Today we’d like to introduce you to Marcelous Atmore.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Marcelous. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
You know it’s funny, before I realized I had a business on my hands, I was already in business. I hail from New York and around 2004 I went away to boarding school, Lawrence Academy in Groton, MA. This was a complete culture shock as I went from having all my amenities in close proximity to a small town with only a handful of stores; you can imagine trying to get a decent haircut in this environment. I remember asking one of the other black students where they got a cut from and it seemed like a journey for him just to get a low caesar. With the heavy restrictions on leaving the campus, coupled with the task to get a haircut, I decided to take matters into my own hands and cut my hair myself.
Now, the only plus to being in the middle of nowhere is that nobody really cares what you look like, so my trial and error phase was made easy. Eventually, I got better, and started experimenting with different types of clippers and trimmers. In college, I would cut my hair in the bathroom and other students would see and ask for a cut. College students live vibrant lives so that lead to me cutting hair at different times of the day/night and also at different locations on campus or otherwise, hence the name ExpressCuts (coined by bro Leonard who saw me cutting hair in the dorm hallway).
What started out as a necessity, grew into a skill then became a side hustle/full on business. Today, ExpressCuts is a company that I created that delivers the experience, quality and products of the barbershop directly to the client’s most frequented location – home, school or work.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
The road has not been smooth… The biggest challenge has been the technology piece. As a non-technical founder it’s hard to convey my ideas through technology and working with someone on that can be challenging as well. It takes time to find someone with the right skillset and is just as passionate about bringing the idea to life as you are. Once you do however that is a powerful relationship and once I found that my business picked up.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the ExpressCuts 10.18 story. Tell us more about the business.
ExpressCuts is a business that I built from a need I discovered in boarding school. I realized the potential in getting a haircut outside the conventional ways of the barbershop through my struggle and wanted to streamline this process for others. And that is what ExpressCuts does, delivering the same experience and quality haircut we are used to and brining that into the client’s most frequented location such as a school, job or home. Through our mobile application we allow clients to book a barber at a time convenient for them at a preferred location. We also partner with different vendors of men’s grooming products (Scotch Porter, Nature Boy Products, etc.) offering discounts to our network of clients. As of late we have done haircutting events at universities such as Northeastern University, Wheaton College and Wentworth Institute.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I never would have imagined making money off my decision to cut my own hair that day. I think back sometimes and wonder, had I decided to do what most the kids were doing, I wouldn’t have learned a new skill that would have eventually been the reason I started my own business…that’s good luck.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.ExpressCuts1018.com
- Phone: 347-946-1018
- Email: info@expresscuts1018.com
- Instagram: @expresscuts10.18
- Facebook: @expresscuts 10.18
- Twitter: @expresscuts1018
Image Credit:
Ill-digital
Getting in touch: BostonVoyager is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
