WHY BARBERS NEED AGENTS

A Guide To Representing Yourself In The Hair Industry

As a barber, you know that the hair industry is a fast-paced, competitive environment. With new trends and styles emerging all the time, it can be difficult to keep up and ensure that your work is getting the recognition it deserves. That's where having an agent comes in. In this article, we'll explore why barbers need agents and how to go about finding one.

Definition

Firstly, let's define what we mean by an agent. In the hair industry, an agent is a professional representative who negotiates on behalf of a hairdresser or barber. They handle things like contracts, fees, bookings, and advertising, allowing the hairdresser to focus on their work. In return, they receive a commission on the hairdresser's earnings, typically around 20%.

Lucrative deals

So, why do barbers need agents?

The answer is simple: an agent can help you get noticed and secure more lucrative deals. In the highly competitive world of hair, having representation can make all the difference. With an agent, you'll have someone who can handle the business side of things, leaving you free to focus on your creativity and artistry.

One of the biggest benefits of having an agent is that they can help you secure bigger and better bookings. Agents have connections within the industry and can use these to get you in front of the right people.

For example, if you're looking to work with a high-profile celebrity, an agentcan use their connections to help you secure the job. They can also negotiate on your behalf to ensure that you're getting paid what you're worth.

Brand building

Another benefit of having an agent is that they can help you build your brand. In today's social media-driven world, having a strong brand is essential for success. An agent can help you develop your brand and market yourself to the right audience. They can also help you secure sponsorships and other deals that can help grow your business.

Professional look One of the key advantages of having an agent is that it makes you look more professional. When you have representation, it shows that you take your work seriously and that you're committed to your craft. This can help you stand out from the competition and attract more clients.

If you're not ready to work with an agent, there are still things you can do to market yourself and build your brand. One of the best ways to do this is by using social media. Platforms like Instagram and TikTok are great for showcasing your work and reaching a wider audience. You can also attend trade shows and other industry events to network with other barbers and hairdressers.

In conclusion, having an agent is a great way for barbers to get ahead in the hair industry. Agents can help you secure bigger and better bookings, build your brand, and make you look more professional. However, it's important to do your research and find an agent who has a track record of success in representing barbers.

If you want to discuss the continued success of your career profile or if you need any help and advice on any of the topics I’ve covered in this article, feel free to contact me on Instagram message @theprofile.guy.

Chris Foster The Profile Guy

An Extraordinary Barber Story From The Netherlands

The bin in the corner

Durkje grew up in the same building where her father worked, above the barbershop, which had been called Hoeksema Kapper since its establishment in 1893. Next to the barbershop was a shop where her mother sold cigars, cigarettes and clogs. Durkje says: "I grew up with barbering. When I came out of school, I would get a cup of tea with a biscuit and then I loved sitting in the barbershop. The place was always busy, not only because people were getting haircuts, but also because they came there to chat and tell tall tales. They bought smokes from my mother and then lit their cigarettes in the barbershop. So it was always blue with smoke there. I had to sit on the bin in the corner and got to hear all those stories. It was great, those men had so much fun and there were quite a few laughs!" Durkje continues: "My great-grandfather Ynze Hoeksema started the barbershop 130 years ago, in 1893. He married Rigtje Salverda and also ran a shoemaking shop on the first floor, where he also rented out mourning veils. Unfortunately, Ynze died at the age of 47. My grandfather Sjouke Hoeksema was only 14 when he and his mother, my great-grandmother, took over the business in 1914. A difficult start because who would let a boy of 14 cut and shave? Sjouke had no affinity with shoemaking, so they started a cigar shop next to the barbershop, where my great-grandmother also sold liquorice and sweets."

My customers are my friends "Actually, I wanted to be a kindergarten teacher because I liked small children. But they turned that into primary education, which I didn't like much. Of course, I always saw my father nattering away while he was cutting. The atmosphere was cosy and convivial with all those men, and then it occurred to me that I actually liked that a lot more. From the age of 14, I had been cutting my brother's, my mother's and even my own hair, and I still do by the way. So I decided to take hairdressing training. My internships were always with men's hairdressers. I didn't like women's work, especially colouring and perming. When I was 20, I finished the three-year hairdressing training and went to work for my father. I haven't regretted that for a moment! It feels like all my clients are my friends, and I couldn't do without them! If someone doesn't suit me, they won't come back. There is, after all, a special, nostalgic atmosphere here that may or may not appeal to you."

