ZAGREB, September 30, 2020 — Ayman Youssif, a thirty-year-old barber from Egypt, talks about his journey from the Middle East to Croatia and how he became one of the most beloved hairdressers among Croatian celebrities and sports personalities.
What does it take to start and maintain a successful business in Croatia? Ayman Youssif, a thirty-year-old barber from Egypt, wouldn’t immediately seem like the person to ask. But the story of his journey from the Middle East to Europe, and eventually Croatia, offers inspiration for those looking to succeed.
A friend recalled meeting Ayman at Porin, the Asylum Reception center in Zagreb, Croatia. His demeanor was a contrast to the dark, dirty, smoke-filled hallway where they had their first conversation. He smiled a lot, sat in the front row of his English class and acted as if he was right where he wanted to be.
Ayman Had No Intention of Ending up in Croatia
Ayman recalls starting cutting hair the day he arrived in Zagreb in December 2016. At the beginning, he didn’t charge anything. After gaining a bit of a reputation though, volunteer workers and other Porin residents began coming to him for haircuts. When he wasn’t cutting hair, he would attend both English and Croatian classes, and then went to church on the weekends. He was investing as much as he could into his life at Porin while many around him simply waited.
His journey began several years earlier but hadn’t paid off yet. After waiting for a year for asylum approval in Hungary, his planned destination, authorities finally told him that he had to return to Croatia. He had already passed through Turkey, Greece, Macedonia, Serbia… ”I don’t even remember what year I left Egypt,” he told me. The journey is a blur now.”
What he remembers clearly is that he was away from his wife and two young children for two and a half years. He spent one of those years at Porin. As he explained later, he was lucky he didn’t wait longer. “At that time,” he recalled, “I was the one who had to wait the longest in Porin. But today, because there are more and more people coming, and the cases take longer. I know someone who has been there for three or four years.”
He eventually received asylum and received permission to stay for five years. He had already begun working at Fanny Stil near Kvaternikov trg. Soon after gaining asylum, Ayman found an apartment, began working full-time, and made plans for his family to join him in Zagreb.
Starting Business in Croatia Came With Challenges
While some emigrants leave their homeland because of war or political unrest, Ayman left because he felt like he couldn’t be himself in his small Egyptian village just outside Minya. “I came to Europe to find myself.” He went on to explain that he never felt free to be creative as a barber in Egypt. The various designs that made him stand out from other barbers in Zagreb were the very thing some of those closest to him in Egypt criticized him for. In Croatia, he has found that freedom.
“I’m satisfied”, he says repeatedly. However, that doesn’t mean starting a business was easy for Ayman. “I looked at more than 30 shops where I could open my business. I’m not sure why, but many people here are not open for renting to foreigners. But finally, I found someone. She was actually looking for a foreigner. She was looking for me,” he concludes with a smile.
His wife and two children, who have lived in Croatia for just over two years, are happy here too. “They love it here. They feel comfortable. It’s hard in Egypt for families and women. Our children actually prefer speaking Croatian, so we have a bit of a problem right now. They are forgetting Arabic. We have to start speaking only Arabic at home now, so they don’t forget it.”
Favorite Barber of Croatian Sports Celebrities
One of the reasons Ayman has become so successful is because he has gained a reputation among athletes in Croatia. Soon after he opened Hairsalon SAMO-TU, Croatian footballer Šime Vrsaljko came in for a haircut. Since then international football stars, basketball players and boxers have come by. Recently, comedian Ivan Šarić called Ayman his “favorite barber”.
How does a young barber from Egypt become so well-known so quickly? “It happens when you take care of your work, when you take care of your customers. Then they recommend new people. That’s the best commercial, the best reklama.” He chuckles. “Actually, every day I have new people and they always say, ‘this person recommended you, that person said you were great’.”
He is right. While waiting to interview Ayman, there were four customers waiting outside the shop. Although Ayman has hired two other stylists to work for him, each one of the customers insisted on waiting until Ayman was available.
Foundation Building: Ayman Lets His Work Do The Talking
From cutting hair for free in the dusty halls of Porin to celebrity barber, Ayman has stayed consistent; he lets his work do the talking. “Step by step, little by little. Rather than asking for money, if you work hard and are good at what you do, the money will come to you.”
After listening to his story, we can’t help but believe that his difficult journey is the key to Ayman’s success. The very fact that he had no other option but to start from scratch, and had to prove himself at every step, helped him get where he is now. That may be a business model some are hesitant to follow. But if Ayman’s achievement is a lesson to anyone trying to succeed in Croatia, it would seem that a slowly built foundation holds the greatest promise for success.
Ayman Youssif’s Hairsalon SAMO-TU is located at Kninski trg 4, Zagreb, Croatia. More information can be found on his Facebook page here and Instagram here. Follow our Lifestyle page to learn more about immigrant experience in Croatia.
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