Boys, Go Wash Up!

What: One-stop barbershop/carwash/dry cleaners
Who: Richard and Fred Calloway of Male Care Inc.
Where: Augusta, Georgia
When: Started in 1998

Men have needs. Repetitive needs. Week in, week out, they get their hair cut, their cars washed and their clothes dry-cleaned. Recognizing that men "do those three things religiously and consistently," as Fred Calloway puts it, he and his brother Richard saw an opportunity-and took it.

They created Male Care, a "one-stop shop" that offers all three services. Call it Southern hospitality. Here, men lounge in comfort while the work is being done. Instead of driving around town to three separate locations, at Male Care they can spend some time reading, typing on their laptops or catching the ball game on TV. The concept has garnered such a loyal following that about 80 percent of Male Care's approximately 1,800 customers visit at least once each month.

Richard, 46, and Fred, 44, initially financed the start-up with $30,000 in pooled savings, but are now seeking investors to help expand their concept across the United States through franchising. With 2001 sales expected to hit $210,000, immediate plans include opening a second Male Care location, also in Augusta, next year.

One day, the brothers hope to add oil changes to the line of services. They're also looking into launching an exclusive line of personal-hygiene products (such as hair treatments, lotions and after-shave) branded under the Male Care name.

This article was originally published in the December 2001 print edition of Entrepreneur with the headline: Boys, Go Wash Up!.