Today we’d like to introduce you to Khylan Louiny.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
To begin with, I’d like to thank God for the many blessings that He has been giving to me and I’d also like to thank VoyageMIA for this opportunity. My name is Khylan Louiny. I was born in Miami, but I was raised in Broward for the majority of my life. I am Haitian – American and I am 19 years old. I have decided to take on the challenge of becoming a successful barber.
Before I made this decision, I was working at a warehouse that consisted of beauty products. I was in charge of restocking, shipping, and making sure the warehouse was in order. Sometimes, we would travel to different states or cities to attend Beauty shows where we would showcase our products, sell them, and make connections with other businesses.
When I attended these shows, I would always catch myself straying away from my job to watch the barbers showcasing their clippers I always was interested in the concept of cutting hair, but I feared the amount of pay and the risks that I would have to take. One time, a barber at the Beauty Show asked me if I wanted a haircut, and I asked if it was for free, and he chuckled and said of course it is. So I sat in his chair and started asking him questions about what he does and how successful is his business.
He told me that he owns one shop and is making six figures just off of that one shop. I asked him how long has he been cutting and he told me he has been cutting for about 20 years and he started as a young teen. That kind of discouraged me because starting at 19 sounds pretty late compared to most barbers. I asked him if it was too late for me to start and he said it’s never too late.
So I told him that I was going to try it out and let him know on Instagram and that’s exactly what I did. Before I did my first haircut, I was watching haircut videos every single day so I fully understood the process. My first haircut was on my cousin. I gave him a taper fade. and it wasn’t bad at all for a first-time cut.
After that, I gave my other cousin a drop fade and that one also didn’t turn out bad at all. As I continued to practice with people I know, I was able to perfect my craft. I started my Instagram page (@kutzbykhy) so I can start to post my haircuts; at the time I was giving out free haircuts. I started gaining traction on my page and people started to trust me more with their hair.
As all these things were happening, my close friend’s mother had a friend that owns a salon and has no barber there at all. So we go to visit the salon and the owner likes my work and agrees to allow me to cut in her salon. This was a huge step for my business because it allows me to gain new clientele and gain more experience in a professional setting.
Now I am currently cutting at Futuristic Beauty in North Miami on West Dixie Highway (12746 West Dixie Highway North Miami, Fl 33161). The name of my barber business is KutzByKhy. I chose this name because I wanted to be unique and I also wanted the name to be easy to remember.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I definitely would say that so far, it has been a pretty smooth road. I became good at cutting hair within 2 weeks of practice. Normally that doesn’t happen so quickly. My clientele was growing pretty fast and more and more people were starting to trust me. My videos on Instagram were getting thousands of views and this is helping grow my account and business. I now am cutting at a salon and am still gaining more clientele.
None of these things could have been done without God by my side. Only He is in control of my life and I know that the plan He has for me is amazing. I trust Him. The only struggle that I deal with now is that my clientele is growing at too fast of a rate, but I do understand that all businesses start at a. slow rate; patience plays a big role in the beginning stages of a business.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
I currently am located in North Miami on West Dixie Highway. I am a barber at Futuristic Beauty. I am mainly known for my clean cuts and my crisp line-ups. My clients always leave the shop satisfied with their haircuts. What sets me apart from others is that I make a connection with my clients. I ask them how their day was and what they have planned, etc.
I also always ask how the client wants their hair to be cut and styled because I don’t want them leaving without the cut that they wanted. There have been many times in the past when I would leave the shop with a haircut that I didn’t ask for at all. So my main focus is to satisfy my customers and clients. I am very proud of the way that I market my business.
I try my best to post every day on social media and to stay active to show my clients that I am always available at the shop. I am in the shop 6 days a week, Monday through Saturday, from 9:30 am to 7 pm. At the moment, all haircuts are for $20! There is rarely any barber cutting at such a low price. This price won’t be staying forever, so come get cut ASAP!
What would you say has been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
An important lesson I’ve learned is to have the trait of humility; in other words, humbleness. As people succeed in certain things, as human beings we tend to feel like we are more important than the people around us. As I realized how fast my barbering business was beginning to grow, I would thank God for putting me in this position because I wouldn’t have been able to do any of this on my own.
Humility will take someone very far. It will allow us to be able to serve and help others as the Bible tells us to. Another lesson I learned is that managing your money is important, especially in the barber industry. Watching YouTube videos is the best way for me, personally, to learn certain things. Everyone should take time to learn these important factors that will help them succeed.
Pricing:
- Haircut – $20; Kid’s -$15
- Line-Up – $10
- Beard – $5 OR $10
- Eyebrows – $5
- HOUSE CALLS START AT $75! (price may vary)
Contact Info:
- Website: https://booksy.com/en-us/819518_kutzbykhy_barber-shop_15889_miami#ba_s=sh_1
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kutzbykhy/
