Benny cutting his own path to success in Christchurch

Tuesday, 17 October 2017

A failed self-haircut and a mate's clipped ear was the unlikely start to a now-successful Christchurch business.

Within three years, Ben Scott turned his passion for barbering into Benny's Barber Shop – a business, clothing range and, soon, a warehouse-style space to cater to his growing base of clients.

'I stuffed up my own haircut and went into this guy's shop in Sydenham to get it fixed up, and I guess he saw that I had some sort of potential,' Scott, 24, said from his caravan salon, parked in his parent's front yard in Burnside.

Scott, 24, now employs eight barbers and a full-time graphic designer. A new warehouse-style space is in the works, expected to open in March 2018. It will have eight barbers' chairs, a basketball half court, retail space and a coffee bar.

'I did a trial haircut on one of my flatmates, and I ended up giving him a wee snip on the ear with the scissors because I was too nervous, and the guy joked and asked if I wanted to come back and cut his clients' hair, and it went from there.'

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That fateful day, together with a rugby injury, led to Scott ditching a building apprenticeship and heading off to barber school in Auckland.

'Once I came back I didn't really want to work for someone, I wanted to work for myself,' he said.

Scott bought a caravan from a builder friend, 'ripped it all to pieces and rebuilt it all from scratch', and hit the road.

'I had all my friends who were coming for haircuts already and offered those guys a free haircut if they would bring me a new client.'

His client base grew quickly and rugby connections led to him trimming some of New Zealand's best-known heads of hair before big matches.

'They are all mates, so when the Chiefs were in town I teed it up with them to go out to their hotel and do some haircuts for them,' Scott said.

The Blues were next and the Hurricanes came through the caravan soon after. Efforts to make Beauden Barrett more aerodynamic got him on the All Blacks' radar for their trips to the Garden City.

'It took quite a few free haircuts to get to that stage, but once you've got the contacts there, it's quite easy to keep in touch with them.'

A highlight for Scott was cutting hair for the British and Irish Lions during their New Zealand tour, including loosehead prop Joe Marler.

'He wanted to get skin all the way up and get a full mohawk going on, so that was a little different,' Scott said.

Scott now employs nine staff, including a full-time graphic designer, as he diversifies the company's offerings.

'We launched a clothing line on Thursday, which is pretty exciting. Everything is available online,' he said.

Scott was approached by Hallensteins in August to open a small barber shop in its new Cashel St store. The space launched days later and proved successful with more office workers in the city and other retailers opening at a rapid pace, Scott said.

Plans are in place to launch a warehouse-style space for Benny's Barber Shop in Sydenham by March 2018.

'That will have seven chairs cutting full time, a full retail space, coffee bar and a basketball half court in a 300-square metre warehouse, which I think will be a game changer.'