About this episode...

I really hope that all Barbers either hear this episode or learn about Autism in some way.

In all candor, this has probably been the most challenging introduction for me to write. While I want to communicate the importance of this subject, I also don't want to be over-dramatic to where I sound like a carnival-barker. I'm just going to let the interview do the talking.

We have a growing number of people in our chairs who are dealing with heightened sensitivities and along the spectrum of Autism, and it's an experience that many of us are untrained for.

The Sensory Safe Solution is an organization that helps to prepare Barbers to accommodate both children and adults who are on the spectrum. They are working very hard to help as many Barbers get brought up to speed on the subject, making Barber visits easier and a greater experience for everyone.

About my Guest

Kate Owens Heins, the Visionary CEO and Founder of The Sensory Safe Solution, boasts a wealth of experience behind the chair for 25 years as a salon owner for 14 years and with five years dedicated to researching sensory-safe services and refining the associated processes. Beyond professional expertise, she brings a deeply personal touch as a parent to a son with autism. In a remarkably short span of just over one year, Kate has led the organization to successfully certify over 3400 providers across 43 states and 7 countries, establishing The Sensory Safe Solution as a beacon of transformative support for the barbering and cosmetology industry

Contact my Guest

Learn more about The Sensory Safe Solution on their website.

You can reach Kate at 

email [email protected]

Instagram: @thesensorysafesolution

Facebook: The Sensory Safe Solution Page

About this episode...

Well... he said that I would start cutting without straining my body and/or the pain...

...and he was right.

We were originally going to record this immediately after the workshop in September of 2024, but by the end of the workshop, we were both pretty well worn out and decided that we would do it later.

While I don't think either one of us expected it to be eight months later, it worked out very well, since I was able to go take private lessons from him in Nevada for a couple days and then record the second part of the podcast.

In a word, my results have been pretty fantastic, and we go more into depth about Ergonami and how it helps Barbers to be able to cut without the pain and without straining our bodies.

About my Guest

Mr. Ronald D. Wada's journey in the beauty industry is a testament to his dedication and innovation. With over 15 years invested in developing the Ergo-Nami® Cutting System, he has addressed a significant issue faced by stylists and barbers: the physical toll of their craft. His system not only aims to prevent injuries but also ensures that professionals can maintain their artistry while protecting their bodies.

Beginning his career in 1997 as an AVEDA Territory Manager and Product & Service Educator, Mr. Wada has been recognized for his excellence, receiving two regional awards from Mr. Horst Rechelbacher, the founder of AVEDA Beauty Products.

Raised in Orange County, California, and now based in Las Vegas, he has built a reputation as a leading Master Shear Sharpener and Corrective Shear Repair Expert over the past 18 years.

Mr. Wada is a respected speaker at the International Beauty Sharpeners Association conferences and is well-regarded by industry peers, hairdressers, and barbers. He actively shares his expertise through the Ergo-Nami Cutting Workshop, Hair Shows, and Advanced Cutting Academy in Las Vegas.

Contact my Guest

You can reach Ron at Ergonami

[email protected]

Instagram: @ergonami

We get taught one way to hold our shears, our bodies, and our clippers, and then we have to take it from there.

About this episode...

Ergonimics for Barbers... I have been looking high and low for ergonomic developments for Barbers. 

I have spent thousands of dollars on shoes, inserts for my feet, special socks, extra floor pads, swivel thumb shears, and countless other items to make sure that I can keep Barbering over the next couple decades without the pains that a lot of folks tend to develop over the years.

One day, I ran across Ron Wada's Ergonami courses. They talked about different ways to cut with our shears, different ways to position our bodies, and approached Barbering from more natural positions that I had been shown at school and at tradeshows and events since then.

I'm going to be taking his class next week, and I see this as a great chance to do a podcast about his methods beforehand, and then do a follow-up afterward. There are points where this leans a little toward becoming an infomercial about the Ergonami classes, but mostly it points out how and why all the things we get taught are great to get started, yet need some tweaking so that we are not tearing up our bodies while doing this profession that we love so much.

About my Guest

Mr. Ronald D. Wada's journey in the beauty industry is a testament to his dedication and innovation. With over 15 years invested in developing the Ergo-Nami® Cutting System, he has addressed a significant issue faced by stylists and barbers: the physical toll of their craft. His system not only aims to prevent injuries but also ensures that professionals can maintain their artistry while protecting their bodies.

