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Hey Reader,

Any one else in California feel the earthquake the other day? Not sure about you, but our condo is perched up on the 3rd floor and we felt that ish.

It started as a subtle shake and then it kept going. My kids sound asleep in the room next door, I looked at my wife with a concerned stare that said 'should one of us get the kids or...?"

We were okay, but was just enough of a reminder to humble me.

On another note, you know what else is shifting? Barbershop education culture.

Let me explain.

Continuing education

Continuing education is trending. And I'm not talking about attending continuing education at barber expos (tbh, those need a revamp). I'm talking about the barbershop owner bringing in an outside educator to teach a class to their team inside their shop.

My corporate background

If you're not familiar with my story, I also have a 7 year background in corporate sales. And in the corporate world, this idea of continuing education is actually very common. It's typically called 'Sales Enablement'.

As the Sales & Strategy Enablement Manager, one of my main responsibilities was to lead a weekly 1 hour Sales Enablement Training. With a team of roughly 20 sales reps, it was crucial for us to continually equip and train them with different sales techniques.

Every sales rep had a quota and it was our sales leadership's team responsibility to enable our sales reps with training that provided the resources, content and data driven insights to attain that quota.

Sales Enablement aka Barber Enablement

My corporate translation of 'sales enablement' is what I call: 'barber enablement'.

Barbershop owners are starting to prioritize 'barber enablement'. They are paying outside educators to come and train their barbers. Whether it's precision haircutting, marketing strategies or even giving perms...instead of encouraging their barbers to go invest their own education, they are bringing education to their barbers.

Any shop benefits?

In the corporate world, they might call these 'benefits'. Beyond the health insurance, there are other benefits the company provides. When I worked at Squire, I had a $50 voucher every month to get a haircut from a Squire client. When I worked at Mariana Tek, I got to reimburse $100 of my gym membership every month.

What are the shop benefits for barbers?

It might not be health insurance, but maybe it could be a quarterly class from a top educator?

Shop owners take note

Barbershop owners that invest in bringing continuing education are likely increasing the retention of their barbers, helping them get better and make more money...all while creating content that doubles as a recruiting strategy to get more barbers to join the team.

I don't think barber enablement is going anywhere, it's here to stay.

If you're at a shop that prioritizes education, you're probably not going anywhere. And if you're at a shop that isn't, could be worth floating the idea to your shop owner.

And speaking of staying and of continuing education. If you live near Philadelphia or are just need an excuse to get on a plane, you should probably Stay Awhile with SLCKR.

This 2 day event is coming up quick. Details below.

SLCKR Presents: Stay Awhile A 2-day event that will bring barbershop culture together through education, creativity, and community. ​ Early bird tickets are live now in limited quantities. Prices go up 9/12. Get yours before they’re gone Buy a ticket

Alright, finished with No.105. See you next week!

Written by: Matthew Mendoza​​
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