So, many people that know me know that I've been a hairdresser for about 25 years. You also may know that I was working at a chain store salon at the mall over the winter. Well, my career started in 1983 in a dinky store in a college town outside Rochester, and since then I've wanted to open my own salon. Instead, I started working at Penney's and stayed there for 10 years, then worked in private salons for another 8 years or so, then moved out of town to where I live now. Since then (2000) I've been home with the kids, but when my son went off to kindergarden, I was extremely bored and slightly depressed without the pitter patter of little feet (but not missing the pain of leggos sticking up my heel!), I went to the mall to work last winter. So, after realizing why I didn't want to work at the mall (saturday nights and sundays for instance) and needing a gaggle of Saturdays off in July for marching band, I quit.
So...
Now here I am in the fall again...no kids (did I get the point across that I hate being home without the kids? Except for the leggos?) and getting depressed, so, instead of going to work at the mall again...I decided to open a barber shop here in town! I'm opening on Monday. I rented a store front in our little village and am going the barber shop route because there are a ton of little old men that all go to the city for haircuts because there's nobody in town that is a barber. Well, I'm a hairdresser, but at Mastercuts, I really fine-tuned my men's services and I"m looking into whether I can use a straight razor and a hot towel for shaving. I think I need a barber-specific license for that. But, I am so excited to finally be working for myself! After 25 years! The little old men know I'm opening and they keep poking their heads in while my parents and I are drywalling and painting and scraping and building and scraping and painting and sanding, etc, "Are you open yet?" You can tell they're just dying for someone to give them a good haircut with clippers and the powder and trim their mustaches and beards, etc. I can hardly wait! I'm also going the barber route because there are two other hairdressers in town and I do like them, but they work out of their houses. There's no store front place to get a haircut for men OR women. And, truth be told, a lot of people aren't happy with how they do hair, so maybe they'll give me a try. Also, men get their hair cut more often than women do, but they're a little more picky of where they get their hair cut. No beauty parlor atmosphere for them. If it hints of beauty parlor, they won't like it..BUT, a woman will get her hair done anywhere she can get a good job done or wherever has a good reputation, whether it says barber shop or beauty parlor or styling salon or whatever. So, I"m going with a barber shop theme so little old men will feel comfortable, too.
Anyhow...I"m just so darn excited. I'm hoping my dad gets my barber pole up outside tomorrow so that'll get the town really talking. I'm going Friday to get all the colors, perms, capes, shampoos, foils, sanek strips, etc and a new blow dryer. CANNOT wait!!
So, prayers that all goes well would be greatly appreciated. Best of all, the shop has a full kitchen in it, so I can stock the fridge with healthy food to eat in between customers.
Wish me luck!!