That Barber Bloke

And THIS is why so many salon owners are bloody exhausted.

We’re trying to run a business… while also being the person connecting every dot for everyone else.

“Can you just check this?”

“What would you do here?”

“Can you show me again?”

“I’m not confident doing that.”

And of course we help.

Because we care. And because sometimes it’s genuinely quicker to just step in and sort it ourselves.

But if their development only happens when we’re stood next to them showing them what to do… when exactly are we supposed to get on with running the bloody business?

I think this is where we sometimes get training wrong.

Supporting your team doesn’t have to mean YOU personally teaching them everything.

Especially with graduates and less experienced stylists.

They need guidance. They need structure. They need someone explaining the WHY, not just showing them a haircut once and expecting them to magically connect all the dots.

And they need somewhere they can go back to when they’ve forgotten something — because they bloody will.

That’s actually a huge part of why we built the That Barber Bloke portal.

Not to replace the salon owner.

Not to replace hands-on training.

But to give your stylists somewhere to keep learning when you’re doing the other 427 jobs that come with owning a salon.

They can be learning.

You can be doing the wages, the numbers, the marketing, the stock, the clients, the 1:1s… or, God forbid, drinking a coffee while it’s still hot.

And you still know their development hasn’t stopped just because you weren’t available to deliver it that day.

Because maybe supporting your team doesn’t mean being constantly available to them.

Maybe it means giving them the tools to need you a little less.

The comments on our last Reel really got us thinking.

Because one thing became really clear…

There’s a difference between choosing not to offer something and never feeling equipped to offer it in the first place.

And nobody is saying a newly qualified stylist should walk out knowing everything.

Hairdressing is a career where you’ll hopefully still be learning 10, 20, 30 years later.

But surely there has to be a foundation we all start from?

So rather than us deciding what that should look like…

we want to ask you.

Salon owners. Hairdressers. Barbers. Educators.

What cutting skills should EVERY hairdresser have before they qualify?

Don’t sit on the fence.

t’s our wedding anniversary ❤️

Behind That Barber Bloke is actually just the two of us — Rob & Laura.

Husband and wife, parents, business owners… and apparently now people who spend an unreasonable amount of time discussing short hair and clippers.

We’ve been through a lot of different chapters together.

Building businesses.
Raising our family.
Working ridiculous hours.
Having ideas that seemed completely mad at the time.
Supporting each other through the brilliant bits and the bloody hard bits.

And now we’re building this little thing together too.

Rob might be That Barber Bloke…

but there are very much two of us behind it. ❤️

Happy anniversary to us. 🥂❤️

That first slide might have stung a bit.

And I can say it because I’ve absolutely been there myself.

Sometimes being the person everyone relies on feels like good leadership.

Until you realise everyone relies on you.

There’s a difference.

Something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately.

We've had a lovely day celebrating Rob's 50th.!

A real milestone, it's really weird getting older, some things just don't matter anymore, and other things take priority, like spending time with those around you that you love.

Love Laura & Rob 🫶🏻