Sport Clips Haircuts Isnt Chasing Growth - Its Building Better Franchisees

As Sport Clips* Haircuts continues to grow across the United States, it is actively seeking not just growth, but the right franchisees. The nearly 1,800-unit system has built its reputation on its culture and a model designed for multi-unit ownership. Rather than targeting passive investors, Sport Clips looks for operators who are engaged and capable of building strong teams. That approach has helped the brand scale while maintaining consistent performance across its locations.

“It’s not just about opening that first store,” said Brent Greenwood, vice president of franchise development, on a recent episode of the “Meet the Franchise” podcast. “It’s about being able to scale in a reasonable amount of time and achieve both personal goals and brand expectations.”

Greenwood worked in sales before he got into franchising with Jan-Pro, later moving to Firehouse Subs and, now, Sport Clips. At Sport Clips, he works directly with prospective franchisees who are evaluating business ownership. 

“All the success stories along the way really made franchising something that resonated with me,” Greenwood said. “I just got more and more passionate with each and every success story that I came across. As you know, the world of franchising is filled with success stories, and that’s probably what keeps all of us franchise development folks driving for that next right franchisee for our brand.”

Sport Clips does not ignore the financial side, but the process goes beyond checking capital boxes. The team spends time with each candidate to understand how they lead, how they would fit the culture and whether they can stay involved without running the day-to-day operations themselves.

The brand also places equal weight on intangible traits like grit and determination. While capital is necessary to grow within the system, Greenwood said operators who bring strong leadership and a willingness to stay engaged tend to outperform over time.

Sport Clips has also taken a different path to growth. The company has remained privately held, which has helped the brand avoid some of the disruptions that can accompany outside investment.

“It’s tempting to take private equity money to scale faster, but it changes the relationship,” Greenwood said. “We don’t have that pressure. We focus on selecting the right team leaders and building long-term relationships. We’re not chasing store count. We’re focused on doing it the right way.”

Today, the model continues to attract interest from prospective owners looking for a business with recurring demand and resilience to technologies like AI.

Greenwood joined 1851 Franchise Publisher Nick Powills to discuss what draws franchisees to Sport Clips, how the brand evaluates candidates and why staying private gives the system a competitive edge. A transcript of Greenwood's interview with Powills has been provided below. It has been edited for brevity, clarity and style.

Nick Powills: I like to kick all these off with the accidental franchise story. How did you accidentally fall into franchising? What’s your backstory?

Brent Greenwood: It’s so funny that it does seem to be an accident for so many. For me, it was no different. I met the woman of my dreams, and that led me to needing to move to a different area.

I had spent my entire career up to that point in sales and sales leadership roles, so I was really just looking for a sales-centric opportunity and stumbled on an opportunity with a brand called Jan-Pro Commercial Cleaning Systems. I was working for the master franchisee, running their book of business and really running the entire business.

It wasn’t specific to franchise development, but I found that the part of that role I absolutely loved the most was the franchise development piece. That was really my first exposure to franchising. I knew little to nothing about franchising at that time, so I have to credit Jan-Pro with helping me become passionate about the world of franchising. That led me to seek out another opportunity more focused on franchise development, and then I stumbled on good old Firehouse Subs, and the rest is history.

Powills: How long did it take you to actually get it? And once you got it, what do you find to be your magic tool for helping people make those big decisions?

Greenwood: I don’t think it probably was until a good six months into my role before it really clicked for me on the relationship between franchisor and franchisee. I had a passion for sales even before franchising. What I love most about sales is helping solve a need, and franchising wasn’t much different than that. I found that I was able to help people realize dreams of business ownership.

All the success stories along the way really made franchising something that resonated with me. About six months in, I think I really fully understood the nature of the relationship, and I just got more and more passionate with each and every success story that I came across. As you know, the world of franchising is filled with success stories, and that’s probably what keeps all of us franchise development folks driving for that next right franchisee for our brand.

Powills: Over your career, has education gotten better? Or do you still have to start at the foundational level of what franchising is before you can actually sell a franchise?

Greenwood: I think there is improving knowledge, especially from the younger generations with exposure to entrepreneur classes in college. I do think there’s a better general understanding of franchising. But still, much of our conversation with candidates early on is educating them about the franchising model and really helping them fully understand what that model is.

For those who are a little risk-averse, franchising is appealing because it helps them achieve their goals of being in business for themselves, but not by themselves. So I do think education has certainly gotten better over the years in the 20 years that I’ve been in franchising, but I think we’ve got a long way to go to really educate the general public on what franchising is all about.

