Dan: So, Phil, tell us a little bit about your background. Where did you grow up, your family?

Phil: I grew up in Paterson, New Jersey, and then we moved to Park Ridge, New Jersey.

Dan: How old were you when you moved to Park Ridge?

Phil: I was just going into first grade.

Dan: Okay, I didn't know that. I thought that you grew up in Park Ridge the whole time?

Phil: No. My mom and dad were both born in Italy, and they met here in the States, and that's where they began.

Dan: Oh, interesting. You have siblings?

Phil: I do. I have two sisters. They're both older than me, and I'm the youngest boy.

Dan: And most spoiled, I'm sure, in their eyes.

Phil: If you ask them.

Dan: By the way, I'm the same, as you may recall, so I get that all the time. So what high school did you go to?

Phil: I went to Paramus Catholic.

Dan: College?

Phil: I didn't go to college. Right out of high school, I began working in the industry that I'm still in 32 years later.

Dan: And that is...?

Phil: The hair salon industry.

Dan: So, you were growing up in Park Ridge, and your father?

Phil: Yes. So, my dad was a barber. My dad had a two-chair barbershop in Park Ridge where we were living right up the street. And as I was getting older, we would talk about me possibly getting to the business and making it more than just a barbershop. So, when I was in high school, I started thinking about what I wanted to do, and it became more of a reality, something that I really might want to go ahead and do with him. The problem was, in my freshman year in high school, we found out that he had cancer, melanoma, and it was very aggressive in stage four. So, that sort of changed things.

Dan: I know your father ultimately passed away from the melanoma.

Phil: Yes. So, he passed away in 1985. And I graduated high school in 1984, and he was sick all four years.

Dan: So, did you ever have, at some point in life, the aspiration of going to college and then this completely derailed it?

Phil: I did. I did. I think his passing drew me in, and I wanted to finish his dream, you know, because he was really excited about moving forward with the barbershop and making it a hair salon with a lot more employees and women's hair and all, you know, coloring and everything, all aspects.

Dan: He had this aspiration.

Phil: He did.

Dan: When he passed away, he had two chairs?

Phil: Yes.

Dan: Tell us a little bit more about that.

Phil: Yeah. So, when he passed away, as I said, I was very young. I was, you know, 18 years old. I enrolled in hair school. And it was tough to trying to get through that going through something like I did. But I made it through. And I didn't have a girlfriend at the time. And I said to my mom, "Mom, let me take you out for Valentine's Day. I want to talk to you." And we were sitting out to dinner and I said, "I want to do this, I'm ready to do this. I want to take over the barbershop completely and make it something." And she said, "Okay, whatever you want to do, whatever you want to be, just promise me you're going to do it right." And I said, "Okay." And that's how it all started.

Dan: So a very supportive mom.

Phil: Yeah, she was. She's very supportive. The interesting thing was I had to support her financially at a young age with that barbershop, that was her only means of income.

Dan: A lot of responsibility, I'm sure.

Phil: It was. It really was, and it shaped who I am today.

Dan: So, at that time, there are two chairs, a single-pole barbershop. People can envision what that must have looked like.

Phil: Yeah, pretty much. Yeah.

Dan: So, take us back to that time. What happened? You take over.

Phil: Well, there were two employees that my father had at the time and my mom had at the time. And once I started working in there, I'm not quite sure how they felt about it and they started to look for their own places. And within a very short period of time, they both walked out and opened up salons within a couple of miles of our barbershop, our hair salon. That was a really tough time, a really tough time. Again at any age, but at the age I was, it was incredibly hard. Somehow, I've made it through, persevered, and kept it going. And eventually, I moved the salon about 100 yards away into a different location and we started to expand, I started to expand the studio this long.

Dan: I want to just go back for a second. So, you had two employees in total who were cutting hair and they both walk out?

Phil: Yes.

Dan: So now it's you.

Phil: It's me, yes.

Dan: So, customers coming in, what's...

Phil: Customers coming in, somehow getting it done. We did look for help. I think I found one person. They didn't always stick, so it's kind of a bit of a revolving door there for a while. But once I moved the barbershop/salon, you know, down the street, if you will, that's when things started to change for me, and I started to find some employees and I could see the light again.

Dan: You saw a constant income, a steady income, a growth in customer base?

Phil: Yes, yes. Yep. Once we moved, I got very, very serious. I worked really hard trying to recruit, started to look for more employees. You know, I was all self-taught, nobody showed me how to do any of this. So I started to read a lot. At one point, I even hired a consulting firm within our industry to help me and learn, because it was really a sink or swim situation, because like I said, I was still supporting my mom, too, because my mother was so young. She was only about 43 when this all went down.

Dan: And your father passed away very early, very young.

