Florence Francis

Courage Under Fire, Philanthropist

Behind every successful man is a strong woman. Florence Francis was exactly that for her husband Joe. Together, they created an empire of barbershops. Joe was the youngest licensed barber in Minnesota at the age of 17. He opened up his own barbershop a year later, introduced razor cuts to Minnesota in 1963, and sold his first franchise in 1970. They eventually had over 700 salons in 40 different states and five foreign countries. When he passed away in 1994, Francis was devastated, but she knew she had to take over the reins as the company’s chairperson.

"That company had taken 35 years of my life and there was no way I was going to let it go down the drain," Francis said in the company’s convention. "I wrote a speech sitting in bed crying. My bedroom was full of wadded up paper."

The company thrived under her leadership. In 1997, the total number of salons grew to 942. Florence was inducted into the International Franchise Association's Hall of Fame in 1999. After selling the company the same year, Francis shifted her attention to The Joe Francis Haircut Cosmetology Scholarship Foundation. Their goal is to help deserving students receive financial aid for degree programs required to build successful and long long-term careers in the cosmetology industry.