We were lucky to catch up with Aundrey Jackson Jr recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Aundrey, thanks for joining us today. Can you recount a story of an unexpected problem you’ve faced along the way?

Two and a half years into business, my five year old daughter was diagnosed with leukemia. At that point my whole life came crashing down. It was hard for me to work, let alone have the mental capacity to be around other people besides my daughter. I wasn’t sure what would happen with my business and honestly didn’t care. Thanks to the support from my staff, clients, and community, I was able to keep things afloat.

Aundrey, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Being a barber wasn’t on my career list growing up. I just knew I was good at it from cutting my own hair starting at age 16. That grew to cutting friends and family, but never did I think that I would be able to make a living from it. It wasn’t until I tore my ACL in college to when I decided to just go to barber school. That is where I fell in love. I started to realize that I enjoy making people feel better about themselves and watching someone’s whole demeanor change after just 1 haircut. As far as separating myself from other barbers, I don’t care about being well known or making the most money. I care about serving my community and being a difference in someone’s life. Being that ear that someone can talk to or giving a guy confidence for his first date. I love waking up and going to work in the morning.

Can you talk to us about how you funded your business?

When COVID hit, I started cutting hair out of my house. I had already started making a business proposal before hand. It wasn’t until I started talking about it with one of my clients that made my dream a reality. They asked to see my proposal. I thought they were just going to give me advice. Instead, they seen my heart and my passion and decided to help me make my dream come true. They believed in me so much that they cut a check and helped me open my barbershop.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

I have be cutting in the same area for 10 years. I give consistent and quality work. It is hard to go somewhere in my area and not know who I am. I focus more on quality over quantity

Contact Info:

• Instagram: BlendzByDre
• Facebook: The Fade Haus Barbershop