We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Andy Fischer. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Andy below.
Hi Andy, thanks for joining us today. Before we get into specifics, let’s talk about success more generally. What do you think it takes to be successful?
Success can mean so many different things depending on who you ask. For me, success means having the freedom to pursue your dreams while having a solid community around you who cheers each other on and uplifts one another. I’m a barber by trade, but own 2 businesses. “Born Free Barber” and “Fischer Studios” are the vehicles that have helped me create my success.
My success has come from passion, relentlessness, obsession, and not stopping after failure. Ironically, these aspects have come from my belief that I’ll never be as successful as I want to be. Sure, it’s important to look back and see how far you’ve come and appreciate all of the hard work that you’ve put in to get where you are today, but it absolutely cannot stop there.
I opened “Born Free Barber” as a way to create, work, and make a living on my own terms. The name comes from my ideology that the only way I can be is free. Free to create, free to be who I am, and free to change with the times if that’s what I choose to do. My plan was to keep it a single chair shop to avoid a busy high volume place akin to my previous employers.
January 2020 I opened this single chair barber studio so I could continue to take my clients and create work that would eventually move me into a position to work for tv, film, and editorial pieces. Cue The Pandemic. I shut my doors for 4 months and did everything I could to still keep my head in the game. I wrote articles for barber magazines and connected with the industry on a level that would keep everyone together. When I was finally able to reopen, my books were so full that I had to work 10 hour days, 6 days a week just to keep up and pay off the debt I accrued during the time I had to be shut down. In June of 2021, I hired my first barber to help me with my case load. The following year, another barber wanted to join the team so I built a third station for him. Now, Born Free Barber has 4 chairs and 7 barbers including myself. We rotate to make it all fit but work towards the same greater goal: to enjoy our work in a positive and welcoming environment.
Since Born Free Barber is at capacity and I spent the last 4 years growing the business so my barbers could enjoy their place of work, I realized that my dreams of creating for tv, film, and editorial pieces had been put on the back burner. That dream was still very much alive; just in hibernation. I created “Fischer Studios” to reawaken that dream and with that, I opened a true single chair studio so I can film, shoot, and create on my terms again without stepping on the toes of my beloved barbers. It’s such a small space that there is literally no room for additional chairs, which is perfect so I’m not tempted to expand. The sound of my hunger for creation had become so loud that it was deafening, and creating a space that forced me to hone in and focus was crucial.
Now, how does all of this answer the question of, “What does it take to be successful?”. Circling back to never feeling like I will truly have success is what keeps the flame lit. It keeps me from saying, “Okay I’ve done the thing I wanted to do, now what?”. Additionally, knowing when to pivot and direct your focus on an area that has spark and potential is of the upmost importance. If I had never opened myself to the idea of taking on more barbers at Born Free, I never would have been able to grow the space into a place for others to share their joy of barbering while also being a part of a beautiful and supportive team. With that, I have a flourishing business that can nearly run independently, and NOW I can enjoy my own personal space where I can create and work towards greater goals.
None of this would have been possible without the focus and ‘sometimes’ selfishness that must come with growing your brand and business. Many people as they age want to focus on their relationships/marriage, start families, and direct themselves towards the success of their personal lives. I wholeheartedly believe that we as humans need to choose because we don’t have enough hours in the day or days in the week to do it all. The more selfish I became with my time and energy, the more I was able to achieve my goals. The desire for freedom in my work and life became greater than the desire to be in relationships that didn’t align themselves with my goals, and I began to throw myself into the work projects that were SO fun that I would lose complete track of time. I knew I was onto something when I would start on a work project, work on it until midnight, fall asleep, and wake up stoked to continue.
My version of success is one that is fun and enjoyable. Is it a grind? Yes. There are days where I feel like I want to quit and question why I started this all in the first place, but I tell myself that those are the moments where the most growth happens. Muscles get bigger when you put them under constructive stress, and work success is no different. On the contrary, knowing when to walk away is a huge lesson that most cannot learn. What happens when you work a muscle TOO much? Injury. If you continue to work on a project that does not serve you, you will lose your spark. When I took a step back from creating for myself in order to grow Born Free, it wasn’t because I had given up. It was because that project was no longer serving me, and I knew that if I continued to force it at the wrong time, I would injure the dream as a whole.
And now? NOW I am able to flourish within my spaces. The grass is green where you water it and realizing which pastures are meant for you takes time and intuition. Having the confidence to tell yourself that you can handle anything life throws at you, even if it’s not what you planned for, is what will keep you forging the right path. Trust yourself, keep moving, and continue to water your pastures.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My interest in barbering started later than one might assume. I grew up in Northern California and was raised by my mother who is a hairstylist and salon owner. I had absolutely no interest in doing hair for my career. Despite that, she taught me how to do basic short haircuts on my guy friends. I’ve always been a tomboy who fit in with guys more than the girls, so naturally that is who I learned on. I graduated high school early and tried different jobs to find a career path, but none ever felt fulfilling or like they were meant for me.
