Today we’d like to introduce you to Lawrence Johnson.
Hi Lawrence, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’m the son of Larry and Juliet Johnson. My dad was born in Corinth, MS, and my mom was born in Manila, Philippines. They met 43 years ago while my dad was in the United States Navy. I was born a year after they got married in Subic Bay on the US Navy Base in the Philippines. He was 25 years old, and she was 20 at the time. The earlier years of our journey brought us to Southern California where my dad was stationed in San Diego. We lived there for the first nine years of my life. As a California kid growing up in Navy housing, I developed a huge appreciation for the community very early. We have a really close family. My sister was born two years after we moved to San Diego and for parts of the year, my dad was on deployment out at sea. Despite not seeing him a few months out of the year, my parents instilled values in us regarding family, faith, and community that became the bedrock and foundation for my life. When I was three years old, I remember going on a trip to visit my grandparents who lived in Dayton, OH. My Dads side of the family migrated from Corinth, MS when he was young during a time when the automobile and manufacturing industry was booming in the region. I have many relatives who still live there to this day. My Grandmother, Myrtle Johnson owned and opened a hair salon in Dayton called Myrtles and she owned it for many years. I recall visiting her salon on several occasions. I was never there long when we would stop in but it’s amazing how certain memories just stick with you.
My dad gave me my first haircut. I don’t remember it, but I can only imagine it was him because he used to cut my hair all the time. So, my first trip to a barbershop was right there in our kitchen. I don’t think our apartment was big enough to put a chair in front of the mirror in the bathroom so it had to have been the kitchen. If it wasn’t my dad cutting my hair, it was my mom and when I became older, my dad and I would visit the barbershop on the military base together and get our haircuts there. Trips to the barbershop with my dad were special times. I loved spending time with him. He was my first male role model to help me gain the identity I have. I’m like my father in many ways. Going to the barber shop was always fun. I looked forward to it. Aside from being there with my dad or even my mom if my dad could not take me, I loved the sound of the trimmers and the scent of the shaving cream, etc. Plus, I loved the commotion of it all. I’d see friends there with their parents getting haircuts also. Someone was always sharing an update about what was going on in their lives, and the barbers just had a way of helping to brighten up everyone’s day. Fast forward several years and my barbershop experiences would span to Memphis, TN, and Virginia Beach, VA during new duty stations during my dad’s career. Moving was hard, especially as a little kid for me and my sisters. However, it helped us learn how to adapt to change quickly and to develop an appreciation and connectedness with our family, faith, and community that we needed in those times. As a family in a new city, we always had something in common with the other families because of the dynamics that are associated with those that serve. There’s an unspoken bond that exists. After high school, college was a whole new experience. Increased responsibility was knocking on the door of life, and with it the big question of “Who’s going to cut my hair?” Well, the first few weeks of school after my parents dropped me off at Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA I had to figure this out. So, what did I do? I had to budget the allowance my parents afforded me and try to stretch every dollar. To save a few bucks I thought I’d try cutting my own hair. Long story short, it didn’t come out like the fade my barbers back home used to give me in Virginia Beach. Ultimately, I ended up just shaving off all my hair and wearing a doo rag for the next few months while I let my hair grow out. Eventually, I had a short Afro, a medium Afro, then a large one. On this hair journey and hiatus from the barbershop, I had twists, corn rows, and short dreadlocks. I guess going through that period was part of the design of what college was for. Finding yourself and finding your way.
I forged lifelong friendships from my experience in college. As fate would have it, one of my friends who was the best barber on campus became my roommate, and we got our first apartment off campus. For our senior year, we moved into a house we rented from a gentleman who owned three barber shops in the city. My friend moved a barber chair into the house and as fate would have it, I had a barbershop right on-site. From time to time, I’d check out the barbershop the landlord owned, and my friend worked out part-time, but for the most part, all my haircuts took place at the house. It was common for all of the student-athletes to congregate at our place before a big game so they could get their haircuts. The address, 313 Madison Street was always lively. We weren’t a fraternity, but we were big on family, and we looked out for each other. So still, I was around the barbershop regularly, even while in college. The atmosphere and environment just always stayed with me. Memories of my parents taking me to the shop and those experiences were never too far from my mind.
