When Justin Bell’s friend asked him for a quick haircut before church almost a decade ago, he had no idea about the journey he was about to begin.
Standing in the parking lot after church, a fellow churchgoer asked Bell’s friend where he got his haircut.
“Justin did it,” the friend responded.
About two weeks later, after encouragement from his brother, Bell enrolled in barber school.
Today, he owns five barber shops in the Akron area and recently opened Bell’s Barber College to teach the craft to the new generation. Already, nine students are enrolled.
Bell said his favorite part of owning the college so far is seeing his students’ progress and knowing he is setting them up for success.
“We play a huge part in people’s future,” Bell said.
What does barber college entail?
Akron now has four private barber colleges licensed by the Ohio Cosmetology and Barber Board, which provides the curriculum.
Bell’s Barber College, which officially opened May 1 and is located at 3333 Manchester Road, offers two programs: one for those just starting out and one for licensed cosmetologists who want to become barbers.
Full-time students can complete their hours in about 11 months, while part-time students take about a year and a half, Bell said. The Barber Program requires 1,800 hours and costs $13,500, and the Cosmetology-to-Barber Crossover Program requires 1,000 hours and costs $7,500, he said.
Tim Subotin, head of Akron Barber College, said his program costs around the same, at $12,000. The barber colleges in Akron don’t necessarily compete, he said, as long as each school is selling the trade, not themselves.
Each school may give a slightly different education, though. Subotin said everyone has their own technique for cutting hair, and there are no set rules in barbery.
Through theory classes and supervised training while cutting hair in the clinic, barber college prepares students for the Ohio State Cosmetology and Barber Board exams, which they have to pass to receive their license, Bell said.
“I’m excited to see the students graduate and to see them succeed in this industry because it’s a very good living that people underestimate,” Bell said.
Benefits of being a barber
Flurim Krasnici, the 32-year-old lead instructor at Bell’s Barber College, said the trade has given him a sense of ease in life.
Krasnici used to work in manufacturing. He said he would get a week but it wasn’t flexible. He also didn’t enjoy being stuck inside all day with machinery.
“I wanted to do something different,” he said. “I really just wanted to be in a field where I could interact with people.”
He met Bell in barber college, and they clicked, Krasnici said. After working in the industry, he said he’s excited to see the “amount of lives [the college] will change.”
Subotin said he’s seen an uptick in students in the last year and a half. Currently, his school has 37 students.
He said he has students who are retired and want to supplement their Social Security, as well as recent high school graduate students who want to get into the barber business.
“People are tired of working for big box companies, making little above minimum wage and being told when and what to do,” said Subotin, whose barber college has been around for 75 years. “[Being a] barber, you’re self-employed, you can call your own shots, set up your own business, work for yourself.”
Krasnici said he now has financial security and the freedom to travel, meet new people and take time off when he needs to.
“Growing up in Akron, there’s really not much opportunities unless you go to college or something,” Krasnici said. “For being a trade and everything, it’s definitely a lucrative business.”
The student experience
Jessie Salter, one of the first students at Bell’s Barber College, is an esthetician. She said Bell talked her into joining the school after she got to know him and the barber industry while he cut her son’s hair.
Once she graduates, she hopes to work in a barber shop while running her own lash shop.
“I just love to make people feel good, look good,” Salter said. “I love the change and the difference that you can make in someone just by something small.”
There is no judgment at Bell’s Barber College, Salter said. It’s friendly, welcoming and a nice community.
“I like to have a family atmosphere,” Bell said. “All are welcome.”
The college offers $9 regular haircuts as well as free back-to-school haircuts, Bell said.
Classes are offered in the morning and at night, and students are accepted on an open enrollment basis.
Bell said he’s excited about possible future growth and producing future barbers.
“I can teach you how to open your own shop,” he said. “I can teach you what it takes to be successful.”
Lauren Cohen was a community reporting intern for the Akron Beacon Journal and Signal Akron. The position was funded through a grant from the Knight Foundation.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Justin Bell cut hair for friends. Now he owns a barber college in Akron
Reporting by Lauren Cohen, Akron Beacon Journal / Akron Beacon Journal
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By Lauren Cohen, Akron Beacon Journal | USA TODAY Network
