How I transformed a local barber from invisible to in demand.

And action.

What's good, mate?

How you going, man?

Not bad, not bad, bro. Oh, it's crazy that we're sitting here now.

I know, man. I couldn't believe it.

Did you think, did you think we were going to do a sit down like this from when we started?

Honestly, no, no, I couldn't imagine it.

Like, how does it feel, man? How does it feel? You're, you're posting consistently. Um, just tell her, just like, how does it feel just posting, bro?

Bro, honestly, like It feels great. Like, just the way how things have kind of just been mapped out and the way we've kind of— from where we started and now what we're doing, I just, I wouldn't believe it. It just, it feels good. Like, it feels like I'm onto something and just a constant incline.

Yeah, yeah. And when we started, or before we started content, I remember you used to post like these little like phone like haircuts before and afters, bro. So how has it been, like, the shift for you actually, like, locking into some real content, like committing and really investing into yourself? How's that been for you, bro?

100%. The, like, investing into myself feels better just all around. Like, it feels like I'm getting my value for what my worth is. And especially doing something that I love, I get to invest back into that. And it goes back to the roots where I wanted to invest into the business and to get the most out of it, 100%. And yeah, that's kind of what I wanted to do starting up especially.

And all right, let's just take it back a second, bro. But you're 19.

Yes, I am.

You've got over 1,000 followers on socials. You've got a really good client base. Like, let's talk a bit about you for a second because you haven't been doing this for 1 year, 2 years. How long have you been doing this, man?

This is, it'll be my 6th year this year.

Wow, that's incredible. You started at 13.

13, yeah, 13.

That's insane, man. What has it been like as a— starting from a 13-year-old, what has been that mindset that you've kept?

Honestly, I tend to put the people first before myself, where I feel better when I give back to the people. Simple, like, that's part of the trade, you know. Putting someone— putting a smile on someone's face Is that what, like, what makes me happy? And just seeing that day to day, that's kind of what keeps me going. Just knowing that a simple service can just make someone's day, week, or year, you know? And just from a simple conversation where I felt with myself, I was always good with the conversation type part of things, very therapeutic with barbering as well. And yeah, that just like, it got me very driven in that kind of aspect of um, the industry where I really wanted to, to use my voice, um, to, to help other people. And that's what's kind of kept me going throughout this whole journey.

Yeah, I love it, man. All right, so obviously starting barbering at 13, like, you're not going to know everything straight away, so it's been a bit of a journey for you, but What was the business like before you started to lock in with your content with me and start to invest in yourself and take yourself seriously as an authority in your space? So here we repeat that.

I don't know, I didn't think about it.

I didn't think about it. Do you want me to repeat?

Yeah, go, go, go. You use that same thing. Yeah, sorry, I was just—

it was a good question.

Yeah, I know, I know.

All right, so obviously starting barbering at 13, you didn't have it all figured out at 13. Like, no one does. So what, what were some of the problems that you were facing before we started our content journey together and before we invested in your business?

Yeah, I found that a lot of the problems was honestly just finding the time and the right place to to kind of make the content and make, um, just the opportunity to even put out contents of such. And I just— whether it was content, whether it was actually just promoting myself and respecting myself as a business, pricing and services, I could never really find that room to grow because it was always just me, myself, and I, you know. I, I wasn't able to to even get the opportunity to, to do anything where, um, yeah, it was a bit of a struggle honestly. Like, I just felt a little bit lost to the point where, um, I just felt like there was a kind of a barrier and I just needed to break through that barrier. Um, and yeah, obviously you coming along has just been a major help, um, just with everything. Um, yeah, in terms of finding time to, to, to plan these things and just filming content creation, it just— yeah, the constant expansion in the, in the business and It just makes me feel a lot more comfortable. And yeah, obviously it's a reliable source.

Yeah, yeah, no, I agree. Like, if, if like any barbers are watching this, like, I understand, like, obviously Ethan understands.

100%.

