A business idea...

Started by Jims5543, June 15, 2014, 06:46:13 PM

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Jims5543

That is haunting me and I want to make this happen.

I want to open a BARbershop.  I like a good old fashioned Barber haircut and lately it appears men are leaving the unisex salons and heading back too. Around these parts Barber shops are popping up all over.  I go to a pretty nice one, a little more expensive but the owner and his employees are all top notch. The place is nice and the location is good, downtown.

My only gripe is, I hate sitting and waiting 2 or 3 people deep waiting for a chair open up and god forbid you like one particular barber, then you might be waiting over an hour maybe two!

Well, I heard of a Barber shop in NYC where a lot of who's who go, Stallone, Arnold the Governator, many celebs in NYC, etc.. this shop has a lounge as well, so you do not have to sit and listen to the buzzing of clippers, you can sit in a lounge, have a beer, mixed drink etc.. visit a humidor, go out back for a smoke, sit in the lounge and watch a game on TV while sipping a nice craft beer.

This is what I want to do, I want to open one up in West Palm Beach, I do not want pseudo stripper girls working there, I want good male barbers, top notch, I want a good bartender who knows what he is doing, I do not want anything cheeky, that is too easy and cheap.  I just want a classy place, rent out the chairs, and let the bar/lounge turn me the profit on top of the chair rent, I do not want to get involved in the Barber sales.

I just need to grow a pair and make this happen.

Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming "Wow! What a Ride! -Hunter S. Thompson

sparetimetoys

Home of Global Warmer Racing. Saving the smog one car at a time.

MtyMous

I've been to "The Boardroom" and can attest to how absolutely awesome it is.

Jims5543

MtyMous - Did you get a facial, manicure, hair coloring etc...

I feel like a simple old School Barber Shop, Haircuts and Shaves, that is it. 

The old K.I.S.S. train of thought.
Keep
It
Simple
Stupid

No "Salon" in the name, that is for woman.  No appointments, that is for woman.

I want a place where a guy wants to go there, does not care if there is a wait because that means they can sit in the lounge and have a beer or drink and catch up with sports, friends or both.

I might take a ride down to West Palm Beach Sunday and just look around see what is for rent where. Then maybe contact a realtor and look into some spaces.

The bar is the key, even if I cannot get a full liquor license and just do beer and wine to start.





Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming "Wow! What a Ride! -Hunter S. Thompson

Willie_B

Sounds like a neat idea. The BARBER shop I go to is the real thing. They still lather up and shave the neck and above the ears. One of the guy even uses a straight razor for this. Got a shave there a year ago after a 5 day camping trip. The closet to a facial is the steaming towel they put on you after the shave.

I can see where a good place to have a drink and relax would be great also.

94touring

My best friend from high school owns a barber shop.  A little hole in the wall place with two chairs.  Sometimes his wife comes in and does the girly stuff in the 2nd chair.  I use to have fun just going there to hang out.   

Jims5543

#6
Yes, I am thinking a REAL barber shop lather up with the straight razor shave around the edges, and if you get a full shave same deal, hot towel straight razor shave etc.. The one I go to is like that.

I am not going to get involved in the girly stuff, that is what unisex salons are for. Real men do not go to those places.

I want it to be classy, and a place you could go to with your buddies or by yourself and not care if you have to wait.

Stay tuned I have been bouncing this off the wife for months now and she knows I am getting really close to making this happen.

Also, I am not interested in being a barber I just want to own this place and manage it. Renting the chairs seems the easiest, this way I do not have to keep track of the clients, the register etc, with the barber shop, it runs itself. I keep track of the bar end of the place and manage that.



Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming "Wow! What a Ride! -Hunter S. Thompson

MtyMous

Quote from: Jims5543 on June 16, 2014, 04:44:34 AM
MtyMous - Did you get a facial, manicure, hair coloring etc...

Men have been shot for saying less. Haha.

