Long before Sport Clips Haircuts grew to nearly 1,800 locations across North America, Mark and Jan Mansfield saw something special in the concept.
The husband-and-wife team signed on with Sport Clips in 1999, opening what was the 26th store in the entire system. What began as a three-store commitment ultimately became a decades-long journey in franchising. Today, the Mansfields own five Sport Clips locations and serve as area developers for a group encompassing 125 stores.
Their growth story demonstrates the power of a franchise model built to be replicated. But according to the Mansfields, it also comes down to something even simpler: trusting the system, empowering great managers and following the playbook.
The Mansfields’ partnership began long before their first Sport Clips location. “Mark and I met in seventh grade and started dating then,” Jan said. “We got married and had three children. Mark was a petroleum engineer, and I was an elementary school teacher. Mark always wanted to own something of his own and was looking around for something new.”
By the late 1990s, Mark was working in software sales for the oil and gas industry, which meant spending a lot of time on the road. On one of those trips to Houston, he came across Sport Clips.
“I decided I was going to go get a haircut,” Mark said. “Before that, I was walking around a department store and walked up to a young lady and asked her where to go. She said, ‘You have to go to a place called Sport Clips.’ I thought I might as well go and check it out.”
The experience immediately stood apart. “I really had that wow factor,” Mark said. “There was nothing else like this. It was really unique, and I loved the atmosphere. I said, ‘You know what? We have to do this on our own in Dallas.’”
Mark had considered leaving corporate America to become an entrepreneur, but like many aspiring business owners, he was waiting for the right opportunity. One day, while looking at classified ads in the newspaper, he noticed that Sport Clips was seeking owners in his area.
“I met with them and went through the whole process, and we decided to become Team Leaders,” he said.
In 1999, the Mansfields signed an agreement for three locations. “We opened our first store that year,” Jan said. “It was the 26th store in the company. We were very early. The founder himself, Gordon Logan, was there. It was a very small, family-feel type of company. They were in it with us.”
That early experience gave the Mansfields a firsthand look at one of franchising's central advantages: building their own business without having to create the model themselves.
“I wasn’t really well-versed at the time on what a franchise system was,” Mark said. “I always thought you just buy the brand. I didn’t even realize that you get the whole business model.”
That realization became increasingly important as the couple worked through construction, opening and operating their first location.
“I realized how fortunate it was that I didn’t have to do my own thing,” Mark said. “If I had to copycat it, I would have failed miserably because you just don’t know what you don’t know. Sport Clips was there at the grand opening, helping us through the whole thing in the beginning, from the construction side and everything. They have a manual for everything.”
That support remains a core component of the Sport Clips franchise model today. The brand provides assistance ranging from site selection and lease negotiation to training, marketing and ongoing operational guidance.
For Mark, the opportunity also offered another major advantage: he could pursue entrepreneurship without immediately giving up his career.
“I wanted something that was fun, and that was Sport Clips,” he said. “I also looked at the business model and ran the numbers, and I thought this was a great opportunity to start a business without having to quit my full-time job.”
The Mansfields quickly discovered they could replicate the Sport Clips model. After opening their first location, they focused on finding the right manager to lead the day-to-day operation. Once they had that person in place, expansion followed quickly.
“Once we found the right manager who was committed and really helped us get to where we needed to be, we signed a lease for a second store probably within six months,” Mark said. “We opened that store up and had tremendous success. We finally found a location for that third store.”
Within three years, the Mansfields had fulfilled their original three-store commitment.
The manager-led structure that enabled their early expansion remains a defining feature of Sport Clips today. Franchisees, known as Team Leaders, focus primarily on leadership, team development and operational oversight, while managers and licensed professionals oversee the store and deliver services to clients.
“Our job as Team Leaders is to support the manager and their team, and then help with marketing,” Mark said.
That distinction is especially important for multi-unit owners. Rather than requiring an owner to run every store personally, the model is designed to develop leaders who can take responsibility for individual locations.
“The ability to replicate is great,” Mark said. “It’s a proven model, and you are really putting someone in charge of each location. The manager really takes ownership of the day-to-day business, which makes it easy to scale because, as a Team Leader, you can support three to four stores while still having another job.”
That scalability has become one of Sport Clips’ defining franchise characteristics. Today, Sport Clips Team Leaders typically operate just over 6 stores on average, illustrating how the manager-driven structure can support multi-unit ownership.
“In 2003, we extended our partnership to become Area Developers,” Mark said. “Currently, we have 125 stores under our group of Team Leaders, and Jan and I currently own five stores.”
More than two decades later, the Mansfields have had the opportunity to watch Sport Clips evolve from a young franchise organization into the category leader it is today. Sport Clips now has nearly 1,800 locations across North America and more than 30 years of operating history.
After decades in the system, Jan’s advice to new Team Leaders is straightforward. “Follow the plan,” she said. “Sport Clips has done a lot of work, and they continue to improve everything. They have a playbook for everything. The system works.”
It is advice she remembers hearing when the Mansfields first joined the brand in 1999. “That is the one thing I heard back then,” Jan said. “We have always tried hard to stay on that path.”
Mark also encourages prospective Team Leaders to look beyond the sales presentation when evaluating any franchise opportunity.
“Talk to existing Team Leaders as well,” Mark said. “Make sure you go through the due diligence. Many brands put on a lot of flash, but you want someone who can walk the walk. That is one thing we found with Sport Clips. It all comes down to the company's values. It’s a very simple mission, but everybody follows it. If you follow those principles, you have a great opportunity for success and to be happy.”
To find out more information on costs to buy this franchise, please visit https://1851franchise.com/sport-clips.