We understand that like you're working log hours, so like finding time to fit in content, it's like, it's impossible.

100%. Within the, within the, within the day of work, you're working from almost 9 o'clock in the morning to 9 o'clock at night. Yeah, just finding that time from Client after client, even if you push it back 4, 5, 10 minutes even or so, you, you kind of just feel a little bit worse in yourself. Where a lot of barbers tend to back off even spending that 5 extra minutes of just taking a quick video, where something like that just can even just help promote your business.

That's it. And like, a lot of barbers, they don't get the opportunity to do that, and that's That's why working with Ethan, it's been such a pleasure because seeing him grow and just seeing what something as simple as just adding like some content systems into his business and the growth that it's given you. Let's talk a bit more about that. What growth have you seen from this content? What was your goal? What was your goal with this content?

The goal was honestly to just everything to cover all every box, whether it was gaining new followers and clientele, reputation, and having a bit more of a professional look to my business. And just a course of many things, honestly, it was just people respected me as a business and the fact that I was investing. Going back to the investing thing, where when people see that you're investing into yourself and your business, they tend to invest in you as a person. So, um, yeah, 100%, that the trust was already built just off a simple video. I didn't really need to add any— I didn't need to add a cherry to the top of the cake, you know, like I didn't need to do anything. So, um, yeah, it spoke for itself in its own words.

Yeah, and I don't think that's the thing that like a lot of people don't realize is that when you're putting out content and you're building that authority, you're building that trust Clients are coming in through your social media already pre-sold on your services, and would you say that's that's been the case?

Hundred percent. Yeah, yeah. They're they're kind of sold as soon as they walk through the door where they see the video that you've already produced previously, and they're like, "Hey man, like I've seen your video. I loved it, you know," and instantly just kind of creating that placebo in the client's mind. I don't need to do anything more to. Prove myself as a business, as a barber, where the first— the service speaks for itself and the professionalism is already there. All I have to do as a barber is just remain consistent with it and just keep it up, because that's the only thing. If it's— if you're seeing incline, you know, you just got to keep on following the wave. You don't want to drop and start producing less videos just because you've already reached what you wanted to get to. Don't set the bar too low, you know. Set it as high as you can because you can just keep on going, especially with content creation and working with people like you, where we can go from a couple, 4 videos a month, to the point where we can get 10 videos a month and just have that constant consistent videos out there, you know, for, for my business. And the— it'll just keep on, keep on growing.

Yeah, and we, we've talked a lot about growth, but, um, the case with a lot of barbers and a lot of businesses in general, like The opportunity for growth is sometimes very limited, like as we spoke about, like the time constraints is a big one. Could you tell us a bit about before you started content, how was— how hard was it for you to grow yourself as a business, to scale?

Honestly, to scale up my business was probably the hardest thing and the most— the biggest struggle that I had within my business, in myself, where that growth was just, it was very minimalistic, where to the point where I'd have to produce a piece of content every so month just to kind of get that few extra followers and that few extra likes and the few extra views. Where I'll notice that I'll be receiving a lot of views and follows, but never that extra follow-up to the point where they actually start booking with me.

Mm.

That was, it was kind of just breaking past that that barrier to the point where they actually wanted to invest and take that next step with me instead of just following on the ride and just looking at the content itself. Where, yeah, that's what I struggle with to the point where that client retention and be able to make new clients and keep existing clients also. 'Cause you tend to notice clients, they constantly wanna see that you as a barber, you're investing back into them, you know? Yeah, 100%. That growth was very— like, I felt that I struggled with it at the start. And yeah, I can see that now it's kind of just— it's reached that point where people are starting to, to kind of reach out for themselves and let, let the videos work for themselves.

Yeah, and that's the difference between just posting— I won't say random content, but just chucking up whatever you've, whatever you've filmed on the day and posting without intention. That's the difference. Like, As you said, you might get a few likes, few a few comments here and there, but like are they really following up to be be a client? That's what you want.

