Meet Mark-jason Solofa | Owner & Barber

We had the good fortune of connecting with Mark-jason Solofa and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Mark-Jason, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
At the age of 38, I had already spent 17 years working in Banking and Insurance, and faced being laid off as a Senior Underwriter for a mortgage lender in the 2008 housing marking crash. At that time, I was recently divorced and co-parenting my daughter who was 5. Not being from California originally, I didn’t have any family around to help me with my daughter and so I found myself about to be unemployed and needing to make a decision about finding work that would best serve my daughter and I.

I sat at my desk realizing that my next job had to give me greater freedom with my life because I needed to be a present Dad and I also didn’t want to keep working for other people or businesses and be susceptible to being laid off ever again. But what was that next step? I had no idea what I was being called to do.

So I started brainstorming ideas of the things I enjoyed doing, using the Venn diagram technique where hopefully all of the ideas had one intersecting common goal or purpose of how I could provide and be present for my daughter. The list included a love of music, fashion, art, design, community, friendships, and being creative. I sat back and thought long and hard about whether there was ever a time in my life that I had experienced all of those things simultaneously, Where, if at all, had these things intersected? It wasn’t too long before it hit me that I’d always had a fond memory of visiting a Barbershop when I was back in New Zealand visiting family. I was in my early 20’s then, and my cousin took me to his regular shop where it was just 2 Barbers, playing 90’s RnB music, talking and laughing with their clients in the chairs, and visibly looking like the truly loved what they were doing! I remember being dumbfounded back then that such an experience was possible for one’s job, and I remember how much I envied them for that. I’d never been to an actual Barbershop until that moment, it was surreal to see.

It was then that I knew without a shadow of a doubt what that intersecting circle was, and what that next job/career choice was that would eventually give me the freedom and time to be with my daughter,….it was to become a Barber.

That has always been my core purpose behind starting my own business, and I feel blessed that our business recently celebrated is 12th year anniversary (I opened it 4 years after starting my career as a Barber),

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
When I first started my Barbering journey, I remember the first week of school feeling very deflated and unsure of my decision because it was evident that many of my peers already had some experience or familiarity with cutting and styling hair. But in one of the theory classes that week, an Instructor mentioned that statistically 70-75% of our success in the industry was based on our personalities,…..on who we were as people. It was directly related to the laws of attraction, finding people who would appreciate us as people and how we made them feel. That was music to my ears because while I knew it would take me time to learn how to cut hair, I already knew how to treat people the way that they wanted to be treated.

Born in New Zealand, raised in Samoa, American Samoa and Hawai’i, I was taught at an early how to respect everyone, to be hospitable, neighborly, friendly, and loving. These were the core values ingrained in me by my culture. It is often referred to as having “Aloha” or “Aloha Spirit”.

It became second nature to me to lean into these cultural core values of mine when building my clientele, so organically they became the core values of my business culture too. Giving great service with “aloha” became my number one priority, with a good haircut being the bi-product of that great service.

Creating a business culture around service from day one, and championing good service as a Barber and Business Owner for over a decade and half has become my calling card throughout the Barbering community at large. It has been my platform that has separated me from many of my counterparts because the reality is that talking about service isn’t sexy enough for my peers to believe that it alone can drive success.

I never set out to be the best Barber in the world, in the state, in the city or even in my neighborhood. Humbly speaking, I’m not even the best technical Barber in my own shop. But I have always been the best at building relationships with clients, building a friendship and community with clients, and letting them know that they’ll always get a proficient haircut (because that’s the minimum of what a Barber should deliver) with the best service experience from a Barbershop that they deserve. That is what has always separated me from others, and it’s a lane that I have always stayed in.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I am almost embarrassed to admit that my best friend wouldn’t see much of my area if they were visiting me because I am such a homebody. My life revolves around my two children (my daughter who is now 21, and my son who is 8), and still building my business and brand, though I am blessed to be more hands-off from the day to day operations than I once was when starting it alone in 2012.

I am an introvert by nature, so I typically am someone who prefers not to be out and about if I don’t need to. Similarly, because my business has been built on embracing my 70-75% personalty, I usually expended a lot of energy and emotion into my clients and team when I’m at work, so down time for me is invaluable.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My late father was a business owner and very successful Insurance salesman, so thankfully I witnessed first hand growing up seeing the kind of work ethic he invested in becoming great at his craft. Now I needed to find someone who could help me apply that knowledge to become a success as a Barber.

The first Barbershop I worked at after became licensed was for my mentor, Barber Dan Pell, To date, Barber Dan has been Barbering for 58 years. Working with Barber Dan taught me the nuances of being a good gentleman’s Barber, not just by the quality of one’s techniques, the quality of one’s end products, the quality of one’s conversations and service, but more importantly he taught me that Barbering is about service, humility and integrity above all things. These values aligned with my “purpose” of being a Dad first and a Barber second.

I worked for Barber Dan for about a year, but I never stopped considering him a mentor. I would go back to his shop regularly to visit and fellowship with him, watch him work, and keep reminding him of how much I valued his presence in my life as a mentor, a friend, and even somewhat of a surrogate father figure too.

During the 2020 Pandemic, Barber Dan was forced to close up his little Barbershop, but I was very blessed to be able to have him come and work alongside me at my shop once we were allowed to reopen for business. He still works 3-4 days a week, and is a great example to my team on the standard of excellence which we should strive to achieve as Barbers in today’s world.

Any success I have achieved as a business owner has much to do with combining all of the knowledge, wisdom and lessons instilled in me by my Dad, and Barber Dan’s early influences on me as a Barber.

Website: https://www.mjsolofa.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mjsolofamensgrooming

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markjasonsolofa

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mjsolofamensgrooming

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/mark-jason-solofa-mens-grooming-berkeley?osq=barber

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Mjsolofagrooming