop (35%)

A lease allows the barber to rent the station at a reasonable rate based on the market standard, while running their operations independently. It does mean that the contractor is responsible for supplying their own back bar supplies and inventory, but that glass of juice is well worth the squeeze. This will be a labor of love for me, and I hope that my pursuit of team satisfaction will create a shop that our clients love coming to. More details will come as I have them, keep an eye on the facebook page for updates as I have them.

-Chris