Sheldon says that he had always thought of opening a barber shop, but uncertainty caused him to abandon the idea. “I thought to myself, who makes cutting hair a career?”

Sheldon is the founder of Legends Barbershop - a men’s grooming salon in Johannesburg, Gauteng. We spoke to Sheldon who gave us a sneak peek into his entrepreneurial journey.

Sheldon held his first set of hair clippers when he was a 14-year old boy. “My father bought me my first clippers, and all I wanted to do was to cut hair,” Sheldon says. “That’s when my passion for hair cutting began.”

Sheldon says that he had always thought of opening a barber shop, but uncertainty caused him to abandon the idea. “I thought to myself, who makes cutting hair a career?” He then decided to follow a career in the corporate sector but says that he was very unhappy.

Sharing the same vision as a friend of his, Sheldon says that Legend’s Barber officially opened its doors in 2011. “Our first outlet was on a porch of a local supermarket, and because I was still working, we would cut our clients’ hair every weekend.”

After a year in the business, problems ensued within the partnership and the business needed to be closed down. “Shutting down the business gave me the opportunity to learn from the mistakes I had made and to re-strategise,” Sheldon says. Although it took Sheldon some time to relaunch the shop, he says that Legends Barber eventually relaunched in 2014 and the business has been booming ever since.

Legends Barbershop offers professional male grooming services to clients. Its mantra is to “take haircuts to the next level”.

“I love serving people,” Sheldon says. “I believe that everyone is called to do something, and I believe I have been called to serve people.”

Sheldon emphasises the importance of commitment when starting your own business. “If you’re not dedicated to what you’re doing, you will find it hard to start a business. Learn as much as you can about business, and put in the hours.”

“It’s also important to know what you’re called to do,” Sheldon advises. “It does not matter how small your idea may be. If you love what you do there is no reason why you cannot pursue it and turn it into a career.”

If you’d like to be featured in this Instagram series, send a mail to editor@careers24.com, telling us about yourself and your awesome job, and we’ll be in touch!