We recently connected with Craig Whitely and have shared our conversation below.
Craig, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Risk taking is a huge part of most people’s stories but too often society overlooks those risks and only focuses on where you are today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – it could be a big risk or a small one – but walk us through the backstory?
Eighteen years ago, with the support of my wife I left my corporate job as a banker to pursue a dream I had of being a barber. This interest started from an ego-driven desire to “look good for the ladies” as a freshman in high school. As you could imagine, this was not the ambition my parents had for me, especially since weekly haircuts were well out of their monthly budget. My father saw this as an opportunity to teach me a life lesson. So he purchased a pair of clippers and suggested that I learn how to cut my own hair to accomplish this goal. I was determined to make this work in my favor.
Every time, I would get my haircut at the barbershop I would watch them intensely, learning as much as I could. After several weeks of observation and becoming more confident in the potential process, I gave it a try. I failed miserably and added a huge patch of hair missing on the right side of my head. To add insult to injury, my high school did not allow hats on campus. So, the very ego I was trying to build received quite a bruise with the jeers of classmates until I could get to the barbershop for a hopeful repair. Later that week, my haircut was fixed with the additional benefit of getting a few helpful tips on what-not-to-do from the barber. And, I never made that mistake again.
Fast forward several months later, I was getting better at cutting my hair, and friends and classmates began to notice. They started asking if I could cut their hair as well. Coincidentally at this same time, my mom recently left her job and was slowly building a career as a hairstylist. And, just completed a transformation of our garage into a small salon. With her permission, I would use her salon when available to cut not only my hair but those of my classmates and friends as well. It was a fun time that lasted until I moved away to college after high school. And, during that time this space eventually became my first barbershop because, after a time, my mom left the hair business and moved on to a better opportunity for her and our family.
I am a product of immigrant parents. And, at the age of 4, my parents left their careers as college professors and moved me and my brother and sister to the United States and settled in the Bronx, New York. Later at the age of 13, we would pack our bags once again and move to West Palm Beach, FL. These decisions were primarily focused on providing the best opportunities for their young children to excel in this new country. And unfortunately for me, as college-educated immigrants, my parent’s dreams did not match my love for barbering as a profession.
But my interest never died. After high school, I went off to college and continued to cut hair always enjoying the many transformations and conversations. Upon graduation, I got into the field of IT and later banking. With the thought always in the back of my mind of one day leaving my corporate life and pursuing what I was truly passionate about and enjoyed more than closing loans and selling investments.
A few years later with the help and support of my wife, I left banking and entered school for cosmetology and barbering. While also moving to Los Angeles, CA to get closer to a vision I had for barbering and to experience living life on the West Coast.
For over 15 years, I am now professionally known as Craig the Barber, and I have worked to equip men with hair and shaving advice in and outside of the barber chair; and with my men’s grooming blog called- themensroom.com (est. 2009). My passion for this industry has placed me in positions providing business strategy in a team environment for companies like Estee Lauder and Philips Norelco; content-writing for Men’s Health Magazine, and educating & motivating beauty professionals in a national educator role for Paul Mitchell the School.
This new platform allowed me to have many conversations with clients, blog readers, and those who sought out advice via email about shaving. The most common questions were always related to post-shave skin irritation, skin darkening (or hyper-pigmentation), and poor results from even the most expensive grooming products. And, I understood why.
Shaving is an exfoliation process that leaves the skin feeling dry after every shave. And, many grooming products on the market are filled with chemical irritants that dry the skin, even more, resulting in painful and embarrassing razor burn and other skin sensitivities.
Inspired by the concerns shared by my clients, blog readers, and those who sought my advice via email, I decided to tackle this problem. Taking over 3 ½ years to create and find the right manufacturing partner, Burke Avenue by Craig the Barber was born along with its first product the Moisturizing Shave Cream, in December 2016. This cream was created with a singular focus of providing skin repair throughout the aggressive process of shaving, while also delivering optimal skin healing benefits needed for the skin to handle the next day’s shave. Just a few months after launching it was awarded Best Shave Cream by Men’s Health Magazine.
To date, Burke Avenue has maintained a first-order customer retention rate of 96%, a 52% avg. customer return rate, and an average 5 Star customer rating with over 240+ reviews. With a goal of being the #1 Men’s Skincare Line, Burke Avenue is quite a ways to go. But, as long as I continue to take great pride in creating excellent products this journey will continue to be well worth the risks my wife and I have taken.
Craig, 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?
My name is Craig Whitely – professionally known as Craig the Barber. For more than 15 years, my passionate desire for educating consumers and beauty professionals on how to groom better through my blog – www.themensroom.com (Est. in 2009), and several social media channels, created an expert position in the space of men’s grooming. Leaders of beauty schools, Fortune 500 companies, and high-circulating magazines have requested my services and knowledge for the advancement of their students, products, and readership.
Inspired by the concerns shared by my clients, blog readers, and those who sought my advice via email, I found consistent complaints related to shaving. The most common – are skin irritation, skin darkening (or hyperpigmentation), and poor results from even the most expensive grooming products. There are many grooming products on the market that are filled with moisture-stripping ingredients that dry the skin during the process of shaving, resulting in painful and embarrassing razor burns and other skin sensitivities.
My goal was to fill this void in the marketplace. Taking over 3 ½ years to create and find the right manufacturing partner, Burke Avenue by Craig the Barber was born along with its first product the Moisturizing Shave Cream, in December 2016. This cream was created with a singular focus of providing skin repair throughout the aggressive process of shaving, while also delivering optimal skin healing benefits needed for the skin to handle the next day’s shave. Just a few months after launching it was awarded Best Shave Cream by Men’s Health Magazine.
Today, I am proud to share that Burke Avenue has consistently delivered exceptional results, with a 96% first-order customer retention rate, a 52% average customer return rate, and an average 5-star customer rating. These achievements are a testament to the dedication and hard work that I put into researching and developing my award-winning Moisturizing Shave Cream and 3 in 1 Daily Moisturizer. My goal is to set a new standard for luxury men’s skincare and I am confident that the quality of my products and future creations has what it takes to become the leading men’s skincare brand in the US.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
The COVID pandemic presented many challenges, especially in the beauty industry. As a full-time on-location barber, I was heavily impacted when face-to-face businesses were forced to close in California. I had to quickly adapt, and I was fortunate enough to take on a job with the United States Postal Service while also working to keep my skincare line, Burke Avenue, afloat. As my work with the USPS ended in December 2020, my wife and I decided to move to South Florida, closer to our family. This has allowed me to fully focus on growing my business as the CEO of Burke Avenue. While I am grateful for this opportunity, I look forward to the day when I can once again provide a welcoming space for men to enjoy my barbering services, accompanied by my Burke Avenue skincare products.
Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?
Absolutely! The book “Blue Ocean Strategy” by Renée Mauborgne and W. Chan Kim has had a profound impact on my approach to managing my business and my perspective on others. It emphasizes the importance of creating a product that sets your business apart from the competition, making them irrelevant to your bottom line. By understanding the lessons in this book, I believe we can achieve this goal.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.burkeavenue.com
- Instagram: @burkeavenue & @craigthebarber
- Facebook: @burkeavenue & @craigthebarber
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigthebarber/
- Twitter: @craigthebarber
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/CraigTheBarber
Image Credits
Photographer: Melinda Martinez