00:00 [MUSIC]
00:06 If you want to run a great business,
00:08 then you need to learn from the greats,
00:10 and they're all around you.
00:12 They are the mom and pop shops in every town.
00:15 The barber shops, the coffee shops,
00:18 the bookstores, and the diners.
00:20 These aren't just small businesses,
00:21 these are master classes in community building,
00:24 in customer service, in innovative marketing.
00:27 My name is Jason Pfeiffer.
00:28 I'm the editor-in-chief of Entrepreneur Magazine.
00:30 And with Walmart Business, we are meeting these entrepreneurs
00:33 to learn what it takes to build meaningful businesses that last.
00:37 So join me as we travel the country,
00:39 learning from America's favorite mom and pop shops.
00:42 [MUSIC]
00:52 [MUSIC]
00:58 Welcome to New Haven, Connecticut,
01:00 home of prestigious universities,
01:02 world-famous pizza, and the rocking world of skull and combs.
01:07 Yeah, this is a barber shop, but it's so much more.
01:10 Founder Jason Bunt started with $2,000 in his pocket,
01:13 and no idea how to start a business.
01:16 But through grit and determination,
01:17 he built not just two thriving locations,
01:20 but an incredible community.
01:22 I want to learn how he did it, and also, you know what?
01:25 I could use a trim.
01:26 Let's go inside.
01:27 [MUSIC]
01:31 My name is Jason Bunce.
01:33 I'm the owner of Skull and Combs Company in New Haven and
01:36 Norwalk, Connecticut.
01:37 I wanted to really create something, and everywhere that I
01:40 worked and everybody that I worked for, it felt so
01:43 difficult to create the best version of myself within their
01:46 company.
01:47 And I quickly realized that I had to create this brand for
01:49 myself because no one else could capture the same things that I
01:52 had in mind for myself.
01:53 So doing it for myself was natural.
01:55 It had to be.
01:57 Jason, tell me about Skull and Combs.
01:59 Wow, where do we begin?
02:01 Skull and Combs is friends made, hair slayed.
02:05 And as corny as it might sound, it's true.
02:09 It's what we are.
02:09 We're a salon and barber shop that leads with our hearts.
02:14 I built this place to kind of accommodate the average person,
02:18 the person who just likes to get away at the barbershop and
02:21 experience the salon, but then also piggyback that with really
02:24 great hair.
02:25 And it was a recipe for success.
02:27 It's the magic that makes Skull and Combs.
02:29 I know starting this business was not easy.
02:32 Tell me how you got here.
02:33 Wow, I was about 35 years old.
02:36 I just kind of hit the proverbial dead end and was like,
02:39 I needed to change something.
02:41 Life was just kind of like not doing it for me at that point.
02:45 And 35 is like- I know.
02:47 You feel like if you don't make a decision now,
02:49 you could be 50 and in the same spot.
02:51 It was do or die time.
02:52 And I always like to say this phrase,
02:54 but it's never been so true.
02:56 Discontent was the seed of change for me.
02:59 I was just so frustrated with myself that I had to make a big
03:02 change.
03:03 And it started with a reflection.
03:06 I just kind of like, you know,
03:07 reverse engineered my life into accepting who I was and it led
03:11 me to an artistic path.
03:13 And you know, here we are 10 years later, two salons,
03:15 and you know, it changed my life entirely.
03:18 Jason, I feel like you have so much to teach entrepreneurs,
03:21 but before we help them, I want us to help me.
03:25 I can use, I can use a little something here, right?
03:27 Yeah, you can.
03:28 What did you have in mind?
03:29 Just, you know, just a little bringing it in.
03:31 I just like it to be kind of clean.
03:33 I feel a little frizzy here.
03:34 Corporate cash, maybe?
03:35 Corporate cash sounds just good.
03:37 Easy peasy.
03:43 Do you prefer when customers are chatty or when they're just
03:46 quiet?
03:47 It depends.
03:48 We all are, you know, we all are in our moods.
03:50 We get more chatty sometimes than others.
03:53 And some people bring it out of us and some people in the chair
03:56 are more chatty than others,
03:57 but it's kind of a situational basis, right?
03:59 Time management is important when you're running an
04:01 appointment based business, you know?
04:03 (upbeat music)
04:06 All right, man, I'm feeling fresh.
04:14 I'm feeling ready for this next part.
04:16 I appreciate what you did.
04:17 You got it.
04:18 So I know that building this business was not easy for you
04:23 and it required you convincing a lot of other people to
04:26 join you, even though you didn't have the money,
04:29 even though you didn't exactly know how to build this.
04:34 How did you convince people?
04:36 How did you draw people into your vision?
04:38 - I figured at first it was important to not rest the entire
04:43 brand on like my name,
04:45 which is what kind of like guided me to creating a brand
04:48 like Skull & Combs.
04:49 I kind of wanted to be like the man behind the curtain,
04:51 you know, like Oz.
04:52 I didn't want to really be like hair by Jason or Jason's
04:55 barbershop.
04:56 And I think that put too much pressure on me.
04:58 - And it made it seem like it's all about you.
04:59 You wanted to create something that people could feel part
05:01 of.
