# @luke_james_dolan on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/Ddn4oHFiDH_
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/70909110-luke-james-dolan-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/8388008f70.jpg
- **Posted:** 2026-09-23T08:30:19.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Luke James Dolan (@luke_james_dolan) — https://gondola.cc/luke_james_dolan

## Caption

I thought closing the shop would feel like relief.

In many ways, it does. I can finish a day without carrying the rent, the staff and a hundred little problems home with me.

But the studio is quiet. Some days beautifully so. Other days I’m sitting under bad lighting, checking the diary again, wondering where the next booking is coming from.

The strange part is that I can finally see what I needed to change in the shop. I just couldn’t see it while I was still in there, trying to keep everything moving.

I miss the energy. I don’t miss what it was doing to me.

I’m still figuring out whether this calm is an ending or the space I needed to start again. Probably a bit of both.

If you’ve ever closed something you built, you’ll know how odd it feels to grieve it and feel relieved at the same time.

#BarberLife #SmallBusinessOwner #BehindTheChair #BusinessLessons #thebarberrooms

## Stats

- **Views:** 0
- **Likes:** 93
- **Shares:** 0
- **Comments:** 19

## Tags

businesslessons, smallbusinessowner, behindthechair, thebarberrooms, barberlife

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