Turn Up The Hustle EP 16 - Cherry the Barber

In this episode of the Turn up the Hustle podcast, entrepreneur Cherry the Barber shares her powerful journey from serving a six year prison sentence to building a prominent barbering brand. 

She opens up about a turbulent childhood marked by the loss of her father at 14 and being introduced to drugs by her mother, which ultimately led to her incarceration from ages 17 to 23. While in prison, she discovered a passion for barbering, and upon her release, she scaled her business to six figures within a single year by aggressively marketing herself on social media.

Beyond the barber chair, the conversation covers her transition into real estate wholesaling where she earned a $55,000 assignment fee but also faced a $40,000 lawsuit....and her eventual focus on founding the Five Star Barber & Beauty Expo!

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Transcript

Cherry's Early Life

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hustlers, on today's episode of Trump to Hustle Podcast, we have an entrepreneur who, at the young age of 14, was given drugs by her mom, which led to a six-year prison sentence, came out of prison, became one of the most prominent barbers in the United States, and now holds a huge expo by educating other barbers in this industry. In this episode, Sherry the Barber. Hustlers, welcome to the Trump to Hustle Podcast, where real estate investors, entrepreneurs, show their stories, strategies, and their mindset behind their hustle. I'm Michael Giannis, aka Mr. Hustle. To my right, Skylar Moon. Let's go. And today's special guest, Cherry the Barber.

SPEAKER_03 0:43

Let's go.

SPEAKER_00 0:44

Appreciate you being on the podcast.

SPEAKER_03 0:45

Thanks, bro. Thanks for having me.

SPEAKER_00 0:46

So this podcast is 75% real estate. But the other 25% is hustlers, entrepreneurs, business owners, who the individual is, what they're doing, how they got to where they're becoming, and where they're going. And I know when we had this podcast, like first thing first, we have to have my homie Cherry on the podcast. So again, kudos to you. But we before we start, my hustle is real estate wholesaling, flipping houses on my boy Schuyler, and subject to deals. What's Sherry's hustle?

SPEAKER_03 1:15

My hustle is barbering. I'm a barber here in San Antonio, Texas, and also an event coordinator.

SPEAKER_00 1:21

Event coordinator for your own event.

SPEAKER_03 1:23

Yep, five-star barber and beauty actually.

SPEAKER_00 1:25

Five star barber. And I definitely want to get into that because that has grown from day one or year one to where it's at now. And it's some crazy, crazy stuff. You haven't been there, have you? I haven't been to one yet. I've seen all the videos, the recast, watching the video. Wow, what the heck, dude? I've been there for the past few years consistently. Okay. But nonetheless, it's it's a really, really cool event. And of course, we did some stuff together on that. But for the viewers, for the hustlers watching this podcast, they don't know who Cherry is. Who is Cherry?

SPEAKER_03 1:50

So um, you know, I'm a barber here in San Antonio, Texas. Uh grew up born and raised here in San Antonio when I was growing up, uh became a teenager and at 17 went to prison for six years. So grew up in prison from 17 years old to 23 years old, got out, you know, three months before my 24th birthday. And or like two months before my 24th birthday, and then um, you know, came out of prison and needed to do something with my life.

SPEAKER_00 2:21

Let me stop you there. Cause I mean, you just did a big old bombshell in the first minute of this podcast. Yeah, yeah. You said six years in prison.

SPEAKER_02 2:28

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_00 2:29

I don't know how much you shared much about your prison story. Yeah, yeah. And I don't know how much you want to get into it because none of this is scripted.

SPEAKER_03 2:35

Yeah, yeah, no, I'm good.

SPEAKER_00 2:37

What were you doing at 17 that got yourself six years in prison?

SPEAKER_03 2:41

Okay, so um, you know, it doesn't start like one day you just do something. I mean, that does that definitely does happen, right? Like people have singular situations where they just like kill somebody out of nowhere or whatever. But for me, um, the biggest thing, grew up regular, you know, family. Mom and dad married in the household with me and my sister, and we grew up regular middle class, and uh my dad supported us. My mom was a stay-at-home mom, you know, exactly how it's supposed to be. And it seemed fine. And then my dad passed away from cancer, really aggressive. He found out he had stage four colon cancer, one year, gone, passed away. I didn't even when I was 14. So I didn't even know that uh you know, when you go through that, you don't even know. I didn't know he was gonna die. He was like Superman to me, he was our everything.

SPEAKER_00 3:29

So it's a lot for someone to pass away. I mean, you know, my situation with my mom uh not too long ago. So on your end, with your dad being who he was, I mean, how fast was it? Because you're saying aggressively. I never heard someone say the word aggressive, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 3:42

One year? Yeah, so we found out and one year later he was passed away. You know, we watched him take his last breath in our house type shit. And I didn't expect that. Like right when he found out he had it, he had to immediately get a colonoscopy. And uh I don't know, you know. Also, I feel like they hid it from us because they want to protect us and stuff, which I kind of feel like is not a good thing, like because I needed to understand because there was things that happened too that I didn't understand what was happening because I didn't understand what was happening, because they were trying to like shield us, you know. So there was one day where he went and bought like a$700 camera. This is in 2004, so this is when they had the little time. Remember those little discs that were like DVDs? It was like 700 bucks, and I'll never forget that because in that day and age was a crazy amount of money. Our rent was$800 for our house, I know that for sure. And we had a really nice middle class house, four bedrooms and stuff. So like, yeah, you know what I'm saying? Like, you know, so what's it called? Like him doing that, and then he came and he just like dressed up, and then it was only me and him, the whole family. I don't know where they were, but he sat down on the couch and he was like, he called me Boo. So he was like, Boo, take pictures of me. And I was like, Okay, and I had that new camera, and I took all these pictures of him from like different angles and all this stuff, and at this point, did you know he was passing already or not yet? I didn't understand anything, I didn't even understand why I was taking pictures of him and it was so random. But I was just like, I was happy to do anything with him, he was my best friend, whatever. So I was like, okay, and I was just like taking pictures of him. And at the time I didn't realize that it was because he knew he didn't have any pictures of himself, and he knew he was gonna die.

SPEAKER_00 5:23

So that's crazy. So that I was a low point in your life. Do you think that's what led to the prison?

SPEAKER_03 5:29

Oh yeah, because uh, you know, when he passed away, he was our provider, he was our protector, he was the one that held our family together, paid the bills. My mom would uh right when we right when he passed away, uh my whole my sisters were already adults, so they were like 18, they were going to college or doing all these things. And then from there, uh, you know, he uh from there, sorry, um my mom, she ended up not being able to, it was just me and my mom. And my mom immediately turned into an alcoholic and a drug addict, like bad, where I was in a lot, a lot, a lot of drama, trauma. She got me hooked on drugs. She gave me drugs for the first time. Oh, 14, 15?

SPEAKER_00 6:10

What do you mean she gave it to you? Like what?

SPEAKER_03 6:12

So when my dad died, he died in November 2004. I started working um like right after that, because back in the day you could just have your school ID and go apply it like Jack in a Box and put any uh age. So I was like literally working at Jack and Box right when I got out of middle school. So right when I got out eighth grade, I was already working at the Jack in Box right by my middle school. And my mom got me a job there because she knew the general manager because my dad literally met my mom working at Jack in the Box, which I can't believe. I'm like, damn, he was working, you done picked up a Jack in the Box drive-through, broad.

unknown 6:45

Come on, dude.

SPEAKER_03 6:47

Nah, but um anyway, so uh she knew some like general manager from way back in the day, and he got me a job there, whatever. And then my mom uh started having to work with me. My mom didn't work when my dad was alive. My mom had to like work under the table at Jack in a Box with me. Just me and her, like we're just surviving, like crazy survival mode. Like, man, it was bad. So she uh one day I was like, Mom, my back hurts so bad. I was at work, and she gave me a narco, which is the strongest worst opiate that you could ever take. That's what gets everybody addicted to drugs and stuff. That's like a really bad opiate. And so she gave that to me and I started working all good. My pain went away. I was like, What? And then the next day she was like, You want another one? I was like, Because you had pain, or just no, that's just her asking. Because I was like, dang, I was like, Dang, mom, that helped me a lot. Like my back pain went away. I was working all hard, like made me lit.

SPEAKER_00 7:42

Fast forward to the the prison part, if you don't mind.

SPEAKER_03 7:44

So basically, you know, just that right there. That's that's it. All you know, take that one pill, then it turns into all these other pills, drugs, you're in the streets, you lost your father figure, you turn to drugs, the streets, uh, the dudes who are in the streets that don't have father figures, we're all meeting there and we're all doing drugs, selling drugs, all that stuff. But either way, I had a lot of anger and I was on drugs, and I got in a fight and it got out of hand, and I ended up in prison.

SPEAKER_01 8:09

How out of hand?

SPEAKER_03 8:10

Uh, like another party pulled out a weapon, and I took that weapon from that other party and then used it on one of them. So it was really self-defense. But that's the thing about the justice system is one, people are like, oh, you know, it's blacks, it's this. No, it's actually uh poor people versus rich people. If you have money for a lawyer, you're gonna get out of whatever. If you don't have money, you don't have parents, you don't have nobody to fight for you, you don't know what's going on, you're on drugs, you don't even remember what happened, maybe. Like you're just gonna throw away the key type shit.

