Meet Javis Gibson

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

Javis, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?

I found my purpose when me and and old friend got off the school bus one day and he told me he wish he could go get his hair cut. We both came from poor families so trips to the barbershop were a luxury. Nonetheless, as we continued to walk to my house, I remembered my dad had some clippers in a garment bag underneath the sink in the bathroom. I told my friend I could cut his hair and assured him it would be the best hair cut he had ever had. He, being about 9 or or 10 years old, was as gullible as I was in thinking this would go well. We finally made home and I immediately went in the bathroom and plug the clippers up. I had him sit on the toilet. I wrapped him up in a large towel as though it was a cape from the barbershop and clicked the clippers on. Something about the feeling that I felt when that vibration hit my hand and traveled up my wrist into my forearm immediately let me know I was doing what God put me here to do. As I started cutting Tommy’s hair, we begin talking about ways to beat the video game Contra as if we were in a real barber setting. Ultimately, we touched on a few different topics as I cut anybody’s hair for the very first time. Needless to say….. the haircut turned out a mess and we both got whippings. The part in his head was so wide that our parents felt it called for disciplinary action!! 🤣😅……. Either way…… I walked away feeling like, “this is what I’d love to do for the rest of my life”.

Well as life went on and my career in barbering started to blossom, I learned that barbering and cutting hair wasn’t the purpose, but simply the platform. The purpose was to touch and change lives using the platform of Barbering.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

My name is Javis Gibson and I’m a passionate barber from the great state of Mississippi. I grew up a rather poor kid with two sister, one older and one younger. I began cutting hair at a very young age and immediately fail in love with the art of barbering. I attempted to get my barber’s licensure quite a few times before I finally earned them in 2009. Somewhere between staying in trouble with the laws and being hardheaded, becoming a professional barber was a job in itself. In the process of finally earning my barbering license I found myself homeless for several months in Baton Rouge, LA. This was a very low point in my life but I knew that if I didn’t become a professional barber I’d likely be in the streets forever. I will admit that after I gained my license and became a professional barber I moved back to the state of Mississippi to get myself reestablished. When i got back home God began opening up doors for me that no man could close. In 2012 I open up my own barbershop along with a partner and my business has flourished since. I went on to obtain two patents and manufactured two products that serve in the beauty industry today. The Multi-Razor and the SpongeBrush are my two babies!! The Multi-Razor is a dual use razor handle with an application brush on one side and a razor on the other side and is designed to apply color enhancements to the beard, hairline, and/or eyebrow. The SpongeBrush is a dual use tool with a boar bristle hair brush on one side and a sponge on the other side and is designed so that the consumer can sponge their hair out for texture and bushes their fade down on the sides. I also author a book that is one of the #1 sellers in the barber world. This book is named 24 Laws of Barbering, Proclamations for Barber Success. With this book I travel to different barber colleges to promote financial success in barbering as well as professionalism within the industry. I recently became a director on the Mississippi Barber and Cosmetology Association which was huge!!…… My plan is to continue to grow in the beauty industry a to forever be a student to this profession and to life itself.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

Looking back over my success in life I think there were three qualities and skills I had to develop to be a success. The first skill I had to develop was self discipline. I learned early in my profession journey that if I couldn’t control myself, I couldn’t control anything. Me keeping my thoughts in order created alignment. I learned that time management was crucial and required self discipline because punctuality is everything in business. Speaking at the right time and being quiet at the right time can make or break your career so discipline over my mouth became a goal, especially when I’ve been the more outspoken type all my life. And one of my greatest skills that I could have ever learned was my communication skills. My verbiage and tone had to become managed as I was so used to using more “ebonic” words than professional. If I had to tell my youth and those coming up behind me, I would encourage them to definitely master these three qualities for a successful life in whatever they may be striving to do. Always be intentional in perfecting these qualities and make them habit until they become a lifestyle.

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?

In life we all need an accountability partner. We also need someone who can help us when we can’t figure certain things out in this journey we can life. That person who we know will be there through the thick and the thin. That person for me is my best friend Felicia Jeffries!! Felicia a.k.a. Fe has been what I would consider a true friend. She has never allowed me to give up or tap out on any challenge that I’ve ever faced. Fe is a barber also which helps make our friendship more special. She has shared knowledge with me in hairstyling that has definitely help3d my skillset in barbering. Felicia holds me accountable in my personal life as well as my business life and has been battle tested when it comes to FRIENDSHIP. When I need someone to tell me to be quiet she’s that person. When I need someone to tell me to get up and get in motion, she’s that person. When giving up is entertained in my thoughts Felicia has her own way of reminding me that it’s not even an option. Felicia Jeffries is what definitely a person that I owe a lot of my success to.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.JavisGibson.com
• Instagram: @gibbthebarber
• Facebook: Javis J Gibb Gibson
• Linkedin: Javis Gibson
• Other: TikTok: Javis Gibson

Image Credits

Lopez the Barber