Behind the Chair with Saida: More Than Just a Haircut

If you've been sitting in my chair for a while, you probably know me as Saida, your barber. You might know that I'm a mom, that I own Barberet Co., and that my kids have grown up around this shop. But there is a lot more to the story of how I got here, and since this is my first Behind the Chair with Saida, I thought I'd share a little bit of it with you.

Where It Started

I became a barber in 2002, and if I'm being honest, the journey has been pretty bumpy. It still is. 😂 I've had a lot of different experiences over the years, some really great ones, some difficult ones, and plenty that taught me lessons I didn't know I needed to learn.

I've also had clients who have followed me around for years, through different shops and different chapters of my life.

Some of you have been with me for a very long time, and I think that's pretty special.

When I was 26, I bought my first barbershop. My son was three years old at the time, and I was young, ambitious, and thought I knew what I was doing. 😂 Looking back, that shop taught me a lot, but it also taught me a lot about what NOT to do.

I learned how important it is to recognize red flags, to have boundaries, and to understand that being someone's barber doesn't mean I have to tolerate everything just because they're a client. I learned that my sanity matters too, and that there is a difference between taking care of your clients and allowing yourself to be treated like a doormat.

Why I Choose to Work Alone

One of the biggest decisions I eventually made was choosing to work mostly by myself.

I've experienced enough of the barbershop culture over the years to know that it can sometimes come with things I simply don't want around me or my children. I've been around people involved in drugs, dealing, pimps, predators, and other situations that made me realize I wanted something very different.

As a mom, especially with my kids spending time around the shop, creating a safe environment became more important to me than having a big shop with a bunch of people working under one roof.

That decision also shaped the way I run Barberet today. I like giving each client their own time in my chair, which is why I suggest making an appointment. It isn't because I don't want walk-ins, I absolutely take them when I have the availability. I just don't want the shop overcrowded, and I don't want you sitting in my chair while I'm distracted by everything happening around me.

When you're with me, I want to be focused on you and the haircut you're there for.

When I Stepped Away

When my daughter turned one, I took a break from barbering because I thought I wanted to focus on being a stay-at-home mom and have a more traditional family life.

I quickly realized that staying home wasn't really for me. 😂

But the bigger reality was that I was living through a very difficult and unhealthy relationship. I experienced sexual, emotional, mental, and financial abuse from my partner, and the abuse toward my son became so severe that it almost cost him his life.

That was when I knew I couldn't stay. I had to get my kids somewhere safe, so one day, while he was out of town, I packed whatever I could fit into my car, took my kids, and left. There wasn't a perfect plan or some carefully organized escape. I just knew that I had to go. After that, the healing process began, for me but especially for my son.

There is a lot that comes with starting over, and healing doesn't happen overnight, but leaving was the beginning of a completely different chapter for us.

Finding My Way Back

Eventually, I came back to barbering, and something happened that I will probably always remember. The clients I had before I left hadn't forgotten about me. For about four years, some of them reached out at least once a month asking when I was coming back. They didn't know when I would return, and honestly, sometimes neither did I, but they kept checking in.

When I finally came back to the chair, many of those same clients came back too. Some of them are still sitting in my chair today. That's something I don't take for granted because it showed me that the relationships I've built with my clients over the years were about more than just a haircut.

Then Came COVID

While I was working on getting my barber license, COVID happened. Because apparently I needed another obstacle thrown into the mix. 😂 It took longer than I expected, but I eventually got my license.

Getting that license while raising two kids and dealing with everything that came with COVID taught me something about myself: I can do hard things.

That’s actually one of the reasons I know I can go back to school and pursue Mortuary Science someday. I got my barber license with two kids and COVID happening in the middle of it all, so I figure I can probably handle whatever school throws at me next. But that’s a conversation for another day, lol.😂

Barberet Co.

In 2022, with my dad’s help, I opened Barberet Co.

It was a big step, and it hasn’t always been easy. There have been plenty of moments where I’ve worried about money, questioned myself, changed plans, made mistakes, and wondered if I was doing any of this right. I’ve gotten hives from stress, had headaches that wouldn’t go away for months, and apparently my eyes decided they needed to get involved too. 😂

The eye twitching hasn’t completely stopped, they just take turns now. Because apparently one twitching eye at a time wasn’t stressful enough.

Owning a business is definitely not as glamorous as it can look from the outside. 😂 There’s a lot of stress, a lot of figuring things out as I go, and plenty of days where I’m just hoping I’m making the right decisions. But we’re still here.

And we're here because of the people who walked through that door and decided to support me. Some of you have been here since the beginning, and some of you found me later.

You come in for haircuts, you send your friends and family, you leave reviews, you tell people about the shop, and you continue to encourage me when I'm trying something new. All of those little things add up, and I notice them more than you probably realize.

My Why

My kids are my why. They have always been my reason for pushing forward. A lot of the decisions I've made, especially the difficult ones, have come back to wanting to provide for them, protect them, and give them a safe and stable life. I want them to see that life doesn't always go the way you planned, and sometimes you have to start over. I want them to know that making mistakes doesn't mean you've failed, and that you can rebuild your life even when you feel like you've lost everything.

But if my kids are my why, my clients are my impulse. You're the ones who keep giving me that little push to keep moving forward. Every time you come back, recommend someone, tell me you're proud of me, encourage one of my ideas, or simply show up and support the shop, you're giving me another reason to keep going.

More Than a Haircut

That's really what Barberet is to me. It's not just a place where I cut hair. It's something I built after a lot of life happened. It's something my dad helped make possible. It's something my kids have grown up around. And it's something all of you have helped shape simply by choosing to be here.

So when you sit in my chair, yes, you're getting a haircut. 😂 But you're also supporting a mom, a small business, and a woman who has had to start over and figure things out more than once. You're helping me keep going, keep learning, and keep building something that I hope my kids will look back on one day and be proud of.

I don't know exactly where Barberet will be five or ten years from now. I still have things I want to accomplish, including going back to school, and I'm sure I'll change my mind about a few things along the way because that's just how I am. 😂 But I do know that I'm grateful for where I am today.

I'm grateful for the clients who followed me back to my chair. I'm grateful for the people who found me after I opened Barberet. I'm grateful for the people who have stuck around through the changes and continue to cheer me on.

My kids are my why.

My clients are my impulse.

And honestly, I wouldn't be sitting here writing this without either one.

So, from behind my chair, thank you.

Thank you for trusting me with your hair, for supporting my little shop, for giving me room to grow, and for being part of this crazy journey with me.

Saida

Barberet Co.