Mike Shirazi put a lot of thought into the concept and name for his new business Levelz Hair Connect on Wyndham Street.
“I was going to call this place The Don’s Place because my son’s name is Donovan and I call him the The Don,” said Shirazi. “My dad said, ‘don’t make it too personal. Make it a brand’.”
His father told him to pick a commonly used word or term that people would remember and associate with the shop.
“There are a lot of meanings to the name,” said Shirazi. “One, we are on the second level of a building but, the two main levels are the level of respect for your clientele and the level of respect you have for your fellow worker.”
The second part of the name has meaning as well.
“It’s not a barbershop,” he said. “It’s a hair connect. A barbershop is considered mainly a man’s place. A salon is mainly considered a woman’s place. You have many kinds of connects in your life and this is going to be your hair connect.”
Shiraz found his connection to cutting and styling hair after struggling to pay the bills as a telecom salesman in Florida.
“Me and my ex-wife were broke,” he said. “She was a hairdresser but her business wasn’t booming. She said I am going for a haircut and it is going to cost $50 and I said, ‘let me try it’. I did an inverted bob, which is one of the hardest haircuts to do. I did it perfectly for her and she said go to school.”
He enrolled in the cosmetology program at Daytona State College.
“Once I signed up I got bit by the bug and decided to go ahead with it,” he said. “I started cutting hair from my little front porch. Everything evolves so fast in the hair game if you are dedicated 100 per cent.”
He went into business with his ex-wife operating two salons in Florida. When they divorced he moved north and set up shop on Wyndham Street in downtown Guelph.
He hopes to expand the biz to provide more women’s services but is taking his time so he does everything right.
“I have learned from the times I have failed and I am not going to repeat those failures,” he said.
He said he doesn’t want to be anybody’s boss. He is looking for barbers and stylists to rent booths and work with him to build the Levels Hair Connect reputation and brand.
“I tell my barbers they can tell everybody this is theirs because I am not their boss,” said Shirazi. “I just own the place. I can’t be his boss if he is paying me rent. I want my people to be happy. My home base is happy. My life is better. So, why not?”
