The inconsistent Barber
<===This barber is one with NO direction or purpose in the profession.
I must confess that I at one point was on the road of becoming a barber with no direction. I knew I wanted to cut hair, and I knew it would take some time to build a proper base following. However, the bills were only becoming more steady than the income.
This is where panic set in and anxiety took over! For the first time in my life the money wasn’t a steady flow. So I took action on impulse and begin looking for a part-time job to supplement my income. Sounds like a smart, responsible thing to do right? Wrong! Here’s why.
By taking away from the man-hours of actual footwork and trench work to promote my services I was relying on a 9-5 to provide my income. The funny part is back in 2012 I promised myself to never work for another again and here I was seeking that exact thing. There was some part-time work I found the supplement I needed in the cash flow. Not only was there a making up of income I now had pocket money. This was the lure that could have destroyed my barber career. What seemed to be a good thing bought about some guilt when I would get messages from customers that they came by and I wasn’t there. It got annoying as I sent out notifications of my new shop schedule some just couldn’t accept my path.
I began to realize while working this job it was more of a liability than an asset. There was a lack of leadership, and horrible procedure training. After a few disputes with the “boss” I felt my personality may be too strong for a job that doesn’t have a good management system. The first time I was sent home was the last this is why I cannot work for anyone.
Still pretty slow around the shop I was baited into taking a job to teach future beauty professionals. I thought it would be great for me as it was tied to my industry and gave me more credentials as an educator. Well that job just turned out let’s say just a little too unorganized and rude for my liking. The only thing that remained true was my barbering career. The career that I have been neglecting for an extra few bucks.
By this time a rush of new foot traffic hit the area. I didn’t pay enough attention to prepare for this influx so when it happened I wasn’t able to accept it. Instead of building my brand and promoting continuously I left my fields without care so when the rain came to increase my harvest I wasn’t able to increase my harvest. My inconsistency put a damper on my growth, and that was a mistake that I will never let happen again.
Avoiding the plague of inconsistency
Inconsistency comes from a seed of laziness and lack in concentration. To stay clear of this trait we must have focus on what is it that we really want. I wanted to be able to save money and begin investing but I let panic make my decisions. I didn’t trust the process of growth. My concentration was lost on getting better and giving great services putting quality over quantity. When you put focus on detail and get to work making it a reality the rest will begin to happen. You can only do ONE thing so much before you perfect it and be sought out for that consistent work.
Whatever it is you are doing you have to find a passion for it or it will always be a drag to do. Stay engulfed in trying to be better at every turn. Your last cut wasn’t your best so make that next one the BEST just to give it your best with each and every cut thereafter. Be willing to learn from everyone and pay close attention to the humble individuals those are the ones you learn more from. Find inspiration from a barber that you believe to be the best.
Make goals consistently
This helps keeping a consistent attitude. Short term goals help you move toward a long term goal. So ask yourself. What do you really want to do? What do you expect? How bad do you want it? What are you willing to do to get it? Are you ready to lose? From here you can be realistic to the goals you make which means its more likely you will find success in completion.
The key is to begin breaking bad habits and creating good ones. Consistently seek something new to learn to challenge yourself by coming out of your comfort zone. With every mistake comes a moment to learn what not to do on the next go round.
Choosing not to be inconsistent
Ultimately the choice to be inconsistent is yours to make. You have to decide to be better at WHATEVER it is we do in life. What are we doing to ensure we are our best selves? Consistency goes a long way when it comes to life. The consistent gets better results because they refuse to give up! The inconsistent usually drifts through life without creating roots, when there are no roots there can be NO strength.
To be successful in the world of barbering there needs to be patience or passion. In some cases it may take a while to grow trustworthy with the public. Patience provides a calm that helps as it gives you what is needed to build a sustainable following to feed your family. Passion is what drives the machine when things do not look prosperous. Passion becomes the fuel to succeed because being a barber is all you want to be, and nothing will stop that! Consider it a blessing to have both Passion & Patience because you will find success more pleasantly.
Are you an inconsistent barber
Yes means you are being honest and that is the first step to redemption to those who seek it. No means you’re on the right track and I advise you to stay consistent and thrive!
To be a success, I suggest some habit breaking exercises to being more consistent. Write down task to do on a daily basis. Complete these task by days out every day. To obtain consistent behavior than change is required and training yourself is what it takes.
In closing
One chapter of inconsistency doesn’t have to be the whole book When you find yourself in this phase just pick up the slack. But I advise you to be honest, and keep an open ear to learn. It doesn’t matter how long you have been a barber there is always something new to learn.
I found myself around an inconsistent barber who believed to know it all and I found that I was becoming the same way. This person claimed to be barbering for 30+ years and did work as if he was just beginning. That couldn’t be me so I began to remove myself from this person arena, built a cocoon where I began studying my field and honing my craft!
