
It's Time to Fix the Barber Industry's Hiring Problem with Drew Le
Sponsored by Hello Salon Pro & Milk_Shake Interview with What if finding your next barber or your next chair could be easier? Kelly Ehlers sits down with Drew Lee, founder of Barber Recruit and owner of Original Sharp Barbershop and Shave Parlor in New Jersey, to explore a more connected, professional future for barbering. Drawing on 20 years behind the chair and a decade of shop ownership, Drew shares how his own hiring frustrations inspired a platform that brings portfolios, career experience, shop opportunities, and compensation information together. They discuss building strong teams, supporting barbers’ career growth, and finding a shop that fits beyond the paycheck. Plus, Kelly and Jeff discuss beauty news, transformative haircuts, curtain bangs, and the balance between charging your worth and communicating prices clearly. In The Fine Print, Kelly challenges the idea that women have an expiration date on their ambitions. Timestamped Chapters: Host Recording 04:33 — Welcome Back: Carnations and Catching Up 06:31 — Nice Girls Win: Reader Feedback and Recording the Audiobook 09:34 — Obsessed or Over it 10 Years Younger Child Stylists Are built Different Hair contouring 1ksewin 27:37 — The Fine Print: Challenging the Career Timeline for Women 32:05 — Beauty News https://www.thetease.com/undone-old-hollywood-curls-took-over-vivienne-westwood-ss27-at-pfw/ https://www.thetease.com/lina-lennox-founder-angela-d-muth-on-why-hair-protection-is-haircare Timestamped Chapters: Drew Lee Interview 00:00 — Meet Drew Lee: Celebrating 10 Years of Shop Ownership 00:37 — From High School Haircuts to a Career in Barbering 02:57 — Building Original Sharp and Stepping Into Ownership 06:52 — What Professionalism Looks Like in a Barbershop 10:28 — Why Finding the Right Barbers Is Still So Difficult 12:11 — Retaining Talent Through Structure, Support, and Career Growth 13:17 — Turning a Hiring Challenge Into Barber Recruit 15:47 — How the Platform Works: Profiles, Portfolios, and Visibility 17:11 — Finding Nearby Shops and Comparing Opportunities 18:16 — Projecting Earnings Before Choosing Your Next Chair 19:16 — Compensation Transparency and Finding the Right Pay Model 20:23 — Growing the Network: Connecting Shops and Barbers 22:08 — Drew’s Vision for the Platform and Finding the Right Shop Culture 24:39 — Why Changing Shops Can Mean Rebuilding Your Clientele 25:22 — Technology and the Future of Men’s Grooming 28:24 — Getting Started and Building With User Feedback 29:38 — The Tease Quick Takes: Public Speaking, Podcasts, Perms, and Justin Bieber 31:45 — Closing Thoughts and Where to Find Barber Recruit Links: https://barberrecruit.com/about https://www.instagram.com/barberrecruit https://www.instagram.com/originalsharp/ More from TheTease.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/readthetease/ (readthetease) Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/volumeupbythetease/ (volumeupbythetease) Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kellyehlers/ / (KellyEhlers) Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eljeffreycraig/ (eljeffreycraig) Web: https://www.thetease.com (TheTease.com) Email: VolumeUp@TheTease.com Credits: Volume Up is a Tease Media production. This episode was produced by Monica Hickey and Madeline Hickey. James Arbaje is our editor and audio engineer. Thank you to our creative team for putting together the graphics for this episode. Thank you to the team who helped create our theme song. Show them some love and check out their other work! •Josh Landowski https://www.instagram.com/josh_landowski/















