We recently connected with Domenico Cicirello and have shared our conversation below.

Domenico, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?

To be successful to me isn’t a diploma or a high paying job. I feel like society has made it the “norm” that in order to be successful you have to go to college or drive a crazy sports car. I felt pressured at a young age that I had to go to college because that’s what everyone else was doing. Truly what it takes to be successful is hustle and motivation. Waking up everyday and wanting to grow and become a better person is what makes you successful. The little habits that you build in your day to day life such as a goal board or journaling. Those are the little things that lead to big results. At 17 I was kicked out of my parents and I had too make the decision to work full time or try to juggle school and work at the same time while trying to find a placement. I decided to drop out of high school and fully pursue my passion and that truly made me realize that degrees and diplomas don’t make you successful, the drive and determination does.

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

I became a licensed barber stylist at the age of 16. I decided this was my passion and this was something I always felt intrigued to grow in. At 18 I decided to rent a studio space at The Lighthouse Studios and I’ve dived into my passion even further. I’ve attended multiple barber events and I also competed multiple times. I always preach to find your passion for work because it will never feel like work. I like to go by “not the average barber” because I try to go above and beyond the norm as a barber. I’ve always been a person of quality not quantity, I’d rather do 5 fresh haircuts then 10 bad ones.

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

In barber school, I wasn’t the best in my class. Everybody made fun of me because I couldn’t get the hang of the craft. Everyone was starting to get comfortable around the 5/6 month mark, it took me 8 months to finally get the hang of it and ended up being one of the few to graduate. Being licensed at 16 is difficult, people made fun of my age. “I don’t want to get cut up by a kid” was something I would hear on a daily. It got tiring hearing all this negativity I started to forget what I originally got on this path for. It wasn’t for them it was for me, it was to better my life. At the end of the day I knew it was gonna get better I just didn’t know when. I just had to persevere and keep my head as high as possible. Now some of those people who were calling me a kid and laughing at me drive almost an hour to get a haircut.

Has your business ever had a near-death moment? Would you mind sharing the story?

I remember first moving out to the city of Phoenix at 18. I knew no one, zero clientele. I was afraid I bit off more than I could chew. The first couple months were the slowest. I remember only having 3/4 haircuts in the month. I had to sell my belongings in order to stay afloat those couple months. It got so bad to the point where I debated I second job. I started working at the dollar general in hopes that would give me some comfortability. Within a week of working there, the amount of homeless people I got harassed by I quickly realized this wasn’t for me. I quit that day and I went full time into this barber gig. ever since then I never looked back and everything started to go up.

Contact Info:

• Website: boppr.me/nottheaveragebarber