Lawrence Wright is a master barber and the founder of The Barber Pill on Center Street in Bethlehem. He is also a union electrician who commutes to a job in New York, a taekwondo black belt, a husband and father of two boys, and an immigrant from Jamaica.
Carter McKinney, who calls Wright a friend, business partner, and brother in community service, recorded this episode in Wright’s chair while getting a haircut. The conversation covered discipline, balance, and the responsibility that comes with showing up for others.
Starting with a wall clipper
Wright has been cutting hair for more than 20 years. It started in high school in Florida, where the barber he went to used to take nearly all his hair off. Curious, he asked a classmate, Leon Robinson, to teach him. In 10th grade, with a wall clipper, Robinson showed him how to fade and how to work on himself.
He practiced, made mistakes, and got better. As he improved, his friends volunteered their heads. The story was later featured in The Lineup magazine.
Mental health and leaving work at work
Mental health is personal for Wright. Each year he runs a three-mile event for mental health with Preventive Measures, and he regularly reminds people on social media to check on someone.
His electrician job comes with long overnight shifts and a commute of about two hours each way. He uses that drive to reflect, and he works hard not to carry the job’s stress home. The shop, by contrast, does not feel like work. It is his passion.
Balance is built into how he runs The Barber Pill. He works Tuesday through Friday and keeps Saturday, Sunday, and Monday for family. Some clients expect a barbershop to be open on Saturday, he says, but he chose his own schedule for his peace of mind. If someone calls about a haircut during family time, they will get hung up on. It is not rude, he says. It is just not the time.
“Please make sure you check on someone because you never know. Your voice could be that voice that could save that person that day.”
Discipline from the mat
Wright calls taekwondo his second family. He does not just practice it, he says, he lives it. He is also training in jiu-jitsu with his instructor, Sensei Evan Robinson, and compares both to chess. The first person to move often loses, because the other person is ready to counter.
He applies the same thinking to business. He writes down his mistakes, keeps his thinking organized, and puts the customer first, because the business is about what the customer gets. Over the years that focus has helped his reputation speak for itself. He credits McKinney with pushing him to redo his business card and improve his website, which brought in more business.
His Jamaican upbringing reinforced that drive. Jamaicans, he says, are natural hustlers who keep more than one thing going, which is part of why he works two jobs. His mother told him to strive for excellence. He started running track in Jamaica with his sister and would run until he fell out at the finish line because he gave it everything.
“It’s not about the fighting, it’s about the self-discipline, because it comes in handy in everything that you do.”
Mondays for the community
Wright gives his Mondays to free haircuts. He started because two barbers asked him to; when they stopped showing up, he decided someone had to. He cuts hair at the Hope Center, which serves men in recovery and offers counseling and outreach, and where his annual back-to-school book bag drive now takes place. He also volunteers with Operation Address the Homeless, where people can get a meal, a shower, and a haircut. Now he brings his sons so they can see it too.
The work has humbled him. Hearing people worry about their next meal or where they will sleep puts his own worries in perspective. He saw encampments while training for the Savage Race, a three-mile obstacle course in the Pocono Mountains he runs every year. Last year, on his fourth try, he completed every obstacle for the first time.
His advice for struggling business owners is to reflect each morning, make a punch list of what went well and what did not, and fix it. Promotion and a website with online booking help, but he values the personal touch most: introducing yourself and handing someone your card.
“Everybody’s talking but nobody’s doing the action.”
- Set the schedule that protects your peace; owning the business means you decide your days and hours.
- Leave work at work, and use quiet time like a commute to reflect instead of carrying stress home.
- Write down your mistakes and keep a yearly punch list of what to fix.
- Put the customer first, and pair a strong website with a personal introduction.
- Service keeps you humble; where there is a need, someone has to step up.
