Ronnie Paul has played a part in continuing the recent trend of new businesses launching operations in downtown Madison Village.
Paul opened Electric Heads Barbershop at 42 W. Main St. in the village on Sept. 3.
“We’ve only been here for a week, and we couldn’t be happier with the reception we’ve gotten,” he said. “We’ve been seeing a lot of new faces, and a lot of people wandering in and just welcoming us to the community. And we’ve received a lot of recognition on social media.”
Electric Heads, which Paul described as a traditional barbershop, is the third new business that’s been established on West Main Street in Madison in a little more than three months. Cooler by the Lake Photo Gallery and Aromatherapy and Madison Brewing Co. both opened in late May.
Paul said he believes Electric Heads will benefit from a lot of foot traffic in the bustling commercial district. In addition, the barbershop is situated a short distance from Madison Village Park, which draws visitors with events such as seasonal festivals; as a well as a weekly vintage car show and an outdoor market and concert series during the spring and summer.
Paul relocated Electric Heads to Madison Village from the shop’s original location at 1525 Madison Ave. in Painesville Township.
It was based in a 400-square-foot space for nearly four years.
“We outgrew that shop pretty quickly, which kind of led us to start searching for a bigger and more permanent location,” he said.
Paul said he and his wife, Melissa Paul, believed that downtown Madison Village would be an ideal new spot for Electric Heads.
They could see that the village had a growing business environment. Paul said he and Melissa also enjoyed the many old and beautiful buildings and houses in and around downtown.
The new location is in the former Pet Wants store at 42 W. Main St. That space consists of about 1,000 square feet.
“My wife and I both actually had our eye on this specific building for a couple of years,” Paul said.
Pet Wants, which offers a wide variety of natural food for cats and dogs, moved in early June to a new location at 91 N. Lake in Madison Village.
After learning about that store’s plans to leave the space, Paul signed a contract to lease the building. He spent two months renovating the space to serve as a barber shop.
“I’d work over (at the Painesville Township Electric Heads) all day long, until about 6 p.m. and then come over here (to 42 W. Main in Madison) and maybe work until 10 or 11 p.m.,” he said.
Working long hours to accomplish an important goal is nothing new for Paul. He took that same approach in 2017 when he decided to make a career change.
He had been working as manager of a warehouse, when he realized it was time to seek a new line of work.
“I was absolutely miserable with my job that I had,” he said. “So I completely walked away from it and threw it all away, and went to barber college.”
Paul enrolled in the barber program at LaBarberia Institute of Hair in Mayfield Heights. While he kept busy learning the fundamentals of barbering, Paul also needed to find a way to replace the income he lost as a warehouse manager.
“You have to be able to dedicate at least 35 hours a week to barber college, which makes it really hard to work a full-time job,” he said. “So at the time, I played in a band, and worked at my buddy’s pizza shop. That was kind of how I made my living for about a year and a half.”
After graduating from LaBarberia, Paul began his career of cutting men’s and boys’ hair by working for two years at a barber shop in Lake County.
“The shop that I was in was not the right fit for me,” he said “But it was a great shop to get started, and start building up a clientele.”
Paul said he also established a following of customers through playing in band, and pursuing personal interests in tattoos and vintage cars.
“I had a lot of connections through the three of those things,” he said.
Paul said he credits Melissa with inspiring him to start his own barber shop.
“I always had aspirations to go out on my own, but I didn’t know how soon that was going to be,” he said. “And she was the one that originally found the location on Madison Avenue. She kind of gave me that push (to become a barber shop owner and operator).”
The staff at the Madison Village shop consists of Paul and Dylan Rhodes, a barber who’s worked at Electric Heads for two years.
“But we are looking for a third barber to add, now that we’re in our new location,” Paul said.
Electric Heads recommends that all customers book their appointments online through a link on the shop’s Facebook page.
“When you book an appointment online, it reserves your spot,” Paul said. “That’s a custom spot for the client. It’s a specific time carved out for that individual, for whatever they need done.”
However, he said the shop still does its best to accommodate walk-in customers, as time permits.
Electric Heads also has tried to create an interior atmosphere that sets it apart from traditional barber shops.
The walls are adorned with items such as old license plates, along with posters and other memorabilia focused on punk rock and old horror movies. All of these are objects that Paul has collected over the years, based on some of his personal hobbies and interests.
In addition, Electric Heads is equipped with an old-fashioned phonograph, which is used to play vinyl records.
Paul said he believes that the inside of Electric Heads resembles “a very West Coast spot.”
“It’s something you won’t find around here as much,” he said.
Electric Heads is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. Call 440-319-2129 or email electricheadsbarbershop@gmail.com for more information.