Business Spotlight: New Oakley barber shop offers unique services

By Roni Gehlke
For the Contra Costa Times

Name of business: Mac Tyme Mobile Barber and Supply

Type of business: Barbershop

Owner: Bill McCall

Founded: June 2009

Address: 3639 Main St., Oakley

Phone number: Shop at 925-709-4247; Appointments at 510-253-6381

Hours: Sunday to Monday 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Number of employees: one

Products and services: Mac Tyme offers barber services and supplies inside the store, as well as a mobile service. The business also supplies shoe shines, hairstyles like designs, lines, fades, tapers, Afros and more.

McCall also is working on offering an apprentice program to help troubled youth and adults learn a trade.

How did you get into the business: McCall said that being a barber was a childhood dream for him. It takes many hours of learning and working in an apprentice type program to become licensed, he said.

McCall worked as a barber for another shop in Pittsburg. He briefly owned another shop in Oakland before moving to Oakley last year. He knew that he had to be unique in the services offered, so he decided to add the mobile service to the shop.

"Mobile services are mainly for the elderly and homebound people who can't get to the shop," he said. McCall said that adding this service has been very helpful to those in need.

Best part about the business?: McCall likes the idea of having an old-fashioned barbershop where
people come and hang out and enjoy their time in the relaxed environment. He plays 1970s music, not rap, because it was the music he grew up with and it is calming for the customers, he said.

He also said he likes the gratification of knowing that he has done a good job.

As a recent widower, McCall also likes having a business where he can bring his young children to work with him. He hopes that by having them close by he can also interest them in the barber field and pass the business down to them when the time comes.

"I'm making something for the future and getting them involved in the business -- a place they can be proud of and they can carry on for themselves," he said.

Worst part about the business?: "I've really thought about this question and there really is no worst part. I love what I'm doing," he said.

Key to success: McCall said that it is very important to build a good reputation in the community to become a successful barber. He said it is also important to have one's life in order and to prioritize one's time.

"When I first started I worked 12 to 14 hour days," he said. "I used to sweep outside in front of the shop at 6:30 in the morning and watched traffic go by. Soon people started stopping in and talking to me."

Biggest misperception about the business: "A barber doesn't know how to do hairstyling or to do women's hair is a big misperception," he said.
McCall said that when barbers are licensed they learn how to do all kinds of hairstyling. They learn a lot of the same techniques that the hair salon stylists do.

Future plans: McCall really wants to get his apprentice program going in full swing. He's hoping the program can even go national, hoping that others will see the value of teaching troubled individuals a trade to help change their future.

"The slogan of my business is 'Changing The World One Cut At A Time'," he said. "Right now I'm starting with Oakley and then I'll move on from there."

-- Roni Gehlke