The Exceptional Entrepreneur from Eldos – Sheldon Tatchell

The grooming industry in South Africa is said to be saturated and when Sheldon Tatchell wanted to cut hair as a side business in 2011 he was reminded that he wouldn’t make much money from it. This young businessman grew up in Eldorado Park in Gauteng and he definitely had a dream which took him down a path of reassessment of his business model which then led to him officially launching Legends Barbershop in 2014 on a full-time basis.

Would it be easy for him… He accepted the challenges ahead and through new technology, product and service innovation he was able to improve his customers’ experiences. Currently, Legends Barbershop has 62 branches which are located in each province in South Africa, Maseru in Lesotho, Gaborone in Botswana as well as Windhoek in Namibia. Sheldon’s perseverance over the last decade is apparent through his footprint in Africa, but what sets this business apart within the grooming industry?

Sheldon’s idea behind his brand was the empowerment of local talent which translates into his investment in people. His vision which has come to light is to grow his employees’ talent so that they could become better than him at hairstyles especially and this, he is convinced, will create a sustainable future for Legends Barbershop. This may sound selfless and not according to usual business practice but this young and energetic entrepreneur urges dreamers and doers to establish their own big hairy audacious goals or BHAG’s for their businesses. Besides being this bold, creatives must also work hard in their specific industries in order to achieve these goals.

Legends Barbershop is fast becoming a leader in the beauty and grooming industry in South Africa and what Sheldon is focussed on, which is somewhat different to other creatives, is his passion for people. Training local barbers in countries and cities where he opens a branch ultimately fosters the high possibility of employment for these barbers and with training centres up and running at certain locations, Sheldon is looking at the bigger picture in terms of job creation. Just like most entrepreneurs who work with communities, he has a commitment to making a difference in those areas where his stores are located. Locally, he and his teams go out to schools and old age homes to render free hair cuts and he does his best to provide food parcels to the less fortunate.

Naturally, most people don’t appreciate the art behind the work that barbers do nor would they expect any barbershop to grow significantly; and this is exactly what Sheldon has worked on over the years.

Currently, he has developed a hair product line and has partnered up with Uber Eats in order to deliver products to clients. Following trends in respective countries in terms of hairstyles and grooming requirements forms part of Sheldon’s relevance when it comes to customer experiences. As much as the barbershop is synonymous with male grooming at a professional level and having serviced many local and international male celebrities, the brand also caters for females and continues to stay fluid within this industry. Sheldon’s design of a mobile barbershop a few years ago proves that he is constantly reinventing his service to his clients locally and within Africa.

With a franchise option available for aspiring barbershop owners, one can find out more about this offer at www.legends-barber.com.