For many young Ghanaians, barbering is often viewed as a career to turn to when formal education or white-collar employment does not work out.

But 33-year-old Godwin Kofi Tetteh is challenging that perception by combining academic qualifications with a profession he has practised for most of his life.

Popularly known as the “Degree Barber”, Godwin is the Chief Executive Officer of Reflex Ghana Unisex Salon and the founder of Reflex Academy, where he trains aspiring barbers in both the practical and theoretical aspects of the profession.

Unlike the traditional image of the roadside barber, Godwin holds a first degree in Business Administration from the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA), as well as a master’s degree in Brands and Communication from the same institution.

Speaking in a recent interview with Channel One TV, he said the title “Degree Barber” is about more than his academic qualifications.

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“A barber that is bridging the gap between the skilled but uneducated, and then the educated but unskilled,” is how he describes what the title means to him.

For Godwin, barbering was never merely a temporary means of survival. It was a skill that supported him throughout his education and eventually became the foundation of his business.

“I've been a barber all my life, like 80% of my life,” he said.

Recounting his journey, he said he began barbering while still in school, using the trade to support himself financially. Even after entering university in 2014, he continued working as a barber.

His decision to pursue higher education did not mean abandoning the profession. Instead, education gave him another perspective on how the skill could be developed into a sustainable business.

Godwin said his studies in entrepreneurship and innovation helped him realise that he could transform something he was already doing into something bigger.

“I was a barber in class. I decided to transform my craft into business when I started reading entrepreneurship and innovation,” he explained.

According to him, innovation is about creating something new or finding a different way of doing something that already exists.

That realisation pushed him to look at barbering differently.

“I was cutting hair to survive. Now I have the craft. Well, how do I change it? How do I make it look different?” he recalled.

Rather than limiting himself to conventional men's haircuts, Godwin expanded his expertise to include different styles, colouring and women's short-hair styling. He has also moved into other areas of the beauty industry, including microblading.

His approach has also extended beyond providing grooming services to training others.


Godwin explained that the theoretical component is important because he wants students to understand the principles behind the techniques they are learning, rather than simply copying what they see.

He uses his own experience to develop theories that can make the practical side of barbering easier for students to understand.

“I didn't go through a barber academy or school to learn it. But you learn through experience,” he said.

“Transitioning my experience into theories that can make students understand easily before they enter the practical room” is part of his approach to training.

For Godwin, this is part of the bigger picture. He believes Ghana's education system needs to place greater emphasis on practical skills alongside academic qualifications.

He argued that a university degree should not be viewed as the only route to employment or success, particularly at a time when many graduates struggle to find jobs.

“I think that the issue is actually coming from the structure of our educational system. It is more focused on; let's read the books, let's read the theories. And less on the skills,” he said.

He believes universities could incorporate short practical courses into existing programmes so students can graduate with both academic knowledge and a marketable skill.

“If you go through the system, you're able to learn a skill, the knowledge you gain in class can help you polish it, grow it,” he added.

Godwin's own journey is an example of that philosophy.

He remembers telling people as a child that he wanted to become a barber – a response that was not necessarily celebrated in the same way as ambitions to become a doctor, lawyer or footballer.

He believes those attitudes are changing as people begin to recognise the financial opportunities within creative and skilled professions.

“The narratives have been changed,” he said.

His own father, he recalled, initially struggled to understand why he would invest in education only to continue working as a barber. Today, however, the situation has changed.

“But now, if my father needs advice, he calls me,” Godwin said.
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His plans for the business extend beyond barbering. He sees the profession as part of a wider beauty and grooming ecosystem, with opportunities to teach, develop products and expand into other services.

Having spent almost 15 years cutting hair, he believes he has explored many aspects of the profession and is now increasingly turning his attention to the women's beauty market.

For Godwin, however, the bigger goal is not simply to build a successful salon.

He wants his story to encourage young people who may possess a skill or talent but are waiting for a formal job before putting it to use.

Reflecting on his own difficult financial circumstances while in school, he recalled watching a barber make money every Saturday and recognising an opportunity.

“I discovered that part of me that would learn out of hardship when I was really hungry in the high school and the school that I met was a barber,” he said.

Instead of ignoring the opportunity, he understudied the barber and developed the skill.

His advice to young people is therefore straightforward: identify what they can do, develop it and look for ways to turn it into an opportunity.

“Whatever you find your hand on and you love doing it. Do it with passion. And keep thinking about the future on how to leverage it,” he said.

He also urged young people not to remain confined by difficult circumstances.

“A moving man always meets the opportunity,” he said, encouraging young people to move, explore and seize opportunities around them.

For the “Degree Barber”, the future is not about choosing between education and a skill. It is about using one to strengthen the other and turning an everyday craft into a profession, a business and an opportunity for others.

JKB/EB

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