In black communities, barbershops are more than a place for men to get haircuts. They often serve as a sanctuary. Black men’s relationships with barbershops has made them a standard small business is every black community in the world.
The business of cutting hair is a steady income for barbers and a limited business model. Most barbers struggle to break past modest incomes. They are limited by time and it is the ultimate transactional business. Being paid for cutting someone’s hair has limited opportunities to scale. Which makes matters worse, the amount paid for haircuts is far less than what women pay to get their hair done. When you add booth rent if they work in a shop or store front rent if the barber owns the shop, they often find themselves struggling financially.
One barber that has helped change that business model and is making a hefty profit is Wade Menendez aka @wadethebarber. Wade is a 36 year old world-renown master barber and stylist from Maryland. He became a rockstar in the male haircare industry by mastering a technique called cranial prosthesis aka ”the man weave” or “man unit”. The man unit is a hairpiece for balding men that can last for up to several months.
Considering that 60% of black men suffer some form of hair loss in life, the man weave market has tremendous growth potential. The units have given a lot of men a new level of confidence and hope. One client has said that the unit has helped his marriage and helped him get out of years of depression.
Financially the units which can cost anywhere from $300 to $1,100, has skyrocketed Wade’s business. He earned over $500,000 last year and has surpassed that in 2019. He has multiple streams of income from his barber business as well, which includes teaching classes to other barbers on how to install the units, he also sells products and has several brand partnerships.
In episode 52 of @earnyourleisure, Wade broke down his business model, explained how he created multiple streams of income from his root business and gave insight on how barbers and other small business owners can become profitable by growing laterally.
EYL 52 will be out today at 5 pm est.
Article by: @rashadbilal