Interview wi Josh Lamonaca

Josh stairtit oot as a barber at an early age. Whit drew him tae the trade? “I got intae cuttin hair acause I wis inspired by fitbawers an thair haircuts an thair style in general. As a 15-year-auld, I dreamt o becomin a professional fitbawer. Sae it wis throu fitbaw that I got interestit in design, haircuts, etcetera,” says Josh.

MENSPIRE got aff tae a fleein stairt fae day ane. A crucial moment for the company cam no lang efter it wis foondit. Josh an his business pairtner Samuel Palmer gey quick ootgrew thair first location an haed tae decide whether tae tak on the risk o the extra owerheids o a bigger shop, or tae slaw thair growthe. They chose the first, an it turnt oot verra weel. Josh: “We haed a shop unit that, truth be telt, pruived ower wee gey suin. Athin aboot 18 month we wir growin that fast that we haed tae decide whether tae gang big or bide wee. We chose big an flittit tae a new unit. That dooblt the size, trebled the rent an quadrupled the possibilities. We teuk that risk an it haes peyed aff.”

Internaitional expansion follaed suin efter. “In 2018 we opent oor seicont shop in Dublin. Nummer 3 follaed in 2019. The nummer o shops gaed up tae 8 or 9 that same year. By 2020 thare wis 15, an we hae kept on expandin steady ever since. The day we hae 31 shops, includin 6 in Amsterdam, an likely anither 4 will be jynin suin in ither kintras,” Josh explains.

MENSPIRE is nou celebratin its tenth anniversary. Josh leuks back on the first decade: “It haes been an unco journey. Whit maks it richt special is that we keep raisin the bar. The development o MENSPIRE haes niver been ae muckle explosion. We juist keep gaun, stap by stap. On the wey tae new heichts,” says Josh.

Whit wir the heichs an laichs? Josh: “Ane heich pynt wis that we managed tae wark oot hou tae gang aboot operatin as a franchisor, that oor franchisees are content wi the blueprint we made an are makkin a success o it. Openin new shops wi ither folk an seein that they are successfu is fantastic. It wis a lang road, but we managed tae find oor wey tae the pynt whaur we unnerstuid whit we haed tae dae tae mak this project wark. Sae ane o oor greatest successes wis warkin oot hou tae scale up this parteecular business.”

An the laich pynt? Josh says thare wir several obstacles alang the wey: “Samuel an I wir baith experts in hair, but no in business. That means we hae haed tae lairn awthing aboot the business side o rinnin yer ain company as we gaed alang. At the stairt, for ensample, we wir caucht clean aff gaird by the fact that we haedna pit by eneuch reserves, acause we didna ken hou muckle tax we wad hae tae pey at the end o the year. That got us intae financial trouble, even tho the hale warld kent the MENSPIRE brand. It wis haurd for us tae realise that, while MENSPIRE wis sic a weel-kent brand, oor company wisna in great shape as a business. We lairnt fae that experience, pit oor company finances in order an cam oot o it stranger.”

Ye wad think that MENSPIRE’s success is maistly doun tae clever marketin. That isna the case. Josh says that for its first aicht year MENSPIRE didna focus on marketin as a wey tae grow. “We anely stairtit tae see marketin as a priority aboot three year syne. As the owner o ane or twa shops, yer real marketin naiturally comes fae yer customers, fae wird o mooth. That is hou ye big yer business an mak it grow till ye win tae a pynt whaur ye hae several businesses. Anely than dae ye need tae big yer brand identity raither nor yer business. Whan ye are biggin a franchise netwark, yer marketin focuses on yer brand identity an the benefits o bein pairt o the MENSPIRE organisation as a franchisee or pairtner.”

Josh says the relationship wi the MENSPIRE franchisee in the Netherlands is a braw ensample o a business relationship that is guid for baith sides, whaur a local entrepreneur can big a successfu enterprise athin thair franchise netwark: “Oor Dutch franchisee Najib Mea is a phenomenal addition tae oor management team. He haes achieved faur mair nor ony entrepreneur in the history o barberin. He haes been able tae tak on 6 shop projects in Amsterdam, an lat’s be honest, that isna cheap an it cairies a lot o risk. Nou, 3 year on, it is awready stairtin tae bear fruit. Efter warkin wi Samuel Palmer, Najib haes muived fae barber intae a mentor role, haes become an integral pairt o the management team an is takkin the lead in the Netherlands an ayont. Wi MENSPIRE Academy Netherlands stairtin suin, the wey is bein cleared tae pit the Netherlands back on the map an tae follae the successfu path that Schorem aince laid oot in the Netherlands. Nou it is time tae keep pushin the boonds an tae raise the bar heicher yet wi education an oor vision.”

Josh disna believe that tradeetional marketin is the best wey forrit for maist barbershops. He says: “Gin ye hae but the ae shop, ye need tae focus on yer product. Ye dinna need tae uise online marketin tae big a guid reputation. Ye dinna need tae spend siller on marketin unless ye hae several shops. Sae at the end o the day marketin is important, but at the same time it isna.”

Whit is Josh’s advice tae barbers that want tae big thair business? “I wad get oot on the street. I’m auld-schuil an I believe in speakin tae folk face tae face. We biggit oor clientele by deliverin a great product – a fantastic haircut that naebody else in the area wis offerin. That is the secret o success. Gie somebody excellent service an a braw haircut an they will come back.”

Whit dae the neist ten year haud in store? Josh says they plan tae bide on coorse an lat the business grow bit by bit. “We are on the richt road an want tae cairy on that wey. Oor aim is tae expand intae new kintras, new regions – that is tae say, tae keep daein whit we are awready daein.”

Josh wants tae cairy on daein whit he likes an tae explore new creative challenges. “I want tae achieve a lot in the neist ten year. Makkin ‘stap-by-stap’ beuks an videos, an pittin on big shows. Aw the things I richt love. I will focus on mentorin an coachin oor staff an makkin shuir that oor staundarts bide at the optimum level. I see a much freer role for masel in cairyin oor brand forrit, steerin up interest in oor trade an drawin folk tae it, a trade that offers sae mony opportunities.”