Mark-Jason Solofa, Men's Grooming

Mark-Jason Solofa, Men's Grooming "Mark-Jason Solofa, Men's Grooming" is Northern California's premier premium men's grooming lifestyl Meter rates are $1.50 per hour.
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Metered parking is available directly in front of the Parlor. Free parking however is available just around the corner on the cross street "Allston Way".

*Please note that there is NO PARKING on "Allston Way" on the first Friday of every month between 9am and 12pm.

09/17/2026

Yesterday was World Barber Day, and this year marks 18 years since I became a barber. That’s meaningful because I spent 17 years in the corporate world. I’ve now officially been a barber longer than I was a corporate employee.

When I made the transition, there was plenty of uncertainty. I’d never been a barber before and had no guarantee that I would succeed. But I knew one thing: for 17 years, I had shown up for other companies with determination, commitment, loyalty and a willingness to work hard.

I remember thinking, if I’m willing to work this hard helping someone else become successful, what happens if I apply that same work ethic to myself?

For the first time, I was fully invested in my own success. If I succeeded, it was on me. If I failed, that was on me too.

18 years later, I’m grateful I made that decision.

For anyone dreaming about entrepreneurship or starting a small business, I’m not going to tell you to blindly quit your job and “follow your passion.” But I will ask you this:

What could happen if you applied the same discipline, commitment and work ethic you’ve been giving someone else’s dream to building your own?

18 years barbering. 17 years corporate.

The longest job I’ve ever had is the one I created.

09/08/2026

A great haircut shouldn’t end with, “Alright bro, you’re good.” 😂

You’ve spent the entire appointment earning someone’s trust, providing a service and building a relationship. Don’t suddenly become passive during the last 60 seconds.

Before my client leaves, there are four things I believe a barber should do.

1. Say thank you. Never become so accustomed to someone’s business that you stop showing appreciation for it.

2. Ask about their next appointment. “Would you like me to rebook you, or would you rather book online when you’re ready?” You’re not pressuring them. You’re showing initiative and letting them know you WANT to see them again.

3. Ask for the referral. If they know someone who might appreciate your services, hand them a card or two. Stop hoarding business cards like they’re collectibles. 😂 Hand them out. When they’re gone, order more.

4. Ask for the review. If they enjoyed their experience, ask them to share it on Google or Yelp.

None of this needs to feel pushy or transactional when it’s coming from genuine service.

Closed mouths don’t get fed.

The answer is automatically no when you never ask.

And if you’re constantly looking for new clients while allowing your existing clients to walk out without attempting to secure the next appointment, referral or review, you’re making business harder than it needs to be.

Acquiring a new client usually requires more effort than retaining someone who already knows, likes and trusts you.

Give a great service.

Then finish the service. 💈

08/18/2026

You don’t need thousands of followers to have thousands of clients over the course of a successful career.

But you probably should have enough of a social media presence that a prospective client can figure out who you are, what you do, and whether they trust you enough to sit in your chair.

There’s a difference.

Today’s clients are technologically savvy. Before booking, many are going to look you up.

They’ll look at your work.

Your reviews.

Your shop.

Your personality.

Your professionalism.

Maybe even how recently you posted.

So yes—keep your digital portfolio current.

But don’t confuse visibility with success.

And definitely don’t use somebody else’s social media account as the measuring stick for your own career.

You’re comparing the entirety of your real life to the portion of theirs they’ve chosen to show you.

Maybe it’s real.

Maybe it’s exaggerated.

Maybe it’s completely fabricated.

Either way, it has nothing to do with whether your career is progressing.

And finally, stop looking for approval from other barbers.

Not everybody is going to understand the kind of barbering you choose to do.

They don’t have to.

If your work is professional, your service is exceptional, your clients value the experience, they continue coming back, and you’ve built a sustainable career around serving them…

whose approval are you still waiting for?

Be humble enough to recognize where you still need to learn.

Be ambitious enough to continue growing.

But be secure enough to appreciate where you are while you’re getting there.

Followers aren’t clientele.
Comparison isn’t growth.
And approval isn’t success.

08/12/2026

It took me getting older to truly understand my mother.

As children, we don’t always recognize sacrifice when we’re living underneath it.

Discipline can feel like control.

Protection can feel like restriction.

Concern can sound like nagging.

And the people sacrificing the most for us can sometimes be the very people we understand the least.

Yesterday my Mom celebrated 84 years of life. ❤️

The older I get, the more I’m able to see beyond the stern mother I sometimes feared as a kid and understand the woman behind her.

The eldest of 13 children in Savai‘i, Samoa.

A young girl given tremendous responsibility for her siblings.

A registered nurse.

A wife.

A mother.

A widow.

A woman whose life has been defined by faith, family and service.

And maybe one of the greatest gifts of getting older is that eventually we stop seeing our parents only as Mom and Dad…

and begin seeing them as people.

People who had childhoods before us.

Dreams before us.

Hardships we weren’t there to witness.

Fears they probably never told us about.

And experiences that shaped the very parenting we sometimes struggled to understand.

At 56, I can look back at things differently than I could at 16.

And I can appreciate something else now:

No matter how old we become, a mother’s eyes apparently never adjust to our age. 😂

We’re still their babies.

So while the Reel tells more of her story, this caption is simply my reminder to myself—and maybe to someone else fortunate enough to still have a parent here:

Ask more questions.

Learn their stories.

Give them grace.

Tell them thank you.

And don’t wait until all you’re left with are memories to finally understand the person who spent a lifetime loving you.

Happy 84th Birthday, Mom.

Thank you for your faith, your sacrifices, your prayers, your service—and your love.