SPEAKER_00 8:41

And they gave you six years?

SPEAKER_03 8:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:43

When when the judge said, hey, six years.

SPEAKER_03 8:45

It was five years, but they didn't give me like back time for all the time that I was serving in there. Because they tried to send me like to this rehab place, but this rehab place was like, they gave me all these drugs. So I just like denied that and I went to prison.

SPEAKER_00 8:59

I know you know, I'd never been in that type of situation, but I'm just thinking, if I'm looking at the judge and the judge, you know, uh hits the gavel and says five years, when he said five years, how'd you feel at that moment?

SPEAKER_03 9:11

Um, I didn't care at that time that much. I just felt like, okay, well, this is what this has led me to, and this is just another thing I have to get through. Because at that point, I was going through so much trauma from when I was 14 to 17 that it just one, it felt like I was getting out of a shitty situation, to be honest. It was like, it's like if a crackhead goes to jail, they're not sleeping under a bridge. Not that I was sleeping under a bridge, right? No. But the turmoil, the emotional, the mental, the oh, I was kind of glad to be out of it. But at the same time, I kind of was like, it was just something I had to do. I didn't have a choice. I'm not gonna be a victim, none of that shit.

SPEAKER_00 9:49

So it's kind of like a reset in there because we interviewed some prior podcast guests, and a handful of individuals that's been in prison. Yeah, you know, and they have good success stories of coming out of prison. I guess that mindset shift or something like that. Uh I don't want to deep dive into prison, but I would like to hear one crazy story you had while you were in prison. For those who don't know, like I've been in jail. I could do a whole podcast. What do you mean a whole podcast? I need a podcast.

SPEAKER_03 10:14

And it's way different because I'm sure you've interviewed a lot of men in men's prison.

SPEAKER_00 10:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 10:19

But man.

SPEAKER_00 10:20

Like in a 30-second story. What's one of your craziest things?

SPEAKER_03 10:22

I can't even tell you a 30-second story. I don't know. Um, maybe like a one time, okay. So cutting hair.

SPEAKER_00 10:27

Uh one time I was Is that where you started cutting hair?

SPEAKER_03 10:29

Yeah, that's where I started cutting hair. So uh, you know, you used to mess yourself up a lot. So I messed myself up so many times that I started like uh inst, you know, I just gave up and started skinning my head bald. Well, while I was in prison, I didn't get phone calls, visits, letters, nothing. Nothing, nothing ever. So the whole time. Yeah, the whole time. I only got like maybe three visits. Like my mom. And, you know, she's all drunk and but, anyways, the whole point is I was, you know, shaving my head, skin bald because I'd mess myself up so much. And also when we cut our hair in prison, well, at least in women's prison in TDCJ, I don't know how it is anywhere else, but you get like we would get like butt naked because we don't want to ruin, we don't have any clothes to use as like caves, and we can't be sparing nothing. We don't have that much. So it's like tell your roommate, yo, turn around, I'm cutting my hair. And they kind of just like turn around, even if they don't. I mean, we're all girls, like whatever. So I'm just like butt naked, shaving my head skin bald. And the freaking cop comes up to the door of the officer, and she's all, what are you doing? You have a visit. I was like, What? While I'm skinning my head skin bald, I never got a visit in years. Like, I'm not expecting a visit, I don't get calls, nobody, I don't got a letter that says, Hey, I'm coming to see you, so I don't think anybody's ever coming to see me. And she's like, You have a visit, and I'm literally skin balled. And I go to a visitation, and my mom's like, What the hell's wrong with your head? I'm like, what the hell is wrong with you? I hear, like, dude. I don't know. It was just funny.

SPEAKER_00 12:00

Core memory? Mom visiting for the first time in prison? Nah, that wasn't a core memory.

SPEAKER_03 12:06

There was way more crazy stuff.

SPEAKER_00 12:08

So you're in prison, you cut your own hair. When do you start cutting hair?

SPEAKER_03 12:13

Uh, I mean, I come out here in prison, yeah, it was most part. But um, actually, someone had told me, like an old friend from high school told me for my birthday when I got out, they told me that they had bought me a peanut. And I also used to like line up homies before I went to prison. Like a little wall peanut is like a trimmer. Yeah. That they and I used to like line up my homies even before prison. Like just to be lining them up and shit like that. But nothing crazy. But then when I went to prison, you gotta learn to cut your own hair. I cut all my roommate's hair. I'd cut everybody's hair just in past time.

SPEAKER_01 12:44

That's wild. Right? And then it's one way to get into an industry.

Barbering as Art

SPEAKER_00 12:48

I know, it's kind of like you have to. Well, it kind of like led you in their way naturally. You like doing it? Cutting hero is like a is it relaxing? Like when I take a barber. Like, is it relaxing to you guys?

SPEAKER_03 12:58

I mean, is it is it a passion?

SPEAKER_00 12:59

Is it art? Like, I don't know, is it a job for some people? I don't know how people get into the barber industry.

SPEAKER_03 13:04

So it's definitely, I think it's uh one, it's uh people are passionate no matter what, like passionate people, artists, creatives. Yeah, I feel like it's all in all those categories. Definitely creative, right? It's definitely artist, and it's just like videography or anything, like people have their own spin on cuts, you know. Well, I don't like the way he does this, but I like the way he does this, whatever.

SPEAKER_00 13:25

So after six years, you come out. What's the first thing I'm doing? Day one out of prison.

SPEAKER_03 13:30

Day one. Um, I got oh day one, the what I wanted to do was because it was 2014 and it was uh 4th of the 3rd of July. My original release date was 4th of July, but they're not allowed to release you on a federal holiday and they're not allowed to keep you lap past your date. So they let me out the day before July 3rd.

SPEAKER_01 13:48

One day off the sentence.

SPEAKER_03 13:49

Yep. And then also I get released on Independence Day, is my release date. So I was like, oh, I'm gonna go off. But uh I got out and I was like, first thing I want to do is get a Spurs championship shirt because I missed the Spurs winning the championship, but I heard it on AM radio. That's crazy, and I was in close custody, like which is like a cell all day 24-7 for the last two years before I got out of prison. So I was in a cell 24-7.

SPEAKER_00 14:15

Yeah, I think that what does that do to a person? What does that do to a person being stuck in a cell 24-7 by herself for two years? That's I mean, I can imagine it, you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_03 14:23

It's weird though, because it just felt like it was just like I had to just get through it. I didn't feel like I didn't feel like a victim.

SPEAKER_01 14:33

I wonder if because I've said never anything like been through anything like that before, and I've thought about it. And maybe possibly coming back from the like 90s, early 2000s, going into it, because we're not used to that. The world was way slower back. If you think about it, the world is way slower. Now you're so addicted to TikTok, you're so addicted to dopamine, like every second of the day. If you had to slow down and sit in a cell, you'd go crazy. I feel like right now, yeah, but if you think about it, I mean I don't know I don't know if the difference would be. I don't know if it's a good idea.

SPEAKER_03 14:58

I can show the studies on it, but like super true. Yeah, because I I've told him uh in the last podcast, me and you, um, that there's times where I hear a song from like 2012, and that's like right the middle of my sentence, and um like I get nostalgic because I remember being in that cell. I felt so much peace, bro. I was in that cell by myself. I had food, I had a radio, I had a window, the weather was like this. I could see the light on me, no bills. And at the time I didn't have nothing to lose or miss.

SPEAKER_00 15:30

I get those moments too, but it ain't in prison. But like I bet you I get those moments, be honest you, whenever it hits me sometimes, when it just goes back to Iraq. I don't know why. Exactly. When I hear a song, it reminds me of Iraq.

SPEAKER_03 15:41

And it's like nostalgic. It's not that you miss it or anything, but you can find like nostalgia in it.

SPEAKER_00 15:46

Because when I was on Iraq, it was only 15 months, but it was it felt forever. Um so I just kind of compare it to that way. But okay, so you get out of prison, you buy your first bird shirt, and then I see you wearing it.

SPEAKER_03 15:54

He flopped us from Taco Cabana, but they were trash. He flopped us from Taco Cabana. I don't know why. I was like, I want to flout this so bad. That was like the two things that I had thought of.

SPEAKER_01 16:03

That's like the worst place to get flout this, bro. What are you talking about? No, but it was just something.

SPEAKER_03 16:09

It was either that or McDonald's. But I cared, I wanted trash like food. We eat nothing but stuff that we literally pick in the fields in prison. So we only eat what we farm, you know, because that's what prison is a farm, and we're the slaves. We pick the food, we eat the food.

SPEAKER_00 16:22

I know that, to be honest.

SPEAKER_03 16:23

Yeah, so you know that in all prisons? Yeah, that's like a farm. A prison's a farm, you can call it a farm too. Yeah. So anyways, and that's how they just like private prisons is just a big old farm of the inmates or the slaves, and then they pick the food needed. But I just wanted trash food fried. I probably hadn't even had like really fried food.

SPEAKER_00 16:40

Okay, so you buy your disperser, and then what's next? After like, I'm out, I did my six years or five years, I got my mind right, I think.

unknown 16:47

Right?

