Filipe "Chop" Santos

Founder, Chop Enterprises | Salon Owner | Real Estate Investor | Business Coach

Filipe Santos built his business empire the hard way — with his hands, not his connections. A former union carpenter working high-rises in Jersey City and Newark, Fil took a leap in 2016, opening a five-chair salon with $1,000-a-month rent that he renovated himself using leftover construction materials. That salon became The Room — now an educational hub for hairstylists and the cornerstone of Chop Enterprises, a multi-vertical company spanning salon operations, real estate investment (from three-family homes to 20+ unit complexes), and business coaching for entrepreneurs.

What sets Fil apart isn't just what he's built — it's how he's built it. Over 12 years into recovery from addiction, Fil brings the same discipline that rebuilt his life to how he runs his businesses: systems over motivation, consistency over quick wins, and execution over theory. He's grown a group of NJ salons using profit-sharing and team-leader ownership models that other owners now study and replicate, shared in-depth on industry podcasts like Grow My Salon Business. He also co-hosts his own podcast, Chop Meat, where he talks candidly about business, mindset, and the realities of entrepreneurship.

Today, Fil coaches salon owners and entrepreneurs on marketing, operations, team development, and profitability — real frameworks pulled from real experience, not pitch decks. His story — from incarceration and addiction to a thriving multi-vertical business portfolio — is proof that discipline and systems beat talent and luck every time.