How Carlos Built 2 Barber Shops While Balancing Life, Family, and Growth

In this episode, I sit down with Carlos Padilla aka Cafe Styles, owner of Better Days Barber Studio in Merced, CA. Carlos opens up about his humble beginnings, building a brand rooted in community, leadership, and sacrifice, and what it really takes to run two successful barbershops while raising a family. We talk about balancing the grind with fatherhood, the morning habits that keep us sharp, and the mindset shifts that helped him overcome fear, doubt, and major challenges — including the pandemic. If you’re a barber, entrepreneur, or anyone chasing growth, this one’s for you. 👇 Timestamps Below 👇 ⸻ ⏱ Timestamps: 0:00 – Intro: Meet Carlos from Better Days 0:45 – Balancing business and family with two shops 2:30 – Why most barbers fail to grow 3:15 – Building the Better Days brand from scratch 4:30 – The fear of opening your first barbershop 6:20 – Letting go of vices to level up 7:45 – Social media’s role in building a barber brand 9:10 – The challenge of finding the right team 10:30 – Carlos’ story: Growing up in Merced 12:45 – Turning pain into leadership 14:00 – Education, travel, and learning from the best 15:30 – Why documenting your growth matters 16:50 – Carlos’ favorite barbers and global influences 18:00 – My 3-clip content strategy explained 19:50 – Client acquisition through storytelling 21:00 – How I scaled from $25 to $75 haircuts 22:30 – High-ticket vs. volume-based barbering 24:00 – Carlos talks about his 18-man team 25:10 – Do we want to cut hair forever? 26:40 – The reality of shop ownership 28:00 – Carlos’ trip to London + panic attack on the plane 30:10 – Lessons from Joshua P and Menspire 31:15 – Our hardest seasons in barbering 33:00 – The Better Days legacy and what’s next 34:30 – Final message: No one’s coming to save you