Beginning his career in 1997 as an AVEDA Territory Manager and Product & Service Educator, Mr. Wada has been recognized for his excellence, receiving two regional awards from Mr. Horst Rechelbacher, the founder of AVEDA Beauty Products.

Raised in Orange County, California, and now based in Las Vegas, he has built a reputation as a leading Master Shear Sharpener and Corrective Shear Repair Expert over the past 18 years.

Mr. Wada is a respected speaker at the International Beauty Sharpeners Association conferences and is well-regarded by industry peers, hairdressers, and barbers. He actively shares his expertise through the Ergo-Nami Cutting Workshop, Hair Shows, and Advanced Cutting Academy in Las Vegas.

Contact my Guest

You can reach Ron at Ergonami

https://www.ergonami.com/

[email protected]

Instagram: @ergonami

I see a skin disorder... a splotch... seems innocent enough, but I'm not sure that it is...

About this episode...

I often share the story from a couple years ago where I saw a brown splotch on a client's head. He got it checked out, and it turned out to signal an advanced stage of cancer.

We see all sorts of skin disorders throughout the day. While we are not empowered to diagnose and treat them, aestheticians can and do. I often declare that we should have an aesthetician who we can send our clients to when we find these problems

About my Guest

Adriana Santiago is the owner and founder of Peachtree Aesthetic Center in Atlanta, GA. She details what an aesthetician can do for a Barber, and why she has a team of dermatologists supporting her. She details where aestheticians fit into a Barber's world,

Contact my Guest

You can reach Adrianna at Adriana Santiago owner of Peachtree Aesthetic Center: a skincare clinic and medical spa.

404-981-1724

[email protected]

@peachtreeaestheticcenter

I'm getting people in my chair, but they're not my favorite people to hang out with...

About this episode...

Marketing ourselves as Barbers can be tricky. Yes, we are all supposed to take on all comers, yet each of us has a certain type of person that we vibe best with. In the Barbershop where i cut, soccer fans are more likely to wind up in my chair because we talk about soccer and vibe well with it. A Personal trainer may end up in another chair because, well... I'm not exactly into exercise at this point in my life.

Betty Emrey is a Copy Writer, and knows exactly how to make sure that a company is attracting the right clientele... or their BEST clients. We talk about

• The difference between "I am a Barber" and "I am THIS Barber"
• How what we show tells potential clients how we are different from other Barbers
• Some examples of how one can market one product - a coffee cup - to a variety of different groups of people

About my Guest

Betty Emrey is a Copy Writer - which means that she writes content for advertising and marketing campaigns. Advertising agencies, Marketing executives and elite level web designers bring her in on projects to hone the marketing messages for their clients. She specializes in attracting the right clients for any given company so that their marketing efforts and budgets are spent in the most efficient way possible. 

Contact my Guest

You can reach Betty at [email protected] and visit her website, https://useyourwordsmarketing.com/ for more informations about what she does and to set up consultations.

We've all tried to sneak a bite in between clients - what if we didn't have to do it?

About this episode...

This episode hits close to home... I am just as guilty as anyone else of trying to eat something really quickly between clients. Yet a couple adjustments can make it a lot easier and healthier. In this episode, we talk about:

• Fueling ourselves at the start of the day
• How we create our own tired times in the middle of the day
• What some of the "popular diets" do to us
• Easy ways to keep our energy up all day and live healthier

About my Guest

Dan Cornett is a former wine salesman who has spent the past five years as a health and wellness professional, helping many professionals and entrepreneurs make simple adjustments to healthier, happier, and energetic lives.

During his most successful year in sales, he had the same fast-paced lifestyle as we Barbers do, eating on the run, and gaining a lot of weight and health conditions which resulted in his next year being his least productive. As he began to learn about health and how foods work in our bodies, he turned his life completely around and now helps business professionals do the same. 

Contact my Guest

You can reach Dan and learn about his programs at https://challengeaccepted.io

You can also contact him at (509) 435-2633 or [email protected]

It takes a lot of work, yet my Google listing brings in more customers than my Instagram.

About this episode...

I am very excited about this episode...it has taken a long time to make it happen...

