Business: Webster Street Barbers
Address: 116 S. Webster St., Naperville
Phone: 630-778-9870
Owner: Otto Miller
Years in business: 2
What does this business do? “We offer haircuts for all ages, with the majority of our customers being men,” owner Otto Miller said. “We do neck shaves and eyebrows, too. I wanted a lot of generations to come in, and not focus on any particular age group. The diversity. But we also service females.”
What was the impetus for opening this business? “I guess I thought it was time that I had my own business. I had worked in Naperville for over 30 years at that time, and I just thought it was time for me to go off on my own. And it was always going to be a Naperville location. All my clients are here.”
What is the best thing about being located in Naperville? “All my clients are here. Driving downtown. Great people. It’s still growing. It is a great location. … I started in Naperville back in 1983, and I’ve seen the growth. It’s just a great place. It’s a beautiful town.”
What’s the biggest challenge? “Well, the obvious one … is parking. But they built the new (parking deck) on Water Street. That’s going to help. Everybody has the parking issue, it’s not just one location. And again, it shows that people are happy to come down and that it’s just a busy place.”
When is your busiest time of year? “During the holidays. Christmas, Easter holidays, and just before school starts. Kids coming out of school.”
What is the most popular services you provide? “My customers come in and kind of want that traditional barber shop feel and a good quality haircut. They don’t want to talk about how they want their hair cut. I had customer come in who had to get their hair cut when they were out of town, and they said they’d sit down and would be asked, ‘Well, how would you like your hair cut?’ and they just don’t know how to answer that because they just come in here and get it cut. I think men like the uncomplicated way.”
What do you like to do most in your business? “Having someone come in and they think they have problem hair. And I talk to them about their hair and what they want, and then I cut it. … I have guys come in with their hair parted on the wrong side or they have cowlicks and they don’t know how to handle them. Then I show them what type of hair they have and the look on their face when I’m done, ‘Oh my God, I never knew my hair could do that’ or ‘I look great!’. Because they were either parting their hair on the wrong side, or whatever their issue was. They’ll come back and say their haircut lasted longer, it wasn’t sticking out. That’s my favorite part.”
What is your least favorite thing to do? “I can’t think of anything. I just love what I do.”
What’s the best thing about owning your own business? “Having an idea of how to run the shop and being able to implement it, seeing what works and what doesn’t work. Sometimes when you work for somebody, they have their own ideas of how they want things done and I understand that. I’ve worked for somebody for the majority of my career, so I get that. But it’s nice to now have that input in the direction my business is going.”
What’s the biggest downside? “You know, because the shop hasn’t even been open for three years, I’m still kind of in the honeymoon phase. It’s all good. No drama. … I’m just enjoying the freedom of doing things the way I like.”
Tell us about the most memorable customer. “I had a gentleman who was in his 90s and he was still golfing and in a bowling league, and I really enjoyed him. He was very up on current events, very sharp. And I really enjoyed when he would come in and he would always flirt with the women barbers. I thought, if I could live to be in my 90s, that’s how I’d like to be.”
What is the biggest misconception about your business? “When you hear ‘barber shop,’ you think of the old, traditional barber shop. But barber shops are actually very modern these days. We try to keep the traditions of a barber shop but we do modern and updated hairstyles, trends. … Nowadays with your smart phone (a customer) can show me a picture and I can cut it for them like that.”
How has your business changed over the years? “The obvious is trends, different hair cuts. But I think barbers are having enough swing right now that a lot of men want to go to traditional barber shops now rather than the franchises or salons. They want to have that traditional haircut. That’s been one of the recent things, I think barbers are a trend now.”
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What advice would you give someone thinking about starting a business? “When I worked for someone, it was more of a come in, do my job and leave kind of thing, where now it’s obviously a bigger responsibility. And because it’s a new business, you have to be there and be present, and I was willing to take that sacrifice. You have to put the time it, but it’s worth it in the end.”
Daina Saleh is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.