Coventry barber giving free haircuts to the homeless

A Coventry barbershop owner gave back to the community earlier this year by offering free haircuts to the homeless. Abdulghani Najjar, 24, is the owner of Abz Barbers on Harnall Lane East in Hillfields.

Originally from Syria, Abdul left school at 13 and worked in construction before coming to the UK in 2016 after fleeing war with his family. His father and uncle were former barbers, and Abdul gained experience cutting his family members’ hair before opening his shop in 2021.

Abz Barbers offers a wide range of services from normal haircuts, skin and beard fades, tapers and beards, facials, special designs and scissor cuts that “not many barbers” in Coventry do, he says.

Read more: Coventry hair salon, owned by a teenager, offering ‘everything’ to customers

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Abz describes himself as a “patient” barber, which makes him stand out in town. A customer in the shop says he can hold “really good conversations” and “ask you about things in your life,” which many barber business owners don’t, he said.

Abz told CoventryLive: “I take my time for consultations because if a customer is coming in for the first time I will always look after them with a consultation. Not many hairdressers do consultations, usually they just ask “what do I do”. want’ and do it right away, whereas I like to ask my clients to make sure they’re happy,” he said.

Despite only being open for three years, Abz Barbers has become an award-winning shop, winning third place in the 2023 Barbering of The Year in Liverpool, which he described as “the reward pays off” and added: “Go get it. ups and downs in business but I was so happy when I won, it was a good achievement.

As for giving free haircuts to the homeless, Abz was inspired by the holy month of Ramadan in March this year to give back to the community: “I love giving and helping people and being rewarded. make someone less fortunate happy with a small gesture and I’d say it was worth it, I hope to do more concepts like this in the future.”

His busy times are Fridays and Saturdays, with his main clientele being 16-25 year olds, as most of his customers catch Abdul through social media.

He told us what it’s like to be a young business owner: “You have to dedicate a lot of time to your work and sometimes I don’t get to spend a lot of quality time with my family because sometimes they come early or start later. the week before Eid last month I was at the shop until 2am or 3am and in a corporate job it’s different because after hours it’s not your responsibility but your own business is a 24 hour sacrifice .”

“Because I have a young client base, a lot of people don’t just come in for a haircut, they get advice from me whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing, I’m not sure, but I always try to give the young people some valuable life lessons. which can help them in the future,” he added.

Since opening in 2021, prices for haircuts have increased. A normal cut is £15, a normal cut or taper for £20, a normal cut and beard for £25, a normal cut or taper with beard for £30 and the ‘Abz Special ” which includes hair and beard, hot towel and 3-step facial for £50.

“When I started, people would come and wait for two hours, but now I have a booking system so I know my schedule, but most of my days are fully booked, especially on weekends,” he said.

Abdul believes that if he had grown up in England he ‘wouldn’t have this business’ and would be ‘a bit lost’: ‘I left school at 13 and moved to Britain after the war and started working in construction in early adolescence. I came to the UK, it changed my mindset, I did a hairdressing course at college for three years and learned how to do barbering from my family. It changed my mindset and made me realize that I’m more of a hands-on, hands-on person.”

Abdul plans to make his “name” there and get better at business and hopefully one day start teaching other people at a barber school, he added.

Where to find Abz Barbers:

• Location: 91b Harnall Ln E, Coventry CV1 5AG
• Opening time: 12:00 – 19:00 Monday to Saturday, 12:00 to 16:00 Sunday

You can also follow Abz Barbers on Facebook here or on Instagram @abz.barbers. To make an appointment at Abz Barbers, visit the Booksy website here.

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