We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Joe Lovell. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Joe below.
Joe, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Are you happier as a business owner? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job?
Am I happy as a business owner? Absolutely!! The self growth it has provided in my life has been inspirational in many different avenues in my life. The obstacles we had to over come to gain the ability to sit down & tell someone about my business plan was slow, exciting & rewarding. A few obstacles were taking classes at Youngstown State University. YSU helped me create a 3 yr business plan to provide the lender “Valley Economic Development partners” who ultimately decided if they would provide the funds allowing me to purchase business real-estate.
I’ll never forget the day we became business owners. Part of the agreement was after completing the class at YSU & turning in all the paperwork to Chase Bank & Valley Economic this would determine if the funds were available to purchase a building. All paperwork has been submitted & a meeting was set up with the lenders. As I arrive to Valley Economic & sit down with Terry & Mario representatives of Valley but no chase bank representative I felt like our offer has been rejected. Ill never forget Terry & Mario asking me if I wanted the good or bad news. In response I said give me the bad news 1st ! Their response was chase bank won’t be coming on as a lender !The good news is Valley Economic wanted to take on the project at 100% !! The excitement was real & The Fresh Experience was born purchasing a location at 532 Youngstown-Poland Rd Struthers Ohio 44471. The years of being successful within running the operations of Walmart & being a Store manager with dollar didn’t compare to the feeling of betting on yourself & it coming true.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
Life’s hardships have molded my career in the most impactful ways. My big brother being the family barber passed away in 2011 as it was his passion to do hair. As a store manager at the time of Dollar General I remember struggling to find passion in my work & felt I needed more in life. Ill never forget coming home frustrated from retail America & letting my frustration out at home. My wife Whitney mentioned I should quit & go into Barber/Cosmology field. Over the next week I debated my career path & found the strength to bet on myself quitting my job while enrolling into Hair Design/ Barber & Cosmology school. The immediate thought of grieving in honor of my brother rather than his loss created alot of immediate passion in the thought. The scary part was Im 32 years old & about to start my career path over but the opportunity to find some light in a dark space with my brothers passing was the energy I needed to move forward.
What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?
Social media carries a present in the beauty industry. There are many apps that are free to use. Most importantly word of mouth is still the best way to gain clients. There’s a different trust in someone’s words about the Fresh Experience they just received. I think one on the coolest ways to market our business is with artwork fades. It’s a haircut with a design in it. We have done SpongeBob, Transformers, Falcons, Ghostface etc… These artwork fades are billboard cuts helping gain exposure.
Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?
The best advice for managing a team is positive reinforcement. This allows you to gain friendship & understanding in the growth & developmental side.. The Fresh Experience we offer booth rental where we provide a possibility for young entrepreneurs as well established a safe & comfortable environment for their business with our establishment.
Maintaining high morale is easy & fun. We look for different team building events/exercises . We have done dinner theater, went camping, we workout together, even have done a few Sip & paints as well dinner quite often. These events away from the shop create a different bond essential to building a strong team with a family like bond.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.facebook.com/FreshExperience
- Instagram: Joefresh904
- Facebook: JoeFresh
- Other: Tiktok- BarberJoeFresh Personal FB – Joe Love