Meet ‘Cutsmith’ – a barbers located in Yeadon, Leeds.
Cutsmith is ran by Liam, a true entrepreneur who opened his first shop when he was just nineteen. Now, he runs a newly refurbished barbershop as well as a clothing line which his customers have exclusive access to.
We asked Liam a series of questions about his business that we have been dying to know, so to find out more keep reading!
Tell us about your barbershop:
I was very lucky to get the opportunity to open my first shop when I was nineteen. I started by throwing myself into the deep end of the business side of things. After learning from others and my own mistakes, I decided to rebrand and move onto something bigger. Knowing that launching a new brand would be difficult, I decided to start Cutsmith LTD as a clothing line where only Cutsmith customers had exclusive access to the clothes. This helped a lot when we opened the new shop because everyone recognised our brand. Thankfully, I have an amazing team of barbers that helped keep the old shop running whilst I refurbed the new Cutsmith shop. We have been fully in the Cutsmith shop for over a year now and are looking to open the next franchise in the near future.
What makes your barbershop special?
The quality of haircuts has always been a priority for us. However, where we really excel is in our beard trimming. As a shop, 50% of our clients have their beards done as well. So a good shave and beard products really help. That's where ‘Dear barber’ products come in.
Our main barbers, Andy Sissons and George Kear, are the reason for the shop’s crazy success. After both graduating from the Cutsmith Academy, they produce the best cuts in area.
How has the barber industry changed since your shop has been open?
There has definitely been a large amount of changes in the barber industry over the years. We started cutting during the recession, so clients were originally coming in once every six weeks.
However, this meant our clients wanted to look sharp for job interviews - so started coming to us more often. As you can imagine, going for a job against 100 other people, a smart haircut always helps. Nowadays, most clients come to us weekly or biweekly. That regular routine has stayed.
From your perspective, what are the current trends in male grooming right now?
Current trends? That's a tricky one. We are all hoping for the mullet to come back but I can't see that happening! However, we are starting to see more MOD styles returning. Think the ‘Paul Weller look’ but using shorter styles.
What advice would you give someone who wants to enter the barber industry?
For anyone who wants to get started in the hair industry, it’s so important to start off in an apprenticeship instead of a full-time college course. Apprenticeships just help you develop as a barber in the real world. It's not all about cutting hair! To be a barber you need to be able to connect and find command ground with your clients and apprenticeships help with this.
Finally, what is your favourite Dear Barber product to use and why?
‘Mattifier’ is by far our favourite ‘Dear Barber’ product. It is matt and grippy, what more do you need?
We would like to thank Liam and Cutsmith for their time.
You can find out more information about Cutsmith on their website here.