Man of many hats: Lai trimming a customer’s hair at his salon at Lip Sin Complex, Penang. — CHAN BOON KAI/The Star
GEORGE TOWN: The pandemic has taught hairstylist Simon Lai, 47, that two skills are better than one.
Now, not only can he do a good hair job, but he can also give cars and motorcycles a good paint job.
“This year, I returned to the salon full time, but I still paint and polish cars and motorcycles on the side,” he said.
Due to the difficulties in maintaining Covid-19 precautions in hair salons, it was one of the last businesses to be allowed to operate freely.
But Lai did not wallow in despair during the months of being made to stay at home and instead employed his skilful hands to re-invent himself.
He learned to give cars and motorcycles customised detailed paint jobs.
“I watched videos. I learned from trial and error. When I bought paint in shops, I asked questions and sought advice.
“I gained plenty of insight into painting vehicles and how much work goes into doing it well,” he said.
Lai said he used to baulk when friends told him they spent over RM2,000 to have their cars painted, but not anymore.
Now he knows that the gleam on vehicles driven through rain and shine is not easy to achieve.
Side hustle: A file photo showing Lai doing painting and polish work during the Movement Control Order at his home in Seri Tanjung Pinang.
Lai offers a customised, personal-touch level of polish or paint jobs for vehicle owners who want immaculate work.
He, however, said that it was not a lucrative side business because it takes a full-scale workshop for big jobs.
“Even when I do motorcycles, I need to dismantle the entire motorcycle cover set to paint it.
“That takes up space but so far, I can manage it at home,” said Lai.His quandary, however, is that his hairdressing salon in Gelugor is picking up again.
So now that he has two prized vocational skills, he has to learn to juggle the demands of both sets of customers.
“I have been a hairstylist for 25 years and it is nice to be back in it.
“If there are car polishing gigs, I will definitely arrange for it during my free time but the hair salon takes precedence,” he said.
Lai said learning a new skill during the pandemic motivated him to venture into something new.
“I learned that anyone can do anything as long as they set their minds on it.
“I like both jobs, although painting is time-consuming.
“It takes a willingness to make mistakes to learn something new and I was impressed with myself and my capability to learn,” he said.
“Until you know the process, you will not know the value and appreciate the labour that goes into the task,” he added.
“It is just like haircuts. You pay more for better work.”
Lai said the joy and satisfaction of painting were extra special to him when he painted his son’s bicycle.
“That was priceless for me as it was something that I designed on my own,” he said.