Personal Growth Journey

SPEAKER_03 16:48

No, I didn't. That's the thing. It's not like in my mind, I'm like, oh, I got my mind right, I'm gonna be a new person or nothing. I was just like, one, I never thought I was that bad of a person, anyways. I didn't have guidance. My mom put me on drugs. I thought I was a my dad loved me. My dad was so proud of me. My dad knew I had a lot of accolades. I used to work super hard with my dad growing up. So just because I was thrown in that turmoil, never my family, yes, in their mind, because that is so extreme. Like someone going to prison, yes, they're they're a piece of shit. Like they're bad, they're going down the wrong path. But also, they're a kid. Yeah, you gotta look at them circumstances. Y'all saw what I went through right there. Nobody talked to my mom. Okay, well, I had to be parented by her, bro. Y'all didn't even talk to her. Y'all know what I was going through. So um, but they thought I think they thought, I think they don't even really thought I was bad. You know what I'm saying? And I didn't think I was really bad. So I didn't get out like, oh, I'm a changed person. Because I didn't think I was evil or bad or really anything. So I was just like, but I did feel like a loser. Like, what am I gonna do with my life? Like, because I was telling him I went in before social media. So I went in in 2008. There was like Razor phones, flip Samsung phones, and then I got out, and right when I got in the car with my sister, she went and then she, and mind you, I didn't get mail, I didn't get calls. People weren't telling me about Facebook on the phone, on letters, on nothing. I remember one time I got a letter from this chick that got out and wrote me, and she told me everybody and their grandma's on Facebook, but I didn't know what Facebook was. So I was like, What is she what is Facebook? Like, I mean, not even a thought what that is. So um, she got out, took that picture, and she said, All my family's saying, Oh, hey, they're saying that they missed you so much. Like distant ants that I hadn't seen since I was like 10 years old. And I was like, What are they talking about? Like, how do you know that? And she was like, It's Facebook. I posted a picture and told everybody you're out. And I was like, Well, that's fake because they didn't fucking talk to me in prison, they didn't give a fuck about me. So then I understood one, social media was fake, but I also like um you know, I got on social media, even though I knew it was fake, still gonna take over you, right? Everybody says that, everybody knows that consciously, but you're still gonna look on there and be like, they're doing good or whatever. So when I got on social media, like all like mutual people from like my sisters and stuff were like friending me, or like old high school people and stuff, and it felt like they were doing so much in their lives at 24, college, graduating college, maybe their first house, maybe their first marriage, maybe their first kids, and stuff like that. And I was like, yo, I'm so behind, I'm a loser. And then I didn't know anything, and then it's such an embarrassing story, like to meet somebody. Like, imagine me meeting somebody when I first got out of prison, and it's like, you know, what you like think about it right now. We're doing a podcast, what what's your what's up with your life or what you doing?

SPEAKER_00 19:37

Right.

SPEAKER_03 19:38

It's like I'm like so embarrassed, yo. Like I hate telling everybody that I just got a present.

SPEAKER_00 19:42

Well, I mean, it definitely came a long way from from those days, and that's that's good on that. Um and uh, you know, I guess I didn't think about it that way. Most people think it's like you said, it's a new mindset, and but if you didn't come in, you're a kid going in, technically, right? Uh but how does the barber come in? So is it the interest you had in the in the jail that continued outside of jail or a prison?

SPEAKER_03 20:00

Uh well, one day I just went to go get uh haircut at Great Clips, and it was my first cut. Well, also before I went into prison, there wasn't barbershops on my side of town on the northeast side. So I would just go to Great Clips Rios super cuts and stuff like that. And then uh when I got out, uh I just went to Great Clips. I didn't know about barbers or nothing about barbers. There was no barbershops on the northeast side of town, uh, or any barbershops at all in 2008. You can't even name any barbershops except for maybe Acapuco, but I'm not from that side, okay, homie? I'm from the Northeast side. I ain't got no barbershops. I was just kidding. But um, so I went to Great Clips and she messed me up, like all crazy. But she was like good looking and uh she was nice and I gave her a good tip anyway, even though she messed me up. But then I went home and I was like, she even had to have other people come mess with my head. Like that's how bad it was messed up. And it was messed up, and I had to go home and fix it. And I was like, that's crazy because I just tipped her good just because she like gave me good customer service and she was nice, and I kind of like almost like felt bad. And why am I feeling bad? Fresh out of prison, broke and shit under my name. But either way, I still tipped her, right? And I was like, and then I came and fixed it, so I'm like, well, if I could do this on some, I could just do what she's doing. But when I was thinking that, like, I looked and it said, uh, so it said cosmetology on her on her uh desk. And so I just went home and Googled cosmetology school near me. And Ingram, Milan on Ingram popped up and they give student aid and they like so you could just go in there fresh out of prison, no money, and they'll give you 20 grand in student aid to go get your license.

SPEAKER_00 21:39

So then you get your license while you're in school. I think it's I don't know, I don't know much about the barber world, but I think like in real estate, right? In real estate, I I can have the knowledge of sub twos and and flipping houses and wholesaling, but if you're not marketing, how do you gonna get those leads? So I don't know. I'm on I wanna try to convert my real estate lead to barbershop leads. How does how does barber get leads? What do they gotta do? Different. So all the barbers who are watching this podcast with you on her and say, hey, what did Sherry do to get out of barber school and get a following or clients or uh what's the best way to get that besides Watkins?

unknown 22:11

Excuse me.

SPEAKER_03 22:11

So both things, uh main thing I would say is um one in any field, you know, everybody just has to know who you are and what service you provide. And if you make your lifestyle about that, like people are gonna know you're the barber to go to, right? Like it's almost like a thing. Um think about like uh store like book stories told, it's like the local plumber, oh the handyman guy. Like everybody does have know a person that's a person. Like if I asked you right now, you know a plumber? You know your plumber, homie? Why do you know him? Because he fucking he's plumbing for you, but also before that he built a name where he's like, he's the plumber, he's a plumber. Well, I'm the barber, bro. Telling everybody that will listen, I'm a barber, let me cut your hair. Practically begging without looking, you know, desperate. You know what I'm saying? But you know, letting them know it'll be worth it, be confident. But it's about letting as many people as you know you're a barber. Because I could think about, I think also today in you know, society, people would be like, oh, why did somebody care about what somebody does for work? Because I honestly ask that to a lot of people. I like to network, I like to know, and not everybody really, because it's like, oh, are you basing off you judging somebody off what they do? No, I want to see if I can add it, you know. But if it's something that doesn't add any value to me, that's fine. That's why you don't want to tell me what you do. But if I can add value to anybody, I'm gonna tell them which barbering you can add value to everybody that needs a haircut. Also, I promote it as if I was already a professional barber in school. Like, hey, come get a cut at the school, and I'd say it's$15 haircuts, but the school charge$5, so I just take the$10, you know.

SPEAKER_00 23:39

You do that?

SPEAKER_03 23:39

Yeah, I mean, as long as you're paying the school there five bucks.

SPEAKER_00 23:42

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 23:43

You know? So I would just mark it like I was already a barber. It was a it looked like a shop, right? Like the school has the whole floor, the whole salon setting. So I'll just be like haircuts all day, I'll be here all day. Also, availability, right? Like I didn't have kids, I don't have nothing. I don't have nothing to do but work, bro. So I'm in there in Milan, they have morning and night classes. Guess what? I did full time. I did eight in the morning, eight at night. Just cut all day. You know, and just I'm here, I'm here, I'm here. You need a cut. Morning, night posting, garage sale sites every morning, night, seven in the morning. You wake up, you're like, ah, well, dang, I did need to cut today, and I'm posting that. Do you need a cut with all my pictures? I'm posting at lunchtime because maybe you're on your lunch break. Again, boom, till they kick me out of those groups, Alamo Ranch groups, Leon Valley groups, I don't care, everything. All day. That's freaking spamming as many groups as possible every single day, 7 a.m., 12, and then like around four or five because people get off from school, work. Hey, I have late availability all day. You know, just want to hit it at the times where people are maybe making a decision on something that they might come get a cut.

SPEAKER_00 24:45

So constant marketing, right? Availability pretty much in any business, right? Constant marketing, availability. I'm here, this is my services. In your face, promote, promote, promote, just like us, right? We buy Elie Houses, we buy takeover payments, sub tubes. So now that you're a barber, you got your license. What's the difference between a barber saying, hey, I'm gonna go work at Great Clips and and I guess rent a chair versus a barber says, Hey, I want my own shop.

Barber Shop Research

SPEAKER_03 25:06

All right, so Great Clips would be like hourly play, hourly pay plus tips. So they're not like renting a chair at Great Clips. So the different uh structures of a barber that they can choose when they go into a field is hourly pay, commission, or booth rent, right? Great clips and sports clips is hourly pay. A place like Diesel or Matadors might be hourly pay plus commissions, stuff like that. So the decision on what you make is one, the booth rent, uh one, like somewhere like Great Clips, you could possibly, you know, that's just traditional W2. You could possibly get healthcare if you, you know, work your way up. You could possibly move up into management, whatever. And that's like corporate nine to five security, whatever. Um, but then you know, the booth rent is like, you know, that's on your own, you know, no 1099, you're not um getting health insurance. If you know, you might not move up, you might get clients, you might not get clients. It's all in your own grind on your own work. Uh a lot of women like in fields, I feel like they go more towards security, right? Like that's just stuff. And then um, but that's changing. Like, there's a lot of entrepreneur barbers, but uh and then commission is just like just another structure that people could still feel not that secure, kind of like um booth right. But most of the time barbershops doing commission are usually should be no reason they shouldn't be really busy. But the biggest thing you want to do is find the busiest barbershop in your city. Go do your research, go to every shop, go to a shop on a Friday at 3 p.m. Go to a shop on a Saturday at 3 p.m. Find the busiest shop in the city and grind it out and build your clientele right there.

