A day in the life of a barber

The locals call him kinyoozi  (the barber). He calls himself, Kizito the hair stylist. At 31 years of age, Allan Kizito has already curved out his niche in Namugongo, Wakiso, as one of the most stylish barbers. But his interest in cutting hair and styling men started in his teenage years as a shy faced youngster in High School.

“My best friend’s brother was a barber so in holidays we could go there and chill in his salon. That is where my interest in becoming a barber came from,” he says.

So after his senior six, he enrolled in a beauty school where he was taught the art of hair styling. Kizito says he specialized in cutting hair because that is where his passion lay.

“I liked the art that goes with cutting hair and I put my passion into it,” he says.

Today he is a proud owner of Kizito Barbers, a medium sized salon that caters mainly to men’s hair needs.

He says he started the salon five years ago with a capital of Shs 1 million which he borrowed from an uncle.

Here is how he describes his typical day.

“I wake up at 7.00 am every morning, take a shower eat breakfast and head to my salon,” he says.

The father of two kids says he does not stay with them after he developed a misunderstanding with their mother.

“I open my salon at 8.00 am or 8.30 depending on how my night went,” he says.

He says his busiest days are Friday, Saturday and Sunday when many people flock to his salon.

“On these days, I hardly find time to eat lunch because I am so busy. I only have one other helper but sometimes we get swarmed,” he says.

A haircut cost at Kizito’s salon costs Shs 5,000. If one wants extra services like a head massage, they add an extra Shs 2,000.

On a good day, he says he works on 50 people but there are days, especially weekdays, when he works on only five people.

He closes shop at 9.00 PM and depending on the day of the week, he heads home or to a local club to have some fun.

From the salon business, he has bought a motorcycle and a small piece of land. He intends to begin constructing his house soon.

Challenges

The biggest challenge, he says, is the mushrooming competition which keeps him on the edge.

“We have to compete for customers but the good thing for me is that people know me and my work. So I have many loyal customers,” he says.

Another challenge is the ever increasing operational costs like rent and electricity which eat into his profitability.

“The cost of electricity has been going up and yet sometimes we just can’t increase our prices because customers will run away,” he says.

Advice

Kizito advises the youth to get out of their comfort zones, find something to do and not wait for government support.

“Government can only support you if you already have what you are doing so the young people out there should know this,” he says.

He confesses that he has been a beneficiary of the government youth fund which has helped him to buy the necessary inputs and to rejig his salon.

Kizito also advises young people to have focus in their lives and not be swayed by everything.

“If you decide to focus on one task, do it well and the money will come. But today’s youth focus on so many things at the same time that is why some fail,” he says.