05:02 - Yes.
05:03 I created something where it allowed other artists with
05:04 their own identities to come in and kind of like be part of
05:07 this family and all kind of collectively be the brand rather
05:11 than be the one person who had all the weight on their
05:14 shoulders.
05:15 - Let's talk about all the stuff in here.
05:17 Running a place like this requires getting a lot of
05:21 products and making sure that you're well supplied.
05:24 How did you figure out how to get that supply system
05:27 working?
05:28 - So in the very beginning,
05:29 it was just kind of like the limited exposure that I had in
05:32 the hair industry kind of led me to pick certain brands
05:35 and products to kind of establish, you know,
05:38 the salon with.
05:39 And then along the way you, you play with certain stuff and,
05:42 you know, I don't like this, I don't love that.
05:44 And you go to the beauty store independently and you pick
05:47 up some new stuff to sample with.
05:48 And then also there's sale forces that come in from these
05:51 wholesalers that will like, you know,
05:52 give you samples and, you know, kind of dangle the carrot.
05:55 Hey, if you come with us, if you, you know,
05:57 we'll give you a rebate and this and that.
05:59 So there's really, you know, it's part of the business.
06:01 It's part of just growing is learning, you know,
06:03 what works for you.
06:04 - Growth isn't easy and you're working off of limited
06:08 budgets.
06:09 And I know you had an opportunity to buy the building that
06:13 we're in right now, but it meant sleeping back there.
06:17 Tell me about that.
06:18 - When I first signed the lease,
06:19 I got very friendly and familiar with the,
06:21 with the landlord and he and his wife had owned the property
06:23 since the eighties, just in a casual conversation,
06:25 I mentioned to him, hey,
06:26 if you were ever interested in selling the property,
06:29 I would really appreciate first right of refusal.
06:33 - But you didn't have the money to buy it.
06:34 - No, not at that, especially not at that time.
06:36 And then about 18 months after we opened,
06:39 he gave me a phone call and I hadn't had my first two years
06:42 in business yet.
06:43 So financially it was a little hard for me to get approved
06:46 for a traditional mortgage,
06:47 especially for a commercial property.
06:50 And I ran out of options.
06:52 And the last option my mortgage broker and I discussed was,
06:54 Hey, let's sit down with this guy and see if he'll hold a
06:56 private mortgage for you for a year and let you get that
06:59 second year of tax returns.
07:00 And we brought him in for a meeting.
07:03 He agreed to meet and within literally five minutes of
07:05 having the conversation, he agreed to it.
07:07 We had an interest rate established and I was elated.
07:11 I was over the moon with joy.
07:13 And then just like, I couldn't believe that he said yes.
07:16 Now I own the building and I'm able to just expand and,
07:18 you know, do anything we want with creative Liberty.
07:21 - If instead of me sitting here,
07:25 having a conversation with you,
07:26 it was Jason Bunce sitting here,
07:30 age 35, trying to figure out what to do,
07:34 knowing what you know now, what's the advice?
07:36 - Always follow your heart, lead with your passion,
07:39 pump the brakes a little bit,
07:41 maybe make some better calculated decisions.
07:43 Don't be so impulsive.
07:45 When you just have grown so frustrated with yourself as a
07:49 man, as a person,
07:51 and you just want to see that change happen so badly,
07:54 you're just willing to do whatever it takes.
07:56 It might be cliche,
07:57 but when people think you can't do it and that you won't do
08:00 it, it's like even more satisfying to like,
08:02 push through those,
08:04 those mental hurdles and just get to that place of like,
08:07 I made it, you know, and then I didn't do it for you.
08:10 I did it for me and just stay true to yourself and stay
08:14 committed to the goal and it will pay you back and reward
08:16 you.
08:17 - Jason, all that is so inspiring.
08:19 You have supported so many people and this community and
08:23 they have supported you.
08:25 So before we wrap up,
08:27 Walmart business has a little surprise for you.
08:29 They are setting you up with a six month Walmart business
08:32 plus membership.
08:33 So that is free shipping and limited time offers on products
08:37 for business owners and 2% cashback on purchases over $250.
08:42 And you are getting a thousand dollars to spend on whatever
08:46 you need at business.walmart.com.
08:48 - That's awesome.
08:49 I really appreciate that.
08:50 That's really great.
08:51 Thank you very much.
08:52 I really do appreciate the time we spent together.
08:54 - Hey, well, thank you.
08:55 You did such a great job here and I appreciate you sharing
08:59 the hard stuff too,
09:00 because that's what entrepreneurs need to hear.
09:02 - Yeah, no for sure.
09:03 - And when they see this place, they can't just see success.
09:05 They got to see challenges and growth because that's the
09:08 real story of Skull and Combs.
09:09 - Yeah, it sure is.
09:10 (upbeat music)
09:13 - The way I see it, it's great to have a vision,
09:22 but a vision by itself only gets you so far.
09:25 But when you share that vision,
09:28 when you align your vision with other people's visions,
09:31 that's when an idea turns into a lasting business.
09:35 And that's how mom and pop go together like Skull and Combs.
09:39 (upbeat music)
09:42 (upbeat music)
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