Phil: Yes, yes. But one thing I could tell you, right off the bat, I was always able to make a connection with people, and that includes employees, people that I hired. It worked, and it worked quickly.

Dan: To that point, did you have certain employees that at that point became loyal to you, stayed at the salon or maybe even there today?

Phil: Yeah, that's exactly what happened, Dan. Early on, like I said, I hit the pavement. Put ads in the paper. Back then that's the way you did it. There was no Indeeds of the world like there is now. And I was fortunate, and I found some really good people pretty quickly. And as you said, some of those people are still with me today. I have several employees that are working for me, you know, 20 plus years.

Dan: Wow.

Phil: Yeah.

Dan: So, let's roll the clock to today. So, you started out with the two-pole barbershop, and now, how many employees do you have?

Phil: At total, right now, we have 48.

Dan: Forty-eight employees?

Phil: Yes.

Dan: And I'll let you brag a little bit. So, you've been ranked in this Best of Bergen?

Phil: Yes, several times. We've won Best of Bergen, and we're always in the ranking. Whether that's for best salon or best haircut, best blow dry, best color, our name is always recognized, and I am proud of that.

Dan: You should be very proud of that, and you know I'm one of your biggest fans.

Phil: Yes, thank you.

Dan: I think it's terrific what you've done.

Phil: Thank you.

Dan: I know Best a Bergen. Are there other rankings or other criteria that you've been judged? Anything else that you could share with us about that?

Phil: I would say that's probably, you know, top of the line. It's a big deal in Bergen County. We've done a lot of things in between, but I'd say that stands out the most.

Dan: That's the biggest?

Phil: Yeah.

Dan: The biggest honor to be ranked as Best of Bergen?

Phil: Yeah.

Dan: All right. So, as you stand here today, is there something about your area of expertise, managing a salon, growing a salon, anything that we don't know that we should know?

Phil: Well, communication. I spend a lot of time communicating with our employees. I think it's made such a difference. You have to communicate with the people that work for you. You have to give them clear expectations on what you expect, give them constant feedback, set goals. I try to do that with all my employees throughout the year, at least once a quarter, and I think it really makes a difference. We also have an open-book style of management. We share the numbers, which a lot of companies don't do.

Dan: What numbers are you sharing?

Phil: Everybody that works for me knows what the salon sales are each month.

Dan: Really?

Phil: Yep. Service sales, retail sales. They all know our expenses. And if they ever ask me, I'm very open about it, and I think that's made a difference as well.

Dan: I didn't realize that. And your loyalty, your employee loyalty or turnover?

Phil: Very low, very, very low. I'd say confidently below 2%.

Dan: That's incredible because when...I got to imagine other salons out there, their turnover is dramatically different.

Phil: It is a big problem in our industry.

Dan: Turnover?

Phil: Turnover, yes.

Dan: So, what's your big takeaway from the whole experience that you've been sharing? One big takeaway that you want to share with the listeners?

Phil: When I talk about this road, this journey, at this point in the game, it seems just like that, just a story. What it's done, for me, it's shown me how you can really make it through anything if you just stay the course, stay positive, persevere. You can really do anything you want. That's the biggest takeaway because there have been many challenges along the way, but I never give up. It's just not in my vocabulary, just not in my vocabulary.

Dan: You have a can-do attitude?

Phil: Yes, yes. And my father used to call me Geronimo because he said, "You're just not afraid to jump." And I'm not. To this day, I'm always looking to change things, evolve. I think you have to. You can't stay complacent. I think business owners that stay complacent, just keep doing it the way they always did it may have some trouble.

Dan: Is there an example that you can give the listeners of something that you did to change in recent past?

Phil: Well, you know, the biggest change, well, not biggest change, but something that is obvious is how many times we've remodeled the studio over the years. We feel that's very important in the industry that we're in. You have to stay current, you have to have a nice space for clients to come into. And we've done at least four to five renovations over the years, big renovations, expanded, taken on more space. So, that's one example. Another example is our education program. We hire students out of hair school. And we have our own program, and we're constantly changing and evolving that because the student back 15 years ago is not the same student of today. You know, we've all heard the term millennials.

Dan: Right.

Phil: It's just different and you have to adapt or you're not going to make the connection. And I'm proud of that. We continue to do that. We continue to look at that and not be afraid to evolve.

Dan: So, you're in your 50s and you're still able to connect with this generation?

Phil: I feel like I am, yes. And you know what? If there's times where I feel like they want to hear from someone closer to their age, what I've been able to do is involve people in my business who are close to their age who want to get back to the business now and give back and help me grow my business, that's been really helpful as well.

Dan: Are these people that are currently working for you?

