What motivated you to open your first shop?
The decision to open Have Heart Barber Shop was made out of welcoming out daughter into the world, in that time it became more clear then ever, that it was our time to step out on our own. I had worked in my fair share of barber shops over the years and decided it was time to make a home out of my workplace.
How long have you been in the industry and what did you do prior?
So I’ve been barbering for 8 years now and I have completely enjoyed every second that I’ve spent behind the chair. Before barbering i was working as an operator in the earthmoving game after a few years of that it was time to trade in the gears for shears.
What was your biggest challenge in opening ?
The biggest challenges my fiancé Ruby and I faced when opening was definitely a timing factor. We always had the dream of opening our shop and when we took the plunge, Sunshine Coast went into a snap lockdown for 2 weeks. So we were right in the middle of grabbing our keys and starting our fit out, to then be hit with that was hard especially with our opening date only one week after the lifting of it. Luckily the cards were in our favour with lining up trades, delivery’s and products all in time. We definitely had some very long days but we managed to complete everything within our time frame and opened to a huge fully booked first week of barbering.
How do you continue to keep things “fresh and relevant” for your customers?
We put in the work inside & outside work hours we are consistently keeping up on our socials with different content of our barbering, always researching trends as our drive does not just exist behind the chair but in all areas of our day to day networking within our community. Keeping ourselves informed so we always have a means to relate to our clients.
What is the vision for your business?
Growth, the goal is always to continue to evolve and not become stagnant. The business has grown at a rapid rate since we opened our doors, so the vision is to continue to keep up with the demand adding more chairs to have the space grow our family and a second location would be the dream.
What inspired the shop designs and feel?
The shop design and feel was completely an extension of our personalities. Growing up listening to punk/hardcore and the shows we attended, our passion of art, the tattoo and skate scene was a out favoured pastime. You can very much see this in our shop as its covered in flash from local tattoo artists, late 90’s early 000’s decks hanging on the walls and our music up loud. Our shop is very much a way of life and something that has grown from the world we live in.
What services do you offer and what area do you see the biggest growth in?
We keep things very traditional at our barbershop so we are offering of all services from traditional haircuts, cut throat shaves, fades and beards. With our industry growing we must too, the biggest thing I’m seeing in our shop is the return of razor fades. I feel like razors fell off for a while with foils being introduced as a means to the skin fade and now we are seeing a lot more returning back to the blade which is rad.
What is your proudest accomplishment?
As our proudest accomplishment since opening Have Heart I would have to say is being nominated as a finalist for the Barbershop Business Of The Year award at this years AMBA awards. This is something we are really proud of as a business and we cannot wait to attend this years event.
What is one of your favourite product brands, and why?
One of my favourite product brands is King Brown. I love how their range has expanded gracefully over time. The fact that their compact range offers something for everyone, is a real winner for me, you’ve got all your pomade needs right there for creating those nice slick traditional barber styles. If we’re going full texture you can’t go past their powder wax, that product was a complete game changer for us that we use in store religiously. We like to keep our products simple as we only want to stock product that we can truly get behind. We also stock Uppercut Deluxe because you simply just can’t go past their matte pomade and foam tonic.
What are three items you’d take with you to a deserted island?
Definitely caravan, sunnies and Vans crocks.
Share with us an interesting story from your youth?
An interesting story from my youth would have to be when I was 7 years old at my first cash paying job of $20 a day in a small tourist town of Uluru, walking camels.
How do you keep your team inspired, motivated and engaged in your business?
Our team are all about the lifestyle and the culture behind the barbering industry. We are always doing things within our industry to keep ourselves hungry for more. We recently attended the Wahl Legends release in Brisbane city, this event was stacked with inspiration for our team, we each picked up a pair of the legends to take home with us which are such an epic addition to our work stations. On top of that we recently have started doing a heap more photo shoots and training nights so we can really let the creativity flow.
What hair trends do you see currently and how do you adjust to it?
The biggest trend we’ve seen is definitely the mullet resurgence. The initial adjustment was definitely what do we want to do to make a mullet not just a mullet. Feathering, tapering, texturising there is a million ways to tweak a cut and make it your own. The ability to create a completely structured haircut, then completely rip it apart and put your own stamp on it is something i really respect within our industry.
What is your favourite thing to do when you’re not working?
When I’m not working my family is my biggest priority. My fiancé ruby and I have a young daughter and a second one on the way so this takes up a great deal of time outside the shop. We enjoy our beach walks, trips to the local brewery’s in the area, getting out for a skate and getting to shows to see bands a when we can. Being that we live on the Sunshine Coast we are very lifestyle based people.
What’s the best piece of professional advice you’ve ever received?
The best piece of advice I ever got given was “It’s easy to get it right when its authentic” this really resonated to me as it spoke to me being someone who opened a shop that was not something the Sunshine Coast or myself had ever really seen before. We stay true to what we hold dear which is the barbering culture, which we pride ourselves on in what we do everyday and in what we have done with our shop and the direction we have taken it.
What do you think are the biggest challenges to the industry at the moment and how are you working to overcome them?
The biggest challenges is the lack of Youngblood in our industry. There is a definite shortage of apprentices coming out the gates. I feel that taking on and educating younger barbers is the best way to overcome this shortage.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
Have Heart is a barber shop that is dedicated to bringing the true essence of barbering culture to the community. Whilst upholding the upmost excellence and attention to detail in all services we provide. We welcome all, so come down where the beers are cold and the banter is always flowing.