SPEAKER_01 26:42

How hard is it to get into the busiest one in the city? If they're already that busy, how hard is it to get a chair most of the time?

SPEAKER_03 26:46

That's that's a good uh thing. One is it's actually kind of easy because one, just because there's a lot of walk-ins and just because it's there, there's not hungry people, and maybe some barber that wasn't hungry. And then also if it's a really busy shop and there is a barber killing the game in there, they might grow and open their own shop and then a chair opens up. So what you do is you go to that barber uh shop owner and you say, Hey, you know, I'm hungry in the game, I'm looking for an opportunity. Let me know if a chair opens up, I'll be there. Everybody wants a hard worker, am I right? Like you look at right now, someone came up to you, hey, whatever you're doing, I want to be a part of it. Let's grind. And I know you don't have a chair open right now, but you know, I know your shop's really busy and I'd love an opportunity. Bro, there's not barbers out here like putting in work like that or even talking like that, dude. You know? So basically, yeah, just like that.

SPEAKER_01 27:32

Just showing up.

SPEAKER_03 27:33

Because I actually uh I was still in school, I didn't have a license, and TDK was inside Ingram Park Mall, and I hit up the manager and I was like, hey, and I was already working at another shop, but it was like super hole in the wall in the hood. And I was like, because you can work in a shop without license, you know they're gonna let you. So I messaged TDK, but that's in the mall. It's a little more like official. And I was like, yo, uh, I if you have a chair, I'd love to work there. They're like, you got your license. I was like, not yet, but I'm in school and I'm almost done. I go to school right across the street, my line, whatever. And they were like, Okay, well, just let us know when you graduate or whatever, a week later. Hey, come through. Like, come work here. And I started making six figures immediately. Six figures at TDK changed my life. Changed my life. Like immediately right when I went to go work there.

SPEAKER_00 28:17

Hustlers, real estate investing doesn't have to be overwhelming and you don't have to do it alone. If you've been watching from the sidelines, scrolling past deals on Zillow, or binging YouTube videos, but still not taking action. This is for you. That's why we built Hustle Academy, a community designed for new and experienced real estate investors who want to learn, network, and grow. Inside Hustle Academy, you'll get weekly live calls, QA sessions, and step-by-step classes on fix and flip, wholesaling, creative finance, and my favorite subject to deals. Everything you need to know to build real skills and start closing real deals. You'll join a powerful group of like-minded hustlers who are sharing wins, breaking down deals, and all pushing towards the same goal: financial freedom through real estate. If you're ready to level up, no matter what stage you're starting at, join Hustle Academy today, tap the link in the description, or visit hustleacademy.com and let's trump the hustle together. I guess this might be a general question, but what's the average salary of a barber? I mean, I'm gonna be able to do that. I would probably say I would just say an average, hey, I'm just gonna wake up, I'm not posting on social media, I'm gonna cut hair and I'm gonna come home. Versus someone like who was you, you're in everyone's face every single day.

SPEAKER_03 29:29

I would probably say average is like 40,000, if that.

SPEAKER_00 29:34

And then you did six figures right after barber school?

SPEAKER_03 29:37

Yeah, within a year of me getting out of prison for sure.

SPEAKER_01 29:39

And instead of you were in it, TDK was commission, hourly plus commission?

SPEAKER_03 29:43

No, TDK was uh just booth threat.

SPEAKER_01 29:45

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 29:46

But it was like holidays, it was 2015 where like the mall is packed too, right? Yeah, it's packed in 2015. It's like, and then I have I'm first I first chair, and so I'm first.

SPEAKER_00 29:58

Does that mean something? Like you want first chair, or is that a real thing, or you're just saying that I was the first chair when you walked in? Yeah, no, no, like you know, like uh like choir practice, oh, and first chair. Does that mean because you're the best one there?

SPEAKER_03 30:08

No, that means it means nothing as far as the shop. It's just if that's okay, and some people don't like being right there because all the customers are right there just staring at you the whole time you're cutting. Guess what? I love it. I was stealing them customers all day because you were all day. Because I'm just going like this too. I was so quick too, like compared to everybody else. Sometimes I'll do like six, somebody I'll do six cuts in the time it takes a barber to do one cut, bro.

SPEAKER_00 30:29

A lot of barbers like to talk.

SPEAKER_03 30:30

Bro, I like to talk, but I'm still getting you.

SPEAKER_00 30:34

They'll stop talking and then they'll just talk to you. Oh, yeah, this, this, this.

SPEAKER_03 30:37

The fact that they stop cutting when they talk is so you can't multi- you can't talk and do one thing, bro. That's crazy. I do that sometimes, very sometimes, but even then, nah, even then, you still getting in 30 minutes.

Wholesaling Real Estate

SPEAKER_00 30:50

You know how many minutes? No idea. I don't think you know this. I needed uh I was going to a barber at this time, and I don't know, something happened. He moved shops or something, or he wasn't available or something, and I needed a cut. And I didn't know who to go to because I was going to that same barber for a long time, and I picked Sherry. And you know why I picked Sherry? Because she was also wholesaling. Oh, that's right. I didn't know that. So, how does how does that work? So, here obviously there's a lot of uh hustlers that are wholesaling on this podcast. How did you you're a barber already? How did you get to wholesaling and still being a barber? Why did two things or how did that come about?

SPEAKER_03 31:20

Okay, so I was a barber, I was super hungry, right? Like I said, uh, you know, I was making six figures, um, I felt like a lot of energy. I was very um like I have no like financial knowledge, mind you. Just because I'm grinding hard and making money, I have and at this point too, zero mentors too, right? Like I'm just survival mode, but it turned into like, oh shit, this is cool. And so also, you know, uh just I don't know, a lot. So then that, well then I actually from TDK opened up my first barbershop, but it was behind my barbershop right now. That was my first shop in 2016. It was called Cutting Edge Barbershop, and um, you know, I just had that momentum. So it was that, that. And then I saw this uh childhood friend on social media, and he kept posting about him wholesaling real estate, and he kept saying that, you know. And I just kept looking at he kept posting checks, money, money, money, right? Like posting that, you know, oh made 5,000 so easy, this, that, and all this stuff. And I was like, hmm. And then um just kind of interested in it. And then um I had a girlfriend at the time, and her mom seemed like she was in a situation uh that this dude kept posting about, you know, like looking for distressed houses, you know, uh, what is it, inheritances, and her mom had an inherited house. And then I just kind of was like just and I knew I just needed like a little bit of information to make this a deal, you know? And I knew like and I was just interested, right? It's just the mind of being in because that's the strongest point. The strongest trait I had to make me successful too was uh not caring that I don't know anything when I first got out of prison. I didn't want to pretend if I got in a room with big people or something, I think that's why they respect me too, though, is because I didn't care if I didn't know anything. I wanted to learn like everything. I was very like, man, I was just super hustling like crazy. But uh I knew I could do that, so I reached out to him and I was like, hey, dude, I need to learn this. And I actually reached out to him like two or three times. He kind of ignored me. And then I reached out to him and then he's like, give me 500 bucks and I'll show you how to do it. And I was like, okay. I was like, what? Okay, fucking, that's nothing, dude. That's just like a day of work. What? So freaking 500 bucks, fucking give it to him. And uh, anyways, long story short, uh, we ended up getting sued for$40,000.

SPEAKER_01 33:40

No way. That's wild.

SPEAKER_02 33:45

His name was Quentin Florida.

SPEAKER_00 33:50

Cobloted. We're gonna get his side of the story.

SPEAKER_03 33:53

So no oh yeah, there's no two sides to some shit like that, bro. Now I'm just kidding, but if sued by who? Um okay, so this is what happened.

SPEAKER_00 34:03

So it was like watching, you guys gotta understand wholesaling is easy. It really is easy. But you have to do everything the right way. You have to do the right way, because if not, you can get stuff like this, which you probably had no involvement in. But let's hear what's the story on how how did a wholesaler get sued?

SPEAKER_03 34:17

Okay, so I got um, like I said, it was a friend's pro uh mother's property, and then she said uh she inherited it and she was just sitting on it, she was like, I'm tired of maintaining it, taxes was a vacant property. So then uh, you know, we offer her like 20 grand or whatever, 25 grand or something, and it's a little hood house on the west side, and then she uh what's it called? She had siblings, she had five of them, but she said one of them was like homeless, nobody's ever talked to him for years and stuff, and then one of them like wasn't agreeing on 20,000, like they wanted 20, like somebody was telling him they would offer him 25,000. But and then so he did an affidavit of airship and left the airs off.

SPEAKER_00 35:04

Intentionally?

SPEAKER_03 35:05

Yeah, intentionally, and then he just told me, like, oh, well, like you just need like a majority.

SPEAKER_00 35:13

And you you thought that was okay? Like you thought, I mean, you obviously don't know better. You're barbering.

