Grooming Lounge Blog

Was writing the intro page to our latest catalog and realized that it’s been nearly 10 years since the Grooming Lounge concept was birthed. WOW… doesn’t seem that long. Anyway, when us Grooming Guys (Pirooz and Mike) reflect on the last decade, it’s interesting to see the baby steps we’ve made and how one thing has spawned another and another. And while we’re by no means Proctor & Gamble (or even remotely close), we still think it’s cool to glance at the evolution of a truly entrepreneurial business run by guys with a true passion for it. Here’s a glance at the first five years of our existence. The last five will come in the next posting:

• Late 1999-ish: We realize that all our friends are grooming themselves stealthily. They are in the proverbial “grooming closet.” We decide to help.
• 2000-ish: At the height of the dot com boom, we write a business plan and try to raise money to launch both a web site and physical store. Nobody ponies up the money, but all like the plan. A jokester tells us he can build our site for “just $1.2 million.”
• October 2001-ish: We scrounge together some funds (about $1,170,000 less than the above bid) and www.groominglounge.com launches in Mike’s basement. Neighbors start to complain about the flurry of UPS trucks visiting the street. While working other jobs, we still find time to pack our 2 to 5 orders per day.
• February 2001-ish: Groominglounge.com gets written up in Playboy magazine.  Orders nearly double to 8 per day that month and grow exponentially from there. Mike’s wife is brought into the distribution team, despite her being 7 months pregnant. She soon resigns.
• August 2001-ish: A visionary landlord in DC on L. Street finally “gets” our idea and lets us (with the aid of a massive guarantee) rent a retail space. Construction and staff training begins.
• March 2002: The Grooming Lounge store opens to rave reviews and a front page story in the Washington Post. Business is good and online business picks up as well.
• June 2002-ish: We realize we should be making our own custom-formulated products and start discussions with laboratories to make our Grooming Lounge Shaving Solutions.  Close work is done with our Grooming Experts and guests to see what they want and need in a product line.
• June 2003-ish: After going through more than 20 formulas and hundreds of real-guy tests, Grooming Lounge launches its proprietary shaving solutions including Face Wash, Shave Oil, Shave Cream and After Shave. The are really grooming products made in a barbershop… not a boardroom.
• November 2003: We decide to get into the catalog business and send out version 1.0 of the Grooming Lounge catalog.  All shot and designed in house, the publication gets shipped to around 5K opt-in subscribers.
• MARCH 2004: Business is humming at the D.C. store and we think the area can support another Grooming Lounge.  Tysons Corner, VA is the perfect spot we decide. After looking at a lot of spots, Tysons Galleria is settled upon.  Months and months of lease negotiations follow.
• MAY 2004: Grooming Lounge launches its internal “GL University” training program, a weekly educational system designed to ensure all members of our staff (Grooming Experts, Guest Services, Web) are up to date on the latest products and techniques in the industry (i.e., what’s the difference between a cologne and an EDT?)

More to follow soon if you’re interested and time permits.