• Why Google is so important
• The most important parts of Google for Barbers
• The one section which makes a big impact (spoiler alert: it's the section that most businesses fail hard at!)

About my Guest

Michael Morse is the man who got my Google restored when Google had removed my listing.

He. got. my. Google. restored.

That is a very heavyweight accomplishment.

Have you ever searched online and wondered "Why do those businesses show up at the top of the map and I don't?" Michael helps small businesses uncover the mysteries surrounding how Google, Facebook, Instagram, and Yelp all work.

Michael Morse is the Sales Team Manager for the Georgia market. Primarily working in Atlanta, GA. A rare Atlanta native, he graduated from the University of Georgia with a degree in Journalism and went on to write for a local newspaper for 3 years before heading back to college for a master’s degree in Sports Administration at Georgia State. He began his career in sales shortly after and has not looked back after working with a sports marketing and advertising firm. During that time, he learned about direct sales and made lasting relationships with other coworkers that led him to an opportunity with RevLocal, a Digital Marketing Agency in 2015. 

Eight years later, Michael continues to meet with small business owners and share the importance of digital marketing strategy for the long-term success of any small business. 

Contact my Guest

You can reach Michael at 770-815-2867 , at his website: https://www.revlocal.com/about-us/consultants/michael-morse or by email at [email protected]

Can we carry our shears in a carry on bag? Who can we ask to make sure?

About this episode...

Nearly every week or so, I see Barbers asking about what we can and cannot keep in our carry on bags when we fly. As I go through these discussions, I see many different answers, yet I don't see a lot of definitive answers, so we remain confused. In this episode, we talk about:

• What we can and can't carry (you'll be surprised)
• The limits of the shears and liquids that we carry
• Our options when we accidentally take something to the security line that can't go through
• Talking with TSA

About my Guest

Eric Guthier is a TSA Headquarters Uniformed Advisor for TSA's Administrator. From Roanoke, Virginia, Eric joined TSA in 2008 and served as a Supervisory Transportation Security Officer (STSO) and Transportation Security Manager (TSM) for a total of 12 years. He began his career as a Transportation Security Officer (TSO) in Nome, Alaska; one of the most remote airports in the continental US. After relocating to Cordova, Alaska in 2011 as an STSO, he settled in Roanoke in 2013.

Contact my Guest

If you have questions before traveling, visit the "What can I Bring" function in the top right corner of their website: https://TSA.gov

Text questions by texting the word TRAVEL to Ask TSA, (275 872) 

They can also be reached via Facebook Messenger and on X or Eric, or would like more information or help to find someone who can help you in your area, reach out to her:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AskTSA/

X (Twitter) : https://twitter.com/asktsa?lang=en

Dangit - this guy is always doing dumb stuff in the Barbershop... What can I do about it?

About this episode...

In the game of chess, each piece has its own role and its own job... and it is our job to use our pieces together to capture the opponent's king and win the game.

How do we make this work in the "game of Barbershop"?

• Do we know what each person does?
• How do we work with each person to make a Barbershop as successful for everyone as we can?

What if you could open a Barbershop in a Publix shopping center (or another high-traffic location)? What do they knw that we don't know?

About this episode...

Most of the Barbershop owners I have met opened their shop by finding a space (maybe a recently closed shop?) and then moving in.

Most of them also wonder what it would have been like if they could have opened in a better, busier location.

We can... it takes some prep work, and it often takes having someone representing us to the people making the decisions about what types of stores they ant in their locations... and who knows the ins and outs of getting lessors to look at us and to help us position our shops for success.

In this episode, we talk about:

• A lot of the stores in shopping centers and malls are pre-planned
• How we can get our Barbershops included into those plans
• The people who can help get us in front of the right people to open shops in the most desirable locations

About my Guest

Jennifer Spivey is a Commercial Real Estate Broker who helps small and middle-sized business into locations which will serve them best. She has helped high-end realtors, artisans, creative companies, energy providers, and top restaurants locate themselves in places where the location, by itself, is conducive to success. Jennifer has an affinity for small businesses and for adaptive reuse, bringing forgotten community spaces back to vibrant life.

Contact my Guest

If you have questions for Jennifer, or would like more information or help to find someone who can help you in your area, reach out to her:

LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifermspivey/

Her website at ITRA Global Corporate Real Estate Advisors