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It only took Monte McGougin a couple of days to get everything in order to begin his newest journey as a barber in a shop named Chief & Company Barber Shop.

For now, McGougin has carved out a niche inside Jus’ Do on Douglas Avenue. Working in the same building as his wife, Melanie, McGougin said the arrangement is working out well.

“Right now, it’s working great,” McGougin said. “I will be building some walls and closing in the space as I go along with this. Eventually, I’ll have a wall and a different entrance that will separate the shop from the store.”

McGougin said he has already been busy with his barber skills since opening on Tuesday of last week.

“I’ve had 20 or so customers in the chair already,” McGougin said. “It’s been really good so far. I’m enjoying this a lot.”

McGougin spent 25 years in law enforcement with the last 15 as chief of police for the City of Brewton. At the age of 47, he decided it was time to do something different.

“I was looking for something to do and this just made sense,” McGougin said. “I’m not really looking for a career, just something to keep me busy. I’m a people person and this is a way to continue to be around people.”

McGougin said the shop hours are set at 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday with walk-ins and appointments for a good, old fashioned haircut for a man.

“Not many barbers do the old fashioned hair cuts anymore,” McGougin said. “I wanted to do that and bring back some of the things that barbers used to do. I use clippers, scissors, a straight razor and even finish off with hot towels. I enjoyed those things in the past and I wanted to have a full, old-fsashioned barber shop.”

When McGougin made the decision to open the shop, he originally planned to wait until the beginning of 2021, but decided just a couple of weeks ago to move ahead with the plan to open.

“It’s been three weeks since I completely stepped away from the (Brewton) police department,” McGougin said. “I started looking at getting the shop up and running then.”

McGougin stepped up and got a business license, and a chair license through the county and, with the help of his wife Melanie, started working on getting a space created to start cutting hair.

“I think this is going to be just right for me,” McGougin said. “My thing is, I’m right here. If I don’t want to come to work, I don’t have to but will work when there are people who want to use my services.”

McGougin said he will take appointments and do his best to accommodate those who need a barber.

“This is going to be great,” McGougin said. “A hard day of work would probably kill me. But, this is something I enjoy, so it isn’t going to be like work.”

McGougin has created a page under his name on Facebook with information about the shop. For those looking to make an appointment, you can text him at 238-4342.