Sport Clips
SPONSORED
Discovering Sport Clips in Houston led Mark and Jan Mansfield to become early Team Leaders. Over 25 years later, they own five locations and serve as area developers for 125 stores.
Long before Sport Clips Haircuts grew to nearly 1,800 locations across North America, Mark and Jan Mansfield saw something special in the concept.
The husband-and-wife team signed on with Sport Clips in 1999, opening what was the 26th store in the entire system. What began as a three-store commitment ultimately became a decades-long journey in franchising. Today, the Mansfields own five Sport Clips locations and serve as area developers for a group encompassing 125 stores.
Their growth story demonstrates the power of a franchise model built to be replicated. But according to the Mansfields, it also comes down to something even simpler: trusting the system, empowering great managers and following the playbook.
The Mansfields’ partnership began long before their first Sport Clips location. “Mark and I met in seventh grade and started dating then,” Jan said. “We got married and had three children. Mark was a petroleum engineer, and I was an elementary school teacher. Mark always wanted to own something of his own and was looking around for something new.”
By the late 1990s, Mark was working in software sales for the oil and gas industry, which meant spending a lot of time on the road. On one of those trips to Houston, he came across Sport Clips.
“I decided I was going to go get a haircut,” Mark said. “Before that, I was walking around a department store and walked up to a young lady and asked her where to go. She said, ‘You have to go to a place called Sport Clips.’ I thought I might as well go and check it out.”
The experience immediately stood apart. “I really had that wow factor,” Mark said. “There was nothing else like this. It was really unique, and I loved the atmosphere. I said, ‘You know what? We have to do this on our own in Dallas.’”
Mark had considered leaving corporate America to become an entrepreneur, but like many aspiring business owners, he was waiting for the right opportunity. One day, while looking at classified ads in the newspaper, he noticed that Sport Clips was seeking owners in his area.
“I met with them and went through the whole process, and we decided to become Team Leaders,” he said.
In 1999, the Mansfields signed an agreement for three locations. “We opened our first store that year,” Jan said. “It was the 26th store in the company. We were very early. The founder himself, Gordon Logan, was there. It was a very small, family-feel type of company. They were in it with us.”
That early experience gave the Mansfields a firsthand look at one of franchising's central advantages: building their own business without having to create the model themselves.
“I wasn’t really well-versed at the time on what a franchise system was,” Mark said. “I always thought you just buy the brand. I didn’t even realize that you get the whole business model.”
That realization became increasingly important as the couple worked through construction, opening and operating their first location.
“I realized how fortunate it was that I didn’t have to do my own thing,” Mark said. “If I had to copycat it, I would have failed miserably because you just don’t know what you don’t know. Sport Clips was there at the grand opening, helping us through the whole thing in the beginning, from the construction side and everything. They have a manual for everything.”
That support remains a core component of the Sport Clips franchise model today. The brand provides assistance ranging from site selection and lease negotiation to training, marketing and ongoing operational guidance.
For Mark, the opportunity also offered another major advantage: he could pursue entrepreneurship without immediately giving up his career.
“I wanted something that was fun, and that was Sport Clips,” he said. “I also looked at the business model and ran the numbers, and I thought this was a great opportunity to start a business without having to quit my full-time job.”
The Mansfields quickly discovered they could replicate the Sport Clips model. After opening their first location, they focused on finding the right manager to lead the day-to-day operation. Once they had that person in place, expansion followed quickly.
“Once we found the right manager who was committed and really helped us get to where we needed to be, we signed a lease for a second store probably within six months,” Mark said. “We opened that store up and had tremendous success. We finally found a location for that third store.”
Within three years, the Mansfields had fulfilled their original three-store commitment.
The manager-led structure that enabled their early expansion remains a defining feature of Sport Clips today. Franchisees, known as Team Leaders, focus primarily on leadership, team development and operational oversight, while managers and licensed professionals oversee the store and deliver services to clients.
“Our job as Team Leaders is to support the manager and their team, and then help with marketing,” Mark said.
That distinction is especially important for multi-unit owners. Rather than requiring an owner to run every store personally, the model is designed to develop leaders who can take responsibility for individual locations.
“The ability to replicate is great,” Mark said. “It’s a proven model, and you are really putting someone in charge of each location. The manager really takes ownership of the day-to-day business, which makes it easy to scale because, as a Team Leader, you can support three to four stores while still having another job.”
That scalability has become one of Sport Clips’ defining franchise characteristics. Today, Sport Clips Team Leaders typically operate just over 6 stores on average, illustrating how the manager-driven structure can support multi-unit ownership.
“In 2003, we extended our partnership to become Area Developers,” Mark said. “Currently, we have 125 stores under our group of Team Leaders, and Jan and I currently own five stores.”
More than two decades later, the Mansfields have had the opportunity to watch Sport Clips evolve from a young franchise organization into the category leader it is today. Sport Clips now has nearly 1,800 locations across North America and more than 30 years of operating history.
After decades in the system, Jan’s advice to new Team Leaders is straightforward. “Follow the plan,” she said. “Sport Clips has done a lot of work, and they continue to improve everything. They have a playbook for everything. The system works.”
It is advice she remembers hearing when the Mansfields first joined the brand in 1999. “That is the one thing I heard back then,” Jan said. “We have always tried hard to stay on that path.”
Mark also encourages prospective Team Leaders to look beyond the sales presentation when evaluating any franchise opportunity.
“Talk to existing Team Leaders as well,” Mark said. “Make sure you go through the due diligence. Many brands put on a lot of flash, but you want someone who can walk the walk. That is one thing we found with Sport Clips. It all comes down to the company's values. It’s a very simple mission, but everybody follows it. If you follow those principles, you have a great opportunity for success and to be happy.”
To find out more information on costs to buy this franchise, please visit https://1851franchise.com/sport-clips.
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