October 29, 2016

Meet Old Fourth Ward, Virginia Highland, Poncey-Highland Owner of Freedom Barber Co.: Michael Sponsel

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael Sponsel.

Michael, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I got into the hair industry for the passion of helping people. After graduating school, I took my first job with an industry leading hair company as a national educator, opening hair schools around the U.S. I spent majority of my career consulting salons, barber shops, and schools. Through consulting, I realized that my expertise lied within barbering. It was the culture that drew me into the industry in the first place. It was from that point on where I made the jump from educating to back behind the chair in a local barbershop. After 15 years in the industry, I made the leap to open my own barbershop. Freedom Barber Co., where we focus on creating a modern twist on an old-school artistry.

Has it been a smooth road?
Starting back behind the chair was the largest challenge I faced in my career. Having been an educator for so long, I had to start from scratch building a new clientele. In the barbering industry, I found that I needed to speak to everyone I met and hand out more business cards than I ever have in my life. I found that if I could just cut their hair one time, that would be the start to my growing clientele. I spent every minute I could networking. Retention was the goal. Every client that sat in my chair had to have an experience like they have never had before. Years later, when opening my first barbershop I have found success because of the clientele that have been so blessed to gain through the years.

So, what’s next? Any big plans?
The future plans for Freedom Barber Co. include expansion of locations, apparel, education programs, and possibly a product line. I believe in hard work and staying true to the path. If I can do this, the sky is the limit. My vision for Freedom is to bring a positive experience to people and to better their lives in any way I can. With more locations and focusing on products that make them look and feel better about themselves, I will be able to accomplish my goal of helping more and more people have better lives through personal self-image and self-esteem.

Let’s go backward a bit – can you tell us about the most trying time in your career?
The hardest time in my career was actually starting. I had just moved to Atlanta from Indianapolis, I moved with nothing but a couple dollars in my pocket. Young, and with no plans. I found myself lost and wondering what the world would hold for me as I grew into the man I am today. Little did I know that just a few short months later, I would wind up back in school only this time, I was cutting hair. I had no upbringing in the hair industry and actually worked during college in construction. Hair was the last thing I thought I would be doing. I went on several interviews and none of them felt right. I found myself sitting in my living room alone wondering what I was going to do with my life. I made a list consisting of three categories. 1.) What was going to make me happy. 2.) What was going to make me money and 3.) What did I need to stay away from due to unhappiness. First I focused on Happiness and found that I kept going back to wanting to help people. I wanted people to find better lives, for them to be happy with themselves. Next came money. I have never wanted to be rich. I just wanted enough money to never have to worry about my bank account being overdrawn. Money was important to live, but I didn’t want to live for money. Finally, I started to focus on what to stay away from. I just knew I didn’t want to be negative. I didn’t want a “9-5” job. I didn’t want to sit at a desk and stare at a screen. I wanted to be with people and to talk to people. I cross referenced all categories and found some really interesting options for careers but for some reason, Hair stood out. It’s a career that I can really make a difference in people’s lives. When I found a school to go to, I learned the first day that I was the only student that had no clue what they were doing. Everyone in the class had done hair before or they had family members that had shown them things prior to school. I was completely lost. I found a mentor in the owner of the school who also happened to be the Artistic Director for Paul Mitchell. He explained that he and I had similar starts and that if I stuck with it, I would succeed. He was not wrong. I put my head down and became a sponge. I soaked up everything I could about the industry, I started to travel to shows, talk to more people that knew more than me, I started to live the industry. Just one short year later, I found myself graduating with the highest score in my class. This posed a new issue for my career. Even though I had graduated, I knew nothing about gaining or keeping a clientele. I found myself, once again, alone in my living room thinking “who is going to ever let me touch their hair” I still thought of myself as the kid back in Indiana working construction and not the person I had evolved to be. I apprenticed under two gentlemen who took me under their wing and showed me everything they knew. They started teaching me networking and advanced ways to get clients. Most importantly, they instilled confidence that I could do this. To this day, I will never forget my story or how I got to the point I am now.

Are there days when you feel like you’ve done everything you wanted to, careerwise – the “I’ve made it” kind of moments?
When I got the call to be an educator in the hair industry, it was the first moment that I felt like I was in my element. I loved reaching people on a mass scale. I don’t know that we ever “make it” though I believe that we can reach milestones within our career that can make a difference. For me, standing in front of a crowd while I taught them and watching their faces when they have their own personal “Ah Ha” moment. That moment when they just “get it”. That moment is truly satisfying. That was my first milestone of accomplishment. I feel that currently, my moment is always when a client tells me they feel like I instilled the confidence in them to go to the job interview they were getting a haircut for and they get the job. Or a client at the end of the cut tells me “I was having a really bad day until I talked to you” Those are the moments I strive for now. I feel as every client that enters my shop is so uniquely inspirational. I get to see people that get engaged and then married and then have kids. I love when I get to become a small part in people’s lives and they get to be a part of mine. I thrive on helping college students their freshmen year through challenges and then congratulating them on graduation day. I feel that each day is a gift and we need to treat each moment that is presented to us as such. As a professional, I “made it” a long time ago, as a Man, I continue to strive for my moment.

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