I thank God for every year we’ve been given with you, and I pray for many more. ❤️🙏🏽🇼🇸🇦🇸

08/09/2026

When I first left American Samoa at 16 to attend college in Hawai‘i, I remember a guy asking me where I was from.

I told him, “SAAAAmoa.”

Him: “You’re from San Juan?!”
Me: “No. SAAmoa.”
Him: “Somalia?!”
Me: “No. SAAmoa.”
Him: “Singapore?!!”
Me: “NO… SAAmoa. But you probably say SamOOOAN!” 🙄😩🤦🏽🤣

Fast-forward to today, and it’s pretty amazing how much more of the world knows exactly where Samoa is—and who Samoan people are.

Our people and culture have gained visibility around the world, including through professional sports, entertainment, music and countless other fields. 🇼🇸🇦🇸

Barbering has been another one.

When I started barbering almost 20 years ago, one of the only other Samoan barbers I knew of was philgoodcuts in San Francisco.

Today, thanks largely to social media, I see Samoan and Polynesian barbers all over the world—cutting hair, owning shops, building businesses and representing our culture in the communities they serve.

And that means something to me.

Because I’ve never viewed my Samoan identity as something separate from the way I’ve approached barbering.

It helped shape it.

I was raised in a culture where family matters. Hospitality matters. Faith matters. Respect matters. Service matters. Community matters.

We laugh. We feed people. We celebrate. We protect the people we love. And when you’re welcomed into the family, we have a way of making you feel like you’ve always belonged there. ❤️

Yes, we’re stereotyped as some pretty big people. 😂

But I’d like to think our hearts tend to be even bigger.

That’s why I’ve intentionally woven my Samoan heritage into the fabric of my barbering and my brand from the beginning.

Because when I really think about what I’ve spent my career trying to create inside my barbershops—hospitality, fellowship, service, relationships, belonging and community—

I wasn’t inventing a business philosophy.

I was practicing what my culture had already taught me.

🇼🇸🇦🇸💈❤️

08/05/2026

The loudest voices in an industry aren’t always the wisest.

Over the last several years, social media has convinced a lot of barbers that there are certain things you have to do if you want to succeed.

You have to post every dollar you make.

You have to compete in barber battles.

You have to cut every haircut in 30 minutes.

I simply chose a different path.

Not because those things are inherently wrong.

Because they didn’t align with the business I wanted to build.

For nearly 20 years, I focused on longer appointments, stronger relationships, premium service, and building a brand around trust rather than trends.

Could those other paths work?

Absolutely.

But so can this one.

One of the biggest mistakes I see young barbers make is assuming there is only one blueprint for success.

There isn’t.

Build the career that aligns with your values—not someone else’s algorithm.

07/30/2026

You can put lipstick on a pig… it’s still a pig.

A lazy barber on commission is still a lazy barber in a booth rent shop.

That might sound harsh, but after nearly four decades in this industry, I’ve watched the same story play out over and over again.

A barber struggles on commission, becomes convinced the pay structure is the problem, moves to a booth rent shop expecting everything to change…

…and six months later they’re facing the exact same challenges.

Why?

Because changing your environment doesn’t automatically change your habits.

Booth rent gives you more freedom.

It also gives you more responsibility.

If you weren’t showing up early, marketing yourself, building relationships, improving your craft, following up with clients, and treating every appointment like it mattered before…

…a different pay structure won’t suddenly make those habits appear.

I’ve also seen the opposite.

I’ve watched commission barbers build incredible careers, loyal clientele, and financial freedom because they approached every day with discipline, professionalism, and genuine service.

The truth is this:

Your pay structure can influence your business model.

It cannot replace your work ethic.

Whether you’re on commission or paying booth rent, success is still built the same way:

• Show up prepared.
• Serve people exceptionally well.
• Keep learning.
• Do the work when nobody is watching.
• Repeat it tomorrow.

Because at the end of the day…

Character scales. Excuses do too.

I’m curious to hear from other barbers and shop owners.

Have you seen barbers thrive—or struggle—under both commission and booth rent? What made the difference?

07/26/2026

People sometimes ask why I share my faith on a barbering page.

The answer is simple.

Because without my faith, this brand probably wouldn’t exist.

Fourteen years ago I opened my first barbershop in Berkeley with zero clients, less than two years behind the chair, one barber chair, and no backup plan. I lived more than an hour away and had no idea if anyone would walk through the door.

I wasn’t dreaming about opening four barbershops.

I was praying to make it through the first week.

Every opportunity that followed required another step of faith. Every season of growth brought new fears, new uncertainty, and new responsibilities.

My prayer was never simply for success.

It was for greater faith.

Faith to trust God’s plan even when I couldn’t see where it was leading.

Faith to be a good steward of every opportunity He placed before me.

Looking back now, I don’t believe God was only building a business.

I believe He was building my character.

That’s why my faith has always been part of the MJS brand.

Not because I’m perfect.

Not because I have life figured out.

But because I know where my hope has always come from.

If you’re facing a decision today that feels bigger than your confidence, remember this:

God doesn’t always show us the whole journey. Sometimes He simply asks us to trust Him enough to take the next step.

Grooming Men to Be Better Men.

What step of faith has changed the direction of your life?

Address

2211 San Pablo Avenue
Castro Valley, CA
94702

Opening Hours

Monday 10am - 6pm
Tuesday 10am - 6pm
Wednesday 10am - 6pm
Thursday 10am - 6pm
Friday 10am - 6pm
Saturday 9am - 2pm
Sunday 10am - 6pm

Telephone

(510) 859-8112

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