African Hair Awards Council rated Legends Barbershop as the number one barbershop in South Africa for male hair styling. Legends Barbershop offers many of its customers a professional grooming service throughout South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, and Namibia and promises soon to expand into international markets. The barbershop recently launched its 65th store and promised to open even more in the near future. However, many people would like to know who is Legends Barber's founder and owner?
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Since its opening back in 2014, Legends Barbershop has become a favourite to many South African men and some women who enjoy a well-done haircut and hairstyling. It was founded by entrepreneur and self-taught professional barber Sheldon Tatchell from Eldorado Park, in the South of Johannesburg. He says his love for cutting hair started at the age of 14 years old, where he would visit every barber in his community to learn new skills of barbering.
His professional bio on Linked In is a story he often shares in his interviews about how he left his corporate job ro pursue his dream of being a barber owner and had his boss at the time laughing at him. It reads, “I left my corporate job a few years ago. I can remember vividly I told my manager I’m leaving my job to become a full-time barber. He laughed at me and told me that I will be back and should give him a call whenever needed my job back. Never looked back ever since. Today since the relaunching of Legends Barber in 2014 we have opened 60 stores in South Africa, Botswana & Lesotho. Employing over 400+ staff members with 30 active training centres empowering the next generation of barbers. Follow Your Dreams.”
Opening A Legends Barber Franchise
According to a report compiled by the South African Business Insider, opening Legends Barbershop requires one to be fit financially. This business was launched in Eldorado Park as a sidewalk hair-dressing operation. Today it boasts 57 outlets throughout South Africa, of which 30 are franchise stores. They primarily focus on haircutting, design, and styling, as well as other traditional barber-related services.
“Buying a new Legends Barbershop requires an R100,000 initial deposit, and the total setup fees range from R1,1 million to R1.349 million, depending on the number of haircutting stations. Franchisees must then pay a monthly royalty fee of 10% and a monthly marketing fee of 2%,” The Business Insider reports.
He’s also mentioned in interviews that his parents had different career goals for him but he maintained his own and urges everyone to follow his dreams. His mother wanted him to be a doctor while his father wanted him to be a boxer.
Since opening his company, Sheldon has continued to inspire other young stars in different South African communities to embark on business and also find their true passions and stick with them. He has hosted many Legends Barber Masterclasses where the aim is to empower aspiring barbers in franchising, entrepreneurship and specialised skill improvement.
The barbershop has also been home to many local stars from Black Coffee, the late Riky Rick, Uncle Vinny, Casper Nyovest, to Lamiez Wholeworthy and many more.