Stuff from days gone by

The barbershop still has some attributes from its early days. Durkje says enthusiastically: "I still use the shaving table with marble top that has been here for 130 years. I also still have my great-grandfather Ynze's cash books and the escritoire on which he did the bookkeeping. I also still have a mourning veil from him. In those days, women had to wear it at funerals, and they could rent it from my great-grandfather for 10 cents. Besides his hairdressing work, he was also a shoemaker and made break straps, which I still own. These were a kind of straps with a ball that exerted pressure on the fracture site to prevent the abdominal contents from bulging. I also have an old-fashioned children's barber chair, a sink in which hair was washed and hand clippers. My great-grandfather's father, Jacob Abraham Hoeksema, was a carpenter and he used to call time and light the lanterns. I still have his carpenter's box and the rattle he used to tell the time. Very unusually, I also recently got a lath with his handwriting! A customer was renovating and discovered the slat with Jacob Abraham Hoeksema's name on it. When we celebrated our 130th anniversary, that customer gave me that slat."

On 24 May 1893, Ynze Hoeksema opened his barbershop at Kerkstraat 25 in beautiful Makkum (NL). His son, Sjouke Hoeksema, took over the business in 1914, after which Jentje Hoeksema took over as the third generation in 1952. 100 years after its establishment, the fourth generation marks another milestone in this family story. Durkje Hoeksema still cuts in the same small space where her great-grandfather once started. As icing on the cake, Hoeksema Kapper received the certificate 'By Royal Order Court Supplier' in 2018, on the occasion of their 125th anniversary. Durkje is proud of her barbershop and this year, especially the month of May, has a special meaning for her. She celebrated not only her 50th birthday, but also her 30th anniversary as a barber, and on the day of the interview, 24 May exactly, the business celebrates its 130th anniversary. With enthusiasm, Durkje shares her family story, in which a beautiful piece of history is interwoven.

Deserter

Looking for stories from the past, Durkje shares a remarkable story: "When my grandfather Sjouke was 18 years old, he had to enlist. He decided to join the Navy. Since he sometimes had to clean wounds in the barbershop, he was assigned as a nurse. At one point, the Navy ship was in Rotterdam harbour. The senior officers would disembark to enjoy themselves ashore with the ladies of pleasure. Unfortunately, they often contracted venereal diseases, which my grandfather and his buddy then had to treat. They got tired of it. Next to their ship was a Chinese ship and they got the idea of hiding there to sail with it to China, where they could start a new life. And so they did. They hid in the hold where the supplies for food and drink were. So on the Navy ship, two crew members went missing. They were searched with all hands. The search included dredging and searching the entire quay, but in vain. They spent two days on that Chinese ship before they were discovered. Normally, desertion is punishable immediately, but the crew was so relieved to have been found again that they were allowed to return to the ship. Just as well, otherwise I wouldn't have been there!"

Wartime

Durkje continues the story: "After serving in the navy, my grandfather returned to the barbershop and married Marie Andela, my grandmother. They had four children, of whom my father was the youngest. My grandfather lived through the war, which was a very exciting time. One of his sons, my father's brother, had to work for the Germans. He had him go into hiding in the bedroom above the barbershop, where I was later born. There was a secret hiding place there. They also had a Jewish boy from Hilversum in the house, called Eddy Karelsen, who ended up with them during the Hunger Winter. No one knew he was Jewish. They always pretended he was a hunger evacuee.

It was all very exciting, because my grandfather also had to cut German soldiers in the barbershop, while his customers included people from the Resistance.”

How did that Jewish boy end up with them? Durkje: "His father, Dolf Karelsen, was a conductor at a radio orchestra. During the war he was arrested and deported to Poland, unfortunately he never returned. Eddy's mother was left behind with her three young children. During the Hunger Winter, she heard about a transport of Catholic children to Makkum. She subsequently went there with her two sons aged 9 and 11 and managed to get them unseen onto the truck that contained 25 other children. After a tough journey, they arrived in Makkum and the truck stopped right in front of the barbershop.

