2IC – Second In Charge

BY REX A.C. SILVER

Call them what you want but when your seat at the boardroom table is right next to the boss’s and it’s you that they look to for answers, advice, and your educated opinion on how to best run their business empires, you have made it to be the 2IC!

In a world where many wish to be the CEO in their first few months of working somewhere, and it’s not just Barbering it’s every industry, I thought it might be interesting to talk to two individuals who have chosen the career path to apply their themselves to help someone else’s empire rise and succeed, and to be an intrinsic part of the mechanism to make that happen.

This position comes with many challenges, great responsibly and as you will hear, immense personal gratification and career satisfaction and also many benefits.

As we don’t do things by halves here at barbershop I thought I would target 2 of Australia’s biggest independently owned chains Queensland’s Jimmy Rods Barber Shops owned by James O’Brien 2022 AMBA Winner - Best Shop Design, and South Australia’s Barber Boys Barber Shops owned by Don DeSanctis Multi AMBA and AHIA Winner in Barber categories.

INTRODUCING NICKOLAS KOURTIS FROM BARBER BOYS GROUP

Nickolas is from Adelaide South Australia and has been with the Barber Boys Group for 6 years. In 2016 he decided that university wasn’t the path for him and wanted to move into a career path he had always wanted – barbering! “I managed to get in contact with the owner of Barber Boys, Don De Sanctis, and was lucky enough to be enrolled as the first ever student for Barbery the Craft of a Barber Academy,” says Nickolas.

“I studied there for 9 months learning all the foundations from my teacher, Master Barber Lou Fimmano who set me up for success and got me to the level I needed to be able to start my journey into Barber Boys. I Started as a third-year apprentice at the Kurralta Park store and Castle Plaza store for a year until I was fully qualified. From there I decided to put my hand forward for management and managed my first store at Barber Boys Hilton where I learnt the ropes of managing and running a team.”

During this time, Nickolas was lucky enough to enter into SA hair and beauty competitions taking out awards in traditional men’s barbering and modern cutting and colouring. “I felt like this really helped me build my confidence, knowledge, and skill set to where I needed it to be.” As well as competitions he also cut hair on stage at the 2019 Hair Expo for Andis and a few years later decided that he wanted to continue growing his skill set and wanted to give back to the place that set him up for his career qualifying in achieving his certificate IV in training and assessment, beginning his journey into education at the Barbery, training future barbers for the industry.

“In 2021 however I was given an opportunity to get another store up and running at Findon and it was to be the next Barber Boys and Co on the West side of Adelaide. I was teaching 2 days a week and working 3 days a week at the store cutting hair.” He did this for 2 years until recently, he stepped forward and was picked for a new role in the company as Operations Manager.

“I have always felt that this was the direction I wanted to go in as I have learnt all of the company’s practices and procedures from being a student all the way through to my current role, so I feel like I have a connection to the staff and the company because they know that I truly understand where their coming from.

Nickolas Kourtis

Introducing Ryan Bliesner from Jimmy Rods

26-year-old Ryan Bliesner has been working for Jimmy Rods for just over 5 years. Starting as an apprentice in 2019, he knew nothing about the industry or cutting hair having been to university but struggling to find passion in what he was studying. Ryan was in a barbershop getting his hair cut, enjoying the culture when he asked the barber about getting started in the industry. “I was then pointed in the direction of Jimmy Rods and ironically, this barber ended up working for me years later!”

Knowing his parents would be disappointed in his decision to leave studies to become a barber, he knew if I was going to chase this path, it would be all or nothing.

“Being a young barber, I was immediately immersed in the culture and all the different personalities each shop brings. As an apprentice for Jimmy Rod’s, I was lucky enough to get moved around to all locations filling gaps when staffing was low,” he says.

This accelerated Ryan’s career, landing him a 2IC position for the North Lakes store as a young second-year apprentice, but it wasn’t long before he took over as store manager. “As a young barber managing a mostly older team of barbers, I didn’t have the respect of my team - fair enough, I had only been barbering for 2 years. I felt they saw me as not earning my place yet and didn’t see me as a leader. I worked hard to do everything, towels, customers, cleaning and eventually my actions paid off. Over time, I earned their respect and from this, an awesome team was formed.”

This effort had not gone unnoticed by Jimmy, who after about a year, offered Ryan an opportunity to manage multiple shops. From there, his limits were tested and as his responsibilities grew, so did the workload, getting him to the position he is in now.

Ryan Bliesner

Editor, Rex A.C. Silver spoke to Nickolas and Ryan about their roles…

What is your title, I’m sure it’s not 2IC, and what are your duties?

Nickolas: Operations Manager. My role is to oversee the company, implement new systems, policies and procedures and ensure staff are meeting their targets but also receiving the support and training they need to achieve those goals. We currently have 10 stores and 36 staff excluding the Barbery College of course.

My day-to-day procedures consist of shop staffing week by week in accordance to shop needs as well as organising replacements on the day for any sick staff, monitoring staff figures and ensuring that set targets or kpi’s are being met, as this is essential for the business to succeed.

Week by week I compare results to see what worked what didn’t and make changes accordingly, this is vital as we always need to refine and tweak our process to ensure results. Most importantly I feel that we need the staff to be onboard with us, so I try to catch up with each staff member weekly to see how they’re going, what they need, and how we can help, this helps us maintain and improve store culture… were only as good as our team.

Ryan: My official title is Performance Manager as overall company performance is my primary focus. This requires never being complacent. Jimmy has a great understanding of this due to his role as Manager Director with a high emphasis on the company making a profit. Defining my actual role can be tricky as I also look after HR, social media, shop maintenance, leasing agents and popups, as well as events outside of Jimmy Rods. I wear a lot of hats and that’s part of the challenge that I love.