That's that's the nice part.

Yeah. So like posting with intention—that's how you're going to get your clients through. That's how you're going to get pre-sold on your services. Like yeah. So I'm I'm really excited that we got to do that for you, man.

So I've got to ask you what.

What made you take that leap and say it's time to invest in content?

To take that leap was honestly the biggest struggle. And for a lot of you barbers out there, not even barbers, of any, any kind of business or whatever it is you got going, the, the hardest thing is to, to start. Honestly, it's to just start. And that's the biggest risk. And obviously I came in feeling a little bit nervous myself, not knowing if the time and effort that I'm going to be investing into is going to be worth it. And honestly, just pulling that plug and just breaking apart that, taking that risk as well, was probably the best decision that I made. And yeah, for a lot of, for a lot of barbers out there that they feel like they're trapped in this kind of ball where they just can't break free, just take that risk. Just take that risk, honestly. So yeah, that's, that's my best piece of advice because you can— there's high risk, high reward, you know. The higher the risk, the higher the reward in the end run. So yeah.

Yeah, and you said that, um, it was one of the best decisions that you've made to start content. What did I say? Why? Why do you say that? The fuck?

Hold on, I didn't think about that. Hold on, say that again.

I need to think about it. So you said that starting content with me and starting content, investing in yourself is one of the best decisions that you've made. Why? Why do you say that?

Honestly, the, the reason why it's the best decision that I've made, it's because it's gotten me and it's getting me to that point of where I want to be as a barber, as a person, and as an entrepreneur. To reach that point where my, my product is recognized by people, where to the point where I can go into a public place and get recognized for what I love doing.

Yeah.

And that's the best thing that I can honestly imagine, where I'm going to a place where I'm getting recognized for what I love instead of anything else that could be said. It's what I want to do and what I want to become. So that's the best decision that I've made. It's because it's getting me to that point of where I want to be, and I just, I don't want to stop.

Yeah.

I don't want to stop. Like, it feels good. Honestly, it feels good. Like, I'll say it as it is, it feels really good. So yeah.

Yeah. And for those who follow Ethan, um, We saw that post that you did with you cutting hair on the beach. Like, yeah, like, how crazy is that? People stopping you to cut their hair on the beach.

It was— I didn't even, like, honestly, I didn't expect it. That was not planned at all. Like, that day was not planned. I walked in with the intention of just having a day off, and to the point where I got recognized and someone had some, like, clippers laying around, and it was like, hey, can you cut my hair? And I'm like, You know what, let's do it. Because it's, it's the exposure. Any, any publicity is good publicity.

Yeah.

And a lot of barbers out there need to recognize that. It's, it's just content. As long as you put your name out there and whatever it is, just do it. Don't kind of break that barrier where don't care who judges or don't care who's watching. Because whether it's good publicity or bad publicity, it's still publicity. And your name is still out there where you're always going to get haters and you're always going to get people talking down on you. But at the same time, they're still talking about you. That's it, man.

Any word of mouth's good word of mouth.

100%. Um, speaking from the hood. Yeah, appreciate it.

Um, so getting like getting recognized in public, like would you ever thought that would be a possibility for you 1, 2, 3, like 6 years ago? Like how crazy is that, man?

Nah, honestly, like I was really within just my area, like to the point where you know the local people and you just know the people around you that you grew up with and that you'd gone to school with, or even just family. And to the point where I can go to areas or parts of Melbourne and still get recognized. And also now with this being a little bit more of a respected thing that I'm doing with you, people from different states and barbers are started to recognize me also. And especially brands. That's, that's another thing that I want to get into where brands have recognized me.

Well, go tell.

Yeah, so I've been reached out by, uh, MRD Australia and they have asked me to become an ambassador for the company.

Wow.

