Who's Your Barber

Charles Shumay owns the building his shop sits in. Not the lease. The building.

Who's Your Barber sits at 824 W. Superior in downtown Chicago, where Charles also runs The Hair Historian, his scalp micropigmentation studio, under the same roof. Behind that chair is a 30-year story about betting on yourself. It starts with someone else making the bet first.

Thinking about what your shop's next level looks like? See how owners switch to SQUIRE.

The second chance

Charles came home in 1998 with a son to raise. A well-known Rogers Park barber named Reese had already noticed his work and made the case: this is a skill that can pay you for life. A shop owner offered him a chair on one condition. Get licensed.

Barber school took three years, and Charles left with a certificate of completion, not a license. He was already earning, so the paper waited. It waited ten years. Then he took refresher courses, pulled his transcripts, and passed the state board on his first try.

"Now there's no one who can ever say anything to me."

"I could do bad by myself"

Charles worked his way into part-ownership of a busy shop, split six ways. The chairs were full. The bills still weren't getting paid. When the cable got shut off in a shop full of paying booth renters, the math told him everything.

He left, opened his own shop, and set one standard: be the best. The shop he walked away from closed within a year. His stayed open for 20.

The letter under the door

By the mid-2010s, Charles was cutting NBA and NFL players. When the Bulls announced their practice facility was moving downtown, he saw his clientele relocating before they did. He needed a private space in the city, and he found the right one. But the owner refused to rent. Sell or nothing.

Charles almost walked away. Two days later, he came back and slipped a letter under the door: I'm interested in buying. Nine months later, he closed on it. His business and his equity now live at the same address.

"You really own something. Even if you're not making money, you got equity."

Ten years locked in

Charles met SQUIRE co-founder Dave Salvant at a Midwest trade show, back when Dave was working the floor solo. At the time, Charles had spent months trying to get his old booking platform to fix a wrong phone number on his profile. Months. For a phone number.

Dave showed him SQUIRE, and Charles has run his shop on it ever since: point of sale, client communication, booth rent collection, inventory. Other platforms come knocking. His answer stays the same. SQUIRE understands the barber.

Still behind the chair

Thirty years in, Charles Shumay is still cutting. He just owns the floor under the chair now. His full story, including the license, the letter, and the back-to-school trip he makes to Jamaica every year, is worth the watch. Trust us on the last two minutes.

Ready to run your shop on the platform Charles has trusted for a decade? Get started today.