Good Vibes Barbershop has good response

CHIPPEWA LAKE — Months of prayers and anticipation paid off last month as Nick Fink opened the Good Vibes Barbershop in the village Dec. 15. Fink, who had spent several years as a barber working at different shops, decided it was time for him to make the jump to business ownership. Though he lives in Cuyahoga Falls, Fink is originally from Silver Lake Village in Summit County and said he loved the "small-town feel" Chippewa Lake provided. "Everybody kind of knows each other," Fink said. "I'm a big family guy, real tight knit, and the feel was just exactly what I was looking for. It wasn't some big metropolis with all these people and you don't get to know anybody. I love being able to form relationships with my clients." On top of the tight-knight community that the village provides, Fink landed on the location for the shop, 582 Lake Road, in part due to it having served as a barbershop before. This made his move in much easier as he said all he needed to do to move in was get some new chairs and do some general sprucing up. "My parents are business owners, it's always been something that has been in my family," Fink said. "I became a barber, originally, so that I could work for myself and the end game was to be able to open my own shop. I didn't really need to do a whole lot of leg work to get the shop up-and-running outside of marketing, advertising and that stuff." In the just over three weeks the shop has been open, Fink said he has been "slammed" between appointments and walk-ins. Fink said his specialties are fades and working on beards. "It's been bonkers," Fink said. "Granted, I did open up right before Christmas, so everybody and their brother gets their yearly haircut, which was half of what I was shooting for. Even after Christmas and New Years, I'm still busy. By the end of the first week, I was already getting referrals." As a self-described "man of God," Fink was nervous about starting a business in the middle of a holiday season during the pandemic, but he said he put his faith in the fact that if it was meant to happen, it would. He also spent a year as a motivational speaker prior to opening the business and said he hopes he can provide an experience that can "radiate positivity and good vibes," to his customers. "Everything just fell into line so perfectly that I couldn't not open the shop," Fink said. "People still need haircuts and people still like to feel good. Getting your haircut kind of helps (to) bring you back to base and makes you feel good. In the middle of the pandemic, even though you might not be going out … you come get your haircut cause it helps you feel good. "When people come into my shop, I don't want to only just give them a good haircut. I want them to have an experience that, when the come in here, they don't have to worry about the barber talking about himself or being in a bad mood. When people come here, it's about them and their time and what they want." Contact reporter Jack Kopanski at (330) 721-4063 or jkopanski@medina-gazette.com.