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A Beautiful Ride / Business Lessons from Mom

July 4, 2016 By //  by Natalie the Blademaiden

Barbering is our occupation, and as such, we have accumulated a career full of knowledge about the subject. But we are also business owners, and now have a number of successes and failures under our belt in that arena as well.

Dewey Cox

These are those stories, written from Blademaiden’s hermit hideout in the back room of Beardsgaard, affectionately known as “The Data Cave.”


Dinner & A Carnival

A couple of weekends ago we went to dinner at my parents’ house. Their house is a stone’s throw from a lot where festivals and carnivals and the like happen damn near every weekend over the summer.

On this day, it was a carnival, in its last sliver of time before packing up at the end of the weekend, and my mom grabbed the kid to take her for a quick ride before it was over.

They picked the high chair swing ride, whatever it’s called, and up they went, soaring through the air with the greatest of ease. For a few turns, at least, and then it came down.

My mom, bless her heart, immediately gets off the ride and charges over to Tyler, my dad and I, we having moseyed on over from the house to watch the fun to tell us how “I’ve been watching this ride all weekend from my house and that is the shortest time I have ever seen it go up for. And for $7 worth of tickets EACH!”

Now, I have not parteken of carnival rides for some time, because a loud place with lots of people is usually my personal hell, but that did seem rather high for the meager slice of fun I had just seen. Or any carnival ride really, damn.

So my mother, in that way she has, about her, marches right up to the ride operator and repeats her assertion. Moments later, my mom and my confused/excited step-daughter are going up again for a longer ride, with not another soul on it.

For a solid minute, they had the air to themselves.

Life Full Circle

I stood there next to my husband and wondered if he had any idea what he had just watched play out.

That inclination my mother has always had, when something is wrong, or just not right, is to speak up, clear, direct and unequivocal. In my wallflower younger days, this was MORTIFYING for me.

Dad could fix just about anything you could see, but my mother had a way of fixing the things that eyes were useless to identify. Although she is never mean or rude or condescending, when she needs to make something happen, it gets done, niceness be damned.

She’s not shy and she’s not scared, ever (except of ferrets eating people’s faces, apparently). She travelled the world as an Army brat, can strike up a conversation with literally anyone, anytime, and decided to have both a family and career by starting a business out of her home when the kids were born (I grew up to design the logo and start working for peanuts when I was 9).

This is the woman who, at nearly 60 years old, went back to nursing school, was a star student and is now a mobile hospice nurse, looking death in the face every day and cracking really fucked up jokes to keep him off his guard.

This hereditary bulldog instinct, along with a need to make work and family coexist, laid a pretty direct path to the creation of Beardsgaard. I certainly never gained a deep love of barbering from my dad, he was the exact kind of hippie that led to the temporary death of the barbershop.

Although in most ways I loved the shop I spent five years and most of my career with, it was a large organization. I’m proud to say I did help affect changes there that made things better in some small ways, after a number of years I became convinced that the only way I could see what I was capable of when unleashed was to take that leash off myself.

So while Tyler, the now-Beardsmith husband was in school, the business planning began, and more and more I let that mom side of me out. Here are the lessons I learned from my mother that have made me effective in business (and, hell, life).

Business & Life Advice From Mom

Know Your Battle Plan (and contingencies)

Waterfalls

and don’t go chasing waterfalls – you might fall over

  • Life: When my mother went to talk to the ride operator, I don’t know whether she asked for a refund or to go up again, but if I know her, she offered up both of those two choices, and had them in her head as the ride was coming down.
  • Lesson: Complainers complain, problem-solvers identify, then clearly, directly communicate the problem – and they come armed with solutions.

Win with Why

don’t let that smile fool you, this was a demon child for this whole day

  • Life: Even though she ran a business and worked crazy amounts of hours, the fact that my mom spent years with us kids full time taught her the power of why, and how to run it to the end of the line for powerful effect.
  • Lesson: If someone isn’t giving you a straight answer/what you want, either deliberately, because you’re not on the same page, or information is missing, keep asking “Why?” When you both have to keep narrowing down your reasoning, the heart of the matter will eventually get unearthed.

*Please note, this only works if YOU’RE RIGHT. If you’re in the wrong, this will backfire spectacularly.*

Can’t Stop Won’t Stop

Mom Working

children ignored just enough to become self-sufficient

  • Life: Work your ass off.
  • Lesson: Life doesn’t give you breaks, so you had better be tireless.

One more for the road…

  • Life: “Watch your fucking mouth.”
  • Lesson: Obey the laws, break the rules

Here we are, open nearly two years, with four employees and no signs of slowing down, and so much of it is because this one lady taught her kids by example how to get shit done no matter what.

In business you find inspiration from everywhere. Just make sure to look behind you.

Because it all counts.

Filed Under: Beyond the Barbershop, Blog Tagged With: Behind the Scenes, Evergreen Terrace, Pillar

About Natalie the Blademaiden

Elfin pixie. Creative blunderbuss. Deep canon nerd. Fracking adorable. Also one half of the married pair of barber proprietors of Beardsgaard and River Peak Apothecary.

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We built this place for you, to bring you everything you ever dreamed you could find in your friendly neighborhood barbershop, and a stupid amount more. Beardsmith and Blademaiden, the mom and pop founders, invite you to explore the realm.

