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Starting Lineup part of city’s transformation
By Kalea Hall
YOUNGSTOWN
There’s a buzz in one corner, the sound of clippers going in another and new hairstyles being worked on.
The inside atmosphere of The Starting Lineup Barber Shop and Beauty Salon is what you would expect, but owner Jerome Franklin says the difference here is found in the customer service.
“I am about business,” Franklin said. “I am on time and consistent. That’s what people like, consistency.”
Franklin’s shop inside the Realty Tower at 47 Federal Plaza Central has become a part of the downtown’s continuing transformation.
The seats inside are filled with clients waiting for a fresh look as they listen to jazz and flip through a magazine or gaze out into the city streets. It feels family-oriented with an edgy, city appeal.
Franklin wanted to be a part of the hustle and bustle of downtown, which is why he decided to relocate from Hillman Way in Boardman to his downtown location a couple of years back.
“I just have to compliment him,” said Dominic J. Marchionda of NYO Property, which owns the Realty Tower. “He had a vision, and he has accomplished that. He is a great tenant. We enjoy having [the business] in one of our properties. I am excited to see the growth he is having. “
Franklin, 39, of Youngstown, is a 1995 Woodrow Wilson High School graduate who wanted to be an engineer. Growing up, he used to try to figure out how things were put together and thought engineering would be in his future.
He worked in manufacturing at an auto supplier in Newton Falls until the plant closed in the early 2000s, and he had to figure out what to do next.
He was always cutting his own hair and his brother’s hair and not really doing the best job at it.
Someone took notice. A fellow churchgoer told him about funding available to go to barber school, so he went to Akron Barber College and graduated in 2001.
After school, he worked at a local barbershop for five years and then decided he was ready to go out on his own.
“I didn’t know how many [clients] would follow me,” he said, noting that was the scariest part.
“I didn’t have a lot of people to talk to about business,” he said. “You learn about going through certain things. The hardest thing is to have that fear of what if you don’t have that clientele. Fear was the biggest thing.”
The clientele followed, and business prospered.
His first location for The Starting Lineup was on Market Street in Boardman, but in the back of his mind, he always wanted to be downtown.
He actually looked at the exact location he is in now in 2010, but instead he moved from Market to Hillman.
His time to move downtown would come in 2014. He developed the design of having both a barbershop that has a view of people walking around the central part of the city and a private section of the shop for the beauty salon. The shop’s grand opening was in May 2015.
“It feels good,” Franklin said. “It’s a great accomplishment because I look back and say, ‘How many doors did I open for entrepreneurs?’ They might be able to do it too. If you try hard, and put your foot to the metal, you can accomplish it too.”
When he first opened downtown, he had just a few barbers and a stylist. Now, including himself, he has 13.
One of those stylists is Mikki Jones, 39, of Youngstown. She says working at The Starting Lineup is a beautiful experience.
“He’s awesome,” she said of Franklin. “He’s such a motivator. I can say a lot about him.”
She’s excited to see the growth of the business, which Franklin says includes the addition of manicures, pedicures and massage offerings. He also is looking into franchising his business.
“My tip to anyone is to make that first step,” he said. “Quit the doubt and fear and just do it. The first step is the hardest step. Nobody wants to start and fail. Quit waiting for the perfect time. Just do it.”