Today we’d like to introduce you to Angel Alvarez.
Hi Angel, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself
Back in 2015 I was 8 years into my career in corporate America. A full benefits package and a 5-year-old about to start kindergarten. My life consisted of being stuck in traffic, cooking dinner, cleaning up after dinner and doing it all over everyday. My paychecks were spent at business casual clothing stores which literally killed me on the inside and left no room for self-expression. As time went on my existence began to feel unbearably mundane and I couldn’t have been more unhappy with where I was in life. My husband who of course could see my struggle and well into his fifth year of owning his business had told me that I just needed to find where there was a need and fulfill it and I could be in business for myself too. He had told me that there were barbershops popping up everywhere and that he didn’t think there were many supply stores so we started doing research. I began making lists of all the barbershops in each city, he built a delivery truck that held all the supplies a barber would need to do a haircut. He told me to keep it simple and that all I had to do was drive the delivery truck to every shop on the same day each week, EASY. Not so much, this was a 1982 Chevy step van that was as big as my house! It was terrifying to drive and not to mention I was a 5 foot 4 female about to enter into a man’s world. Intimidating was an understatement That year I made a choice, a very difficult one full of risk and uncertainty and left my comfort zone. I left my stable paycheck, my benefits package, the type of job security my parents always told me I needed and I got in that big delivery truck and I went to every barbershop I knew of in San Diego every day for almost a year until I could hire someone to help me. In 2016 we opened a store front and we began to build that location which is where I am today.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Being a woman entering barbershops usually full of male barbers was hard, the looks and being a door to door saleswoman was what I felt like. Being told someone already stopped by or that they could find it cheaper on Amazon was difficult. Rejection is always hard but when your paycheck depended on it, it was harder.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
My business is now a physical location near La Mesa called San Diego Barber Supply. Woman-owned and operated. We sell professional barber supplies to barbers. We are known for being the staple barber supply shop for barbers from San Diego to the UK as well as our exceptional customer service. Every one of my customers are treated like friends and family, if they are willing to spend their hard-earned money with us then they deserve to be treated with respect and appreciation. Being self-employed and serving the self-employed I think has granted us an understanding of each others business, the playing field is equal and we are there for them. We try to carry what our customers want and if it wasn’t for my customers teaching me about the products and brands they use I would not be where I am today and I’m thankful for that.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
Being in business for almost 7 years now has allowed me the freedom to start my newest business called Outfitted by Angel. This business is being built around my long-time passion of being a personal stylist/shopper and my desire to help others. Outfitted by Angel will help women of all ages outfit their lives with the tools they need through personal development and coaching to conquer fear and uncertainty when making life transitions whether it be in their career or life. The comfort zone we once created in a time of need can ultimately be what is holding us back from entering into our new chapter in life and leaving it can be scary. When the question “what else is there for me?” starts to creep in and all of our dreams of what we want to do start to tap at our minds window the negative self-doubt tends to tap at the other window and we put our dreams and desires to bed and we crawl right back into that comfort zone where it is safe and we know what will happen and there is no risk and also no reward. I’m excited to start sharing this as I have learned from experience that breaking out of your comfort zone can be the scariest yet rewarding thing that can happen to a person and I want to help other women unlock they’re natural potential to attain the life they truly want.
Contact Info:
- Email: sdbarbersupply@yahoo.com / Outfittedbyangel@yahoo.com
- Website: WWW.sandiegobarbersupply.com
- Instagram: @sdbarbersupply @outfittedbyangel
Image Credits:
Araceli Franco
