B-Cuts owner Bethmil Peposi said she was “too nervous” to cut her first customer's hair. That feeling has been familiar to me since I opened my first store in Salisbury's Cross Keys Shopping Center two and a half years ago.
On Saturday, May 18, there was a queue of around eight people on Salisbury Street for the 23-year-old's first day of trading, including one customer who lined up 30 minutes before the store opened.
Alex, an experienced barber who has worked in the industry for 15 years, was brought in to help with the launch, while Besmir and Elian will work full-time at the new store.
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At the Salisbury shop, many soldiers who came from the Army base near Amesbury felt there were no barbers nearby that could provide them with what they wanted.
To relieve crowding in his city center stores and give new customers the chance to try B-Cut, Besmil quickly moved to Amesbury and enlisted the help of his wife Sarah Jade and brother Albert. I decided to rent it and open a store in Amesbury.
Several barbershops currently occupy retail space in downtown Amesbury, but Besmir isn't afraid of competition, he said. “Competition is good. There are many barbershops to choose from, but only B Cut knows which one is the best.”
“Once you come here, you'll never look for another barber shop.”
The business has grown to employ five barbers and in September last year B-Cuts was named 'Wiltshire's best barbershop' at the England Business Awards.
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Besmir, who now owns two shops, admits he never thought he would be able to hire a single barber.
“When we first opened, it was very quiet, sometimes we only had one customer a day,” he said.
“When I opened in Salisbury, clients asked me if I had thought about giving up, but I never did. I always wanted to do something for myself.”
Although Besmir had years of experience in the industry before striking out on his own, the barbers he worked at before opening B-Cuts were not treated well.
This inspired him to create something he could call his own and to “treat boys the way they should be treated.”
There is no military discount offered because Besmir wanted to “treat everyone fairly,” but customers can take advantage of a loyalty card that lets them spend five times and get a free haircut.
B-Cuts Amesbury is open seven days a week.