Today we’d like to introduce you to Austin Hare.
Hi Austin, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I decided to join barber school back in 2014. My dad was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s Disease while I was in high school, so I couldn’t go away to college like most of my friends, so I decided to give barbering a shot and graduated from the Flint Institute of Barbering in 2016. I first started working in Chesterfield for the barber who cut my hair and had just opened his own barbershop. Even though it was great working in my hometown shop, it was short-lived, and I decided to go work at a new shop in Ferndale. Within my first few months at the new shop and within a year of my graduation, Shane Greene from the Detroit Tigers came in and I got the opportunity to cut his hair. He loved his haircut and started sending a bunch of guys from the team into the shop. After about a year of cutting a handful of the team members, Shane asked me to ‘save them a trip’ and come downtown to cut the players at the stadium. As of today, I am going into my fifth season of being the team barber for the Tigers.
I always aspired to open my own shop one day, and after working at the Ferndale shop for a few years and building up a full clientele; a good friend of mine called me when they purchased an old barbershop in Hazel Park, looking for someone to run the shop for them. I gratefully accepted this opportunity to manage and learn how to run a shop on my own. After two and a half years of running the barbershop, the owners were looking to sell their business in downtown Ferndale, offering me that location, and move themselves into the Hazel Park location. Once again, presenting me with another opportunity to move back to Ferndale, and achieve my dream of opening my very first barbershop. My best friend, Alex, that I went to barber school with and last worked together with in Chesterfield, was cutting hair in Florida at that time. Ironically, just after making the decision to start my first business, he called me asking for any reasons to come back home; the timing couldn’t have been better, so he packed up and came back to help me open and manage the shop. After a few months of renovations and passing all inspections, I officially opened HareCutz Barbershop on March 10, 2021. We just recently celebrated our first year of being open and welcome all to come check out our barber lounge for a fun experience to go with an awesome haircut…or should I say HareCut!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Working in the hair industry has many ups and downs, but interacting with the public and members of the industry is always great. I have worked in many different types of barbershops which allowed me to curate my own shop to my liking. Grateful for having a loyal clientele, most of my clients have followed me to all of my shops and have supported me along the way to get me where I am at today.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
We are a luxury barber lounge that specializes in premium haircuts and beard trims. We are trusted by all of Detroit’s professional sports teams, artists, and the great local people all around us. The shop supports and carries local products curated right here in Michigan. All of our barbers were hand-picked and we focus on professional and consistent work. Appointments have eliminated the wait in the barbershop while still welcoming walk-ins when available.
We’re always looking for the lessons that can be learned in any situation, including tragic ones like the Covid-19 crisis. Are there any lessons you’ve learned that you can share?
Covid-19 was hard on all of us especially self-employed workers. We all learned the importance of what is actually necessary in our day-to-day lives. Unfortunately, I was only able to move into my first barbershop because of the struggle of retail businesses post covid. It is truly sad to be in a city that takes so much pride in the small mom-and-pop businesses that weren’t able to survive through the pandemic. I will always be grateful for the opportunities that have been presented to me but never forget the sacrifices it took to get where we all are today.
Pricing:
- Haircut: $35
- Beard Trim: $20
- Haircut and Beard Trim: $50
- Kids Haircut: $30
Contact Info:
- Website: HareCutz.com
- Instagram: HareCutz
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HareCutzBarbershop/
- Other: HareCutzBarbershop
Image Credits
Spencer Torkelson
Anthony Misiewicz
