Barber of 20+ years, author, speaker and educator, Mark Maciver (AKA @SliderCuts) has just been announced as an official Fresha Brand Ambassador. Already a trailblazer in the industry, Mark has used Fresha’s state of the art and user-friendly platform to enhance his business and find even greater success in the industry.
As someone who has built his own authentic brand and become a role model and leader in the barbering industry, Mark told us that he isn’t likely to partner or represent just any brand. He said: “I understand the influence that I have in the barber community so want to ensure that the brands I work with are genuine, authentic, and bring real value to barbers lives and businesses. For me, Fresha’s software passed that test. It has incredibly high standards and is a brand I’m happy to put my name behind, and to recommend to my community.”
For Mark, the barbershop should be a pillar of its community, and he works to ensure that his shop helps his local community thrive and grow. One of the ways he does this is through a youth mentorship scheme. He explained: “We have a handful of local boys who come in every Saturday. We mentor them, pay them for their work, and offer helpful life skills, like teaching them how to do stock counts and counting the till. Giving them responsibility and accountability encourages a higher confidence, helps them think independently, and apply these skills to other aspects of life. We also teach them to cut hair and are here for any other help they need.”
Mark told us that one of the boys he mentors is currently going through his GCSEs, and was struggling in one subject in particular. So, Mark paid for a tutor to help support his mentee to get through this subject. He said: “Paying for the tutor for a few months might cost £700, but if that better grade can help his life forever, then of course it’s worth it. I want to show him that you don’t give up on something just because it’s difficult.”
Mark believes that more barbershops should be engaging with their communities, giving back, and offering support. He said: “I can’t think of any other sector that has people from all walks of life working harmoniously. In the barbering world, there’s no cloth divide. One day, you could cut the hair of a heavyweight boxing champion, the next a judge, then a lawyer, an accountant, a tradesman, a troubled young kid… You name it! Why not use that diversity to uplift each other?”
So, what stood out to Mark about Fresha, and how does it differ from other platforms? He said: “I went to their office in London and liked that they had strong engineering and customer service teams in one place. It gave me that reassurance that if anything goes wrong, there is a team locally based, right there, ready to help you. Better than being outsourced to a call centre where you can wait hours to speak to someone.”
We asked Mark how he believes this partnership will lead to elevating the Fresha brand. He told us: “Meeting with Fresha’s owner showed me that my thoughts and input will be listened to and considered. He explained how much thought, consideration and testing goes into every feature and element of the Fresha platform, and how much they value the feedback from industry professionals. For me, a software platform like Fresha should be all about making life easier and taking work off barbers’ hands to make their work life easier and more efficient.”
For Mark, the key to success and growth is being open to new opportunities that spark your creativity. We asked Mark – how can Fresha help unlock potential and allow barbers to take advantage of new opportunities? He said: “Not only does Fresha allow you to better organise your time – which is key to allow you explore new ventures, opportunities and creative ideas – but it also offers so many business resources for free to its users. This can be so inspiring and valuable when it comes to taking the next steps as a barber or business owner. Fresha is so much more than just a software.”