Meet Jabarha Nichols | Owner and C.E.O. of Kuttz Enterprises LLC

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jabarha Nichols and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jabarha, how has your background shaped the person you are today?
I’m from Flagstaff Arizona, I had only a mother at home, she was always working hard to take care of 2 kids. I watched her and the first thing she taught me was the value of hard work and being there for your kids. I’ve built my career with hard work and with my kids in mind every step of the way. Kuttz Enterprises isn’t just for me and my lifetime, but it is something I am working hard to build for my children’s future. Although this mindset didn’t come easy.- In 2005, I was going down the wrong path, and I decided I didn’t want to end up in prison and live a bad lifestyle. I made a connection with the owner of the gas station I was managing. He helped me go to barber school and open my small shop in 2006. My mom was a cosmetologist, and I had some experience cutting hair in high school, so barbering was a great fit for me. After about 8 years of barbering and building connections, I decided it was time for me to give back to the community I came from. I started thinking long term about helping others and building something great for my kids, in 2014 I opened Kuttz Barber College. This put me in the position to help others change their lives the same way I’d been helped. After seeing many students through the Barbering Program, I wanted to do more. In 2020 I opened Kuttz Beauty College. Not only has my business grown tremendously, but my mindset has too. I went from thinking on a day to day scale, to thinking in the long term; where my business will be in just a few years, and beyond that to my business outside of Arizona state borders and beyond my lifetime. I’ve learned that with hard work and the help of great people, I can use my passion for this industry as a vehicle to reach more people than I ever could have imagined.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
The main ventures of Kuttz Enterprises are the Barber and Beauty Colleges. The main service we offer is education to primarily minority and under-privileged peoples within the community. At Kuttz, students get a hands-on education from instructors who come from a similar background to their own, in an environment that fosters community and focuses on their future rather than holding them back based on their past. It hasn’t been easy building the businesses. In over 15 years of being a business owner, I’ve learned that nothing good comes quick and easy. Hard work and patience are two traits that I’ve had much practice working on. Overall, I’m proud that I defied the odds. That doesn’t go without acknowledging how unbelievably humbled I am that I was blessed with the opportunities I got and all of the help I have from people like in my life. My biggest accomplishment to this day is opening the Barber and Beauty Colleges. My goal is to take what I was given and turn it into something that gives back tenfold. I was deep into a lifestyle that could only end badly, I didn’t know much about how to run a business, but I used every tool at my disposal, and the help of so many people to turn my life around. Meeting my goal of giving back isn’t finished. I see the colleges as my biggest accomplishment, also my highest professional priority. Because of the immediate life change from the dozens of students that go through the programs every year, I am encouraged to keep improving and growing the colleges

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
We would definitely walk downtown Flagstaff and check out some of the great local food joints downtown. In the morning we could hit up Biff’s bagels and Matador coffee roasters. We could check out a local brewery, although I’m sober so I’d stick to coffee and water. For fun we’d definitely hit NAU facilities to play hoops and maybe check out the aquaplex to go swimming.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
All the glory to God first, then all of the countless people who have stuck by my side in making each one of my businesses possible!

Website: kuttzbarbershop.com kuttzbeautycollege.com kuttzbarbercollege.com

Instagram: @kuttzwestside @kuttzbarbercollege @kuttzbeautycollege

Facebook: @kuttzbarbercollege , @kuttzbeautycollege @kuttzbarbershop

Yelp: @kuttzbarbercollege , @kuttzbeautycollege @kuttzbarbershop