How It All Began Began
The Flood
Everette Blaisdell had a sinking feeling, literally. It was the month of April, 1997, and he had just seen the downtown area of Grand Forks, ND, inundated with flood waters and fire. This flood eventually caused the evacuation of over 90 percent of the city of 51,000 residents.
The Aftermath
He knew his one-man barber shop was affected and city officials were saying it could be months before downtown businesses could reopen in their former locations. As it turned out, Everette was never able to return to his shop located in the City Center Mall. He knew he had to look elsewhere to reestablish his business.
Haircuts & Used Cars
Everette, along with hundreds of displaced business owners, were faced with the task of finding temporary locations in an area where usable retail space was leasing at premium prices. A local car dealer offered Everette a tiny space in his dealership building. The only catch was the “space” was the little used women’s bathroom.
Everette accepted the offer and was soon plying his trade out of a small, confined space. His regular customers slowly returned and he soon came to realize the small space had no affect on his ability to cut hair and provide a quality level of service.
The Idea Is Born
He began to wonder how he could transform a small space into an attractive barber shop for placement in a high traffic location and soon came up with the Barber Stop concept. After writing a business plan and securing financing, he arranged for a local manufacturer to build the first Barber Stop barbershop. A local retailer agreed to lease space to him and in July of 2005 he was up and running in Blaisdell’s Barber Stop
Everybody Wins
Everette now generates 2 to 3 times more in revenue each month than he did when housed in a traditional leased space. His monthly overhead is a very small fraction of what it had been prior to the flood and everyone knows the barber inside the barber pole. He's practically a local celebrity. And just as important, his retail host is extremely pleased with the increased store traffic and availability of a new service for its customers.
Everette Blaisdell had a sinking feeling, literally. It was the month of April, 1997, and he had just seen the downtown area of Grand Forks, ND, inundated with flood waters and fire. This flood eventually caused the evacuation of over 90 percent of the city of 51,000 residents.
The Aftermath
He knew his one-man barber shop was affected and city officials were saying it could be months before downtown businesses could reopen in their former locations. As it turned out, Everette was never able to return to his shop located in the City Center Mall. He knew he had to look elsewhere to reestablish his business.
Haircuts & Used Cars
Everette, along with hundreds of displaced business owners, were faced with the task of finding temporary locations in an area where usable retail space was leasing at premium prices. A local car dealer offered Everette a tiny space in his dealership building. The only catch was the “space” was the little used women’s bathroom.
Everette accepted the offer and was soon plying his trade out of a small, confined space. His regular customers slowly returned and he soon came to realize the small space had no affect on his ability to cut hair and provide a quality level of service.
The Idea Is Born
He began to wonder how he could transform a small space into an attractive barber shop for placement in a high traffic location and soon came up with the Barber Stop concept. After writing a business plan and securing financing, he arranged for a local manufacturer to build the first Barber Stop barbershop. A local retailer agreed to lease space to him and in July of 2005 he was up and running in Blaisdell’s Barber Stop
Everybody Wins
Everette now generates 2 to 3 times more in revenue each month than he did when housed in a traditional leased space. His monthly overhead is a very small fraction of what it had been prior to the flood and everyone knows the barber inside the barber pole. He's practically a local celebrity. And just as important, his retail host is extremely pleased with the increased store traffic and availability of a new service for its customers.
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Joe Sexton, President, Barber Stop
833 Sand Lake Rd, Onalaska, WI 54650 Call/Text: (608) 397-0155 Email: [email protected] |
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