Q Robinson. Courtesy photo
Q Robinson, a Shreveport native, came to be a student at Grambling on a snap decision, not completely knowing what he’d even do in college.
Now he is a well known business owner in the city of Grambling and surrounding areas.
Robinson is a barber who owns one of the more successful barbershops in Grambling. The shop is named CutzByQ. Since opening in 2017 it has been a popular place to go when students need a cut.
Robinson enjoys his success, but the process he had to go through to become successful motivates him to continue to progress in the things he does.
“Me personally, I want all my customers to feel inspired by someone who really went through the process,” Robinson said. “I want them to know they can be someone who started from the bottom, but can climb up and make things happen for themselves.”
Robinson remembers the days when he first came to Grambling and didn’t have much of anything as he started attending school.
“When I first came to Grambling, I had $39,” Robinson said. “It was hard for me, but I knew I couldn’t let things continue to be that way.”
Robinson used his talents and started cutting hair in his dorm room, which quickly gained the attention of many students. After some time of doing this, the owner of Heavenly Hands Barbershop, a shop that was located on Grambling’s campus, told Robinson he could work and cut hair at his shop.
“After I got the opportunity to work in Heavenly Hands, I knew I could start building up clientele,” Robinson said.“I still went through a process of changes while I was at Heavenly Hands, but it helped me. That made me pursue my own ambitions to start my own shop.”
Since the day he started working at the shop, Robinson used every day to get better at his craft and bring in more clients. His steady work helped bring growth to him and the business.
On Jan. 21, 2017, Robinson moved out of Heavenly Hands to start his own barbershop.
CutzByQ’s grand opening ceremony was a great success which included his friends, family and clients. He ended up having more people than expected come out and support the opening of his barbershop.
“That day, I really appreciated all these people coming out to show me love.” Robinson said.
“On top of that, I made over $975 on my first day being an open barber in my own shop.”
This day was a great motivation for Robinson who did not know what exactly how the event would turn out. The support he has had from people has been something that stuck with him and he remembers it when dealing with his customers.
“I always just take care of my people,” Robinson said. “If I can help you, I will help you. I’ll present you with an opportunity to try to benefit people the same way that they benefit me.”
This care for the people is what Robinson says differentiates CutzByQ from any other barber or barbershop.