January 20, 2017

Meet Sam Massey of V’s Barbershop in Sandy Springs

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sam Massey.

Sam, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
From the time I was young, I’ve been competing. First with my older sister who was an amazing student and athlete. She graduated high school early, went to college on a tennis scholarship, showed horses, and set a really high bar for me to aspire to try and reach. My father shared many of his passions with me and I soon began trying to compete with him as well. We had epic ping pong battles in the basement of our home in Macon, but this gave way to a love of golf and countless hours on the course and driving range. I took to golf quickly and played competitively at a high level through high school. I developed a love for winning, for seeing and getting to know the players I’d see at tournaments across the southeast, and experiencing the best environments one could play in. By the time I graduated high school, I had played competitive golf for nearly 10 years and was somewhat burned out on the game. I eventually put the clubs in the closet to gather dust and pursue other interests, but the lessons I learned playing the game (hard work, patience, perseverance, respect for others, respect for traditions, etc) I carry with me to this day.

I eventually left Macon to attend Georgia Tech, ready to conquer the computer science world. Soon, however, I learned that business was more in line with my interest and aptitude (aka, I wasn’t great at coding) so pursued and received a degree in Industrial Management. I found the challenges of the business field intriguing and upon graduation set out to the University of West Georgia (UWG) where I was a graduate assistant in the Computer Sciences department, received my MBA, and met my beautiful future wife, Dione. Even though I stood her up on our first date (didn’t make it back from a day at Lake Lanier), she forgave me and agreed to give me a second chance. We’ve been together ever since and have forged a great relationship and life together for the last 26 years.

After UWG, I began a career in in financial services as a broker, analyst and institutional fixed income sales person. After seven years of great and challenging experiences, I moved to a finance role with BellSouth Small Business Services which led to opportunities in marketing, market research and an additional graduate degree in Management Sciences. I ultimately was recruited to join Cox Communications where I spent four years in a variety of finance roles. When my position was moved to another part of the country, I chose to stay in Atlanta which left me in search of my next opportunity.

With time on my hands, I began to research business opportunities. I reviewed many alternatives and was rather deep in the process when I ran across V’s Barbershop, a Phoenix-based franchise. After months of research and visits to competitors as well as the Sandy Springs V’s location, I was hooked. I soon found out the Sandy Springs was available for sale and I ultimately the location in September 2015.

Looking back on my boyhood school pictures, it’s apparent I didn’t frequent barber shops. If you can imagine the kid with the uneven bowl cut smiling brightly in his class pictures (even with broken teeth from an Evel Kneivel impression gone terribly wrong), you can imagine me as a kid. Even as an adult, I usually looked for the cheapest or most convenient haircut. I rarely experienced a great haircut experience. What’s more, I rarely saw the same stylist/barber more than a couple times.

I knew after walking into V’s for the first time what I had been missing all those years. A well-appointed barbershop, complete with tile floors and restored 1950’s barber chairs, TV’s at each barber station, and honest to goodness barbers who loved what they did and developed great relationships with their customers. This was a place where a guy could relax, be himself, and receive a fantastic barbering experience complete with hot towels, straight razor neck shaves, and the finishing touch of a neck and shoulder massage. If that weren’t enough, the place smelled fantastic…it just had the “it” feeling about it and I was hooked.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Taking over an existing business rarely comes without its challenges, but it’s been a good first year. A barbershop is a relatively straightforward business, but as the owner, you get to wear all hats (except the barber hat in my case). Because I’m not a barber, it took a little time for me to get acclimated to day-to-day operations, staff dynamics, and the ‘lotions and potions’. It also took time and more than a few mistakes to learn the systems we use, deploy advertising dollars effectively, order the correct supplies, etc. However, we’ve come a long way and now we’re all on the same page and moving in the same direction.

We’d love to hear more about your business.
V’s Barbershop is an authentic, traditional barbershop catering to men and boys with haircuts, straight razor shaving, and excellent customer service. Our goal is to provide a first-class barber shop experience at a reasonable price. Our franchise was founded on the idea of putting the customer first in all we do, from the products we use and put on our shelves, to the neck shave, hot towel and shoulder massage at the end of every haircut. We also do our best to meet the traditional with technology, meaning we blend great barbering services with modern technology (TV’s for each patron, ability for customers to book appointments online or through our mobile app) in order to make it easy for customers to do business with us.

We have a fantastic and growing client base of fathers and sons, grandfathers, CEO’s, physicians, students, lawyers, professional athletes, business owners, etc. One of the best parts of owning the shop is learning the stories of these people. I’ve met some truly amazing individuals and feel honored that they welcome us into their lives. Sometimes people even share things in the shop that they wouldn’t share in any other forum, so we keep to the Vegas rule, meaning ‘what happens in the shop stays in the shop’.

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