Ufa barbershop owner quits business for shift work

36-year-old Anton Shuraskin once opened one of the first barbershops in Ufa, and later — a whole bunch of successful beauty salons. And now, after nine years, he got rid of his last business, choosing shift work in the North over entrepreneurship.

UFA1.RU managed to visit Anton«s only remaining barbershop just during the sale days and found out what made the businessman choose exhausting work trips over his own business, which was steadily bringing in income.

“I looked at my tired father after work and thought: this is my path”

Anton acquired his own barbershop back in 2016. It was his very first venture. Ironically, it turned out that he ended his entrepreneurial journey with it: he had long since said goodbye to his other businesses, but couldn«t bring himself to part with this one until the very end.

Although the decision to sell the salon had been brewing for a long time and was made thoughtfully, Anton admits — he«s still a bit sad. After all, a lot of effort and time was invested in this brainchild. Although we overheard that the new owner isn»t even planning to change the sign. And at the time of our visit, Anton was no longer the owner, but we were allowed to film: it turns out the former owner is still respected here, and the doors aren«t closed to him.

The Ufa resident might never have gotten into business. Anton worked for many years on a shift basis at oil wells — first in his native Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, then in Yakutia. That«s how he planned to earn his living for his whole life. But everything changed when Anton»s friend bought an existing business.

“I suddenly felt envious that he could now manage his own life, and I got fired up. It turns out, it«s possible. I decided to open my own business. I»m from a working-class family, I didn«t know anything about business — I was amazed that such a thing was possible. As a child, I looked at my father, he worked as a tractor driver, tired after work, with dirty hands, and I thought that would be my path,” — recalls the Ufa resident.

Anton seriously took on the idea of becoming his own boss. After much deliberation, he settled on a barbershop. Back then, in 2016, there were only about four such salons in all of Ufa. But the concept was already gaining popularity. Although competition was still weak, he still wanted to stand out in some way.

“For example, there was a strict policy everywhere that only men cut men«s hair. And I thought: I»ll break it. I started hiring girls, because it«s more interesting. Some, of course, reacted immediately, like, how come, why are there girls in a barbershop? Then we tried to emphasize the element of novelty. But actually, now barbershops are pretty basic already,” — notes Anton.

“Business — it«s routine”

The establishment opened with quite a buzz. The team threw a bright themed party and invested well in advertising. It turned out that finding a space and setting it up coolly — that wasn«t the hardest part.

“I allocated a lot of money for it, and the business took off right away. We hired many advertisers. A decent amount of money was poured in, of course. But actually, the hardest part — is the staff and clients. I had other beauty businesses besides the barbershop, and I confirmed that the same problem exists everywhere,” — admits Anton.

According to the now former businessman, during its operation, this establishment alone had about 12,500 unique clients. Fifty masters passed through the salon.

But in the end, Anton had to part with his brainchild. And the reason was simple burnout.

“After being in business for more than eight years, I just got tired of it. At some point, I got so sick of it all, I wanted something new. It«s routine, everything is the same, my focus completely shifted away from it, I stopped dealing with it. The business lived its own life,” — explains the Ufa resident.

But Anton still assures: you can«t say the business failed. Even in that state, it could have gone on for a long time.

“It«s a fully operational business, so I sold it as a going concern. We had turnover, good masters, a flow of clients who had a beaten path to our doors. All that was left was to keep investing and working on advertising, but I no longer had the energy for that,” — summarizes our interviewee.

“It«s unusual when they tell you what to do”

Meanwhile, Anton still believes that the barbershop industry will undergo major changes in the future.

“This field will remain relevant, but the economic model needs to change. Probably, more and more masters will work for themselves. It«s no longer profitable due to economic instability to keep paying rent and constantly pay the master,” — believes the ex-entrepreneur.

Returning to “working for the man” after such a break still turned out to be unusual.

“The main drawback of shift work, of course, is that you go away to work in some far-off places. And secondly, I now have a boss. That is, I was a businessman, and here suddenly they tell you what to do. On the plus side, it became easier in the sense that you don«t have to think. They said do it — you do it, they said rest — you rest,” — says Anton.

Well, for those who want to start their own business, the Ufa resident advises first trying to work for themselves.

“First, you need to become some kind of master, self-employed. That«s a more interesting and viable concept now,” — thinks Anton.

Now the ex-businessman wants to “take a little break and reboot” — return to shift work. At the same time, he runs a small Telegram channel. In November, Anton is flying to Magadan to work for a gold mining company, but in the future, he still admits he might return to business.

“At the moment, nothing ties me to business. I«m still a bit sad about the sale. I met all the top bloggers in Ufa. I even fell in love thanks to the barbershop. My favorite business, goodbye,” — Anton wrote in his blog.

Not everyone considers shift work an attractive occupation. UFA1.RU spoke with a worker who labored this way for almost 20 years. In his opinion, this field isn«t as good nowadays, and young staff rarely stick around — and they»re right to do so. Another shift worker spoke more complimentarily about such work, honestly listing all the pros and hardships.