My grandfather had just finished cutting hair and was standing in the doorway watching. There was a list of host families where the 25 children would be accommodated, but now of course, there were two children too many. My grandfather took one of them, Eddy, into his care, his little brother went with someone who lived across the street. They soon found out that Eddy was Jewish, but they pretended he was a 'hunger evacuee' and so he became part of the family. When I turned 50, that Jewish boy, Eddy Karelsen, visited me, a very special occasion!”

My father

"Because my grandfather fell ill and my father's brother and sisters had other interests, my father, Jentje, together with his mother, my grandmother, took over the business in 1952. At that time, he was only 16 years old, so history repeated itself. At that time, barber schools sprang up, but not yet in a school building of their own. A room was rented in a hotel in the city of Leeuwarden, where mirrors were set up and they used models from the city. My father then had to go to Leeuwarden on his moped and that is how he learnt the trade. He already had some experience lathering up customers, as he had to help his father, my grandfather, with that in the business. I remember my father always had a cigarette in his hand. While cutting, he would take puffs of his cigarette. He was 12 when he started smoking because my grandmother asked him to! That way he could advertise their tobacco business. He still lived to be 70!

Like me, my father liked small children. When they came into the shop, he would always play magic tricks with them. He would balance a note of paper money on his nose, and with a stick he used to wipe hair, he could juggle. He was also a great storyteller."

Friction & attention

"For seven years, from 1993 to 2000, I worked with my father. I cut in the morning and he took care of the afternoon. We have a small business and it was more convenient to divide it that way. Besides, my clients had different needs from his. I did everything by appointment and my father by walk-in. I also took more time with my clients, with appointments every half-hour. I used to put a rug on the table and put flowers, but as soon as my father started at 1 pm, he removed them again.

Shaving is not my thing, I do beards, but complete wet shaving I don't do. My father did. So when he came to work, he would pull out the Vergulde Hand and Gillette products. Moreover, I pampered my customers a bit more, I did a friction shave, but also gave them a scalp massage. Attention and experience have become more and more important over the years. With me, they get a cup of coffee and on Friday evenings we even serve beer and wine. It's great fun here!"

Authentic

"I work five days a week, only on Thursday afternoons can I be found in my hat shop, because I have that too. I love creating something with my hands. The fact that I can make a living from these two crafts is very beautiful to me. My father and mother have always lived very frugally. The earnings from cigars and cigarettes are not very big either, it's more a matter of tax than profit. Later I realised how special that actually is and I have a lot of respect for them. My father rebuilt the business three times and each time he erected an extra wall. A year after my father passed away in 2007, I was curious about what was hidden behind all those walls. I removed them all and then the old materials from 130 years ago emerged. A tile wall made of Makkummer pottery, the original beams and the old wooden floor. We reused the original colours and the barbershop was restored to its former glory. It is now an authentic shop again, exactly as it looked 130 years ago."

Proud

"I am proud that Hoeksema Kapper was awarded 'By Royal Order Court Supplier' five years ago when we celebrated our 125th anniversary.

To be awarded this, you really have to mean something to the community. I am in many associations and foundations, and the barbershop is actually an incubator for ideas. If there is a decent plan, I will implement it. For example, I'm in the Queen's Association, but I'm also active during war commemoration days. The war is pretty much the common thread in this house and in our family. My father even wrote a book about the war in Makkum and set up exhibitions about it. Those items are in my attic and I put them in the shop window on relevant days."

Dream of the future

“I would really like to write a book about adventures in the barbershop, about Makkum and my family. I have two children, but at the moment they have other interests. I did tell them never to sell the premises, if necessary they should rent it out. It has to stay in the family. And I hope I stay healthy for a long time, because I'll keep barbering until I die! I'm going to try to become the oldest barber in the Netherlands. But I'm going on a special trip now first! I have never been away from Makkum for more than a week and always have people around me. But now, at 50, for the first time I'm going to take a cruise on a mail boat along the Norwegian coast for a fortnight, all by myself. That cruise has been around since 1893, just as long as my barbershop. I am hugely looking forward to that!"

De Hofleverancier

Would you like to see Durkje's authentic barbershop in Makkum? Then an overnight stay in 'De Hofleverancier' is highly recommended! The back room where her mother lived has been converted into a special flat with a bedstead for two.

The kitchen is still her parents' original kitchen, complete with the crockery from over 60 years ago. And if that's not enough, Durkje might also take you on an 'alley stroll' through the picturesque alleys of Makkum.

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