One of the businesses that is most seen in the neighborhoods of Madrid is the barbershop or hairdresser. Fade cuts, beard trims and impossible designs coexist with a less aesthetic reality: long hours, freelance fees and good and bad months. This is how Alex, Ecuadorian barber and owner of BarberShop Freestyle, explains it in an interview on the YouTube channel ‘SUCU’, where he reveals how much he earns as a hairdresser and how his evolution has been from employee to self-employed.
“Right now, that I own the barbershop, I am earning about 2,000 to 2,500 euros,” he says. But yes, “you have to pay for the self-employed, the premises… when you have already made all the expenses you have to keep your salary. That’s why self-employed people work more.” Not to mention that the self-employed also receive less pension than employees.
His story begins long before arriving in Spain. He has been cutting hair for 20 years. He started when he was just 12 years old in Ecuador, learning the trade with colleagues who taught him the technique. He has been in Madrid for seven years: the first two years he worked as an employee and then he decided to start his own business in a neighborhood of the capital of Spain.
From 1,200 euros on payroll to 2,500 as self-employed
When he worked as an employee, Alex earned, as he explains, 1,200 euros per month. “That was five years ago,” he points out, suggesting that salaries may have improved slightly since then.
However, his case was not that of an ordinary barber. He managed to make up to 40 cuts a day, thanks to a technique that allows him to take between 10 and 15 minutes per client. “Apart from having technique, you have to have clients. When you do a good job, the client returns,” he says.
The leap into entrepreneurship came driven by his family. “One of the big reasons was my wife and my children, who have always supported me,” he explains. As a self-employed person, he recognizes that gross income can be around 2,500 euros per month, but at the cost of extending hours: “My schedule says until eight, but sometimes we stay until ten or ten thirty.”
The difference, he insists, is not only economic. Responsibility also changes. Now you must take care of rent, supplies, taxes and the self-employment fee before setting your own salary.
Build customer loyalty and create “a second home”
Beyond the numbers, Alex defends that the success of a barbershop is in the deal. “Many clients are looking for friendship, apart from their hairdresser,” he points out. Conversations about work, personal problems or simply a pleasant time are part of the service.
To build loyalty, apply clear commercial strategies: haircut and beard offers, discounts for those who come weekly, and Christmas raffles with products and up to a year of free haircuts. “If you come every week, you will lose one or two euros per cut. It will show in a month,” he explains.
In their case, the usual price of the cut is around 10 euros with active promotions, a figure that varies depending on the neighborhood and the competition.
Competitions, effort and long days
The barber is not only limited to the day-to-day business. Three or four years ago he was proclaimed champion in Spain in the Air Tattoo modality, a discipline that consists of making caricatures and realistic designs in hair. He also mentions competitions such as the fastest “fade” or freestyle, and is already preparing for new competitions.
But recognition does not hide sacrifice. He remembers that, when he opened the barbershop, he worked even on Sundays, resting only on certain afternoons. “I’m not going to lie to you, this is something you experience every day,” he warns those who dream of setting up their own establishment.
His message for young people is clear: perseverance and continuous training. “There will be people who will tell you that you can’t. Don’t give up, keep improving every day.”
At a time when many are looking for job alternatives or entrepreneurship, Alex’s testimony reflects the reality of a job that combines creativity, humane treatment and business management. Income can exceed 2,000 euros per month, but, as he himself summarizes, “to achieve good results you have to work a lot.”