Phil: Yes. They are currently working for me who, you know, want to add a little more to the salon. And I've been able to figure out a way to give them an opportunity, not just from behind the chair, but come out from behind the chair, get involved in education, even get involved in the operation.

Dan: I suppose that also contributes to your retention, right? People are more satisfied, right?

Phil: Yes. Dan, you hit it on the nose. I believe that, too. I believe you have to keep giving people challenges. The expression, "If you build, they'll build it, they'll follow you."

Dan: If you build it, they will come.

Phil: Yeah, they will come. I believe in that. Even with the clients, I believe that as well. You know, you can't be afraid.

Dan: We were talking a little bit earlier about a book that you had read called the "E-Myth."

Phil: Yes.

Dan: But I believe the author is Michael Gerber, I believe.

Phil: Yeah, I do.

Dan: You wanna talk a little bit about how that changed what you do through your perspective?

Phil: Yeah, that was an aha moment in my career. What it did for me was it, I realized as the salon was growing and we were hiring more people, things were spinning and you're saying, "Wow." I was still behind the chair, you know, 50, 60 hours, that was getting hard, hard to do. I read that book, I said to myself, "Okay, what I got out of this book was I have to start working on my business." And I knew if I wanted to continue and quite frankly, live in Bergen County, I was going to have to make some changes. And one of the first changes I made was I reduced the amount of hours I was working behind the chair as a stylist and I started to work on it on the business and the people who work within my business. That was huge. And today, I work six hours a week behind the chair. And all the rest of my time is working on the business, working with my leadership team, and basically managing them so that they can manage my business.

Dan: In his book, he says, "Work on the business, not in the business."

Phil: Yes.

Dan: So, that's what you've aspired, that's what you've achieved.

Phil: I did. Yes, I really feel like I do. I work six hours behind the chair still because I want to always know what it feels like to be a hairdresser because it's hard work. I want to be able to relate to the hairdressers. And I think by doing that, it's helped. But that book was definitely a game-changer for me, realizing that it's so important for business owners who are doing, performing what the business gives, that, you know what? There's going to come a time you have to draw a line in the sand and say, "Okay, it's time to work on my business now," because your time becomes more important.

Dan: How did that change your life, your daily life? And how did that change the trajectory of the business, if at all?

Phil: Well, I'll tell you what, it changed my daily life where I had to learn how to be more organized, quite frankly, how to use, you know, the hours in the day most efficiently because before, you know, you get up, you get dressed, you go to work, and you start cutting people's hair, and that's it. But now, wow, I have to look at, you know, the inventory, evaluations, scheduling, cost of goods, insurance, you know, all those things we all know about. So, that definitely took a little while, but I found it exciting. It was kind of neat to do something different.

Dan: A challenge.

Phil: Yeah. And also what I realized by working on the business was how quickly we grew the business.

Dan: So, you saw a dramatic change then?

Phil: I really did, yes. We had several years of double-digit growth.

Dan: Congratulations.

Phil: Yeah, yeah. There was a time there where we were just growing by leaps and bounds.

Dan: Because you were able to step away and focus on the business.

Phil: On the business, the people in the business, marketing the business, again, controlling the costs of the business, the education I mentioned earlier, growing your own farm team, you know, just like sports, a great example of that, of course. That's what we do. I still look at it like that. You know, we have our pros out there on the floor, but we gotta constantly have a farm team for when we need to put someone out there in the game. And I talk to the employees like that as well and they can relate.

Dan: They respond.

Phil: They do.

Dan: So as you sit here today, what are you most excited about the future?

Phil: I'll tell you. As you said, we're both in our 50s and been doing this a long time. I'm still as excited as I was that, you know, 18, 20-year-old guy we talked about earlier. I'm excited on where I'm going to be in the next five years, where am I going to take this thing? I'm excited to be working with these young people. It's a lot of fun. They keep you young. They keep you on your toes. I'm really excited about that education I mentioned because we're in the midst of evolving and changing it again. And I'll be on the forefront of that because I will be helping train people. I have sales goals that I want to hit, and I think we can do it. So, that's what I'm most excited about.

Dan: A lot of exciting things.

Phil: Yeah, yeah. Still got a lot left to give.

Dan: Maybe you've answered this question, but I'm going to ask it anyway. Looking back over the past few years, what specifically is your motivation and how do you keep that refreshed? Because you seem to have that energy, you have enthusiasm. Is there anything that you do to keep that refreshed and motivated?

Phil: Oh, you know, I've been asked that before. You know, part of it, Dan, believe it or not, is my father. You know, going full circle with you for a second is, I feel an obligation to finish what he didn't get a chance to start. And it still motivates me to this day. It really does. I also feel very responsible for the people who work for me and the clients who come to our business. And that keeps me on my toes and very motivated, as you said, and excited every day. It's sincere, it's genuine. It's not about money. Someone told me a long time ago is, "Don't worry about the money, worry about the experience you give. If you give a good experience to the client, if you care about your employees, the money will come." And I swear, still to this day, I hear those words in my head. I really never think of the money first. It will come. If it's important to you, it will come.

