Every plan, if we want it to become more than just some scribbling on a napkin or some fleeting thoughts in our mind, has to be fleshed out with details. That said, it’s not a matter of deciding everything all at once, and we can always change our minds and deviate slightly as we work through our plan and find where it could benefit from new information that we have inevitably stumbled across as our plan unfolds. That’s the beauty and the mystery of any plan- whether it’s going on a hike or starting your first brick and mortar business: the elements are generally the same. It’s the skin, the outward appearance that ultimately defines the difference from one business to another- be it selling paperclips, serving food or building skyscrapers. And THAT’S all in the DETAILS. If you’ve ever started a business, in essence “worked for yourself” in any capacity, what was a detail that was really important to you and how did that detail manifest itself in how you made other choices in your business?

I’ll start: My name is Jason Andrew Bonner and I have done A LOT of stuff in my life. Like, a lot. I was a mechanic working on old motorcycles, I played a lot of music and even got paid sometimes for it, and I’ve been a professional driver, to name a few. My FAVORITE THING to have been and STILL be, is an artist. I love to create! After a few years of finding myself and my “voice” in my craft of Barbering, I created a brand called Handsome Jack the Barber, LLC which actually had less to do with Barbering than anything I had done previously. See, I wanted to step BEYOND the bounds of traditional Barbering in order to be an expert in color, long hair, women’s hair, texture, and styling. This led me to opening my first physical location in 2018, which I ran proudly until August 2024, and which garnered a name change a few years back to be called Apache Coiffeur ( Apache Collective, presently). I learned an incalculable amount of what works, what doesn’t work, and more than anything - how to build a brand (or two) that not only spoke to who I was as an artist, but also spoke to what style of work I was most excited to perform. I learned a lot from some good friends of mine who are renowned in their ability to coach business owners in other industries on how to succeed, using proven formulas. The issues I kept running into were: HOW DO I SCALE MY WORK, WHEN I HAVE TO TRADE TIME FOR MONEY BY TOUCHING EACH OF MY PHYSICAL CLIENTS, IN ORDER TO SERVICE THEM? This is the fundamental question whenever I meet stylists and barbers across the country. It’s a very tough question to answer. THIS QUESTION is MY mission statement: to answer THIS question. This is why our community exists and when this question gets answered, your work, like mine, can feel rewarding each day AND can pay all of your bills AND be the shop you’ve always wanted to work in while also being the owner! But it didn’t happen overnight. It was a nightmare before it was a dream come true. I’ll be sharing my stories along the way and what I’ve learned from my friends in the hair industry, as well as my friends who are business geniuses and how important it is to blend the two worlds carefully in order to both love our art AS WELL AS love our business.