Growing up, I had never thought seriously about being a barber. The only thing I wanted to be was rich. Back then, I didn’t realize you could be both.
Later in life, barbering was one of the few career paths open to me as an ex-felon. It was something I was good at and enjoyed doing. Most importantly, it gave me control over my destiny.
When I created The Rich Barber, I was putting my faith in myself to the test. The brand was built around a personal philosophy of self-mastery and positive affirmation that I wanted to apply to barbering.
I wanted to give barbers the tools they needed to succeed, to perform better, to think rich, and to maximize their earning potential in the barbering industry.
Under the banner of The Rich Barber, I’ve opened up three barber shops, fostered a massive YouTube community, and brought innovative new products to market including the patented 10-Second Blade Setter and 1-Minute Blade Modifier. Still, the most important thing I’ve given the barbering world is my book: The Rich Barber Method.
The Rich Barber Method is the story of me, Chuka the Barber, and my journey as a barber, father, businessman, and human being. It forecasts the evolution of the barbering industry while offering tips and tricks on how to attract clients, keep them, and charge more.
THE DEVELOPMENTAL PYRAMID
The book is built around what’s called “the developmental pyramid.” This pyramid is broken down into three domains: barbering, client experience, and marketing.
Each domain comes with its own affirmation, mindset, model, and action plan. The domains are the spaces in which a barber operates their business and allows them to charge more. The mindsets, models, and action plans help you improve your domains.
Domain One: The Act of Barbering
The most important domain of the developmental pyramid is the act of barbering itself. As a barber, the amount you’re able to charge your clients is proportionate to the value you create for them.
Simply put, that means the better you are at cutting, the more money you can make. This domain is the hardest to master. You have to learn to use tools properly and be able to make your client feel like a rockstar.
Therefore, the mindset of Domain One is “mastery” and the affirmation of Domain One focuses on mastery: “I know that I can master The Act of Barbering. Therefore, I will think mastery and strive to achieve mastery of my craft daily.”
The model breaks down mastery into four stages: tools and sanitation, flawless fades, tapers, and blends, razoring, shaving, and lineups, and playing with enhancements, styles, and designs.
Malcolm Gladwell one wrote that in order to be a master, you have to practice 10,000 hours at your craft. That’s why the action steps in Domain One encourage you to create systematic steps and practice regularly.
Domain Two: Client Experience
The second domain is Client Experience. It’s important to remember that being a barber means you are selling a feeling. You have to make your client feel comfortable when they walk in and confident when they walk out.
In order for your client to have a good experience in your chair, you have to maintain your appearance, personality, and system to make them want to return. The affirmation for Domain Two is: “I will deliver world-class service and treat my clients like royalty.”
In Domain Two, the model teaches you how to set the stage of your barber shop to create an unforgettable feeling and experience for your client. It breaks down into four stages: your appearance and personality, a winning environment, your business system or model, and world-class service play-by-play.
The action plan for Domain Two teaches you how to set up your communication and booking systems, improve your personality and appearance, and build new habits with clients.
Domain Three: Marketing
The final domain is Marketing. Barbers need to focus on digital, print, and word-of-mouth marketing to make their business succeed. These three forces join together in the “snowball effect,” where they contribute to one another symbiotically.
The Domain Three Mindset is “promote self to higher status.” In order to promote yourself to a higher status, you must feel to your client like a best-kept secret, building on your momentum to go from hunter to hunted.
The affirmation for Domain Three is: “I will promote and market myself to a higher status until my demand is overflowing.”
Domain Three’s model breaks down into three stages: promotion through efficiency in the first two domains, knowing your value and promoting yourself with confidence, and finally, knowing the barbers platform and how to use it.
The action steps in Domain Three teach you how to make and use your Instagram and social media accounts, establish service awareness online, and fill out your creative content guides to continually reach your target customer and let your snowball gain momentum.
With thousands of copies in the hands of young barbers and entrepreneurs worldwide, The Rich Barber Method has become an important volume in the barbering industry, helping guide amateur barbers into their professional careers and helping professional barbers grow their business.
Available in both hardcover and audio-book formats, it makes the perfect gift for beginning barbers, entrepreneurs, and anyone looking to elevate their mindset for success.
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