When Greg Zorian opened up his first barbershop in his early twenties, one of the older customers gave him some good advice, “If you love what you do and get good at it, the money will come.” Zorian stresses that success and money isn’t the key to happiness, happiness is the key to becoming successful and making a good income.

Today, Zorian is a professional barber, manager of Gregory’s barbershops, consultant and founder of the online barber education company HowToCutHair.tv. There are many things you have to do to build a profitable clientele says Zorian, here are his top tips he’s found to be the most important throughout his career.

“It’s what you learn after you know it all that is most important.” —John Wooden.

“Continue your education. This is more important than ever as it pertains to the men’s segment of the hair industry. All of the popular hair styles today will test your skills and versatility. You are expected to be able to cut graduated layer cuts, short clipper cuts, as well as disconnected pompadours and undercuts. Fortunately, there is a ton of education available at trade shows, distributors, and online to assist you on your path to mastering men’s hair cutting.”

“The dictionary is the only place that success comes before work.” —Unknown

“There is only one way to build a large, profitable clientele and it’s simple: work hard and lots of hours. When I opened my first shop I was open Tuesday-Friday 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. I worked every hour the shop was open getting there first and leaving there last. It took a few years to build my demand so that I could raise my prices and start booking appointments. It was then, I was able to make my own schedule and cut back a few hours.”

“They may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel.” —Carl W. Buechner

“Customer service is the name of the game. Some men are fussy, others are needy, but most men are both. The only problem is that none of us will admit it. Positive communication with your customers is important to make them feel special and want to come back to you. Male customers want you to know exactly how they want their hair cut. When you can deliver on this, your retention rate and your tips will skyrocket.

“You are only as good as your tools.” —Larry Talerico

“Men’s haircutting is precise and only the best tools will do. I highly suggest using three clippers: a detachable blade clipper, an adjustable clipper and a finishing clipper. You will also need a larger barbering style shear as well as a tapering/fine thinning shear.