Sunday, August 15, 2010
Get a cut, a cold one at It's a Guy Thing barbershop
It's A Guy Thing is a shop designed to cater to men.
The latest from The Ticker blog
The rumors about It's A Guy Thing began circulating before the barbershop and spa opened in March.
Some thought it was going to be a brothel; others thought bikini-clad women were going to serve men beer. There were also rumors that men would receive complimentary lap dances with their haircuts.
Looking back on all the rumors, the mother and daughter team Sharon Ranney, 50, and Faren Ranney, 23, can't help but laugh. They laugh but hope false rumors do not keep customers away.
The truth is, at It's A Guy Thing, the only complimentary offering is beer or wine. The barbershop at 4820 Williamson Road has an ABC license.
If customers don't want alcohol, the barbershop has soda as well. However, the business is not a brothel, and there aren't any women in bikinis, Faren Ranney said.
When walking into It's A Guy Thing, a customer is likely to find two fully dressed businesswomen who believe they know what men like.
From the Brian Setzer playing in the background to the antique car in the barbershop, the vinyl records lining the walls and the big screen television in the waiting area, the Ranneys said they wanted to be sure their barbershop and spa was all-man.
Daniel Jones, 30, sat in Faren Ranney's chair getting a pompadour, the haircut that Elvis wore, drinking a beer.
Jones, who has become a regular, said he has never been to a barbershop where he could have a cold one while getting his hair cut.
"It's relaxing," he said.
In addition to giving haircuts, the Ranneys have a spa license, which means a guy can also get a manicure and pedicure from Sharon Ranney. He even has the option of getting a massage or a wax from the barbershop's masseuse and esthetician, if he chooses.
After searching high and low for competitors, they found that there was not a place in Roanoke where a man could go to get pampered like women do.
"When men go into most salons they don't always feel comfortable. This is a place where a man can feel masculine whether he's getting a haircut or a pedicure," Sharon Ranney said. "You might see a man fidgeting in a salon because he's nervous about being in a place full of women, but here he doesn't have to worry about that. Everything in here is for him."
Opening a business was natural for Sharon Ranney, she said. For the majority of the 16 years that she has been in the beauty business, Sharon Ranney has worked for herself.
"When I wasn't working for myself I was figuring out how I was going to make my next move so that I could," she said.
Although It's A Guy Thing was designed to cater to men, women are welcome.
First-time patron Misty Cullur, 29, of Salem sat back in a recliner as her feet soaked in preparation for a pedicure from Sharon Ranney, who has been giving her manicures and pedicures in recliners for years. Cullur followed stylist Tomora Boland to It's A Guy Thing.
"I like the place," Cullur said. "It's not frilly like a women's salon, but it's a place women can come and enjoy as well. I followed Tomora here because she's the only stylist that was willing to chop into my hair like I wanted."
It isn't odd for women to come to the salon with their husbands or buy gift certificates for special occasions, Sharon Ranney said.
The most difficult part about opening their business was finding the finances, Ranney said. She took out a loan against her house to get the startup cash.
Ranney exposed her daughter to hair styling at a young age, taking her along when she worked as a nail technician at a hair salon. At 14, Faren colored her mother's hair.
"I call her the queen of the high and tight military cut," Sharon Ranney said.
After she dropped out of high school, Faren Ranney graduated from Barpalma Beauty Careers Academy in Roanoke. She got her styling license before her 18th birthday and her first job shortly after.
"I was always the annoying kid at the salon asking 'How to do this? Why do you use that?' " Faren Ranney said. "It's something that I truly enjoy doing. I think that I'm going to do it for the rest of my life."
Working as a mother-daughter team does present challenges, they said.
"You have to separate business from family and it isn't always easy to do that," Faren Ranney said.
Sharon Ranney said she isn't only her daughter's mother and business partner, but also her friend.
"We argue sometimes but we respect each other's space," she said. "I stick to what I do and she sticks to what she does."