It wasn’t until I was 19 and classic styles started to come back around because shows like “Mad Men”, “Peaky Blinders” and “Boardwalk Empire” started to air. THIS grabbed my attention. My friends started asking if I could give them these cuts. So with cheap clippers, the shears my mother had gotten me for Christmas years back, and a trash bag cape with a hole cut in for their heads, I fumbled through creating these styles. After that, all I could pay attention to when watching movies and shows were the short hairstyles paired with an obsession of wanting to move to NYC. So in 2015, I signed up for barber school in Manhattan, packed up a suitcase, and moved there without knowing anyone or what my future looked like. I knew I wanted to be a barber and eventually work in film, tv, and editorial to recreate the timeless looks I became mesmerized by, but I had no idea how I was going to do it.
The beginning of my career was rocky because my interest lied in shear work and the most popular styles became crisp skin fades. I sucked at these. I was told by a few other barbers that my work was terrible and I was failing my clientele. Through the tears and struggles, I continued to show up and learn as much as a could. With the repetitions and full books, I improved overtime and my confidence grew to the point where I was able to educate my clients on looks that suited them and how we could solve the styling issues they would have.
What stayed constant? My love for classic styles. Short styles from the early 20th century were about utility. They needed to look professional and be kept in place. This criteria called for features that worked with the natural texture of someones hair and for lengths that were easy to style daily. As I started to dive deeper into this, I realized that most of my clients didn’t want the trendy modern looks that require upkeep and time. They just wanted a clean look that was easy for them to style and be presentable… which is exactly what the classic styles I geeked out on call for.
As I started to implement these looks, my passion only grew. I had eventually moved to Philly and opened my businesses as a place to create and immerse myself in these styles while also keeping up with the modern trends and techniques. My barbershop grew exponentially since 2020 with the clientele I had built by consulting with them properly, solving the problems they were having with their hair, and hiring barbers who were able to do the same. The shop has more barbers than we do chairs, so I created another private studio of my own to continue the same path that I set out on 10 years prior.
At my studio, I take clients who need a barber that listens, understands, and educates them on their hair type and texture, face shape, as well as skin and scalp issues they may be having. My goal is to make them feel comfortable and confident in themselves and what they are already equipped with. Additionally, I film, shoot, and edit my own content that adds to my portfolio.
At my barbershop, I strive to create an environment for barbers who want a positive place to take their clients and work in a collaborative space. I offer higher commissions and room for work/life balance that I’ve seen deeply lacking in other shops. I want Born Free to feel like a safe haven for them to effectively create with enthusiasm and know that the entire staff has their back. Managing a team can be difficult, but coming from a place of kindness and professionalism, harboring a healthy workspace is absolutely possible.
I’m proud of my ability to help my clients feel confident and comfortable, as well as create a team who enjoys working together. I love creating spaces that represent who I am and what I bring to the table. Having clients in my chair who seek me out because they know I have their best interest in mind is what fuels my passion even more, and I’m still as obsessed with classic styles in film and tv as ever.
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
The way I was able to create my following on social media was totally by accident. I was working at a barbershop in Philadelphia, and the owner asked me if I was interested in doing a YouTube video for a well known company called “BeardBrand”. One of their brand ambassadors was Philly based and offered to come and film for the channel. The owner had no interest in being on camera so when he asked me, I shrugged and said, “sure!”. I was comfortable talking about my work because I already practiced thorough consultations and good communication with my clients. After the first video aired, BeardBrand asked for more and I obliged. Soon enough, I had multiple videos on YouTube and my name began to grow. My instagram followers grew to the 20k+ I have now, and those older YouTube videos now have over 1 Million views! This all happened because I said yes to an opportunity that was never in my mind at all to begin with. The takeaway from this has been to take opportunities if you can. You never know what will catapult you in the right direction.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
Providing value to your clients and within your market is HUGE. For barbers, anyone can give a good haircut, but to be able to explain to your clients about WHY you are using a certain technique or products, and what the benefits are, they then feel educated by your expertise and will come back for more. They start to trust your vision and will know that when they have a problem like hair loss or wanting to change up their style, you’ll be able to sit down with them and create a game plan that has been expertly crafted and backed by experience. I love educating my clients on what’s going on with their hair. I have people twice my age telling me that they’ve never had their hair or style explained to them and that’s why they love sitting in my chair. They see my passion for the craft because I’m able to clearly outline what it is that makes their hair behave and why we can achieve certain styles or not.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://andyfischerhair.com
- Instagram: @andyfischerhair
- Youtube: @andyfischerhair
Image Credits
Charlie Wrzesniewski