Meet two teenagers that show that barbering will not be an “outdated man’s commerce”

Not your normal uncle job: These teenagers are barbers on the facet

Everybody has a go-to individual for his or her hair, and for a rising clientele, the go-to individual for his or her subsequent fade will not be a veteran, however 19-year-old Sujaish Kumar or 14-year-old Keanu Akbar. 

Whereas it’s straightforward to dismiss their work as a pastime, these two college students have constructed profitable manufacturers from the bottom up, incomes recognition on-line and off—endeavours that gave them objective after finishing their research. 

Vulcan Put up speaks to Sujaish and Keanu to learn how they paved their very own means for themselves and different youthful barbers in the old fashioned commerce.

Each of them picked up barbering by watching on-line movies 

Getting an honest haircut was usually a nightmare for Sujaish. He shared that ‘good barbers’ usually charged S$30—out of price range for him and his pals in secondary college—leaving them to patronise retailers that offered S$10-S$12 haircuts.

Sadly, conserving to that price range imply that the haircuts usually got here out uneven and messy. ​​Annoyed, Sujaish determined to take issues into his personal arms, difficult himself to offer higher haircuts. The following day, he began watching tutorials on YouTube and TikTok.

“I had about S$50 saved up, so I simply spent that on a pair of clippers. Then I principally needed to beg my pals to let me reduce their hair.” However even with having the appropriate instruments, the execution turned out to be more durable than he thought.

“The primary few haircuts have been actually actually dangerous, uneven, and sort of demotivating,” Sujaish sheepishly shared, however that didn’t cease him from persevering with to hone his craft, offering free haircuts for household, pals and their acquaintances at his HDB hall. 

Via word-of-mouth, Sujaish ultimately gained a large following. 5 months after he began, his cuts have been adequate for him to cost S$5, which quickly rose to S$8 per head. He additionally started selling his companies on TikTok, and one viral reel additional grew his clientele base. 

Regardless that he needed to transfer his chair to his house upon receiving orders from the Housing Improvement Board (HDB), he continued making a reputation for himself on-line as a younger barber, inspiring others, like Keanu, to do the identical. 

On the tender age of 12, Keanu was inspired by his older brother to choose up barbering as a pastime, and he obtained him a set of instruments to assist him get began. Because it seems, Keanu’s older brother is pals with Sujaish himself, and that impressed his personal suggestion.

Keanu shared the same studying trajectory: choosing up his expertise from on-line tutorials and providing free haircuts for his household and pals to sharpen them. He began charging simply S$3 per haircut after a 12 months of apply and carried out his companies on a staircase at his HDB in Clementi. Phrase quickly unfold of his companies, which helped him land an interview with native publication AsiaOne, which put his title out to the plenty.

However past these alternatives, how did they really maintain past the hype—one so long as their veteran seniors? 

Scaling up a word-of-mouth service

Whereas the standard, word-of-mouth technique obtained them began, each Sujaish and Keanu rapidly diversified their attain, leaning closely into social media, notably TikTok, to scale up.

Going viral will not be a straightforward feat, however Sujaish achieved simply that with a video titled ‘How a lot I make as a 17-year-old barber in Singapore,’ the place he earned S$195 in a single day. This monetary transparency not solely drew netizens but in addition attracted Singaporean information shops Mothership and CNA.

Equally, Keanu’s interview with Asiaone put him on the radar for extra shoppers. The 14-year-old shared that for the reason that interview, his Telegram subscribers doubled from round 150 to 350, and his TikTok following tripled from roughly 400-500 to 1,200.  

Nevertheless, viral success got here with unexpected challenges. Sujaish’s video caught the eye of the HDB, who knowledgeable him he might not function within the hall as a result of potential disturbance to neighbours, prompting him to maneuver operations again inside his house.

Regardless of the change in settings, Sujaish continued to construct his model and reinvest his earnings for higher instruments and setups. He has additionally since raised his beginning value to S$30 per haircut and began receiving requests from clients for home calls, the place he might receives a commission a better value of S$50. 

This extra income stream gave Sujaish sufficient funds to open his personal studio at Potong Pasir, which was round 100 sqft, or equal to a main bedroom in an HDB flat. Whereas transferring to a studio resulted in him forking out greater than S$1,000 for flooring, rental and upgrades, he believes it was a bet value taking. 

“Even from after I began, my objective was at all times to have my very own personal space the place I might do my haircuts, and slicing hair at house was disturbing my household.”

Keanu has additionally moved his workstation to his house, not as a result of he was informed to, however out of a private need to offer a extra snug expertise for his shoppers. “Normally when it rains, I’ve to cancel my appointments as a result of [my workspace] will get very moist after which folks received’t prefer it.” 

Past the fade 

Except for having the ability to earn from their facet hustle, the commerce has additionally instilled skillsets and qualities that can be utilized past barbering. 

A self-proclaimed introvert, Keanu shared that choosing up barbering helped him to realize confidence in participating with strangers. “After I’m with my pals, I speak loads. However aside from that, I used to be actually quiet in Main college.”

Time administration was additionally one other talent he gained. He shared that he dedicates two and a half hours on chosen weekdays and 6 hours on weekends, with the rest of the time spent on his research and leisure with household and pals. 

“Possibly I’m not residing like the total 14-year-old, however I don’t thoughts it.” 

For Sujaish, barbering has allowed him to be taught the foundations of constructing a enterprise, from advertising and marketing himself to studying the operations. These allowed him to have an ambition to work in direction of opening a full-fledged barbershop and even beginning a haircare model.

Total, each of them confirmed a brand new age of barbers that deliver fashionable developments and ways to a commerce as soon as seen as an “outdated man’s job” right into a profession nonetheless related within the fashionable world. 

• Study our protagonists right here:
• Learn extra tales we’ve written on Singaporean companies right here.

Featured Picture Credit score: Sujaish Kumar/ Keanu Akbar