Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in personal grooming but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Jacob Martin, founder of Tate & Lyle, located in Sydney, NWS, AU.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

Our brand name is derived from the secret language of London's backstreet traders, created to prevent the prying police from nefarious collusion. Tate & Lyle ® is cockney rhyming slang for "style," a word that epitomizes our Company's ethos and brand vision. Tate & Lyle is also well known for golden syrup in the UK. Syrup & figs are cockney for wigs, another nod to our profession as barbers and wig makers.

Style is enduring and timeless, but it is also a unique form of personal expression: Tate & Lyle® see it as our honour to deliver the results you seek. Tate & Lyle's service ethos emanates from the rich history of the West End's high-class barbershops, the essence being an exemplary service delivered in a luxuriant shop. Tate & Lyle ® has evolved from the London barbershops in which its founder cut his teeth, and its vision is to deliver cutting-edge results with a touch of class. Bespoke individualism is part of our rich heritage.

Tate & Lyle ® aims to provide a comfortable sanctuary for the esteemed gentleman of Sydney, an escape in today's busy world. We've merged contemporary cutting in a classic and timeless setting we wanted to ensure the shop suited the location and prospective clientele of Macquarie street dark woods, Chesterfields, British racing green tiles so iconic on London's pie and mash shops, black and white pictures of London adorn the shop's walls and the scent of Leather and tobacco waft through the air. I wanted to ensure this shop was not a gimmick, just a good old-fashioned barbershop.

Tell us about yourself

Started my journey as a Saturday boy in London’s oldest known Barbering location, just off the Pall Mall. For two years, I had to graft as an apprentice, earning a poxy two quid sixty! But this instilled in me a passion, skillset, and hunger to learn one of the world’s oldest industries and knowledge passed onto me that cannot be bought with money.

I have been fortunate enough to have worked at various top shops throughout London, meeting various barbers/hairdressers and trained by arguably the most gifted barber I have ever met, Dominic Stables. They would have to perform air scissors for hours a day to help me gain control over my scissor and comb and was my continuous mentor throughout my ten years in this industry.

When I first moved to Australia in 2014, high-end barbershops were few and far between. I had no desire to work at a shop where I couldn’t continue my growth and education. Learning and education consumed me. Just as it did in London, I wanted to learn from the best barbers in Sydney. So I got on Google and searched Best Barbers in Sydney… Very few shops appealed to me, but only one stood out. ‘The Barbershop’ with fully operational Barbershop & Speak-Easy bar in the back, this would be my home for four years. I started a backpack barber on a six-month visa and left, having managed two stores and 12 staff.

Learning the business side of the trade allowed me to acquire the knowledge and key business fundamentals that I would need to ensure that when I did eventually open my own shop, I would have the skill set to succeed.

Setting up shop was an arduous and stressful process. I had to wait until I had been granted my permanent residency. This process took a total of three years before I could start the journey of opening my own shop. The pursuit of securing a suitable site would take me over 14 months from start to finish, constantly refreshing Commercial Realestate. Sydney has some of the most expensive real estate in the world! Then dealing with not having the physical support of my family, who are still in the UK, the tragic bushfires which saw massive delays in materials, dealing with one of the largest landlords in Australia, and the huge difference in regulations compared to the UK ensured I learned lots on the job.

I eventually opened my doors in February 2020. After only one month of trading, we faced the global pandemic COVID-19. This tested my abilities and resilience. Thankfully we survived and have recently come out after another lockdown. To say that the first two years of opening a small business are the hardest is an understatement. Luckily, we have flourished recently; toping GQ’s top barbershops in Sydney is a testament to my team and loyal customers.

It’s been a difficult yet rewarding journey; I have grown as a barber and have learned invaluable lessons. Most importantly, I have learned how to treat my barbers and not implement the same mistakes I’ve seen previous business owners make. If anyone reading this wants to ask me in more detail about my experiences from emigrating to opening shop in another country, please do not hesitate in contacting me.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Probably surviving our first two years of business during a global pandemic! Our major accolades are our current 150 + 5-star reviews on Google. In this day and age, it is so difficult to ensure every client leaves happy. The recent GQ feature was a huge achievement for us considering being so new to the industry and with so much competition and appearing on other best barbers lists like Man of Many, DMARGE, and BOSS HUNTING. We are humbled by our inclusions in these lists.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

Navigating the unknown for the last two years has been a struggle, constantly adapting the business to ensure our very survival. The first few years are already difficult in a small business, with so many new ventures not even making it to the 3rd year of trade. The pandemic has also created an issue with supply chains & staffing here in Australia. We're so reliant on foreign barbers this is has meant competition for good staff has been cutthroat pun intended.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. Adapt - Be proactive instead of reactive.
  2. Be focused - Have a goal and reaffirm it every day as you strive towards it.
  3. Understand that things change, and problems are sometimes out of your control Roll with the punches.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

We want to continue to cement our place as one of Sydney's leading barbershops! We've got a few projects in the pipeline developing my own product range J A C O B, adding new services to our menu to enhance further our customers experience at Tate & Lyle®, and finally looking into providing education in Sydney, drawing on my extensive contacts in the UK by bringing over some big names as well as our friends in Melbourne to help build a more inclusive barbering community here in Sydney!

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.tateandlylesyd.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tateandlyle/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tateandlylesyd/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tate-lyle-sydney/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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