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BUSINESS
Beyond The Chair
What happens when a kid from Morven, N.C. goes to the big city? Here’s the story of one. Jeff Broadie is a humanitartian who has invested his life into helping others. As owner of Just For You Here’s the story of one. Jeff Broadie is a humanitartian who has invested his life into helping others. As owner of Just For You Barber Academy in Charlotte, N.C. his goal is to “”work with people to help them get where they want to be.” That’s is his life’s mission. Through his business, he gets the opportunity to touch the lives of young males, and make a difference. His hair cutting business has grown from 10 people to 125 people. Jeff not only owns the barber school but several other barbershops and salons in Charlotte. He has a great relationship with his staff. “I work with managers, I work through people, to get things done. God has given me the insight to be able to work with people for 21 years.” Jeff has a warm but disciplined management style. He works with hundreds of men and women through his school and salons on a daily basis. Currently, Just for You Barber Academy serves 52 students and employs 6 instructors. He also employs people in several of his shops including: Just For You-Nations Ford ( which was his first school), Just For You - University, Studio 3 - Uptown, and Just for You-Matthews at Crown Point.
You-Matthews at Crown Point.
(CONTINUED) Jeff Broadie has not gone unrecognized, he has won countless awards and honors for his service to the community. “I am so honored and so grateful to have been recognized by the community,” he said, referring to the many service awards he has received, such as the Small Business of the Year, Local Seventh Day Adventist Church awarded the school, and two time winner of the Barber of the Year Award from the Master Barber’s Association.
Of all the things that are most memorable to him in his career was something he had not planned at all. When he was volunteering for Big Brothers and Big Sisters, after college. His fraternity, Kappa Alpha Psi, was instrumental in getting him involved. He said that as a Big Brother, he really connected with the student. He ended up winning the, “Big Brother of the Year Award. According to Jeff, “This was a great experience and it prepared me to deal with children.” He later learned that his student went on to attend college at North Carolina State and majored in Engineering.” “It’s something that will always be near to my heart,” he said.
Jeff started in the barber business back in 1992, some 21 years ago. “I was working for Wachovia in Asheville, N.C. at the time. Every time I needed a haircut, it was take such long time, so, I decided to starting cutting my own hair. Then I began to cut hair for friends and family members, then the community.” His wife Vanessa, who was also in corporate America at that time agreed with him that they should try the barber business for a while. Well, they ended up staying in the business for 21 years now. “I never thought I’d be in it this long.
I always thought that I would return to banking, but never did.”
Jeff attributes part of his success to being able to apply his knowledge of corporate America to his own business. At Just For You, according to Jeff, “You don’t just learn how to cut hair, you learn how to run a business.” You learn things, “Beyond the Chair.” He said that he’s glad he didn’t know everything about the business when he first started because, “If I had known some things, I probably would have never gotten into this business.” Because I didn’t know, it caused me to learn to work through things. He said, “It’s been a good journey, hard, but good.”
Broadie feels that setting goals is a very important part of business ownership. “Just keep setting goals, and make it happen,” he said.
In reference to managing people, Jeff is a dynamic and successful manager. “I like to focus on what’s good in people. I don’t micro manage, but I follow up. I set goals and expectations, then I step back and let people do their jobs.”
Lots of students are dealing with life challenges. I try to encourage them to keep home and work separate. “We need to be able to have a balance in life.” I love to work with students and be able to see a change in them,” Jeff said. Many of our former students include: shop owners, platform artists, shop managers, instructors, who all come back and tell the students, “I was once where you are.”
According to Broadie, “this is a $110 billion dollar industry”. There are lots of opportunities for students who really want to learn the business. Students can learn to cut, color and rod. The more they know, the more money they will make.”
He expressed that continuing education is very important to keep up with the trends, Trends now include mohawks, and a cut called, “the Usher” which is a form of a mohawk. He said that basic cuts
