MARYSVILLE — Jimmy Quillen wasn’t dreaming of dollar signs when he opened his barber shop two weeks ago.
He was wondering how he could get a largely unemployed customer base to stop skimping on haircuts. The only logical solution? Snip a few inches off prices.
So he’s wielding the tools of his trade — that’s pair of scissors and a comb — for as little as $8 a head, though $12 turns out to be his average rate.
“I just thought, the economy is so bad right now,” he said. “People just aren’t able to afford even basic things.”
During his first opening days, about half his customers were recently laid off.
He thinks the recession hit Marysville hard, and he can relate. Quillen was out of work before opening the shop at 1516 Fourth St., though he worked at another Marysville barber shop for several years.
That shop raised prices last year when the stock markets crashed. Quillen said that didn’t sit right with him.
Haircuts at most barbershops — and at low-cost chains such as Great Clips or Super Cuts — tend to cost $15 or more, Quillen said. That can add up, especially for families with several children
“I’m a good barber, I give a good haircut,” he said. “And I want to make it affordable.”
But he knows low prices probably won’t translate into a profitable business. He’s hoping to make just enough to keep the business afloat, relying on a relatively inexpensive two-year lease with his landlord and low overhead to keep costs down.
“Right now, we’re pretty much living on what my wife brings home, and we’re grateful for that,” said Quillen, an Everett resident and father of two children.
A tall man of 56 with an easy-going personality, it isn’t surprising he used to be a boxer.
He was a professional fighter for 13 years, and the pictures lining the walls of the shop show a lingering affection for the sport. And a recumbent exercise bike in the corner and a jump rope draped over a doorknob are proof that old habits die hard.
He went to art school in California (though these days, he doesn’t paint as much as he thinks he should) and worked on a railroad for while. But he always ended up back in a barber shop.
“I’ve always gravitated back to this,” he said. “I really enjoy doing this.”
He still has some work to do around the shop, which is a one-man operation for now. There’s a sink to install, a waiting-area partition to build and some more sports memorabilia to go up on the walls.
He wants to create a family-friendly environment. After that, it’s a matter of keeping $12 at a time coming into the register.
Quillen knows he won’t get rich quick. But if everyone did their part to help other out, he thinks the economy would improve a lot faster.
“And this is what I can do,” he said.
Read Amy Rolph’s small-business blog at www.heraldnet.com/TheStorefront.
Contact her at 425-339-3029 or arolph@heraldnet.com.
Need a haircut?
Jimmy’s Barber Shop is located at 1516 Fourth St., Marysville. Call Jimmy Quillen at 360-348-1498.
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