Today we get fun inside look at one of the largest franchises in the world, in our talk with Gordon Logan, Founder and CEO of Sport Clips! He shares with us his impressive education including graduating from MIT, and The Wharton School of Business, at the University of Pennsylvania. Prior to becoming a salon owner, Logan served as an Aircraft Commander in the U.S. Air Force, which is where he ended up falling in love with Austin. Gordon owned and operated salons and saw a need for a groundbreaking change in the men’s and boy’s haircut market. He was able to execute his amazing vision with the help of a great team and now what started as just one little location has grown to be over 1700 locations. He was able to get it up-and-running within a remarkably short time, and has become a great example and inspiration of how to grow and scale a business. It was a real pleasure to learn from him and we hope you enjoy this episode as much as we did! 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

[2:10] Gordon is from South Carolina, and came to Austin through the U.S. Air Force. 

[4:33] Gordon and his partner looked for businesses they could both invest in together, and he chose salons. He saw it to be a fragmented industry with not a lot of competition and he knew he could make his mark. 

[5:46] He opened his first salon in Austin in 1979, and give us some background on the business side of his original investments. 

[9:58] The first Sport Clips prototype was built off Burnet Rd & Research Blvd in 1993, and it opened in November of 1995. Gordon got a lot of feedback on what people appreciated, but also a ton of what could be done better. He took that advice and was open to making things better for his clients and the marketing of the business in general. 

[17:18] Gordon has a healthy and confident attitude towards competition. Staying focused and targeted within their own four walls is critical to their success. 

[19:28] Thank you to our Sponsor, the Papasan Properties Group.

[22:57] They are currently up to 1700 locations, and expanding more each year. His son now works as the Chief Operating Officer, so it’s a family affair! 

[25:36] Gordon’s gives advice for those thinking about franchising vs. staying company owned. 

[28:53] Sport Clips has very little turnover in their franchises and has a great success rate due to a large part of choosing the right people and being cautious and careful in their approach. Their failure rate is less than 1%. 

[37:16] We hear Gordon’s Austin! 

The Taco:  

Matt’s El Rancho | Chile Relleno

Mentioned in This Episode:

Sport Clips 

Bullock Texas State History Museum 

Paramount 

Oasis