VZNRY

BY REX A.C. SILVER

I’m sure you remember Moe Diedericks from Issue 11.2. It was the story of a guy just before going out on his own and taking the plunge… opening his own shop. He’d just signed the lease as a matter of fact.

I was first drawn to Moe’s impeccable work as he is truly talented and after hearing about his business model and concept and perception of bridging the gap between salon and barbershop, he’d definitely piqued my interest and had gotten my attention.

I wanted to follow this journey because I had a hunch and yes, it’s going to pay off. Moe has opened his shop on the outer rim of Melbourne’s CBD in Carlton, no minor feat.

The space is big and bold, like his vision (sorry Moe), now it’s not a million-dollar fit out but it’s in a prime position and super modern and what he has done with his budget is sound. It’s big open spaces, ultra-high ceilings, very clean lines, and he has masterfully put the focus on what is important, the client, the skill set he has and the client experience on offer with his customer service.

Gutsy call because with the minimalistic fit out, all the attention is on these points I mentioned, there is no other distraction. Rent would not be cheap here and as a business decision, an expensive fit is money well-not-spent at this early stage, 10 points in my book it shows Moe is thinking long game with his business. You can always add more to the fit out when you can do it right. I think it’s going to be very interesting watching this young man with the big dream grow into this space and grow his business into this space.

We’ve met Moe and seen his work and heard his early ideas, lets catch up and see how the first few months have gone shall we…

Moe… how’s it been?

The first few months have honestly flown past, we are currently in our 5th month trading and the early stages of picking up the keys, gutting out the internals and painting the shop is all a blur. We have grown so much in such a short amount of time as a team and personally I have too. The location of the shop is absolutely stunning and needs to be seen in person to really appreciate the architecture and surroundings.

Best decision ever?

It was definitely the best decision, I hit a wall with passion and needed something new, something challenging and decided that opening up a studio was the next exciting thing that I could do to reignite that flame. For the first month of trading, I kept saying in my head “I should’ve done this earlier” but soon realised that now was the perfect time for me. COVID blindsided everyone and for someone just starting out his business I would’ve been really down and deflated, that roller coaster would’ve come down quicker than anything and huge respect to the people that are still fighting that battle with rebuilding their business, I hope you’re all going strong.

You originally did this, to go it alone, how is that working out?

It’s funny to think that I wanted to open a studio just for myself. During the setting up process I had a colleague reach out and pretty much demand a job with me haha. After thinking about it for a while I said yes, man… I tell you, that was the best decision I’ve ever made. We gel really well together and share the same passion. 2 months ago, we discovered that we were knocking back a few people and to all the new business owners out there you know the worst thing you can say to a new client is “no” you knock someone back and not only do you get rid of them then and there, but they will find another barbershop and you won’t see them again until a couple weeks later or not even at all. I made the decision to hire someone else and being the picky bastard I am, I now had to find someone that fit the VZNRY team. I was not ready for that.

Organically I found someone. By accident, no paid adverts, no type of marketing. NOTHING!! We attended an Area Academy masterclass and started speaking to all the people there. Networking, and just chatting to all the other passionate barbers there too and then I found the 3rd team member to VZNRY. I’m currently at the stage of putting another cutting station in the shop to start looking at getting the 4th team member in the next two months. Wow, when you type all this out you really sit back and think about how far you’ve come.

That’s exactly what we are super excited to see Moe as well!! Look at you go!! We’ll be back in 6 months to cap off the first year in a new business.

Moe is super generous with sharing his experience and loves connecting with all in the industry. In his words his door is always open. Reach out.