Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael Portman.
Hi Michael, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Before we opened Birds in 2006, getting a haircut was such a chore. The options were either low-end discount chains or frou-frou salons neither of us felt comfortable visiting. Birds Barbershop is the antidote to all that, and a chance to be the employers we always wish we’d had before becoming business owners. At Birds, our people come first, and the client has a great experience as a result. We top it off with fun extras like old school arcade games, a killer soundtrack, and an ice-cold Independence brew, Austin Eastciders or Rambler sparkling water to drink.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Growth is never a smooth road, but the bumps along the way have informed our decisions moving forward. Learning from little mistakes sure beats making big ones that can thank the business altogether.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a native of Laredo, Texas like my Birds business partner Jayson Rapaport. Both of us grew up wanting to live in the cultural hub of Austin one day, so when we did it was a chance to put our energy into making an impact on this city. I was coming off a marketing career in Los Angeles, where I moonlighted as a screenwriter trying to break into Hollywood. I moved to Austin to finish a novel but got sidetracked by this idea to create a “barbershop for all y’all,” and I now look at Birds’ evolution as the ultimate publishing event: nine barbershops that are all unique to their respective neighborhoods.
We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
I’m the only person I know to have been the speechwriter for the president of a real country (Vicente Fox, Mexico) and a fictional one (Disneyland).
Pricing:
- Shortcut, $32
- Longcut, $49
- Kidcut, $21
Contact Info:
- Website: birdsbarbershop.com
- Instagram: birdsbarbershop
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