Powills: Do you feel like you’ve mastered being able to tell whether someone’s going to succeed, or are there still too many intangibles? How has your sales process changed from when you started to today?

Greenwood: For brands that are thoroughly developed and have a long track record of success, it’s easier because they can draw from the success of those franchisees and create a profile of what they’re seeking in new franchisees. For brands that don’t have that track record, it’s more difficult because they have to identify those characteristics without that history. 

At the end of this, it’s all about people. You can’t just look at someone’s background and jump to conclusions. You really have to spend the proper amount of time getting to know each individual person — what drives them, what made them express interest and what they bring to the table. Then I think you can get pretty accurate with assumptions about their ability to be successful, along with data-driven tools that complement those personal connections.

Powills: If you had to weigh grit and hustle versus capital, is it 50/50? Have you seen people overcompensate with grit when they don’t have the capital?

Greenwood: I think it depends on the brand. For Sport Clips, there’s no getting around the need to have the proper amount of capital, because we’re designed to scale. It’s not just about opening that first store. It’s about being able to scale in a reasonable amount of time and achieve both personal goals and brand expectations. But I don’t want to discount the importance of grit. Those who come in with determination typically exceed expectations and ramp up more quickly. So I’d say it’s about 50/50 for Sport Clips.

Powills: What does a playmaker look like in a franchisee?

Greenwood: We look at our entire organization through that lens. From the executive team to in-store staff, everyone is a playmaker in their role. For franchisees, it’s someone who is people-centric, focused on delivering a great customer experience and building strong relationships with their team. Often, these are clients who fell in love with the brand first and then decided to pursue ownership.

Powills: How do you evaluate that in the sales process?

Greenwood: A lot of that is the intangibles — the connection you make with candidates throughout the discovery process. We also use personality assessments to identify areas where there might be challenges so we can have deeper conversations.

We give candidates exposure to the store environment. They spend time in-store, talk with stylists and managers and evaluate whether it feels right. They’re assessing us, and we’re assessing them.

Powills: From the outside, the model can look semi-absentee, which can attract the wrong buyer.

Greenwood: We really shy away from using the term “semi-absentee.” It’s more of a manager-managed model. Many people hear semi-absentee and think “absent,” and that’s not what this is. This requires highly engaged team leaders.

They’re not expected to run daily operations, but they must focus on culture, recruiting, marketing and supporting their team. That’s where success comes from.

Powills: From the outside, you’ve built a large system, no litigation, privately held. That carries weight.

Greenwood: Absolutely. That’s part of what drew me to Sport Clips. We’re family-owned and relationship-focused. We enforce brand standards, but fairness and relationships with our team leaders are still a priority. At nearly 1,800 stores, we’re still privately held. That’s rare, and it creates a different environment.

Powills: There’s a lot of turbulence when brands move into private equity — leadership changes, systems changes — and that impacts franchisees.

Greenwood: It’s tempting to take private equity money to scale faster, but it changes the relationship. We don’t have that pressure. We focus on selecting the right team leaders and building long-term relationships. We’re not chasing store count. We’re focused on doing it the right way.

Powills: What’s the state of the union for Sport Clips today?

Greenwood: There’s renewed interest because of the recurring, recession-resistant nature of our model. There are also concerns about AI impacting industries, and this is largely AI-resistant. We’ve recovered to pre-pandemic levels, and the industry continues to grow. We still have plenty of white space for expansion.

Powills: From a consumer perspective, it’s more than a haircut. It’s routine, stress relief, a moment to reset.

Greenwood: Exactly. Many of our team leaders started as clients. It’s more than a haircut — it’s an experience, a human connection. That’s what makes the brand special.

Powills: Let’s close on investment. What does the model look like?

Greenwood: The path to success is scaling into multiple units. For years, we only offered three-unit entry points because one store is essentially buying a job. We’re nearly 1,800 stores with around 250 franchisees, and the average franchisee owns just over six stores. Operating multiple stores becomes easier because of shared resources and diversification.

Powills: Final thought — a franchise sale isn’t signing an agreement. It’s making a franchisee successful. Thanks for your time, Brent.

Greenwood: My pleasure. Really enjoyed it.

Watch the full episode above or on YouTube.

To find out more information on costs to buy this franchise, please visit https://sportclipsfranchise.com/.