We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Anakate Kaczmarek . We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Anakate below.

Anakate, appreciate you joining us today. To kick things off, we’d love to hear about things you or your brand do that diverge from the industry standard.

Most people want to go to an actual barbershop and have the social interaction like the barbershops back in day. Now a days, people feel like they don’t have the freedom to speak their mind without having judgement. Share what they are going through or stressing  about without the overwhelming feeling that someone is going to judge them. Having a suite and it just being me cutting their hair creates a safe place. A place where they can speak their mind. I always tell people they can say what they want as long they are respectful while saying it. It’s so hard now a days because people are scared to even be themselves. So many people are quick to be hateful or mean. So my barbershop suite is a safe place for all. I may have a different opinion but I always respect everyone. I also take the time to get know the person and their hair. How much time do they take to style their hair? What do you feel like you need in your look when you see yourself in the mirror? When you close your eyes and see your new hairstyle, what do you see? These are the questions I always ask. I take pride in my professional friendship with my clients.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I have been in the beauty industry for about ten years or so. I found myself loving the art of cutting men’s hair. Over the years, I have come across many products. I have found myself wanting to know more about products and ingredients to make sure my clients feel comfortable with the products as much as possible. Education never stops as I learned back in cosmetology school. Clients with beard problems and wanting to have a nice looking beard is important technique I have gained over the years. I have learned how to make a thin looking beard look thick and a thick, crazy beard look smooth. Products and how you cut the beard is important too. The angle of the beard and the way the hair grows. I also learned how to speak to men about their insecurities and learned how to be honest with them. So many different types of beards so it always best to know what texture does what. I love manly smelling products with a settle smell and not a strong smell. I love products that are natural as they get. I went to cosmetology school with the full intent of doing women’s hair. When the men’s hair class came along, my eyes were opened to the opportunity it had and my natural talent to men’s hair. Cutting men’s hair isn’t at all. Your mistakes can show and it’s harder to fix mistakes when they come along. I absolutely love hard haircuts. When there is a difficult style of a skin fade, I’m all about it.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I had to unlearn thinking clients as dollar signs. Clients are part of your family. I learned very fast 6 years or so ago when I moved to Tennessee that your relationship with the client on a professional level is very important. The more friendships you gain will help you in the long run. Clients want you to care about them and their hair needs. I was taught soon after Cosmetology school that clients are just dollars signs and THATS NOT IT. They are your family and they want to help you succeed and see you succeed. I saw how big my family was when I went on my own. I’m very blessed to have such wonderful clients.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Clients have told me that I am the best barber they have been too. The ones that tell me that have only trusted me to do a family member’s hair. To me, that shows how much they really trust me. When I first started cutting men’s hair, I was told I wouldn’t be able to make it and I would be nothing. I worked hard to be where I am at now. I wanted to show those who doubted me that they were wrong and that they should never judge anyone. Haters were the biggest cheerleaders because they pushed me to show them that they were wrong. I have had drama where closing my doors seemed like a great idea. That would have been to easy. The easy road does not go well for me. I knew I had to push through and show myself I can do this. On October 25th, I have been open for a whole year! What a journey. I have cried and prayed over my business. I have people give me hugs and say “Don’t give up.” The last article I had last year is now in the break room at the cosmetology school that I went to years ago. My story and my journey will help those get inspired to continue forward. My resilience comes from lessons learned and having wonderful people around. All I have to say is the haters are going to hate. They will talk about you. BUT those people are sharing your name. The people who love you and encourage are cheerleaders too. They will share your name and it will surpass the hate. I found being my true self is the key. Be honest about your passion. Be honest when it comes to clients. Put time away for self care. Cheers to another year of being on my own and doing what I love most.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.vagaro.com/blazinbeards
• Instagram: @blazin_beards
• Facebook: Blazin’ Beards

Image Credits
All photos were approved by clients to be posted all photos were taken by Anakate Kaczmarek(owner of Blazin’ Beards)