Over the past two years, his beard care company, Beardfluence, has reached new heights – and as demand grows for his products, Shabazz is ready for takeoff.
The beard has long had a reputation for being a polarising topic. Like marmite, most either love it or hate it. But with style and fashion, trends can swing around in a couple of months. In recent times, the gods of fashion have deemed beards fashionable, making them a must-have accessory for any man capable of growing one.
In the age of celebrities and influencers, the endless examples of influential men donning beards have made them even more desirable. After all, who wouldn’t want to be as cool as Idris Elba or as charming as Prince Harry? Is it down to their beards, you ask? It doesn’t hurt, let’s put it that way.
And according to the ever-reliable views of people on Twitter, donning a beard improves confidence and attractiveness. That really isn’t to say that everyone should be busy trying to grow one – quite the opposite. For some, being clean-shaven (or other types of facial hair) really is the better option.
It will come as little surprise, then, that the demand for beard-related products has soared over the past few years, keeping brands and entrepreneurs in the field fairly busy. Beardfluence, a company born in London, is one such brand benefiting from the popularity of beards.
And as I sat down with its founder, Shabazz, to talk about beards, fashion and business, I couldn’t help but quiz him on the origins of the brand.
Entrepreneurs have a reputation for being jacks of all trades, handling many different responsibilities at once. Shabazz is no different. In fact, his day job is spent as a lawyer, working as an in-house counsel for an agency. Handling a full-time legal career and a growing business is no easy task – so why do it, I ask? “I have always played with both in the sense that I was in City, I was doing my training contract – but I was always interested in business.”
City lawyers are famous for working long hours; an explanation, perhaps, of his ability to handle both responsibilities with ease. “It wasn’t a choice of one or the other”, Shabazz adds. He enjoys it, too, and makes a strong point of it. He talks of the concept of ‘active rest’, articulating his way through his inability to stay still: “There is like this concept of active rest, where like, I’m not one of those people that can do nothing…I don’t stay still.” As we talk, I get the sense he’s constantly restless, looking for ways to perfect details and improve efficiency.
His attitude to his work extends to his products, making them an extension of his personality. His Beardfluence products sit well in the luxury market, produced with a perfectly curated image in mind. As we talk, it all makes sense. Dressed in a black polo shirt, with an elegant background and a seriously, seriously impressive beard, Shabazz is as well put together as they come.
“Growing up, I had bad skin, my beard was always patchy, I was always having to research things – so I am my brand’s customer“
It may be hard to believe, I know, but there was once a time when he didn’t look as good: “Growing up, I had bad skin, my beard was always patchy, I was always having to research things.” That, he says, was why he needed to create Beardfluence in 2016. That’s not to say business was booming, though – far from it. “I actually started selling something in August 2020, at the height of the pandemic ”, he says, giving us all a lesson in business patience.
He really is his business’ customer. In fact, he puts it in no uncertain terms: “I’ll be honest, this is a completely selfish endeavour.” By that, he means he’s solved his problem by creating useful products that help – and as fortune would have it, others do, too.
In a sea of products that have flooded the market, he stands out. That is a huge achievement. As an entrepreneur, being recognised in GQ, with your products recommended to their millions of readers is a big deal. To Shabazz, though, Beardfluence‘s success has a lot to do with the fate of the skincare market in the past few years: “Beardfluence is not your typical beard brand. What I noticed was that in Skincare, you had very targeted products… so the world of skincare has moved into silos.” By studying skincare brands with well-performing products, he realised that high-quality and aesthetically pleasing offerings were the way.
In the age of the internet, men are much more conscious about how they look, with beauty, skincare and beard routines ever-present parts of their daily habits. That’s a good thing, Shabazz says (I agree ) – and it means we don’t have to be sold over-the-top marketing campaigns.
Business 101 details branding as an important element in any business success story – and it’s something Shabazz has got right with Beardfluence to a tee. A lot of that has to do with the simplicity of their brand: if you make good products that look good, people will buy them. Having all your items sold out and a continuous demand to fill is a nice headache – and it’s one Shabazz has in abundance.
