Over 30 years ago Larry Roberts purchased a $19.99 pair of hair clippers and started down a path that would change thousands of lives. Roberts a skilled barber with a master instructors license in 22 states is the founder of Larry’s Barber College. His gift and passion for helping others have translated into the establishment of eight barber schools and barber shops inside Walmart. Rolling out spoke to Roberts about his barber college and how being a barber can change lives.
What inspired you to establish a barber college?
I wanted to be able to teach it versus just talk about it. I wanted to give people an opportunity to truly be successful in this industry.
Why was it important for you to open a barber school inside a correctional facility?
Seeing our young men and women and their lifestyles … I know they wouldn’t be doing certain things if somebody would give them the opportunity to do something different.
I thought, “Let me go into the jail and let me train them in the jail so that way when they come out they can go straight to work versus them having to get out and go to school and so on and so forth. People think that everybody locked up in jail is bad … and that’s not the truth.
How can becoming a barber change someone’s life?
I used to cut between 25 and 38 heads every day when I was cutting hair full time and at 50 bucks a head. If you just cut 15 heads a day, and say you start at nine and you work from nine to five, five days a week with two days off, that’s $3,750 a week. Multiply that for four weeks, that’s $15,000 a month, and times 12 months, that’s $180,000 a year. If you really put in the time, if you make appointments, if you listen to me, if you really discipline yourself and structure yourself, you literally align yourself and set yourself up for the rest of your life.
Tell us about the Data Scholarship Foundation.
The Data Scholarship Foundation underwrites all of the things that we do. We’ve probably given out over two to three million dollars in scholarships and free services on a regular basis. The Data Foundation is a hub to have people donate to us and pay it forward so that we can become stronger and do the work that needs to be done.
Why is it important to be well-groomed?
It’s important to carry ourselves accordingly because people look at you and your image. Your image can speak a thousand words. Your hygiene, the way you smell, the way you keep your hair cut, all of these things are very critical to the way someone perceives you.
Donate to the Data Scholarship Foundation: https://datafoundationinc.org/
Website to Larry’s Barber College: https://www.larrysbarbercollege.com/
