An Ipswich barber who started cutting hair in his sister's shed as a teenager has finally managed to open his own business in the Microshops.

MA Barber was established by Mizan Ali, 29, on October 1 after spending a number of years working a series of jobs to save up for his own premises.

Ipswich Star: MA Barber was established by Mizan Ali on October 1MA Barber was established by Mizan Ali on October 1 (Image: William Warnes)

Mizan runs the business with his partner Letisha Turay, 22, with the former in charge of cutting hair and the latter focusing on admin.

"I've wanted to be a barber ever since I was 13," he said. 

"I started off cutting hair in my sister's shed and I've never lost sight of that ambition. 

"I did everything I could to save up - working in other barbers, being a delivery driver or working in restaurants - and now this is it.

"I finally made it."

While working multiple part-time and full-time jobs, Mizan continued to cut hair in his spare time. 

He learnt his craft on the job and worked at a number of barbers in the area - something he says allowed him to develop a variety of skills.

"Cutting hair in different businesses across the town helped me become an all-rounder," he said. 

"One shop would show me to cut a certain type of hair, then another would teach me something different. 

"If it wasn't for that experience, I wouldn't be where I am today."

Mizan and Letisha decided to open a unit in Microshops after finding other premises to be out of their price range. 

"We had a budget of what we thought it would cost us," they said. 

"We believed the savings we'd put together would be able to cover it. 

"But the places we looked at were either just too expensive or didn't have what we needed. 

Ipswich Star: Mizan has wanted to be a barber since the age of 13Mizan has wanted to be a barber since the age of 13 (Image: William Warnes)

"We saw this space in Microshops open up and just thought, 'yeah, let's go for it'".

Despite only opening recently, the business has already attracted a strong customer base. 

A combination of Mizan's former customers and fresh faces have got MA Barber off to a good start.

Now, the couple are looking to build on it.

"Right now, it's all about giving people the best haircut," said Mizan. 

"But of course, we want to expand and I'm already looking to hire a new barber to help out.

"Long term, what we want to do is build a strong community. 

"And from the support we've seen so far, we're clearly on our way to doing that."