Steve Tallis, Co-Founder, Discusses How Starks Came To Be
How did Starks Barber Company come to be?
I partnered up with a childhood friend. We were both kind of sick and tired of our jobs, and felt like we were small fish in a big pond. We were kind of overworked and underpaid, but we had some good transferable skills. I come from a long lineage of small business owners and service based types of businesses, and my dad owned a carwash growing up. I had been around it my whole life. I really thought it was time to take the plunge. Partnering up with somebody gave me a little bit of extra confidence. We felt like there was an opportunity in our community to do a modern take on the traditional barber shop. I think barber shops were getting a little bit dated, they were kind of old school. The men’s market was a little bit underserved, so we started refining the idea over time. We felt like we really had it, so we went all in with franchising, and the rest is history.
What is the customer experience at Starks Barber Company?
For us, the part of a traditional haircut we didn’t like was the experience. So, how can we elevate the experience? It starts with something as simple as a friendly greeting. That’s really important. Then educating the customer on what we offer. We felt like the waiting areas could be more thoughtful, so we built these really cool lounges. Offering free Wi-Fi, coffee, and water before the service is really impactful. We started seeing customers show up early for their appointments, answering a few emails, and just getting ready to relax, and their shoulders kind of drop. We take them through a hair wash, which is very important to us to cut clean hair. It’s all a very relaxing way to deliver the service for the customer.
Oftentimes, a haircut breaks down not due to skill, but the fact that the barber and the client aren’t on the same page. So that was a huge element that we brought to the business. We finish each famous Starks treatment with a recline in the barber chair. There’s a steam towel, relaxing scalp, neck, and shoulder massage. We only use Starks’ proprietary products, made in Toronto, and they smell great. We tell this story to the customers, and when the customers finish the service, we can ask them the loyalty question, do you want to buy a membership? People are generally loyal to their barbers for a long time, so the membership model works great. But that first impression is huge at Starks, and we focus intently on it.
What is your membership model at Starks Barber Company?
Membership is big for us, because it is unique in our industry. We see a lot of different industries using loyalty programs, and they’re really important these days. What we noticed in our industry is that it can be tough for some to execute loyalty programs. Your neighborhood barber shop, or one of these brands in the mall, really needs to capitalize on peak times. We service the high end of the market and we take appointments. Our customers are spread out throughout the week. People can book appointments online and book with the same person. So when they get used to the business, it just makes sense for them to buy in for the year. Being an upscale brand, it’s not like this punch card kind of service. It’s more of a member community with little perks. When we started the business, we took an objective look at things and said, loyalty is what’s missing here. It’s a highly loyalty driven business in the first place. Men are actually quite loyal to their barbers for a very long time, so why not reward that. So that’s the key, and the essence behind our membership program is rewarding our customers for their loyalty.
What is Starks Barber Company’s ideal franchise owner?
We’re looking for somebody excited and passionate about being an entrepreneur. So it starts with someone who can harness anything into success. We have two franchise owner partners who weren’t barbers and had no experience running a barber shop, but now currently have the largest barber chain in the province. Our success comes from the desire and passion to be entrepreneurs, so that’s where it starts.
People who enjoy being around people, are inspired by working with people, and want to inspire people are our ideal franchise owner. They like the culture of the business. Those are really the key elements. Beyond that, we want people who want to work hard. That’s important to us. I think work ethic goes hand in hand with success, anywhere in life. We want a baseline of knowledge on certain things, but we do a ton of training as well.
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