SPEAKER_03 35:17

I paid him to teach me.

unknown 35:18

Fuck.

SPEAKER_03 35:19

What am I supposed to know either?

SPEAKER_00 35:21

I know, that's what I'm saying.

SPEAKER_03 35:22

So And then also it's like that was the little piece that I knew I needed help with was like So at the time you're paying someone who's doing what they're doing, and they say, hey, majority rules, you're like, okay, let's run with it, right?

SPEAKER_00 35:32

Because you don't know, but even then you don't know better.

SPEAKER_03 35:34

Yeah, even then though, like mind you, I'm not the one racking up. Taking the lead. Yeah, like I'm not taking the lead in any way. I even was a um witness on the affidavit.

SPEAKER_00 35:45

Your name was on the lawsuit?

SPEAKER_03 35:46

Yes. No, I like got sued like personally. Like it, like we got it was like personally.

SPEAKER_00 35:50

So who sued the seller? One of the seller?

SPEAKER_03 35:52

One of the siblings? The seller, which was my friend's mom. So mind you, I go to my friend's mom, bro. I'm like, trust me, I'm gonna help you get out of this house. Dude, it was it was pretty rowdy. Although, like, whatever, dude. I don't even care. But, anyways, the lawyer that sued us, he was actually the investor that wanted to buy it.

SPEAKER_01 36:12

Uh yeah, and he's a lawyer.

SPEAKER_03 36:16

Yeah, and he's a lawyer, so he's like kind of lame too, you know. But he ended up passing away, actually, so that it just went away. And plus the like law suit? Uh, I think so, yeah. Like, it just like disappeared. Well, nonetheless, and also the lady that he was gonna sell it to, that's the thing, is is it worth it for him to sue me if now you sued his sister? You think his sister's gonna sign off on that final sale with the lawyer? Like, no. So it's kind of like it all just kind of went away because I think he thought it wasn't worth fighting and stuff. But yeah, we initially got sued. Yes, we initially had to respond to the lawsuit and stuff, and it went away, but it was like, damn. But also, um, I still felt like I could do it. I was like, okay, this situation that didn't deter me from like, I'm never gonna do none of this. No, it made me like, I'm gonna go through all this, put in all this work and not even get a freaking house.

SPEAKER_00 37:06

How long were you wholesaling?

SPEAKER_03 37:08

Probably like from probably like 2017 to 2000, like early 19. Probably the two years? Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 37:17

What's your biggest wholesale P?

SPEAKER_03 37:18

55,000.

SPEAKER_00 37:20

As a barber. So who else? Was it uh denim faded culture wholesale or something like that? Yeah, I that's how I met them first, actually.

SPEAKER_03 37:26

As a wholesaler? Yeah, from wholesaling because that's wild. I had uh I was with Ernest, we were with Fresh Start Homes, and they had a deal, and they were because we would flip too, me and Ernest. So they had a deal and they sent it to Ernest, and Ernest was like, Hey, do you know these barbers or whatever? And I was like, and then like I didn't know them, but then like I think I friended them and like we went on Facebook. We were doing it around the same time, yeah. So that was definitely like a boom when that happened, and there was so much opportunity back then.

SPEAKER_00 37:54

Like, yeah, it's different the way it is now.

SPEAKER_03 37:56

Ooh, that it was so crazy. Like, I offered everybody 20,000. That I I didn't know numbers or nothing, and they would all take it.

SPEAKER_01 38:06

All of them.

SPEAKER_03 38:07

That was my number. I would just tell I'm not lying when I tell you I did like, not exaggerating, over 10 D, no, 10 deals where I just offered them 20,000. And then like that's where the 55,000 came from. It was like on Cherry Ridge. I sold to Madison, Madrid. And uh, like I just told him 20,000. I actually Joe. It was fucking Joe's week.

SPEAKER_00 38:30

See, it's full circle. Joe's one of the guys in the office. Yeah, still with us.

SPEAKER_03 38:34

Joe actually wholesaled a couple houses with me, dude. Like, actually, Joe got me like three houses.

SPEAKER_00 38:39

That's crazy.

SPEAKER_03 38:40

And then, you know.

SPEAKER_00 38:41

Okay. Uh, so what about the flip? What's your biggest flip profit?

SPEAKER_03 38:46

Oh no, the flip's always never worked out. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 38:50

We got an academy can teach you how to do the. No, it's not that. It's just like not worth it like two times. Nonetheless.

Barbers & Hustle

SPEAKER_03 38:55

And then it sells, and then also like we were doing private money, but private hard money through uh easy with uh this one dude. Oh who uh I forgot what his name is. Who? No. No. Oh, wait, I don't know. But either way, it was like it's just too much, and at the end it's like, I'm telling you, and then we're splitting it. It's like, bro, we I mean, I'm making like 7K. But on like four months.

SPEAKER_00 39:17

Back to barbers, right? So as a barber, I mean, so you did it, Fediculture did it, uh Joe, I guess was barbing somewhat. I don't know, he's doing it. So a lot of barbers kind of tend to, I guess, is that hustle mentality, right? Hustle mentality, hey, I can barbecue, I can do this, I can work for myself, I can go out, I can do what I gotta do. I talked to a lot of people, anyways, right? How many people come through the shop a month? Them and tell their families, because I remember when I went to your shop for the first time, you had a poster that's shared by houses. I'm thinking to myself, that's cool, right? I mean, how many deals do you get from this? Uh even if it's just one, right? Even if it's just one 10k a year, but you know, wholesaling, like you said earlier, it's not the same as it was before. No, that and flipping. So you definitely needed some type of source like the Hustle Academy. Plug that in. Hustle Academy, where we definitely break down wholesaling, flips and subtoothes. When I came into Barbershop, what did you think? Like, because you tried to, I think you try to impress me with all that fancy stuff you're doing that you don't do no more.

SPEAKER_03 40:04

No, it was just there at the time.

SPEAKER_00 40:06

It was just there at the time. Okay.

SPEAKER_03 40:08

You don't come with me. Mike doesn't get his haircut. Why like why why why Mike's out? Let's go.

SPEAKER_00 40:14

Let's break this down. Nothing's all happening. Let's break this down. Because I used to go to you for years.

SPEAKER_03 40:19

Wow.

SPEAKER_00 40:20

And I stopped going to you for a reason.

SPEAKER_03 40:22

Oh, let's see. Hey guys, with this music, boom, boom, boom.

SPEAKER_00 40:25

That's gripted. The reason, which is a good reason. The reason is because my schedule's hectic. And I felt it was a couple of times where you were busy with the expo. You were here, you were there, you were doing your and I need I had to, you know, have I was gonna go speak at this event, I was gonna speak here, but you were busy doing the hundred tour barbershop thing. You were in Austin, you were flying to Phoenix, you're in Miami. So I was like, bro, I can't get a hold of you. I had to go somewhere else. So now I went somewhere else, which is actually the old barber. Shout out to David. But the hard part is now I'm with him, like I have a hard time. But of course I went back and forth. Nonetheless, it leads into that's the political answer. It leads into the expo. You spent a lot of time on this expo. Why would a barber who is a barber, why would they create such a huge expo? What was the vision? Uh what's the business? What's the mentality? What's the networking? What's the connections? What's the sponsorships? How does that look like for Sherry?

Barbering Sustains

SPEAKER_03 41:16

So with the expo, it all started out, and it still is till this day all about community, right? Like that's literally all it's about. Everything else you have to create around it just to make it go, just to make it function, right? Like nobody's gonna do something for community and come, you know, 20, 30, 40 grand out of pocket every year, right? So it really was just to create community at a time where we didn't have any community because of COVID, and then it turned into all this. And it and it and it all turned into, it was like my expo simultaneously growing with my personal, you know, brand on social media, simultaneously growing with everything. But that was when, you know, I'd made a decision where like, hey, also, because you know, like I said, you're like, when'd you stop wholesaling? Like around like 2019, and then it, you know, COVID started coming. I had that little year, and I was like, I and that's another thing. Like, I literally made my wholesale like business partner. I like me and him, like, it was before we uh like decided to not work together anymore, and I kind of like didn't want to wholesale that much and stuff, or just build a business around wholesaling. And uh, I remember I'm like, hey bro, like I'm gonna go sign up for a barber competition, and you have to be my model and come with me because I feel like I hate old fucking real estate and I want to get like passionate again. Like, I don't like this, I don't like sit sellers feeling like I'm trying to scam them and me talking them out of scamming them every fucking day. I'm tired of motivating these freaking acquisition people because they're idiots and crying about not making money. And it's the same thing in barbering, right? If you have a barber shop with booth threat and barbers aren't making no money because they're not marketing themselves, but it's a booth threat and it's on your own and build your own clients and they're crying to you about not making money. That's kind of an inny, you know. But nonetheless, it was like that, and I'm not even passionate about this shit. I can't even really motivate you because I hate talking to sellers too. Like, I can't motivate you because you know, it was just like so that's the that was a real big wake-up call, too, where I'm like, hey, dude, I literally made my business partner come to this competition because I'm feeling like I hate like the business, like I hate where I'm at. I miss barbering and stuff, you know. And I was like, if I put this, and I was putting so much effort in wholesaling, like we're going crazy. We was like doing a lot of stuff. Like we would buy like 2,000 like water bottles with our logos and names on like our marketing, and we were like one of the first ones to do like ringless voicemails, all kinds of shit. Like we were going hard, and I was like, if I put this into barbering, yeah, I could still be successful and actually be passionate. And this is my talent, this is my art, so easy for me. And also at the time of wholesaling, I never a hundred percent left my clients. I would only cut on weekends, like Friday, Saturday, Sunday. And just from a weekend, I could steal 1700, 2,000 bucks. I'm like, damn, like even if I had hard hard times throughout the wholesaling business. Barton's like is my life, bro. It's my sustainer.

