Moving halfway across the world at 19 might make one feel alone, uncertain, and homesick. But that’s how Money Singh’s story in America began, which took him from being a depressed teen to owning multiple businesses in the US. Recalling his early days in San Francisco after leaving Punjab in 2006, Singh said, “I was [depressed] for that one year. I wanted to go back.”What started as a reluctant move eventually turned out to be the beginning of his American dream, that made him go from a cab dispatcher earning $6 an hour to running two successful businesses worth over a million dollars each, CNBC reported.His first years in the Bay Area were far from easy. Singh enrolled in college but dropped out when he realised his credits from India wouldn’t transfer. When Singh’s mother urged him to work, he took a short stint at a local drugstore before joining his uncle’s cab company.The next 12 years were spent in the taxi business. Singh drove his own cab, built a small five-car fleet, started his own dispatch company, and later launched Driver’s Network, a marketing agency for independent drivers.By 2018, he was ready for a new challenge. And hence, alongside his existing venture, now known as ATCS Platform Solutions, Singh decided to try something entirely different route, a barbershop.

Next stop — Singh’s Barbershop

With help from his partner Joypreet and inspiration from his mother, a salon owner in both India and Northern California, Singh opened Dandies Barbershop & Beard Stylist in Mountain View in June 2019.It was a gamble, but it paid off. According to documents reviewed by CNBC Make It, Dandies generated $1.07 million in sales last year, while ATCS brought in $1.18 million in revenue. Both businesses are profitable, and Singh splits his time between them, full-time at Dandies and around 20 hours a week on ATCS.

Building a business

Before the success came struggle. Singh invested $75,000 from his taxi savings and spent a year battling permits and paperwork. “You have to go through permitting. You have to go through dealing with the city,” he told CNBC. “It took me a solid year to get the license to even open the shop, so I was paying rent for one year before I could open the shop.”He had no experience as a barber, so he partnered with a friend. Then, six months later, the Covid-19 pandemic hit. His partner left due to a family emergency, forcing Singh to shut down the shop for almost a year, though the rent bills never stopped.To keep Dandies alive, Singh pulled every financial lever available. He received two Paycheck Protection Program loans, one for $68,000 and another for $18,000, the latter eventually forgiven. He borrowed $20,000 from friends, withdrew $30,000 from his life insurance, built up $80,000 in credit card debt, and even sold his stock portfolio.“I had to sell everything,” he told CNBC. “I had to eat less. I literally had to focus on eating $1 per meal to make sure the business stays open.”During the shutdown, Singh joined barber school so that he could expand services when Dandies reopened in 2021. The move worked. “As we got more engaged with the community, I had a lot of people from every aspect of life: Men, women, LGBTQ, kids. Almost everybody wanted to come to Dandies,” he says. “So we started expanding into different skill sets and we wanted to cater to everybody.”Today, Dandies has three locations, 25 employees, including 15 barbers and consistent profits. Singh takes home around $7,000 per month, divided between $3,000 from Dandies and $4,000 from ATCS. He’s paid off his credit cards and insurance loans, and now repays about $300 a month on his remaining PPP loan.

Still working hard…

Growing up in Punjab during the violent clashes between Sikh separatists and the government, his family faced repeated tragedies. His father survived being shot by a terrorist back in 1988. Three years later, a bomb exploded outside the family’s convenience store, and later, floods destroyed what remained.“I just don’t feel any different. I’m doing the same thing that I was doing 19 years ago,” Singh says. “I still work 15 to 16 hours a day. I still work hard. I still do the things that I need to do … Those are the habits that I’ve developed since my childhood.”Now, Singh is preparing for his next leap, a new app called Barber’s Network, which will let barbers and clients book chairs and appointments across the US, similar to platforms like Booksy or theCut. He’s funding the development with profits from Dandies, CNBC reported.Slowing down? That’s not on his list. “I don’t think I’ll ever retire. I would want to work all the way through,” he says. “That’s just what I breathe.”