Like all good founders, he’s obsessed with feedback and listening to his customers. By endlessly testing his products – on himself and a close network of friends – he’s able to ensure they produce results, explaining why they sell out quickly. The brand’s Beardfluence Night Oil is scented with Sandalwood and has a particular focus on growth. For the trails of the day, the Beardfluence Day Oil places an emphasis on conditioning, keeping the beard healthy and shiny.
His brand may be flourishing – but it’s been a long journey. With lockdown in place, he finally got the break and time he needed to go full steam with his idea, and he’s reaping the rewards of it. The same can be said of other entrepreneurs – so what advice does he have for them? Especially young entrepreneurs seeking to follow in his footsteps? “My biggest piece of advice, honestly speaking, is to prepare for success”, he says. It’s not an airy-fairy point, either, he’s keen to stress, “it’s an important one.”
He learnt that the hard way after failing to prepare for his own success: “I did not plan to have a business that, in its first year, would sell to a dozen different countries – and that I would have done, in my first year, five figures.” That meant not considering things like scalability and what happens when orders outgrow one’s living room space, for example? To get around that, he speaks of having the vision and planning, allowing you to make success work. What does that mean in practical terms? Figuring out the help you need – and if you have physical products, the process of selling and delivering those. For him, it was partnering with a fulfilment company, after experiencing the rush and volume of Black Friday sales.
As a Black entrepreneur, he’s keen on supporting others from similar backgrounds: “I’ve intentionally tried to keep my ecosystem as Black as possible – I make no apologies for that.” Doing so gives others the chance to attain success – and gain opportunities they wouldn’t usually have access to. On this, he’s very passionate. The beauty may seem big, he said, but the number of Black-owned brands is a tiny percentage of that world.
His other tips? Always have backups (especially when dealing with suppliers) and hold people accountable, especially when your customer service relies upon them doing their work. On low and stressful points in his journey, he talks of when his order of over 1,000 bottles was stuck with his supplier in Germany: “That was a stressful time.” The highlight? Beating his best sales month by 22%, he says.
As we talk, he stresses the need to be grateful in business. With customers and orders rolling, he takes the opportunity to make his customers feel valued and part of a community: “Being grateful is quite central to the business. If you notice, within every order, there’s a self-care note and a thank you.” Previously, he used to keep up hand-written notes, making a point of adding them to each order. As the business grows, he’s tried to find ways to communicate his gratitude: “I don’t take any customer for granted, I don’t take any order for granted.”
“My biggest piece of advice, honestly speaking, is to prepare for success”, he says. It’s not an airy-fairy point, either, he’s keen to stress, “it’s an important one.”
To keep up with his success, he’s constantly planning and thinking of ways to do things more efficiently: “As much as I’m always grateful, I’m always thinking six months down the line, how I’m going to fulfil the next demand and create the next product.” Growing a business is no easy task. In the age of social media, it’s easy to take for granted access to information and role models – especially when it comes to business. In ages past, things like personal branding were of little importance. After all, did you ever hear of Henry Ford tweeting?
With social media comes new challenges and business opportunities. For Shabazz, it’s something he enjoys, it gives him a medium to engage directly with his customers, he says. It doesn’t phase him one bit. Why would it, when he’s as cool and collected as he is?
As we round up our chat, I ask him about the death of George Flloyd, the global pandemic and the impact that had on black businesses. On George Flloyd, he noted the impact his death had on the conversation around social equity and opportunities. It’s important, though, he says, to vote that black issues “aren’t a fad.” As an e-commerce business, the pandemic created the perfect storm of opportunities, giving Bearfluence the chance to serve a higher-than-usual demand for beard products.
On the next steps for his brand, he’s kept as ambitious and as simple as they come: “To grow more into a global lifestyle brand.” Lastly, I’m curious about his personal style and inspirations. He prefers the eras of old when tailoring ruled. On style icons, he doesn’t hide, “Tom Ford”, he said, along with the likes of Oswald Boateng.
I get it, completely. Like his icons, there’s a unique ability to remain grounded in success, planning for more of where that came from. Shabazz won’t rest until his mission of creating that global lifestyle ground is achieved. In the past few years, he’s created a brand with a strong and loyal community of customers. And as he looks for more opportunities, his eyes are set on the world. Strapped and prepared, he’s ready for takeoff.