SPEAKER_00 44:04

So the expo.

SPEAKER_03 44:05

Uh so yeah, so uh basically just trying to build community, made an event because, like I said, COVID was going on, and then you know it just grew from there. Really?

SPEAKER_00 44:15

Yeah, because this has really grown from from the first expo. This is you're doing one next year?

SPEAKER_03 44:19

Yeah, doing one uh April 12th, 2026.

SPEAKER_00 44:22

This is number six.

SPEAKER_03 44:23

Six already? Six annual five-star Barbara Beauty Expo. Yeah, we went from like 10 vendors and probably like a hundred or less people to, you know, like 60 vendors and 4,000 over 4,000 people, you know. So it's really how some people show up in this in this industry. We actually just got an email for somebody that is applying for a visa to come in from like Nigeria or some shit. It's really cool. That's really cool.

SPEAKER_00 44:47

It's really cool that community, and it's a live event. You do that once a year, right? So it's cool how that community comes in.

SPEAKER_03 44:53

Austin, Texas.

SPEAKER_00 44:54

Austin, Texas. That's cool.

SPEAKER_03 44:54

Palmer Event Center, the biggest uh convention center in Austin, downtown Bardon Springs, overlooking the whole city, the nicest, dopest, 70,000 square feet. Just lit.

SPEAKER_00 45:05

It's definitely cool, especially when we bring the uh the artist. That was a good time. Well, then we had the who do we have? Paul.

SPEAKER_03 45:12

We didn't have a Paul. We didn't have Paul. No, we had uh Mike Jones, Kirko Baines, Lil Flip, and Gorilla Zoe.

SPEAKER_00 45:18

And Gorilla Zoe. It was cool. It was a cool time to have um and talk with those guys and attend the uh expo. I see it every year, it grows bigger and bigger.

SPEAKER_03 45:26

Um what did you think uh from going to the third expo, which was Little Two?

SPEAKER_00 45:30

I didn't go to the first two, right? The first one.

SPEAKER_03 45:32

You didn't go to the first one.

SPEAKER_00 45:33

I don't remember the second one, to be honest with you.

SPEAKER_03 45:34

The second one was Mike Jones and Kirkcoe. Was it the second one? Yeah, yeah. That was in New Bromfels on the River.

SPEAKER_00 45:38

That was the second one. I thought that was the third one.

SPEAKER_03 45:40

That was the second one.

SPEAKER_00 45:41

The third one was New Bromfels on the River was cool. So you just didn't see the first one, which was like super small. Uh Norris?

SPEAKER_03 45:46

Yeah, Norris was the third one. So imagine, like, what did you think when you went to my show from the Norris Conference Center, third year, everything we did, to going to that fourth year.

SPEAKER_00 45:56

Yeah, so that one, I mean, as well. What was like like I'm in it for being your homie. Yeah. One of my best friends. And uh when I saw this, like, hey, I was working with Scott at the time, Scott at the nightclubs, bringing artists, and that's what I brought to, hey, why don't we just bring an artist to the expo? And I would assume it would help with ticket sales. And that first one was who? That was Mike Jones and Kirkho. So the first one was Mike Jones and Kirkwell. It was pretty cool to see them um kind of that nostalgia feeling, right? Oh, yeah. Um especially you with the Texas Expo, it really goes hand in hand with Texas uh theme. But of course, it's uh people come from, like you said, all over the country. From that hotel to the Norris, that was a big jump itself, right? Because you brought it back to San Antonio.

SPEAKER_02 46:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 46:35

But when you did the next one in Austin, when I saw that venue, I was like, all right, now this thing's really growing, and you really get into that next level, next the next venue. And then you did it again in Austin, but you needed more room, right? So it was even a bigger event, and it's just so cool to see how many people support you. Uh, and I think it it goes hand in hand with social media, right? It's really important. I mean, because if someone else were to do it today, they would have a hard time taking it to where you're at now. And I think social media is key. So all the guys who don't like to do social media, what's your thoughts to them? What's your two cents on how important, not just even in general by by the five-star, but just in general for when it comes to like what us, what we do? How important is it for a barber or any hustler or a wholesaler to do social media?

Meta Ads Strategy

SPEAKER_03 47:16

Yeah, so definitely like social media matters a lot, but also um, you know, if you're gonna invest, there's people like, oh, let's invest in business cards, let's invest in uh, you know, t-shirts, let's invest in, you know, not but you know, I mean, there's different forms of marketing to invest in, and I feel like the last thing people invest in, and I think it's because in their mind they think it's too much money or something, but is meta-ads. Like even small business like me, like a barber would not think to do meta-ads. They would get business cards first, they would do all kinds of stuff. So, yes, make social media content, but I also think, hey, if you make a really good video, maybe it doesn't get that many views, 3,000, but you know that's a good video, jump on some meta-ads, man, and then you can pay to people for them to see it. And then from there, uh, it's like uh there's Russell Brunson, I think his name is. He's like a huge uh yeah, the funnel guy, right? So, like something he says is like you can become famous off ads because you can have no following, but you if you're paying$10,000 a month,$20,000,$30,000, and we see that's how Grand Cardone, anybody, you know, like we see them all the time. You'll get famous like that. So um, you know, I I believe in social media, but I also believe like investing on the other hand of like it's so simple because it's like something I was telling my client literally just earlier. He's like, How'd you get so many people at the expo? And I'm like, you know, the thing, the game changer for me, what made it go from Norris to that was meta-ads. And it sounds lame, cliche, whatever, but it's really it's it's a huge game changer. Um, because I was saying, like, imagine if right now I had uh, I don't know, uh freaking sexy red at my barber shop this weekend. Sexy red at my barber shop this weekend, yeah. I'm gonna post it on my page, I'm gonna post it on my story. Who's coming?

SPEAKER_00 49:02

People who follow you now.

SPEAKER_03 49:03

You think a lot or no? How many people might see it on my story or on my page? What if what if it's a because I I did a flyer, I did a dope flyer. You know, flyers get the least engagement when you post a flyer. That's the least over videos, pictures. I post a flyer sexy res here, it might get a thousand views. My story might get a thousand views, and then who's going to that? And I have 80,000 followers or whatever I have, or 70,000, whatever. Even if I post it on every platform, bro, it's not gonna like one people are not gonna think it's real. Like what? You gotta create a whole thing around everything. So, one, you have to create the event, you have to curate the event, you have to market it for like a long time and stuff like that. So, yeah, social media is important, but you know, you can't just, I don't know. It's hard. I'm talking about for an event standpoint at least, you know? So, event standpoint, you definitely need to hit up those ads and target your people, man, for real.

Content Creation

SPEAKER_00 49:55

Let me ask you something. You ever thought about investing in real estate, but assumed you needed perfect credit, a huge savings account, or a bank willing to say yes? That's exactly why we're excited to partner with our guy Mike Leva at Conventus. Conventus is a real estate lender built specifically for investors and not homeowners. They help people fund deals like fix and flips, buy and hold rentals, and even ground up construction. And here's the part most beginners don't realize Conventus doesn't lend based on your W-2 income or your personal credit score. They focus on the deal itself, the value of the property, and the numbers behind it. That means investors can often access higher loan amounts and more flexible terms than a traditional bank, sometimes with rates that are more competitive than people expect. So instead of asking, do I qualify? The better question becomes, is this a good deal? If you're serious about getting to real estate investing and want a funding partner that truly understands investors, reach out to our go-to guy at Conventus, Mike Leva, today using the link in the show notes and see how real estate investors are actually getting deals funded. When it comes to content standpoint, you know, besides Sherry the Barber, I think of individuals like um who's that dude that cuts hair in the park? Victors, um Jay Majiska, I know him through you. Jay, Fadiculture, uh, who else do I think of when I think of barbering? That one funny dude that's just alcohol. I'm assuming just from that one video. Oh, yeah, yeah. Other than I don't really know him. For those guys who are watching, and I I know them, probably because I'm friends with you, but if I feel like I wasn't friends with you, I probably will still know them because of their content. Those individuals who are starting off, they post any type of content. So they do content. Do they do content of I think a lot of barbers do, and it could be the same thing with real estate. This is a flip before, and this is a flip after. Barber person came in before and after. People don't see the actual true content of creating actual content that's meaningful, that was actually taking place. What's your thoughts on that? And like, how did Vic get to where he's at on when it compares to social media?