Monthly catch ups with the managing director and my team, this is usually done after his monthly catch up with the company’s accountants. Breaking down the monthly profit and loss statement and coming up with a game plan. Once we have an action plan in place, it’s time to visit the individual store to meet with the Store Managers, break down the shop’s targets, praise staff members that are performing well, and meet with staff members that are not performing. Running a business is mostly upkeep, to motivate staff by getting your hands dirty. Staff will feel like they are a part of something bigger by displaying leadership and guidance not just a boss barking orders.

What are the challenges that you really enjoy addressing being in this role?

Nickolas: The challenges I love about the role are coming up with new ideas that excite staff as well as customers and seeing stores reach their targets. I feel that finding the right team for each store is a massive challenge that I’m always tweaking and improving. I feel for a shop to truly shine, we need a good culture and the staff to suit and complement each other, as this makes for a better environment.

Ryan: It’s dealing with individual personal matters. Any barber can have some sort of private issues affecting performance. One of the biggest and most rewarding challenges is recognising reduced performance, investigating the issue, and then working with the team member to solve the issue, then you start seeing performance improve. To this day, I’m still coming across issues and personal matters that I’ve never had to deal with before I and I’d say I’ll be continuing to be surprised as each day there is always a new challenge to tackle.

We currently have 11 locations and 75 staff. In my view I have yet to come across a problem that I can’t break down into two simple questions, what’s the problem? what’s the solution? Perhaps further investigation by way of contacting Fair Work Australia or the company’s lawyers to ensure equity to all parties concerned.

But it’s like anything, follow the guidelines to come up with a plan. Execute the plan and have the best outcome for all concerned. Coming into my position during a global pandemic was tough, it’s hard to see if the work you’re putting in has any pay off. If you focus too much on the negative; it feels like you’re going backwards. We also didn’t have access to complete profit and loss statements for quite some time. Being able to sit down with the managing director and go over the P&L’s and seeing the bottom-line increase was the most fulfilling challenge I had faced, and in hindsight was something I really enjoyed.

Jimmy has always been about a healthy work/life balance, as long as the work is getting done, he’s quite flexible. Exercise is my outlet for dealing with stress, and stress comes with the role. Many before me have burnt themselves out not being able to deal with the stress.

Most days I’ll receive a call from my managing director late in the afternoon to check on the progress for the day. A testament to Jimmy, who usually can tell if I’m stressed, instructs me to go to the gym. For someone who has had, as everyone has from time to time, his own personal struggles, this gesture is huge for me. It genuinely keeps my head in a good place allows me to be the best version of myself.

What satisfaction does it give you being in this role… being such an important cog in a big machine?

Nickolas: For me, I think it’s truly an honour to be able to work in this role with Barber Boys and to keep building this empire. Barber Boys and Barbery have given me so many opportunities to grow and excel and like I told my boss and mentor Don and my teacher Lou from the day I finished my barbering course and starting in the shop, I want to make you both proud.

Ryan: Satisfaction is not always readily available. Sometimes it gets lost in the daily grind. I like to take moments of satisfaction, absorb, and enjoy it, then prepare for the next challenge. I am able to take more control over what’s happening, I love being able to put my ideas into action and I feel that I have worked hard and earned this role. Whilst it gives me a degree of satisfaction, I will never become complacent as this would have a heavy impact on the business.

Would you agree a pathway like this is a career and not just a job?

Nickolas: Barbering to me is a career where you are literally the only thing holding yourself back, the industry has so much to offer and there is so many different ways to grow. I feel like I’ve done so much already and I’m only just starting. I feel more motivated and driven every day. As long as your passionate about what you do, and you put in the hours and the work the opportunities are endless.

Ryan: I would agree 100%. I see a job as more than something you just show up, work, and go home at the end of the day. In this role you have to be passionate. If you’re just chasing money, it’s not enough, you need an outside motivator driving you. something to be proud of. This job is not finished when you close the shop doors at the end of the day.

Why does a 2IC role such as this appeal to you over being your own boss and having your own shop?

Nickolas: Honestly from the day I started I’ve only ever wanted to work for Barber Boys, and I feel like I wouldn’t be satisfied if I opened my own store. I feel I now have an opportunity to put my spin and ideas into the company I’ve spent so much time in and help shape its future and I think that’s exciting…

I think it’s pretty unreal that I have been given an opportunity to oversee and manage the biggest chain of barbershops in South Australia, to me that’s a pretty big deal. Barber Boys truly does feel like a family, and I honestly feel like I wouldn’t have been so successful in my journey so far if it wasn’t for the relationships I’ve formed with this team. Like I’ve always said to Don from the day I started I’m here for the long haul.

Ryan: My initial goal as a young barber was to eventually be my own boss and have my own shop. Meeting Jimmy and watching the way he ran his businesses, which he had built from the ground up, inspired me to want to continue to be part of this dynamic team. I felt that I had more to give than just working on the tools. I had passion and a drive – similar to Jimmy’s, to be successful. I wanted to help lead this team, continue its success, and to reach for even higher goals. I feel that there was a lot to learn from this man and he obviously see’s the potential in me because of the opportunities he has given me in such a short time working for him.

I put a lot of effort into the teams that I manage, and I do feel responsible for the quality output. I also enjoy seeing each employee reach their own personal goals and successes, and I feel that I may have contributed to this in some way. We all aspire to be successful whether that’s on your own or part of a bigger picture – it doesn’t matter really.

@nickkourtishair @barberboysau @barberyaustralia @ryanbliesner @jimmyrods @sonsofanarchy