When Salvador Evangelho, senior business major, transferred to Goshen College for his junior year, he quickly recognized a problem among his soccer teammates. Haircuts around Goshen are expensive and no one wants to pay for them. So Evangelho, noticing this demand, got started. “I went to Walmart and saw a hair cutting machine for $30 … bought it the same day,” he said. 

He started by cutting his teammates’ hair for free. Every time he would get the opportunity to cut someone’s hair he would learn new styles and techniques. 

Joao Marinho, sophomore exercise science major, connected with Evangelho during his first-year of college. During this time, Marinho had a problem. It was a couple months into college and he needed a haircut. Evangelho was just starting his business and needed some clients. “It was clutch,” Marinho said. 

He became one of Evangelho’s first clients, and acted as a lab-rat for him. Marinho only recieved buzz cuts so far, but said that “[Evangelho] does more than that for other people.” 

In the following months, Evangelho started branching out and made it become a real business. He made a website, a social media account and started charging. He now cuts around four to five students a week, with the occasional non-student. 

Evangelho gives mainly fade cuts because that’s the demand right now. However, he’s able to do other haircuts as well. Lately, he’s been getting into using only-scissors for a new kind of technique. 

He may not have the best equipment or location to work out of, but, “He does a pretty good job with what he has,” Marinho said. 

Evangelho views this business as a side hustle and less of a job. He also works in the MarCom office as a writer. He plans to continue cutting hair for the rest of the school year. 

Besides his success as a dorm barber, Evangelho has a newsletter on LinkedIn — “Building Above Average” — and it has a very simple premise. Every week, he posts one idea to think about, one quote to inspire and one question to take action. 

“There’s more value when you’re not trying to be perfect, you’re just trying to be above average,” Evangelho said. He said it’s a constant thing you should be trying to build up. It’s all about small improvements. 

According to his LinkedIn profile, “Building Above Average” has 4,000+ readers across all platforms. He plans on continuing the newsletter indefinitely. He wants to put something of value out into the world that can help spread good. 

If you would like to get in contact with Evangelho for a haircut, you can contact him through his Instagram @salvacuts22.