Laurie Wing, Licensed Barber

Let's start off today by acknowledging that every third Monday in January is Martin Luther King Day. Let's not forget his birthday is on 15th and the great things he managed to accomplish. It may be a federal holiday and many offices are closed in observance of MLK, however, like many of you I know your shop is open and you are hard at work. You will find listed below Laurie Wing's interview with us. We appreciate her time and we'll circle back to her to check on her photography endeavor. Read her responses below and use them as motivation to start or continue your own plan for success

What lead you to start working as a barber? How long have you been doing it?
-I qualified as a ladies hairdresser in 2011 and wanted to be an all round stylist. When I started working I was lucky enough to train with some amazing talented and passionate barbers who passed their wisdom on to me and their outlook really rubbed off on me and I just fell in love with the craft and the attention to detail it took to do men's hair working on such a short scale. They really inspired me to be the best I possibly could. I wanted to be just like them.
 
Would you consider this your passion? Do you have another field that you work in?
-Barbering is very much my passion besides my friends I don't really do ladies hair anymore. I can't imagine ever doing another job and being as happy as I am doing this. I love the interaction I get to have with so many different kinds of people and it is everything to me to make them feel good about themselves when they have the perfect cut. Hair is important it says a lot about a person. I enjoy being able to help bring out that personality for people.

 What is your craziest client story?
-I was lucky enough to work at the Olympic salon for the athletes and press at the London 2012 Olympic Games I got along very well with a gent from the Mexican athletics teams he came back to the salon after winning a medal and hung it round my neck and demanded a picture. The whole experience was pretty mental. Other than that the craziest times usually come from the conversations u have with people they tell their barber their deepest darkest secrets. At times I come away from a cut at the end and I just think wow I can't believe they just told me that! 

What is the one thing you want to accomplish this year(in business)?
-This year I would like to do some photographic work giving me the opportunity to create something for a different setting. 

What is one long term goal you have in life?
-Ideally in the long term I would like to have my own shop with some kind of education tied in, I'd like to pass on what I have learnt and help inspire someone in the same way I was.

Lastly, what is your ideal retirement scenario?
-I can't imagine ever hanging up my scissors for good I enjoy cutting hair and don't think I'll ever really completely stop. Ideally having my own barbershop would mean I could still cut hair but gain plenty of time to do my own thing.