And honestly, like, congrats, bro. And, uh, thank you, man. Thank you very much. And, um, Yeah, and then like, that's, that's a dream of mine, honestly, to get a brand with that high of a reputation and get recognized as a barber, especially being my age where I haven't really seen many barbers being the age of 19 years old getting recognized by a company, let alone just a small brand. It's, it's a big brand, you know. It's, it's got its, it's got its it's got its rep in the business, you know. So to get recognized by someone like that made me feel like my, my work was appreciated, you know. Um, and yeah, now I can almost use that to another output of making content for them and wanting to, to just grow even more, you know. It's more of a reason to keep doing this.

So yeah, it's a wonderful thing, man. Like, content can take you to wonderful places, and 100%, it's just a testament to this.

Oh, 100%. Social media can, can bring you crazy limits.

That's crazy. So Ethan, like we've talked about like the time constraints being a big one for barbers and getting consistent content out. So hard being such hard workers doing what they do. So what would you say since joining with Popcorn Productions, what would you say the, the biggest problem that we've solved for you was?

Yeah, the biggest problem that I think I've solved is finding a person that I can rely on.

Yeah.

And trust. Genuinely, there's many people that I could have reached out to and many people that I could have contacted for content. And, um, yeah, finding someone that I can trust and actually rely on is— it's probably taught me the, the most amount about this. And just honestly finding myself as a person where a lot of people tend to just follow the trends. Do what you want to do, do what you feel, what feels right. Because if you're doing and producing something that doesn't feel like yourself, there's no point of creating this persona of yourself that's not even you.

Yeah.

And I feel like doing this content, it's what I would wanna put out there.

Mm-hmm.

And instead of kinda just following the media and following whatever feels right, I'm doing what feels right within myself. And you don't always have to follow what other people are doing. And yes, they do work, it does work, but it doesn't feel right by me producing something that I wouldn't wanna be out there. So yeah, 100%, it's, it's finding yourself as a person and as a barber and where you fit in. Um, with a lot of people who are trying to be something that they're not. So, you know, I would say be yourself is the best piece of advice.

Yeah, and like that ties in with the importance of having a, a strong personal brand. Like, I know it's something that we've been working on.

100%, yeah.

Like, how would you say building your own personal brand has benefited not only the business but your personal life and just yourself in general? Like, how does it feel, man?

The personal brand, it's like we've covered in previous questions. Like, it feels good. It feels good for people to know who I am, you know, to know how I am as a barber. Because a lot of the time where if you're just posting haircuts and your content about what you're doing, yes, that's a great thing, but also it kind of— it gets people to tune in who you are as an actual person. And it feels great because I kind of build that relationship, and so it kind of cuts out all the people that don't even— it kind of cuts out all the people that you don't want to attract, and it also brings in the people that you do want to attract.

Of course. Yeah.

So it kind of just varies 100%. And it puts it into kind of categories where, okay, I'm this type of person, I fit right in, I like what he preaches and I like what he goes by, I'm gonna go to him.

So obviously joining with us, you've said yourself it's been like a tremendous decision for you and it's been tremendous for your growth then as a person and as a business. But if you didn't join, where do you think you'd be?

That's a good question. Honestly, if I didn't join, I don't want to think about that.

I don't want to think about that.

I don't want to even imagine it. Um, if I didn't join, I just think it would be the same loop, honestly.

Yeah.

I'll just be in the same cycle working those long hours, producing 1 or 2 maximum videos a week that's of low quality and low professionalism, and just the same routine and I wouldn't even discover myself as a person, bare enough even think of the opportunity to, to do things that I've achieved now in the last 2 months.

Hmm.

And yeah, honestly, if I hadn't joined Popcorn Productions, um, I wouldn't even know where I could be. Like, it's a question what only Well, only God can know, you know. Like, it's a tough one because—

You wouldn't be getting recognized at the beach though, would you?

Nah, nah, 100%. Yeah, nah, if I didn't join, I don't think things would be the way it is right now. And I don't think I would have even got the opportunity that I'd be getting right now. And that's all life is about, opportunity. And Taking that, taking that risk of that opportunity and actually acting on the opportunity.

