Daniel Schneider makes a living by helping people look good. He has been cutting Steve DeSantis’ hair for 15 years. 

"He's gotten better since he's been a master barber,” DeSantis said. 

But this is the first time he is doing it in this chair. 

Schneider, now the owner and master barber at the new Daniel Craig's Barber Shop, asked him what he thought of the new shop. 

"It's gorgeous. I can't believe how nice it is,” DeSantis said. 

Schneider was working in a shop just a few towns over in Agawam. 

"Things started getting a little slow because of COVID,” he explained. 

So when his family told him the location on Allen Street in Hampden was for sale, he decided it was time to open his own business. 

"The price was right and it's a great town,” Schneider said. 

Opening up a business like this isn’t easy during a pandemic. 

"All I can do is play it safe and make sure everyone has a mask,” he explained. 

Schneider said he would eventually like to hire another barber, but right now he is focusing on keeping his clients safe and following the constant changes to the industry. 

"They keep switching the phases, I think we are in, I don't even know, I think we are in Phase 3, level 1. Phase 1. Phase 3, level 1, something like that, it's like every day you have to find out what the rules and regs are,” Schneider said. 

Even though the phases change, some things have stayed the same. 

"For the last four or five years I have been working by appointment,” said Schneider. “Because of the restrictions, I have to work by appointment."

For him, it’s more than just cutting hair. It’s about the relationships he makes with his customers. 

"My favorite part of cutting hair is the conversation with my clients. Owning a business, it's all new to me right now so I am going to play that by ear and figure it out,” said Schneider.