Meet Jeremy Peralta

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jeremy Peralta. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Jeremy with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?

My work ethic comes from how I was raised growing up. My family doesn’t come from money. Both parents are from the Philippines, came to the states and raised 3 children, me being the middle child. Growing up I’ve seen my parents work different jobs, different shifts. Mom was working during the day, Dad was working throughout the night. Even with all this work, it felt like it was just enough to get by. At a young age, we get rewarded for all the hard work we do in school. A star for good behavior, an award for perfect attendance. Things that made me feel good! So I learned very early that I need to work, for what I want. I wanted that star and award, so I always made sure I showed up and did a good job. It something I carried with me for everything I do in life, just show up and do a good job. And when you get older, the rewards become more satisfying. Once I saw the rewards for my actions, I just wanted to keep going. There was no reason to quit, there was a reward waiting for me at the finish line.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

I’ve been cutting hair for going on 16 years. I started my sophomore year in high school, just trying to learn how to cut my own hair. It wasn’t something I knew for sure I wanted to do, but after 2 years of community college, I decided to pursue what I love doing. In 2020 I decided to open the Neighborhood Barbershop. The best part was opening in the city I grew up in, National City. Just a bunch of local Southbay San Diego kids, cutting hair. I had the mindset that everything the business stood for was the community around us. We could be the outlet for many businesses and entrepreneurs with how many different people we see throughout the week. We came up with the saying, “From the Neighborhood, For the Neighborhood.”

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Teamwork. Resilience. Open-mindedness.

I decided to open the Neighborhood Barbershop in the middle of a worldwide pandemic. Coming from a failed attempt to open a barbershop just a few years before, had no idea what I would come across. The whole world had no idea what would be next with covid-19. But I was betting on myself to figure it out, and I did. Even now 4 years later, the shop runs into problems but we make sure we handle it together. We have a team of hardworking individuals. No one within our team is arrogant towards each other. We keep an open-mind with what we say to each other as barbers, or what clients have to say about us. There’s a saying “if you want to go fast, go alone. if you want to go far, go together.” If you have the right team, work doesn’t feel like work. When you build a team with like-minded individuals, opportunities are endless.

Who has been most helpful in helping you overcome challenges or build and develop the essential skills, qualities or knowledge you needed to be successful?

I’ve had the best support system during my journey. My fiance Allysa has been by my side the whole way. From when I decided to drop out of college to pursue barbering to celebrating the anniversary of the Neighborhood Barbershop. She is the reason why I am who i am.

Also team at the barbershop, Carresse, Darvin, Joseph, Rj, Glenn, and Quicho. It’s been easy to overcome challenges we face as a shop when we can do it together. As much fun as we have at the shop, we know when it’s time to get down to business. It’s one of our biggest strengths as a shop, we struggle together, we succeed together.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @nghbrhd.sd
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/neighborhood-barbershop-lincoln-acres-2?osq=neighborhood+barvershop