BACK TO MY ROOTS

KARL FOSTER DISCUSSES HIS DEEP ROOTS IN THE BARBERING INDUSTRY

WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST JOB?

I was a barber before I left school. I was cutting hair when I was at school - my teacher didn’t even mind me using his classroom at lunchtime so I could make a few quid.

WHY DID YOU DECIDE ON A CAREER IN THE INDUSTRY?

The reason I went into barbering is because my dad used to like me combing his hair while he was watching the telly. I always said from the age of five or six that I was going to be a hairdresser, and that was it. I didn’t know until about five years ago that my Grandad used to be the village barber - he used to cut people’s hair in his shed.

HOW DID YOU GET STARTED?

I had to choose barbering over rugby. I was still at school when the guy who taught me said, “you’ve got two choices, you can either play rugby, or I’m going to teach you to cut hair.” I was never going to make any money out of playing rugby. I told the shop where I used to have my hair cut that if they needed a Saturday boy, I was their man. My brother came home from having his hair cut one day and said, “you’ve gotta get down there and see Ian, because he wants a Saturday boy.” I worked almost every day after school and every Saturday -I was fortunate enough to be in the right place at the right time, and trained up by good guys.

WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR BIGGEST CHALLENGE?

In the run up to the pandemic we had 30 shops that I used to oversee, and I was working six days a week; two days in each of my three shops, just to keep on top of it all. It wasn’t until the pandemic that I started to think, “hang on a minute, I enjoy the great outdoors. I enjoy not being at work all the time. I’ve got five children, and I enjoy spending more time at home now.” We’ve got a totally different business model now; the basics are still there with the barbers but I’ve taken a slightly different way of going back into barbering by helping others rather than cutting.

WHAT WAS THE BEST PIECE OF ADVICE YOU’VE RECEIVED?

For me it was just being nice to customers and understanding that chatting to them and being decent is important. If you understand service, then you’ve got it. It’s so important and a lot of people forget that part of it. If anyone starts with us now, I sit with them and go through a 16-point checklist of how to make more, earn more, but have a better life.

WHAT DO YOU WISH YOU’D KNOWN THEN THAT YOU KNOW NOW?

I’ve enjoyed the whole experience of being a barber. Growing and learning everything. I’m 50 next year, and a lot of people say, I wish I was 21 and knew what I know now, but I’ve enjoyed learning everything along the way. I’ve got 35 years’ worth of advice in barbering, there’s not many things that I haven’t come across, but I don’t say I know everything.

WHAT’S BEEN YOUR GREATEST ACHIEVEMENT SO FAR?

Our Mr. Barbers awards night that we hold every year. Everybody is there to celebrate each other’s successes. One of my greatest achievements is standing up in front of people I’m proud of and I’m really proud to be part of their growth, and to have helped them in some way. That is, for me, the best success story - making decisions that aren’t monetary decisions but for the wealth, mentally of you and the business.

WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD FOR YOU NOW?

I’m still focused on helping people and our mentoring program is a massive thing for us now. Even though we’ve only got half the number of shops, MR. Barbers is in a stronger, better place now than it ever has been, and we’re looking to continue to push forward.