In one of the five-room HDB flats in Ghim Moh, there is a sofa and a TV and gaming consoles next to a queen-sized bunk bed.

These are used not by a brooding teenager who games on his sofa all day long, but by customers who have come for a haircut.

Nicholas Fheng has converted the bedroom that he shares with his wife into a barber shop, complete with the quintessential spinning barber pole of red, white and blue stripes mounted on the wall.

If the barber chair is occupied, the next-in-line customer would wait at the sofa.

“They can play some games or watch movies while waiting. I hope people feel at home, as if they are going to a friend’s house to get their hair cut,” said Nicholas, 29.

Space in the room is well optimised and comes complete with a table bearing haircutting tools, a sizeable mirror and a shelf full of the latest men’s hairstyling products.

Why is a graduate from Singapore Management University operating a barber shop out of his own bedroom?

It is also clear from the get-go that Nicholas and his wife live life unconventionally in many other ways. The couple has just returned to Singapore after travelling for nine and a half months abroad, when they visited a total of 40 countries, including obscure places like Serbia and North Macedonia.

About a third of the trip was spent learning from the best in men’s hairdressing: Menspire Academy in England and Schorem’s Old School Barber Academy in the Netherlands. Nicholas had forked out a whopping $12,000 to enrol in those courses.

How it all started 

Nicholas’ barbering journey started back in 2019 when he was in his second year of university. After classes, he would cut hair for his friends and customers in his bedroom. After graduation, he held full time corporate jobs but continued this side hustle after working hours.

To date, he has given slick cuts to some 7,000 heads of hair.

“Earlier this year, God challenged me to use these skills to serve others and do it full-time,” said Nicholas.

His journey into barbering started with a divine meeting and a healthy dose of curiosity.

Nicholas, then a first-year university student in 2018, went to have his hair cut at a barber shop called Splice at Suntec City after discovering that his usual barber shop had too many customers.

As he sat in the barber chair, Nicholas started talking to the barber, and asked him how he started cutting hair. Then, without much thought, Nicholas casually asked the barber if he would be willing to teach his craft.

“I thought he would be apprehensive to teach – it was like asking a chef for his secret recipe. To my surprise, he was open to it,” said Nicholas.

The day of the haircut when Nicholas asked his barber if he would be willing to teach him barbering.

Keen to pick up a practical and fun skill, Nicholas would go after university classes to the barber’s HDB flat in Yishun to learn from him. Once or twice every week, the barber would set up a chair in his HDB corridor and Nicholas practised his cutting techniques on supportive friends who volunteered to be his guinea pigs.

Nicholas learning to cut hair from his teacher at the staircase landing of his teacher’s flat.

“I remember a customer thanking me for his haircut and it resonated with me. I also heard a whisper from God: ‘Why don’t you do this for more of My children?’” said Nicholas.

The following year, he decided to open a barber shop from his bedroom and charge $10 for each cut. He presented a faith goal to the Lord: To have 100 appointments within four months.

Nicholas’ very first cut in his bedroom with his friend Jeremy. He was so scared to cut his friend’s hair that he almost wanted to skip the appointment.

God came through and brought in for him double the number of appointments. Word about his services circulated through social media and word of mouth.

“I knew this was just the beginning and that God was inviting me to partner Him on this adventure,” said Nicholas.

The first version of Nicholas’ barber room.

He continued cutting hair while studying in SMU. When COVID hit, he still ran his home-based business while adhering to the existing guidelines.  At first, he simply called his outfit “Nic’s Barber Room” or “nbr” for short.

Nicholas adhering to COVID guidelines when he cut hair during the pandemic.

Saying goodbye to his very first barber chair in 2020. His mom gave him some money and he ordered the cheapest one he could find on Taobao.

In 2021, God impressed upon his heart the verses in Mark 12:31 that commanded a believer to love his neighbours as himself.

“It was then that I realised my ‘nbr’ should be a place where that commandment is lived out.

“Everybody in my barber chair is my neighbour and every cut is an opportunity to love on them like how God first loved us,” said Nicholas, who then rebranded his barber shop as “nbrhood”.

Nicholas in his barber apron.

After graduating with a business management degree in 2021, Nicholas found a job at Airbnb as a safety specialist.

“It was a well-known company with good pay. It made sense because I could still continue barbering on the side,” he said.

A year later, he tried his hand in another role of doing tech sales.

These jobs not only enabled him to save up for marriage but also to fulfil one of his dreams to go overseas to study men’s hairdressing.

Taking the opportunity after marriage and before they were tied down with children, Nicholas and his wife quit their jobs to head to London. Nicholas enrolled in a three-month course in a reputable barber academy there.

An appreciation dinner he held for his customers cum friends in nbrhood before he left for barber school overseas.

“God provided for us every step of the way, including securing accommodation near the academy at half the usual price,” said Nicholas, who attended a second, shorter hairdressing course in Netherlands thereafter.

Nicholas getting trained at Menspire Academy, St Albans, England

Nicholas cutting hair as a trainee at the Old School Barber Academy, Rotterdam, Netherlands.

He and his wife also took the opportunity to have an extended honeymoon, In the end, they travelled to 40 countries to visit friends and sightsee.

Nicholas’ family in Barcelona. They visited him while he was studying overseas in barber schools.

Towards the end of their nine-month travel adventure, Nicholas and his wife made a stop in Cambodia to visit their local friend and his church there.

Nicholas and his wife Lee in Laos.

Since they were there, Nicholas volunteered to give haircuts to church members from the village.

Cutting hair for teachers at a local school in Poipet, Cambodia

As he began snipping hair at the doorstep of the church before its service started, Nicholas felt a feeling of warmth overtake him.