SPEAKER_03 51:56

Yeah, it's just like any kind of niche or or any influencer, right? Like you one, try a bunch of different things, right? So if I post, you know, 10 videos and this one I might do a before and after, this one I might do a client consultation and film it, or this one, maybe I'm just answering a most Googled question about barbering while I'm cutting a client or something. Out of those three, whatever goes off the most, I need to, you know, start focusing and hone in on that. But also the biggest thing is something, this is something I've had to learn the hard way, right? Like big time. You know, Don, he built my social media, but he built it around who he wanted me to be. And then I can't sustain that because that's not who I want to be seen as, and that's not who I can build a whole brand around him trying to make me super like, don't get me wrong. Yes, I'm controversial, yes, I'm outspoken and stuff like that, but not as extreme as I feel like it was portrayed. And that's what he loves, which is fine. That's there's a whole bunch of people that love that too, and stuff like that. But you got to think like he was leading me and in in content. So I couldn't build a brand around something that he was building the content around, versus Vic Blence probably said, Hey, let me cut this person. And then he said, Oh, this is cool and this is meaningful, and I'm gonna keep building around this, and then faded culture, they're brothers, plus they have each other, plus they have their little, you know, whoever they are, their culture, their niche, where they grew up, their, you know, the whole old English, the whole little like thug shit. So they've built off that, and then also they just learned what they wanted to learn their way, whatever. Um, so I just think it's trying a bunch of different things, and then whatever works for you and whatever you feel happen like makes them easiest, right? Because this content shit's hard. If we're gonna do it for the rest of our lives, and that's something nobody's ever really thought about. Like, you're just gonna make content until you're 70, bro. Dang, bro!

SPEAKER_01 53:46

When do you hang it up, right?

SPEAKER_03 53:47

Exactly. And that's the thing is are we just gonna be these people, influencers that make content till we die? And then that's kind of crazy to think about because that's the most repetitive things in our life, then. One of the most repetitive things, and we constantly have to be new, creative. We can't be boring to our audience. We gotta find new people. What are we gonna be finding new people for the rest of our lives, bro? Like, it's kind of crazy when you think about it in that sense. So uh just whenever you do find the content that works for you, whether it's whatever in your niche, make sure like it's something that you want to do for a while and that you can build your whole brand around. So that that that's the detour for me is that he really built my following and he edited it away and everything. So then I was that person, like, oh dang, now I only can go viral if I'm talking almost. I'm that's another thing. I post no haircuts, and I get so many clients, and I'm all viral, and I'm a barber, and people know me as a barber. And I ask my clients when they come in, oh, I just follow you on TikTok and Instagram. I'm like, I don't post any haircuts, so why'd you come to me? And I always ask them, and they're like, Well, if you're teaching barbers, then you must know what you're doing. So I'm like, okay, but that was never my plan, you know.

SPEAKER_01 55:01

Very different.

SPEAKER_03 55:02

Different perspective.

Social Media Growth

SPEAKER_01 55:04

What do you think? Let's say that you didn't blow up on social media. What do you think that your life would look like as far as like, would you still be barbering? Would you suck with the real estate side, or what do you think?

SPEAKER_03 55:16

No, I would still be barbering for sure. Yeah, I'll be barbering for sure. And that's the thing, is I'm just too creative in my mind.

SPEAKER_02 55:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 55:22

Um, and then at some point I would have clicked off with the social media, right? Like, because we're trying. That's the thing, is like it's not like Don was the first person to ever pick up a camera and film it. I have been trying. Uh, in real estate, I have like vlogs and all this shit from Teo Shot this. Um, he used to make us vlogs for real estate. We'd be making all these cool vlogs and like photography. Like, I was trying to, I've always, you know, social media is important, right? What do we say? Any small business should have social media. So I'm a small business. At the end of the day, whether it was Don, whether it was some other way, like I was gonna blow. It was just a matter of consistency and when somebody met up right at the right time.

SPEAKER_01 56:00

Me and you've talked about this before. I think that the person though has a lot to do with it. Because there's a lot of corny people, there's a lot of people who are just cringe or not good on camera or overthink it and all this stuff. And so even if they post, you know, a ton, doesn't mean that they can't blow up, but I think you've gotta have that little bit of an ick it fact, right? If you're not likable in person, like if you've got somebody who you know you meet in person that you don't like them, or a lot of people like the consensus around that person is their negative Nancy or whatever, it's gonna be super hard for somebody like that to blow up, right? So I think you kind of part of it is you have to have, like you say, it doesn't matter who necessarily is recording you, yeah, if the talent isn't, you know, talented and they don't have an you know, people aren't attracted to that person, whether it's for looks, whether it's through they're funny, whether it's through, you know, whatever, the personality, I think that definitely makes a huge difference on social media.

SPEAKER_03 56:47

Yeah, yeah. But I also think like even think about Nick Fuentes. Racist, fucking, uh, anti-Semit, openly, right? He openly says he's racist. He's openly says all this stuff. He talks crap about I I've never seen him say a positive thing about anybody, right? And he's just like in his basement, he admits it. I'm just like his following is crazy, bro. He's literally on every freaking news site, everywhere, all over viral. So there is somebody for everybody. I think it's about that. He's outspoken.

SPEAKER_01 57:15

You would meet him in person, you'd probably still like him. Like Donald Trump. Everybody hates Donald Trump, but even like a Bill Maher goes and meets him and says, Oh, he was actually a very like pleasant guy to be around. So I think that, you know, there's people that you just like you would not want to hang around just because they're stupid. You probably wouldn't want to hang around Nick Fuentes. However, I'm sure he's got, you know, he's eloquent, he speaks well, you know, he's got traits.

SPEAKER_03 57:33

I think it's authenticity, though.

SPEAKER_01 57:35

Yeah, that's for sure. You have to be authentic, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 57:37

Yeah, so that's the biggest thing is uh, you know, I know that I filled out a little questionnaire when I came, right? And it was like I think two of the questions I said, you know, it was like gems to give to somebody or something like that. And I don't mean to be running ahead if I am or something like that on your or anything. But it goes into this of saying, like, you have to not care what people think because that's the biggest reason nobody does pretty much everything. Let's go pull Joe right now and tell him, sit right here and make a video, and I'm gonna post it, and you say this, and he'll be like, No, why not? I can't. And it's like, why? And then it and then you make the video, and maybe it's a funny video, maybe you know whatever. And then you're like, oh, and it's so good, but maybe it got him in the wrong lighting, you know, he looked a little thick too much, or something like that, right? Wrong angle. And this is for anybody, that's what everybody thinks in their mind. Then they're not gonna post because why? Not because of themselves, because they care what other people think. And it's like that's the biggest thing is authenticity. But when somebody, I really think that there is literally anybody could blow up if but they have to be truly authentic. A soft-spoken, ugly chick could blow up be if they were truly authentic. Like if they're because that's another thing, like you live lifestyle stuff, and I feel like you're soft-spoken, you still go crazy viral, but I feel like you're soft-spoken, and if you were a little bit more uh like how to like demanded, you know, because you're just chill all the time, like yeah, and you just be dropping the craziest huge bars, like I'm like, no, Don needs to like put explosions or something when you say something like that, because it's like crazy, and even me talking right now, my tone and stuff, you know, it's like excited. So, but I feel like if you were to talk in the camera though, like close to it and just like very like intimate. I feel it's weird, but like if you were truly like intimate in a camera instead of all and with no captions or anything, like you would get a lot of like views, like just talking because everybody could go viral if they're just like in it, like even anybody, you know. They just have to be authentic and they have to really be talking to someone.

SPEAKER_01 59:40

You gotta have some decent content. Like you'll see, I've seen a lot of females, like I said, they may not be the hottest female in the world, those blow up, you know, just because. But you have these average girls that are sitting in a car, every single story on or every single uh reel on their page is just them sitting in the same exact car every single day, just talking about whatever cooking, religion, whatever, but they're consistent, they post every day, and they're talking the stuff that they say relates to people, it's not just like you know, trash that they're saying. But yeah, it could be.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:05

Yeah, because there's somebody exactly like everybody out here. Like it's weird because I'm not sure if you're yeah, you know, and I feel like you might think there's nobody like you, and there's nobody like you. I don't think there's nobody like you, okay?

SPEAKER_02 1:00:16

But there is.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:19

No, but seriously, like, and and you know what I'm saying? Like, people can relate to whoever exactly you are. Like you're freaking, oh I'll say for me, right? Like someone, there's some Dyke Barber, freaking conservative, like everything that I am, y'all gonna get y'all gonna get cancelled.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:38

So the next question in the podcast, why are you gay?

SPEAKER_00 1:00:44

There's a there's a trend or a meme or whatever it was. And no, I kind of want to do it. Uh because nothing's off limits. And the trend is this dude, I don't know, he's a pastor. He's a Nigerian pastor, and and he tells, and his thing was, why are you gay? Have you seen it?

SPEAKER_03 1:00:58

Yeah. Why am I gay? I don't know why I'm gay. That's just how it came out, dude.

unknown 1:01:07

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:07

From childhood?

SPEAKER_03 1:01:09

Yeah. Uh like so um my parents they cut my hair when I was like, I was gonna ask that earlier and I forgot about it.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:15

You said you went to get your Barbie went to get a haircut after her first day out of prison, and you got that haircut, right?

SPEAKER_03 1:01:19

So, like, no, I was one on top. Like, I was straight away.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:23

When did she when did when's the last time Sherry had long hair?

