Nearly a decade ago, entrepreneur and business consultant, Adrian Jackson began his barbershop business journey. Adrian always had an interest in fashion and understood how important a great looking haircut impacted men’s style. When Adrian was a freshman in high school, many of his teammates were from an impoverished area of the city. Unfortunately, they were unable to afford to maintain their appearance regularly. One of Adrian’s closest friends confided in him regarding him and his teammate’s hair. He asked Adrian to buy a set of clippers from a drugstore and learn to cut their hair before games. Adrian obliged and started learning various cutting techniques. He was doing so many haircuts he acquired the skills to produce quality cuts of some of the most current styles.

Business Consultant

Through the years, Adrian pursued various interests and built an entrepreneurial career. He started businesses in multiple industries. He’s had his fair share of failures and experienced success. Becoming well versed in business startups and business development, he created a business consulting firm. Initially, Adrian built a few business websites with an emphasis on consulting with entrepreneurs and investors. The first website to go live was BarbershopConsultant.com. Within a matter of weeks, Adrian started receiving inquiries from across the country from entrepreneurs and investors interested in opening barbershops.

Barbershop

The timing of the consulting business was ideal. There was a resurgence of the barbershop business. Adrian was in the perfect position to help these businesses get off the ground. He was confident his business experience and formal education would separate him from the crowd. Adrian was serious about the industry. He completed a 1500 hour cosmetology course and obtained a multi-state license. His time in the barbershop and salon environment gave Adrian the knowledge to help guide people through the ownership process.

Consultant

One of Adrian’s first clients was a franchisee of a national chain. The client bought into a concept that pitched ongoing support from their brand consultant. However, the consultant in place was not qualified to add value to the franchise. The franchisee was under duress to open location number one. Time was of the essence. Adrian quickly got involved. He walked the franchisee through the setup process and into the launch of the new business. After seeing a national franchise struggle delivering on the follow-through and execution of their franchise development, he knew there was a need for an experienced professional in the barbershop industry.

The inquiries continued coming. The scope of needs was expanding. Entrepreneurs wanted to launch original brand concepts. Current business owners were experiencing challenges they couldn’t overcome. The barbershop business consulting firm was growing. The interest from clients was expanding. Calls and emails were coming in from the west coast to the east coast and beyond.

Adrian Jackson found himself in the middle of a tangible business model. Barbershop businesses kept popping up all over the country. The growth meant there would be more of a need for an experienced consultant. The scope of need was expanding. Adrian was able to help some clients remotely. He would listen to the client’s concerns, run an analysis of the business, and guide the management through the repair process remotely. Some scenarios were more serious. They needed boots on the ground and were considered complete turnaround projects.

Adrian Jackson quickly became the barbershop industry-leading expert. Producers of Bravo TV, Spike TV, and History Channel approached Adrian regarding his interest in hosting a barbershop makeover show. He felt it was too soon to embark upon a career in television. His work continued to gain recognition from multiple media outlets. He saw there was an opportunity to help some clients with media coverage and capitalized on the interest. Adrian arranged live television coverage, on location, at a barbershop in Austin, Texas. He ran full-scale marketing campaigns to win “The Best Barbershop” award for a client. He was developing a series of skills he utilized to propel his client’s barbershops into the forefront of their respective markets.

Adrian defined barbershop business consulting in three categories. There are startup, turnaround, and maintenance categories.

• The Startup
  A new business, an original concept or idea, or rendition that’s built from the ground up.

• The Turnaround
  A business that’s struggling and in need of assistance to get moving in the right direction.
  Maintenance
  A business that is currently operating at a satisfactory rate. The ownership and management recognize the need for improvement and seek outside assistance.

• Maintenance is often common. Every business has areas they can improve. It’s helpful to have a different perspective from a trained professional. A seasoned business consultant can provide insight that’s beneficial to the longterm growth of a barbershop business.

Adrian Jackson

If you’re a barber, barbershop business owner, or an entrepreneur interested in learning more about opening a barbershop business or improving a business, contact Adrian Jackson.