Today we’d like to introduce you to Joaquin Herrera.
Joaquin, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Well, my story is a story that sits close to my heart. I am the oldest son of immigrant parents. My parents arrived here in 1979 from Nicaragua. As an ESL student in grade school, I worked myself up to learning English and as I got older, I wanted to create a business that people would remember. I got my barber license in 2001 and my cosmetology license in 2004 and by 2007, I had opened up my very first shop. I started with 425 sq. ft. and 3 stations. I had sunk every penny I had to to the shop. The day I opened up my shop, I had .27 cents in my account with a pregnant wife and my daughter at home. I thought I had made a mistake but I loved what I was doing I knew failure was not an option. Thankfully, with persistence and a little bit a faith I was able to dig myself out of the hole and soon was working on a business model that can one day be able to bring quality of life to an industry that has never had any. The barbering industry unfortunately has never had a model that would bring benefits, paid vacations growth opportunity and everything that a career should offer. As I saw what was missing in the industry, I made it my personal goal to do everything in my power to help elevate my industry and my craft to a level where now a company can offer certain benefits to its team. Quality of life is our mission statement and this year we will finally be delivering healthcare for our team. You see what we have built is a concept like non other before. My facilities is a 4200 sq. ft. facility with a speakeasy craft beer and wine bar in the front. Loaded 12 all local craft beer taps and a small selection of wine plus soft drinks for the kids. Right passed the bar is the 12 station barbershop and wash area. As you walk through the back you enter our 7 station salon built for the ladies. With a complete salon dedicated to every service a woman would need we pass the salon to walk into our Alley Way which is our spa area. Dedicated to men and woman we have successfully mapped out a good direction to handle a unisex facility. We have 5 spa rooms that consistent of 5 themes. the Marilyn Monroe suite is our Woman’s facial room, our Elvis Suite is our Pedicure and Manicure room, Our RatPack Suite is our Shave Parlor, The Aubrey Hefner Suite is our Massage room and our Frank Sinatra suite is our men’s facial and beard room. Our concept USA 1920’s prohibition themed BARbershop, Salon and spa. We have successfully merged women and men under one roof. We really did think it wouldn’t work because of the high traffic of women and men but to our surprise it all worked perfectly. Now, we have become a hangout instead of just a service destination. Me and my team are super proud of the work we have done to launch a successful concept as we did. The only reason I say this is because so many people said it wouldn’t work and humbly we were able to make them believers. We take great pride in our concept and now we know that we will be able to create a company that will invest back into its team, the company and of course the customers. We are dedicated to creating an experience that everyone will remember from here on out. Next year will are on track to open our barber college and our expansion program is set to launch in 2020. We are extremely excited of what the future holds for GoodFellas and GoodGirls and the experience we will deliver to the greater Houston area.
Has it been a smooth road?
The road has definitely not been a smooth road. Unfortunately, the barber culture and its business model has not worked for quite some time. Now, don’t get me wrong, men’s salon have a great model but the traditional barbershop has operated on out dated software for decades. So, when I created my new model based on growth and an expansion and delivering quality of life to the barbers, I’ve met with insta backlash. For 2 years, no one could understand what I was trying to do. Unfortunately, the culture has never adopted a solid business plan so when I interview barbers at times the concept is a little much to understand. I have to literally educate my team on why it is important to pay taxes for the sake of their future. I wanted to help my team put them in a better position then when they started. Because I always wanted to do right by people at times I feel like that gets lost in translation. But I know that 2 of my barbers have bought homes, everyone of them is growing and that is why now. I have made the industry believers because now after 10 years, we have a great reputation, we have consistent growth and our team is living better than they started. These are the things that motivate me into doing business. The hardest challenge was going completely against the grain against the entire culture in order to do the right thing. But I knew I was doing everything for all the right reasons and now we still have some bite back but the customers love the experience we have created, we are growing at an alarming rate and the team is living better life’s now and that is my return on my investment. All I ever wanted to do was to help create a better life because I had been a barber 20 years and never had any benefits let alone a company that was growing for the sake of its team. I’ve had other minor challenges but that was by far my hardest and longest challenge. Which is why the school has to be our next big investment. We want to catch the industry at the beginning of their career and hope to instill the right habits and help create the next generation of professional barbers.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the GoodFellas BARbershop story. Tell us more about the business.
The company is a unique concept never done before. A BARbershop, salon, bar and spa. At GoodFellas, we have focused on efficiency, time management, customer service and an experience they cannot receive anywhere else. We specialize in anything grooming for men and women. Shaved, cuts, color, treatments, massages, grooming. You name it, we service it. From microblading to facial, there is not a service we do not preform. What we are known for is honestly our customer service and our commitment to excellent quality and service. And the beer has definitely made us very popular. What sets us apart is our energy. I DO NOT allow negative energy in my shop. I respect everyone, they respect each other and we operate like a family. Our energy is what we have been complimented on more than our haircuts and service. We have such an awesome staff with such a great energy that it fills the room and people cant get enough of laughs and beer. Our concept our energy and our service I believe comes second to none. I guarantee it.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
I see an extremely big shift in our industry and I truly do believe that we will be leading the shift in the next 5 years, We have our 10 year goal and we Arden aiming to hit every goal. We hope that once the school opens and we start to expand that we will be able to create more jobs more opportunities and more quality of life. We hope to lead that movement into the next 5 or 10 years. We hope to be the Paul Mitchell of the male barbering industry. The trends will always stay at top level because again we hope to lead the movement for what the barbering standard will become. We want to show efficiency, a model built for growth and opportunity. That is what’s going to happen in the next 5 to 10 years.
Pricing:
- First time clients receive 25% off any salon service
- Bring a friend | men or women | receive 20% off
- Walk in Wednesdays | $20 | Cut Wash and style | BARbershop
- Happy hour | Tuesday – Friday | 11am to 2pm | half off beer and $20 appointments
- Brazilian Blowouts | $100 off
Contact Info:
- Address: 6011 w. Main Street Suite B-100
League City, TX 77573 - Website: Www.GoodFellasFadeshop.com
- Phone: 281-993-8587
- Email: goodfellasfadeshop@gmail.com
- Instagram: @fadeshop
- Facebook: GoodFellas BARbershop
- Yelp: GoodFellas Fadeshop
- Other: Www,GoodGirlsHairBAR.com
Getting in touch: VoyageHouston is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
