Today we’d like to introduce you to Josh Kirkpatrick.
Hi Josh, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I began Barbering in 2003. This is my third career. I worked as a radio DJ and managed a bar for a few years, until I decided to follow in my dad’s footsteps as a barber. Since 2003 I also was a barber instructor from 2012-2016. I also own a barbershop in St. Paul, Capitol Barbers. It’s the longest running shop in the U.S. I live in Waconia, so the every day commute got to be too much. I opened Waconia Barbers in 2018.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
We’ve been blessed with a growing community. When I started, I had one person working for me and it was a moderate, steady growth of clientele. In 2020, the pandemic shut us down for two and a half months. It was a bit concerning if we would survive being closed for such a long period of time. However, the community really supported us and we were able to continue to grow over the months after the pandemic.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Waconia Barbers?
Waconia Barbers is one of the few full service barber shops in the area. We specialize in men’s haircuts and straight razor shaves. Our motto is Classic Service, Modern Style. We offer easy, online booking. We are proud of our friendly, customer service and quality services.
Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
As a business owner,I think there’s always some type of risk involved with operating the business. No matter what choices you make, there will always be someone who disagrees with your choices. For example, we choose to operate by appointment only. Our customers appreciate being able to book online and coming in at a time they choose. Especially, if they bring a whole family in, then they don’t have to walk in and wait for a hour to receive a haircut or shave. There are a couple of customers who wish we were “Old School,” and they could walk in at any time and wait for a haircut. However, scheduling appointments is the business model which seems to work best for virtually all of our clients.
Pricing:
- Haircut: $30
- Shave: $40
- Razor Beard Lining: $23
- Beard Trim: $17
Contact Info:
- Website: https://waconiabarbers.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/waconiabarbers/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WaconiaBarbers
- Twitter: https://x.com/WaconiaBarbers
Image Credits
MinneBrand Photography