SPEAKER_03 1:01:26

Uh four four years, uh four years old, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:28

And you think I don't know how to explain this. I don't want to get in too much into it. No, go. Without being incorrectly, politically incorrectly. No, dude, how did it like I don't even show the story? Like, how does it happen when one person, what age will you say, hey, I'm not straight or whatever? I'm giving you a big thing.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:44

Okay, so multiple things. One, uh, I do feel like uh it's uh big like uh influence, like how they say like uh social programming. That's like super popular, you know?

SPEAKER_00 1:01:56

Like when you're a kid or like you're talking about now.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:58

In general, just to even make uh like parents, you know, um be okay with, you know, I don't know. I just feel like uh it was just very like um, I don't know, like I feel like my parents should be like, Well, my dad was my dad's like you're not a boy, but yeah, I didn't choose my haircut.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:18

So you're a tomboy growing up.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:20

Yeah, I was a tomboy, but they cut my hair off like short, but I already dress like a boy. But mind you, I don't have brothers. So these are let me tell you something though. So I don't have brothers, so these aren't hand-me-down clothes, but I'm also like five years old, four years old. So I'm not choosing boy clothes. Like, does Mikey choose his clothes at five years old? Right? Really, kind of like not really. And then even then, at five years old, are you gonna go buy him girl clothes?

SPEAKER_00 1:02:44

No.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:45

Are you gonna go buy Selena boy clothes for some reason? No, right? So I was a tomboy by no choice, right? But I didn't that's you gotta understand that's my first memory. That's all I know. So you didn't have molded you. To who you are?

SPEAKER_00 1:02:57

You didn't so you didn't have molded.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:58

Because my dad had girls, so he didn't have no little boy. And my dad was an entrepreneur, he worked in warehouses and stuff. So I think like, and I was his little, like, I didn't go to daycare, I was with my dad at his works. Like, if he was working, he had his office. He did multiple things. He was an entrepreneur, but whatever he was doing, I was working with him. So I think more the only reason he dressed me like a boy is just because I was in a warehouse. Like I literally grew up in a warehouse, like with men working. So oh, he's not gonna put me in a dress, bro. Like, yes, he's so it's not like I was like super like wearing like fucking Tommy Hill figure boots and shit. I was just like shorts, baggy shorts, basketball shorts, or t-shirts and stuff like that. And I had like a little cut, and then when they were gonna cut my hair, they cut all my hair off, and I remember I cried because I was like, I already dressed like a boy, and now they're really gonna think I'm a boy because all my hair was cut off, and I cried and I didn't go to school for like two days. And then um, I mean, it was weird because I already went to school, right? So it's like it's not like the people who were already there are gonna say, like, oh, you're a boy now. But I don't know, I thought I would get teased maybe or something. I don't know, but either way, I don't remember what happened. But either way, throughout school, like when I'd go to new schools and stuff, or if I went to a new grade or I introduced myself to anybody, I'd be like, uh, you know, they would be like, Why is your name Megan if you're a boy? And I'd be like, 'cause I'm a girl. And this was since I was kindergarten, bro. So in that sense, there was never I I grew up like a little boy. So in my sense, like if I'm chilling with my dad in a warehouse and there's a bunch of warehouse workers and they're checking out a chick, I am too with them, bro. Like, that's just how it was. It was just like that. So it never was like a thing. Like it never, it it just felt like that. Like, even when all my friends, all my friends were boys, like we're going to ride bikes, we're going to play games, we're going to the creek, we're fishing, we're catching frogs. So even all my friends are boys. So we're like, I was just a little boy. You know what I'm saying?

SPEAKER_00 1:04:55

Has never changed your mind ever since a little kid.

SPEAKER_03 1:04:57

Like, all right, this is who I am. Yeah. And then like basically that's just how it's been forever.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:06

Ever had a boyfriend? No. Never liked a guy?

SPEAKER_03 1:05:09

Never had a boyfriend, never had a crush. I had a lot of guys try to talk to me, even looking like a boy, because guys are gave us. Gateways.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:22

Okay. Well, there it is. All right. Let's get back into the uh into the uh the expo. What's different from the next year expo? What's gonna be different from the last one? It's the same uh event location, right? Yes. So what what's gonna be different? Like, why would someone need to go to this one?

SPEAKER_03 1:05:36

Um so one, the biggest difference is uh we're moving from 26,000 square foot to 70,000 square foot expo hall.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:42

Triple the size?

SPEAKER_03 1:05:43

Yeah, it's pretty rowdy, it's pretty scary. Um two is uh, you know, it's always because this is what a trade show every year is it's always different brands. It's different businesses, it's different brands, it's their newest products. So even if it's the same brands, which are the biggest brands. Right, shout out Red Bull, official sponsor for three years running. You know what I'm saying? Um big time. Yeah, and then you know, we have the clipper companies from Wall, JRL, any clippers, JRL. Shout out JRL Professional, you know what I'm saying? I am uh an educator, international educator for JRL. Uh yeah, but you know, they dropped the Lambo Clippers. Um, but yeah, we have all the biggest brands, but that's what a trade show is, is it's always showing the newest brands, the newest companies, the newest business. And even if it's not a new company, it's their newest products, latest products. Um, you're gonna meet the, you know, that's the thing, is it's like also on social media, right? There's always a new barber blowing up that maybe is an educator or somebody that you want to see, and we're always gonna have new educators. We've already locked in. Uh Dre Clipper Hands, which he's huge. He's gonna be an educator. My homie Hugo, Victor Hugo from JRL, he's gonna be educating. And uh, I haven't even told JRL that, but that's the first now. Y'all know we need Hugo out here.

SPEAKER_00 1:07:01

Well, that's cool. It's definitely cool to see your journey from man, the prison to where you're at today. Uh, but this is the Trump the Hustle podcast. Trump the Hustle for me is it's not a slogan, it's a way of life, right? Everything I do has always been from the Army days, was when I first hit the mindset of Trump the Hustle and what hustle means to me. What does Trump the hustle mean to Sherry?

SPEAKER_03 1:07:19

Uh turn up the hustle. It just means um make sure that you're getting the most out of your time, your days. Uh people think uh time is a thing, right? Like um we have actually way too much time and there's not enough people doing enough with their time. So uh turning up the hustle is just making sure you're counting your time and that you're filling that time with, you know, activities that are getting you closer to your life goals. And you gotta understand too, hustling isn't just about uh making money, but it's about hustling to the lifestyle you want. And lifestyle includes a lot of things, like you know, y'all go to church every Sunday, y'all do all the things. So you're you're hustling when you go to church, right? You gotta you gotta get up, you gotta get the kids ready, you gotta make sure you're getting there on time, you gotta hustle to them pews. You say you front row all the time, you gotta get there early. You gotta do all the that's still hustling. We know that that little traffic, that's a little hustle. Everything's a hustle to get to the lifestyle you want. Turning up the hustle is saying, hey, let's turn up our lifestyle by uh making sure we are counting of our time and the whole lifestyle is a is a hustle. Um it's just a way of life. You have to fall in like your hobby has to be hustling. That's what I tell people who are like entrepreneurs or small business owners. Uh, you don't have to live this lifestyle either. Go get a nine to five, work corporate if you want to. But if you want this lifestyle, your hobby has to be hustling.

Hustle: Born or Taught?

SPEAKER_00 1:08:40

And so it's a lifestyle of excellence. That's how I like the word it, right? You think hustle can be taught, or you just have to you're just born with it.

SPEAKER_03 1:08:46

Born with it. You can't teach hustle, bro. And and there's a lot of people who aren't born with it and who don't have hustle, who want to be entrepreneurs and self-employed because they think it's the easy lifestyle, make my own hours, freedom, all this. Get the fuck. You ain't got it, bro.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:03

Yeah, I think that's true. I think at a certain level, you've either got it or you don't.

SPEAKER_03 1:09:07

But there can also be like, well, that's another thing is someone can get so fed up that a trigger changes in their life. A traumatic event.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:16

Life changing event.

SPEAKER_03 1:09:17

Or just being set it in too.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:20

I don't think you can teach them, they have to go through something. That trigger actually is a good thing.

SPEAKER_00 1:09:24

Life-changing life changing event. Yeah, so that's the Trump's hustle podcast. And you know, when it comes to hustle, my three hustles always three to three things that I love doing. It's flipping houses, wholesaling real estate, and buying lots of houses with subtoes. That's my hustle. Sherry's definitely close to your hustle from the prison to being a barber to having one of the biggest expos and one of the biggest followings followings in the barber industry uh on all social media platforms. So definitely kudos to you.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:48

Is there any last parting words you want? Any advice you want to give? Anything you want to plug?

SPEAKER_03 1:09:51

Obviously, you want to plug the You know, obviously uh Five Star Barber Beauty Expo, April 12th, Austin, Texas, downtown amazing event, all day event. Um at fivestarexpo.com, you can uh be a sponsor, a vendor, you can compete in barber competitions, you can come just to check everything out, general admission. Uh so fivestarexpo.com, you can find everything and Cherry the Barber on all platforms.

SPEAKER_01 1:10:15

Let's get it. Well, that has been yet another great episode of the Turn Up the Hustle Podcast where we get uh these investors and these entrepreneurs to share how they have gotten there and what you need to do to get there as well. So if you like this video, go ahead, like and subscribe, follow us on YouTube and all platforms, and we will see you on the next one. And as always, make sure you turn up the hustle.