After college I moved to Atlanta, GA after a short transition period back to Virginia Beach continuing my employment with the YMCA and starting a position as a bank teller with Wachovia Bank. Atlanta had an oasis of great barbershops but my favorite one was called “Off Da Hook” which was located right behind the old Georgia Dome. My barber, the Malik, was cut from the best of the best. The shop itself was always lively and just felt like family. Whether you were the regular who just wanted to come in, get a cut, and leave, or someone who didn’t mind opening up and starting new friendships with The Who’s Who of Atlanta who might pop in for a visit. This was the spot no doubt. In 2008 during the financial crisis, the company I was working for relocated me to Phoenix, AZ to become a Financial Advisor in the Investment Management Company of USAA. It took me a while to find a barbershop before one of my colleagues recommended that I try V’s Barbershop, located across the street from my office. Immediately after the first visit, I felt a connection to the ambiance of the place. I still had to get used to the barbers, but the environment was not foreign to me. I was right at home. A year and a half later USAA relocated me to Tampa, FL to help launch their new Financial Advice Center. Two weeks after this move, I met the love of my life who would become my wife on a connecting flight from Jacksonville, FL to Tampa. That’s a funny story in itself but it’s just an amazing part of my testimony that highlights how great God is.
In 2011 USAA relocated me back to Atlanta to launch their new Wealth Management office in Buckhead. Being back in familiar surroundings, I recalled how great the barbershop experience was at V’s and reached out to Mr. V to gauge his interest in opening a location in Atlanta. I still remember having a conversation with him over the phone in the living room of our new condo. Ultimately, we never did open the location in Atlanta due to other life events that influenced our decision to relocate to Orlando, FL in June 2012, after the birth of our first child. Fast forward two more years and we would revisit the conversation with Jim and fly out to Phoenix, AZ to meet him in person. After the visit, we left Phoenix excited about the prospects of being able to bring the brand to Orlando, FL. We opened our first location in Windermere located Northwest of Orlando in December 2016. A few years later, we opened our second location in 2022.
Bringing V’s Barbershop to Central Florida was our unique way of trying to ensure everyone who had ever visited a barbershop in their lifetime could experience a family-friendly, classic barbershop environment that added value to the community. Going to the shop still reminds me of the time my dad used to cut my hair and when he and my mom would take me to see my barber. It reminds me of a time when I would visit my grandmother’s salon and of the times when I had to figure life out by making new connections and meaningful relationships. Ultimately it reminds me of family, the importance of community, and how having faith can help you endure the most challenging moments in your life. Recently, I’ve been faced with trying to overcome the loss of my beloved Father. He passed away in June of this year, 2022. At the age of 67, we thought we had more time. All I wanted was more time. One of the last pictures I have of him having a great day was of him coming to the barbershop. He and my uncle stopped in to visit, and we took a picture together. The picture now hangs on the wall in the Windermere location and soon will also be displayed on the wall in our Orlando location. The barbershop for me, will always be a special place and a place I can go to feel a part of the special history that has made me who I am. It represents so many things and brings back so many great memories. Although my dad is no longer here, I know he’s always with me every time I visit the barbershop. – Lawrence Johnson, V’s Barbershop Franchise Owner, Central Florida
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?
The struggles related to timing and being inexperienced. Life events can cause you to pivot. Economic factors may cause you to delay your next move. Experience is only gained by walking your own path while accounting for what helped others to be successful than making the best decision with the information you have at the time. It doesn’t mean it will always work out but with it comes to the experience you need to move forward.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I worked in the Financial Services industry for over 15 years. Half of those years were in a leadership capacity, coaching, mentoring, and developing financial professionals. Most importantly, I managed relationships to ensure goals that were discussed and agreed to could be accomplished to a level that satisfied all the parties involved.
If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
Ambitious, funny, competitive, generous, forgiving, futuristic, and business minded. If I lock in on a goal, I try see it through. I am athletic, so when it comes to sports, I can pick up certain things quickly.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.vbarbershop.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/v_barbershop/