Our Little Slice of Valhalla

In historic downtown Batavia on Route 31 between 1st and Main

117 S Batavia Ave, Batavia, IL 60510

PHONE: ( 630 ) 454 - 4820

EMAIL: shop@beardsgaardbarbers.com

Appointment & Walk-Ins Both!

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Loads of free parking here, both on the street in front of the shop, with an even more substantial parking lot in back.

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💈Classic Haircuts • Epic Beards • Razor Shaves💈
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Beardsgaard Barbers
It’s official everyone! Beard trims are back and It’s official everyone! Beard trims are back and open for booking. While we know it’s been months and everyone is looking a bit scruffy please be patient as we try and squeeze all the beard trims we can into the schedule. We’d also like to thank everyone who’s been diligent with keeping our shop a safe and healthy environment. 
If you’re already booked in the schedule we can’t guarantee we can add a beard trim to your service but we can definitely try booking you for a different time to get that beard in. 
{Link to book in bio}
Our news friends at @nbcchicago popped in for some Our news friends at @nbcchicago popped in for some street interviews. You can see what our clients and barbers said at 4pm and 6pm today!
We were deeply saddened by the news of Christopher We were deeply saddened by the news of Christopher Tolkien passing a year ago, and still are to this day. Our love of his father and Lord of the Rings is ever present here at Beardsgaard. So tonight we, and hopefully the rest of you, will take a moment to remember one of the greatest authors of all time, his son, and the impact the Tolkien family has had on our lives. 
“The world is indeed full of peril, and in it there are many dark places; but still there is much that is fair, and though in all lands love is now mingled with grief, it grows perhaps the greater.”
-J.R.R. Tolkien
While we appreciate all the self sufficient kids t While we appreciate all the self sufficient kids that come into the shop, we still need an adult with them to sign our liability waiver. We know it’s a bit of a pain but it’s really to appease Phydeoux the shop dragon. He has a hunger for children and waivers, and we’d rather feed him waivers.
You don’t have to wear it after your cut, but do You don’t have to wear it after your cut, but don’t forget your hat. It’s cold outside.
The product goblin (and the rest of us) think @soa The product goblin (and the rest of us) think @soapdistillery body oils smell good enough to drink. We promise the oils will make you feel much better if you put them on your outside instead of your inside though.
Well hello to those with wild beards who heard whi Well hello to those with wild beards who heard whispers of moving out of Tier 3 Mitigation! Please pause, we're not there yet. 

This does not apply to the entire state of Illinois, only certain regions. As of now, we are still in Tier 3. We will announce when we have moved to Tier 2 on all of our social media channels as well as our email list, so sit tight until then!

Because knowledge is power, you also can go to http://dph.illinois.gov/regionmetrics?regionID=8 at any time and look at Region 8, which contains Kane County. As of this posting, we are not meeting the metric on hospital bed availability. 

We promise, we want to get everything under your mask looking and feeling great, but we cannot do that until it's safe. Thank you for understanding, and please keep an eye out here, on Instagram or sign up for our email list at the bottom of www.beardsgaardbarbers.com to get updates.
And you? Do you like the barber shop? We like you. And you? Do you like the barber shop? We like you.
We may specialize in short, traditionally masculin We may specialize in short, traditionally masculine haircuts, but Beardsgaard has always been a place for everyone; girls, guys, gays, theys - all identities and orientations find acceptance and a barbershop home here. If, however, you are looking for the luscious salon locks that are far less in our barberly skill set, we are the lucky next door neighbors of the incredible @coasthairsalon
Between the two of us, we have heads of every sort covered in spectacular hair, and positive vibes.
While we would love to see more than half of your While we would love to see more than half of your faces, until Illinois is out of Tier 3 we are just not allowed to do any face services. That means all beard trims and face shaves are not a thing for the foreseeable future. We know that’s a bummer for most of you but think of how epic and wizardry your beards will be once we can do trims!
For beard updates we will be posting across social media and sending an email out to those of you that are on the email list as soon as we know anything. Hang tight Gaardians, your face gardens will be pruned again some day.
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Our Little Slice of Valhalla

In historic downtown Batavia on Route 31 between 1st and Main

117 S Batavia Ave, Batavia, IL 60510

PHONE: ( 630 ) 454 - 4820

EMAIL: shop@beardsgaardbarbers.com

Appointment & Walk-Ins Both!

Parking

Loads of free parking here, both on the street in front of the shop, with an even more substantial parking lot in back.

Current Hours

Closed for Shop Lunch 2-3 pm weekdays, 1-2 pm Saturdays

• Monday - Friday 9 / 8 • Saturday 9 / 5

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Holy moly, Sean and Lola have openings this evening, grab 'em quick! (Closed Sundays & Mondays. Call or book online )
For the safety of our staff and clients, we must refuse service to anyone with cold or flu-like symptoms.
Actually there’s a whole list of questions we’re gonna ask you at the door, brace yourself.
Shop closes for lunch weekdays 2-3 PM and Saturdays 1-2 PM
Shop our entire shop online, for shipping worldwide or curbside pickup! {CLICKY HERE}
Currently only booking haircuts, head shaves, and buzzcuts. Razor fade add on available. Click Here!
While you’re here, peruse our sibling shop right next door or in the Webs of Inter, River Peak Apothecary!