Today we’d like to introduce you to John-Michael Stern.
John-Michael, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Quite simply, I love helping people look good and feel good while feeling empowered. And while this passion of mine has manifested itself in a resume of past retail management positions with a major nutrition company and retail technology giant, I eventually wanted to move beyond the four walls of retail and go into ownership. As a person with a disability, being hard-of-hearing in both ears all my life and communicating both orally and in sign language, I feel like I have an extra engine in the tank to stay self-motivated and persevere through all that comes with owning salons. Our first location of 18|8 Fine Men’s Salons in all of the Houston and surrounding area opened in The Woodlands in 2015, and we just recently celebrated our 4th year anniversary. Since then, we have expanded into other markets in Austin and San Antonio, and we acquired a location in the Webster/Friendswood area in late 2018 as well. Our motto is this: “When look better, you feel better, you perform better.”
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
The road has been smooth at times but equally bumpy, curvy, up-and-down, and then some. In a salon and barbershop setting, you are dealing with a lot of moving parts, many service processes, many personalities, various scheduling dynamics and patterns, and some uncertainties – all while looking to create some semblance of consistency, rhythm, and standardization while improving in quality and scaling in quantity. The results may be directional but they are non-linear. As a result of all of these aspects of running this kind of business, I think one of the struggles is that costs of time, effort, and resources are not always well-understood or recognizable from the outside looking in. There is a reason why we are able to provide and deliver in the way that we do with our guests day in and day out and it’s more than meets the eye.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
We are an upscale full-service, dual men’s salon and barbershop. By dual, we actually have two licenses in one and provide both cosmetology and barbering services – this covers executive haircuts, straight razor shaves, beard trims, facials, waxing, coloring, nail treatments, and more. What sets us apart is our semi-private environment with full-body dividing walls – too many salons and barbershops bunch stations side-by-side, leaving guests elbow-to-elbow and feeling all the more like they are being watched. So if you like to just be served deservingly and with a chance at enjoying some spa-like relaxation in the mix, then we may be the place for you.
What were you like growing up?
I was ever-curious, driven, and athletic, yet at times shy. If I can calculate my will to achieve and feel I can be successful, I know I can make things happen. One oddball example of this would be when I ran a marathon in college without training and without and mid-run breaks and without the glamour of it being part of an official race – I just simply one day out of nowhere just decided that I would run a marathon that day and up and went on the college track and ran with no one willing me onward and just with my own self to challenge mentally onward. Needless to say, this solo, unannounced race went from 4 pm until 1 am and I woke up the next day icing my feet all day. While I certainly would not encourage anyone to adopt such growing-up behavior, especially without training, events like this taught me to be very self-aware and self-conscious and to maintain what I would like to think of as a collected inner voice in the face of adversity.
Contact Info:
- Address: 2025 Hughes Landing Blvd, Suite 700, The Woodlands, TX 77380
- Website: EighteenEight.com/TheWoodlands-TX
- Phone: 281-393-0118
- Email: 188thewoodlands@gmail.com
- Instagram: 188thewoodlands
- Facebook: Facebook.com/188thewoodlands
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/18-8-fine-mens-salons-the-woodlands-woodlands
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