“I felt a warm feeling of joy and fulfilment. Then I heard God say to me: ‘Don’t you feel truly happy doing this? You are doing exactly what you are meant to do. Step out in faith and do this full-time,’” said Nicholas.

All along, Nicholas somehow knew he would end up being a barber. He just did not expect to be “called” into the trade in that season of his life.

“I had just gotten married and we have an upcoming BTO flat to pay for. The extended travel trip and barber courses had already eaten up most of my savings. I thought the day would only come when I felt more ready and stable in life,” he said.

Two weeks of wrestling 

Thus, he began wrestling with God over the decision to be a full-time barber. He tried to run away from the “call” by applying for other full-time jobs online. After all, he was due to return to Singapore in two months and needed some runway to secure a job by then.

He figured that getting a sales job would provide him with the income and flexible schedule needed to support doing barbering as a sideline.

However, as he mindlessly applied to various sales jobs he chanced upon online, he felt empty.

“It felt hollow as I did not even care about what I was selling,” said Nicholas.

While he was on a six-hour van ride as he and his wife made their way from Hanoi to Sapa, Nicholas found himself tearing up as he texted his mother and confided in her.

“Do you believe that God led me to my barber teacher six years ago? Would you support me if I do this full-time?” he asked his mum.

His mother told him that following God’s leading was the most important thing to do, and reminded him about how Abraham obeyed God even though he did not know his destination.

Nicholas’ parents have always been supportive of his work – he and his wife currently live with them and the five-room flat that his barber shop operates out of belongs to them.  

Nicholas shares a close relationship with his mother.

Still, there was fear lodged in Nicholas’ heart.

“God, if this calling is from You, close all the doors to all my job applications,” he prayed during that bumpy van ride.

Barely one hour later, when they disembarked for a toilet break, Nicholas received an email from one of the most promising job prospects he had.

“We regret to inform you that we would not be proceeding with your candidature for the job role,” a line from the email went.

By then, he had applied for 20 to 30 jobs, but he was either rejected by them or did not hear back from them.  

During their homestay in Sapa, Nicholas stared into the vastness of the tea plantations before him and spent time with the Lord.

In Sapa, Nicholas had time to pray and seek God in the midst of nature.

As he prayed and worshiped, he felt his fears about doing barbering full-time transform not only into peace but into excitement.

“I actually felt excited at the thought of running my own business and being in charge of my own schedule,” said Nicholas.

With the support of his wife, he started operating his barber shop full-time out of his bedroom after they returned home two months ago.

Nicholas opens nrbhood seven days a week, from 8am to 10.45pm as some of his customers prefer to have their cuts either before or after work. On average, he has about three to eight appointments daily. He charges working adults $35 for a 45-minute cut; students pay $28.

Barbering has allowed him to reconnect with old friends, maintain existing friendships as well as make many new ones.

Nicholas with Pastor Norman from 3:16 Church, who is his regular customer, and singer Benjamin Kheng.

During the pockets of time when he is not booked, he blocks out those periods for personal time, rest and church commitments. He and his wife currently worship at Life Church.

Running a home-based barber shop has its fair share of challenges.

“It took me some time to get used to not having the assurance of a fixed income each month, having no workplace benefits or paid leave, and facing a very direct correlation between my income and the number of hours I work. So, every day I depend on the Lord for bringing in my portion for the day,” said Nicholas.

Nicholas sometimes plays host to group cuts in his barber room.

Despite the challenges, he has experienced how God continues to be his provider.

He had always wanted to install a wash basin in his room so that his customers can lie down comfortably for a wash, instead of having to stand up while washing in his HDB toilet outside.

“I thought it was not possible as the plumbing can be quite complicated. But recently, God sent someone who runs a plumbing company to my barber chair and he told me it could be done,” said Nicholas.

Equipping the called 

God has also been equipping him to be both a competent barber and His minister.

Firstly, God has enabled him to multitask – to talk and cut at the same time – in order for him to achieve his double goals of giving his customers beautiful cuts yet be able to minister to them at the same time.

“It’s a privileged position to be in the audience of a person for a prolonged period of time. Many people open up in the barber chair; there’s a saying that barbers are the cheapest therapists. I hope to use these opportunities to speak life and the truth of God to them. Initially, I used to have to pause to talk before resuming haircuts but now I can do it easily,” he said.

Secondly, God has expanded his memory ability so that he is able to remember details about each customer. This is no mean feat as thousands of them have sat in his barber chair over the years.

“Some of them tell me that every time they go to a barber shop elsewhere, the barber would make small talk and ask them the same few questions of what’s their names and what do they do,” said Nicholas.

“But they told me that in my chair, they feel seen, heard and known because I am able to remember where they work at and which season of life they are in. So, the next time they came back, we are able to chat about the latest development or concern in their lives,” he added.

Nicholas’ belief: My chair, His Throne.

Nicholas desires for his barber chair to be God’s throne – a place where his customers can encounter God.

So far, he has been able to bring two of his customers to church.

“Both of them had relationship problems and I encouraged them and shared my faith. Their curiosity were piqued and I accompanied them separately to church. One came to faith and the other rededicated his life to God,” said Nicholas.

For the many others who are not ready to step into a church, he simply listens to their struggles and prays for them if they wish to.

Often, his customers are also the ones who encourage him whenever he feels tired or discouraged.

Going forward, it is Nicholas’ dream to secure a van and a portable barber chair, so that he will be able to move around and do corporate and neighbourhood pop-ups. This would in turn help fund his community work of going into nursing homes and dormitories of migrant workers to give pro bono haircuts.

Nicholas serving at a local elderly centre in the early days of 2019.

“Barbering is more than just the haircut. Every person is precious to our Father and I hope to use every 45-minute session to serve them and see God work through a barber chair.”

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