SALISBURY, Md.- From the Dominican Republic, all the way to the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Carlos Gomez, the owner of Gomez barbershop in Salisbury, has been serving the Eastern Shore for 10 years.
"I came to the United States when I was 5-years-old, I grew up in Brooklyn New York, and I grew up in a real tough neighborhood," said Gomez.
But after a couple visits to Maryland, he realized he would have better opportunity here.
"I kinda saw that there was so much negativity in the area of Brooklyn that I grew up in, I wanted a fresh start for my life," he added.
Gomez was a barber in New York, and grew inspiration after he realized there was a lack of Hispanic barbershops in Salisbury. However, he says moving to Salisbury and opening up a barbershop wasn't easy at first.
"I definitely struggled because nobody knew me...what I did was I would go to Walmart, Lowe's different areas...what I told people was look, I'm new in the area I just moved from New York, I just opened a barbershop and I'm gonna give you my business card, and the first haircut is on me, if you like it come back, if you don't like it you got a free haircut," said Gomez.
Through hard work and persistence he was able to earn loyal customers and is able to run a successful business. In the last 10 years, three barbershops came out of Gomez barbershop, all run by his former employees.
He has a message for others who have a dream.
"I seen Delmarva grow so much so if anybody out there is thinking about opening up a business, no matter what kind of business do it," said Gomez.