2018 Boise Weekly's Best of Boise - Voting Open 4/11 - 4/30

holy crap holy crap holy crap holy crap holy crap holy crap holy crap holy crap holy crap holy crap.

I started grinning ear to ear, looked away from the email and up to my wife and said, "We're finalists."

"Good afternoon Chris,

The nomination period for Boise Weekly's 2018 Best of Boise has ended.........I'm excited to share with you that The Barber Story has placed as a top nominee in the following category:

Best Barbershop (random order, Treasure Valley Barber Co., The Beardsmith, The Barber Story, State Street Barber, Craftsman Unlimited Haircuts, Barbiere DeVino)

This means you move on to the final voting period that runs April 11-30."

On behalf of Jim and Chase, thank you to everybody that went out and nominated The Barber Story for best barbershop, you've gotten us this far.

On a personal note, thank you so much to everyone who has supported The Barber Story along my journey. It's surreal to think that within 6 months of opening the first shop that I'd already be included in the midst of some fantastic company. Wendy from The Beardsmith has supported me since the time I made the decision to become a barber, and I just went to a class with Anthony Gianotti that was hosted at Treasure Valley Barber Co. Seeing the strength of this industry through the diverse experiences each shop has to offer is a testament to our ability to reach out in a positive way to our community, and I love that we have all found our own ways to translate that message through our businesses. I also want to thank Jim and Chase. The Barber Story wouldn't be what it is today without them in the shop. They've allowed me the opportunity to understand firsthand the responsibility of owning a small business, and the pride in watching it grow.

This is a huge week for me. The last of the towel warmers were set in place along with the remaining portion of the security system, I was a guest on the brewnomics podcast, the final chairs will be arriving in less than 5 days, signage is in the works, and now there is a new opportunity knocking on our doorstep. My five-year plan from school was to learn barbershops, learn salons, learn what it is to own a business, and then create something great. The Barber Story as a barbershop is the incubator for a much larger project, and I'm optimistically ahead of the goals that I wrote three years ago. If I could give the 2015 version of me some free advice, I'd simply say, "Follow your plan. It sucks to start, but good god is it worth it."

Good things are in store for 2018. With all of that said, GO VOTE!!! 

-Chris