I found my product was improving my base was moving on a slow incline which is better than a decline, and I found happiness in thinking of new ways to market and promote my services. Now I have to trust the process watch my spending and prepare my field for the next season of rain to increase my harvest! Promising myself never to go back on my word to never be employed by anyone again.
I hope this reading will inspire someone to become consistent with whatever they set out to do!
Shannon Kamal
I really appreciate your transparency with this article. It’s hard to admit when we become what some may call being “actively disengaged”. It’s even harder to take control of the situation before it is too late to turn things around. But when someone does have the control to turn things around before it’s too late, I call it truly being mature. You really explained your true thoughts on this and how it affected you. Good job.
In the past, I have had teammates that were absent barbers. Because they were disengaged, the work then fell on me to handle. I tried to even talk with them about my observations giving them specific examples and they refused to see my point. If I am on the outside looking in, how do I handle a situation like that? How would I get through to people who have become disengaged?
Regards,
Yvette
Hello Yvette,
Disengaged is a great way to describe the outcome of inconsistency. with each case being unique the first step is to find out if there is any interest left at all.
I suggest visiting a trade show or taking in some form f education. This will determine if there is any interest left at all. Sometimes when confidence and passion is lost there needs to be some sort of stimulation to gain it back, other times its realizing this isn’t how you visioned life and want change.
The reason for disengaging should be sought out before a plan of action takes place in my opinion. Trying to talk to someone can be a rough way to figure/fix an issue. We must remember to listen/understand the issue first.
I applaud your efforts to bring your colleagues back into the fold! Stay diligent!
How long have you been in the industry if you don’t mind answering?
Thank you for the information and I totally agree that getting educated is key as well as trying to get to the root of the problem. I was in the HR field for several years. I attended a seminar several years ago when I first heard the term “actively disengaged”. After the speaker explained what that was, it hit me where some of the problems lie. Hence me speaking with them to determine how we could fix the problem. I will say that while things did not change in our place of employment, one of the employees left to go to another place and later I found out that same person had a problem in the new environment as well. That was enough to let me know that sometimes the disengagement is from “within” and external forces (or people) can not change the problem. As hard as we may try, it is just sometimes not in our control.
Hey Yvette sorry for the late reply but the shop has gotten crazy.
A good seminar is awesome when there is a good curator. But being able to learn about the “actively disengaged” is good knowledge to have from a leadership stance.
Knowing is half the battle is usually my rule of thumb. However we are a guarded society and it becomes tough to get to know about your peers as everyone has a mind your business attitude.
then you have those that can use the pick me up so you have to stay open to keeping a positive wave of engagement to get them back on track!
Whatever the case may be an inconsistent attitude will kill your success!
do you miss the human resources field?
Hi Shannon,
I need to follow the lead of my hair dresser, I have been a client of her’s for nearly 25 years now. I sit back and ask myself why. Well you answered it, because she is consistent. I can always rely on her being there when I need her services and I feel so good about myself after she gives me a touch up. You have opened my eyes to follow what I am seeking but stay consistent.
Any pointers and tricks you may have to help me to stay on track would be of great help.
By reading your page I see that if I just stick with one thing and do it well I will succeed.
That’s awesome Monika that you found this information a help with your journey. It’s good to find encouragement today seeing how easy we can become discouraged, so I am glad to be that for you.
To stay on track is TOTALLY up to you! I’m not going to pretend to have some sort of profound statement to address that. However i will tell you that Passion and Patience is required for any journey.
Celebrate the small wins and recognize where you are weak and work at it! If you do One thing with the mind to do it BETTER than the day before you will succeed. You can begin not doing well at all, but if you keep open to learn more you can’t stop growing.
Now i am dying to know what it is you’re seeking?
Shannon Kamal
Hey Shannon:
Thank you for the glimpse into your world of barbering. Fascinating!
Your emphasis on your craftsmanship and on working on the details involved in your business resonates with me. Everything that requires creativity and skill-development benefits from consistent and focused effort towards bettering your skills in your craft, I think.
And if one of your goals is to be free of other people’s directions and imperatives, then you do have to work on building up your business as well. There really is no way around it.
As your skills in your craft get better, then the people who like what you are doing start to find you. Allowing the room (and the time) for that to happen is another set of skills you have to develop along with the skills you develop in your craft and it all does take consistency and focus, effort and time.
You got it Netta!
Skills are only served well when they are “well rounded” It’s never about being the BEST but getting BETTER. So true to leave room for growth or it will be painful bursting outside the box!
Thank you for sharing your thoughts, Don’t be afraid to come back and be social with the barber!
Shannon Kamal