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He is almost out of time; without this signature, his business, his dream, will be done for. Thankfully, no police had seen him on his way here; they would have stopped him if they had seen how fast he was driving. He gets out of his car with all the documents he needs and runs toward city hall—a pen—he runs back to grab one out of his glove box. Armed with all the permits, a pen, and a thoughtful plea to the city manager, Sam finally has everything he needs to open his barbershop.
Sam had scheduled Headzup Barbershop’s grand opening for November 1, 2020, his 21st birthday. Everything was proceeding as planned; the old-American-style interior looked just as he pictured it, and the 1925 Bugatti Type 37 was inside the shop. Most importantly, he had clients ready and waiting for their haircuts. The only thing left was a final inspection from the city; just one building inspector stood between Sam and his dream of business ownership. There did not seem to be any cause for concern, the inspection started great, and Sam and his team had followed all the local regulations—or so they thought. As it turned out, a wall in the shop’s bathroom was a bit out of place, 2 inches to be exact.
This news could not have come at a worse time. Only 2 days remained until the grand opening; they could not possibly reschedule now. “At first, I was just shocked; I couldn’t open my business because of 2 inches? I would have to move my grand opening because of 2 inches?” Sam said. After the initial shock, Sam and his crew decided to do something about their situation. The way they saw it, there was only one thing they could do—move the wall. They got to work as the hours ticked down, and on the morning of the shop’s grand opening, they rebuilt the wall in the right place. The only problem was that the inspector could not come and see it until that evening, meaning they could not open that day. At least, not officially. “My friends and I decided to do a more lowkey grand opening. We hit everyone up and quietly let them know it was still happening today,” Sam said. As scheduled, Sam and his closest friends celebrated their achievements by secretly opening Headzup Barbershop. Though it had not gone as he imagined it, Sam had his own shop by his 21st birthday.
Early the next morning, he received a call from the inspector saying that his business was approved to open; he just needed the city manager to sign off. Upon hearing this, Sam got in his car, grabbed all the permits, and drove to city hall as quickly as possible.
When he arrived, he tracked down the city manager and asked him to sign off on the permits. “I told him that I was 21 years old, that I was trying to open my own business, and that I had everything I needed except his signature,” Sam said. His heart pounded as he held out the documents for the city manager to sign, knowing he stood at the precipice of his dreams. The man took the papers out of his hand, gave them a quick read, and asked, “Got a pen?”