Yeah.

So yeah.

So what would you say to someone who's on the fence about investing in content, on the fence about investing in themselves as a business? What would you say to those people?

Yeah, it honestly, it starts off within yourself where you can invest thousands and not even money speaking, you can invest your time and your effort and your advice and your service. You can invest so much into other people, but it starts when you start investing into yourself.

Yeah.

And best of advice is just to start with you as a person and find yourself what you want to do. And get a piece of paper, get a pen, write it down, get it there just so you can wake up and see it every day. Because With this generation and the people and the distractions all around you and social media, you get lost in the source. You get lost. And it's true, it's honestly true. As cliché as it sounds, you get lost and you don't know where you are. Write it down. Just write it down and you— it will kind of keep you in the back of your mind. It'll reiterate what you, you want to achieve.

Yeah. What would you Tell someone, a barber or just someone who owns their own business, who's stuck and not seeing any growth, what would you say to them?

Take that risk and you'll see what happens. And honestly, it's to the point where it will challenge you mentally and physically, and you'd rather do it now than later. Take that opportunity now Why start tomorrow? There is no tomorrow. Like, there is no tomorrow.

The biggest risk is not taking the risk.

100%. No regrets. And have no regrets. Do it. Because if you fail and it beats you down, beats you down, it's not how many times you fall, it's how many times you get up. As cliché as it is, you can, you can say it, as cheesy it is, and how much you want to say, it's how many times you put in that effort and how many times You've actually received that growth in the back. And best piece of advice that someone that's stuck is no regrets, just do it and take that risk.

I love it, man.

No, thank you, man.

Thank you, thank you for sitting down with me.

No, my pleasure. Thank you.

This is not the end with Ethan. Like, we've still got so much, we've got so much to go. So I'll leave you with this. What's your, what's your goal for next year? What's your vision? What do you want to achieve with your content? And what do you want to achieve as a business?

To achieve, and my goals for the next year is to become the best person of myself. Yeah, to honestly, to help people, help myself, and to know my purpose in life and To, to grow, just to keep on growing and just to not stop. And finding that discipline in yourself, whether it's in the service I provided, whether it's the conversation that I provide, whether it's even in the gym, whether it's my fitness or my headspace and my mental thoughts, to just find an equal balance. And that's probably the next thing I want to find and go into, into the next year of balance. And that's what life's simply about, is just that, that balance within yourself and that balance within others, and knowing when the time is right to act on it, and to, to know when the right place and the right time is.

Yeah, yeah. And I think it's so important to share that with everyone.

100%.

Like, there's going to be barbers and there's going to be business businessmen, businesswomen that are just stuck and they don't know that work-life balance and they can't afford to have a work-life balance. So I think that's one of the beautiful things that content can afford you. And it's also, it's like, you'd be silly not to take that risk 'cause the upside is incredible. Like you've seen it with Ethan, like 13-year-old barber, now an M.I.D. ambassador, now getting recognized out in the valley.

Like this guy, this guy's a little celebrity over here. Nah, it's all props to you, honestly. Like, for, for people out there, it's working with Jai and Popcorn Productions and what he's built from himself is, is truly remarkable. And to be there and have the opportunity to see him start from young and to being almost a part of his first ever video is honestly a big honor. And I can see the growth within yourself.

Yeah.

And I can just see the drive and the passion that you've got for the industry and how much you're willing to work with the person and invest yourself as a person and a brand into the person that you're working with. Where 2 people like that can almost— they can, they can take over a country. So yeah.

I've loved, loved working with you. Nah, I really appreciate your time. And like, this is not the end with Ethan. Like, you've got a long way to go, but I'm excited.

You'll be seeing a lot more from us.

Yeah.

And yeah, it won't It won't stop.

Yeah, excited to see what lies ahead, mate.

I know.

Thank you again, bro.

Thank you, bro.

Thank you.

And cut.