No. The only downfall to that place was that it was expensive.

There is another place in Fairview Heights Illinois that gave me the best cut of my life. Went there for an entire year. They were called the "Hair Saloon for Men". Serviced men only. Had attractive young ladies and two older gentlemen. All were dressed in black and kempt. They greeted you and you had a seat while you waited. The seating room had a free beverage (beer included) and you could choose what you wanted to watch on one of two tv's. There was a small putting green built into the carpet and a putter. All of the decor was "masculine lounge" type and had dark hardwood for everything including a stocked bookshelf with magazines and interesting short novels. When you were called for your cut, the young lady would greet you and take you to an individual cutting area. The area was about 10ft by 8ft with a full width mirror over the sink and a smaller one opposite that. All patrons were offered a straight razor shave and hot towel as an extra $5, and a shampoo/scalp massage for $5. I personally opted for both as nothing beats a professional straight razor shave and a 5 minute shampoo and scalp massage by an attractive girl my age is never a bad thing. Plus, when I'm in uniform, I don't want hair clippings all over it.

Probably the best $25 I spent each time. I would go back in a heartbeat. I typically won't spend more that $15 for my simple military haircut, so that tells you something.

Jims5543

IMHO Free beer is usually shit beer I prefer not to be bothered wasting calories drinking.

If given the choice, I would prefer to pay $3-$5 for a pint of a good craft beer and actually enjoy it.

I have some ideas, I am going to toss this around some and explore if this is even feasible.

Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming "Wow! What a Ride! -Hunter S. Thompson

MtyMous

I recall bud (St. Louis) and miller, but I never drank while there. Again... I was usually in uniform.

Good luck to ya. Hope you get something figured out.

Mudhen

After years of pissing money away at salon type places we found an old fashioned barber.  $15/cut...perfect.  Not sure I'd do the beer thing because we're usually there in the morning and the 4 of us boys are all getting done...but maybe I'd reset my thinking and go alone later in the day for a big IPA!

94touring

I cut my own hair.  Been doing it for nearly 20 years.  I have it down to a science where I prop a mirror on a towel rack in the shower, cut while standing in the tub, then turn on the water and wash hair off.   10 minutes and perfect cleanup.   I suppose I could incorporate beer in my routine.

Jims5543

Do you shave around the hairline, some of us manly man have to get that cleaned up or we have a hairline from our head down to our back hair.  ;D

I prefer to sit in a chair and have a guy cut my hair nice and neat, lather up my hair line and use a straight razor to clean it all up. Then hit all the places where hair is not supposed to grow with some clippers (ears, brows, ears) and make me look like a human again.

I take my 10 y/o with me from time to time, but I mostly go by myself, as I explained to my wife, when she gets her hair did, she does not make an appointment for the kid, it sucks going into a barber shop 2 people deep and trying to get into chairs.... going back to my original idea, sitting at a bar is much more appealing to me than sitting in the waiting area....


Maybe a room for the kids to goof off in while waiting leaving the men alone? 

Hmm...
Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming "Wow! What a Ride! -Hunter S. Thompson

94touring

When I first started I had my wife cut the back neck line.  Then I got a divorce and started using another mirror to look at the back of my neck.  I've done it so much that I can do it by feel now without having to look back there.   I have two runs of hair on each side that require extra attention which I run a razor on.  Additionally every time I do my side burns I clean that area up.  Everyone I tell this to looks back and is impressed so I must not be jacking it up.

Mudhen

Quote from: 94touring on June 17, 2014, 06:01:11 PM
When I first started I had my wife cut the back neck line.  Then I got a divorce and...
the pain in your neck was gone?

94touring

Quote from: Mudhen on June 18, 2014, 02:43:49 AM
Quote from: 94touring on June 17, 2014, 06:01:11 PM
When I first started I had my wife cut the back neck line.  Then I got a divorce and...
the pain in your neck was gone?

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