Dan: Wonderful advice. Would you say, is there any specific piece of advice, maybe something else, which is the best advice you've ever received?

Phil: Well, again, talking about my dad, I can't help it. You know, remember, he started this thing, and he still is an inspiration. He told me that "You only have one name you were given and to make sure that you take very good care of it." So really, what he's referring to is your reputation. And again, I have to tell you, Dan, we can all relate to that in business. The way you take care of people, follow through. Do what you say you're going to do and try to treat people equally. That's been huge, huge. And I think anyone who's listening to this should be able to take something away from that. You know, your reputation is all you have when you think about it.

Dan: I heard, and this was from my father. He said, "Your reputation is something that you can give. No one can take from you, but you can give it away," if you don't do it right. Right?

Phil: Yes.

Dan: And obviously, we've known each other. We're friends, and I know how you really take that to heart...

Phil: I do.

Dan: ...and how you treat people, not just in the salon but elsewhere. It's important to you.

Phil: Very.

Dan: Very critically important. What's a personal habit that contributes to your success?

Phil: I was in sports since I was a little boy. I wrestled, I played soccer, I played tennis. It's a big part of who I am. Today, it's cycling and running. I love the outdoors. It has helped me run my business better as well. Commitment to getting up and exercising, taking care of yourself, because if you take care of yourself, you can take care of your business and your family, for that matter. It's huge. I think it's something that some people are missing, how important that is.

Dan: So, take care of yourself.

Phil: Take care of yourself, be kind to yourself, and it will help in all facets of your life, including your business.

Dan: And for those of you who don't know, Phil, he is a cyclist and a runner, and he's an excellent...and he dusts me on the bikes. And he's modest, and he's shaking his head now over there, but it's really a testament to what he's achieved. I've seen him really put his head down and focus on the goal of becoming a better cyclist and a better runner and you have...

Phil: Thank you.

Dan: ...over the years. And it's actually also interesting to see the circle of friends that you've created through that.

Phil: Yeah, oh, yeah. Well, you know, Dan, that's another thing with business too is networking. You know, it's so important. You can't be afraid to network. And it's something I'm actually very proud of that I wouldn't mind talking about for just a minute. As we said earlier, I didn't go to a college, I just went to high school. But I can tell you that I've never been insecure to sit down with anyone from any walk of life because I always feel like you can learn something. I'm really proud of that. You know, here's a guy who just went to four years of high school, took over a small barbershop, self-taught everything, and sitting with someone like you. And we became friends. And we just come from two completely different worlds, but yet, we can relate to each other so well. So, I thank you for giving me the opportunity to talk about that a little bit, too.

Dan: Yeah, my pleasure. I'm so thrilled that you actually agreed, not only did you agree but you readily agreed to be a part of the podcast. And I just find your story so uplifting, frankly. It's a very positive story. And as you've said, if you put your mind to it, it's a lesson. If you put your mind to something, you can achieve it.

Phil: Absolutely.

Dan: And take care of those around you, that's your story.

Phil: Yeah, had a lot against me, but you just gotta take one step at a time, stay positive, keep working at it, and it'll come.

Dan: Is there any parting guidance that you'd like to leave to the listeners?

Phil: I would say treat people fairly. Give your employees a clear expectation. Try to live those words. Try to lead by example, that's really important. I would say that I think that's good some advice.

Dan: And that's the truth for you, that's what you have done through your life.

Phil: I can say that, and feel really comfortable putting my head on the pillow tonight.

Dan: So, Phil, how do people reach you if they want to find out more about your salon?

Phil: Oh, sure. I think email is a great way to reach me, pmania, M-A-N-I-A, @maniahair.com.

Dan: And where's your salon?

Phil: We're right in Park Ridge, New Jersey.

Dan: So they can find you that way as well.

Phil: You find me there too.

Dan: Frequently.

Phil: Yes.

Dan: Well, Phil, this has been an absolute pleasure. I appreciate the openness, the story, the emotion, and the lessons that we learned today. Thanks a million.

Phil: Thank you, Dan.

Dan: Appreciate it.

This episode was recorded by Daniel Kramer, Managing Director of the Constantine Wealth Management Group of Raymond James 401 Hackensack Avenue. Suite 803. Hackensack, New Jersey 07601. Raymond James & Associates, Inc. member, New York Stock Exchange, SIPC. Companies mentioned are not affiliated with Raymond James. Opinions expressed are those of the speaker and not necessarily those of Raymond James. Any information provided is for informational purposes only.