For men, a decent haircut is usually $20- 25 plus tip, and the tip can come to another $5, depending on the customer's criteria. But that's in the chair at a professional shop, some place in the urban mix of high- end shops and services.

On the other hand, in the chair at a cosmetology school, the haircut might cost no more than $10, but there's still the matter of the tip.

At the Paul Mitchell School, just off Gervais Street behind Jillian's, close to Gadsden Street, the men's haircuts are $10 but their street value comes closer to $20. Open since September, the school has about 30 students. The place is ramping up for more than five times that, according to school director Scott Bills.

The Paul Mitchell School student population runs from age 18, the minimum allowed, to just about any age. The average age, though, falls roughly between 19 and 24. The age has gone down in the recent past because the desirability of becoming a cosmetologist has gone up.

The students tough it out for 11 months at 35 hours a week. Regulated by the State of South Carolina, the minimum time in school is 1,500 hours, which at other schools can take anywhere from nine months to a full year instead of the Paul Mitchell 11 months.

Successfully completing the 11 months, most Paul Mitchell School alumni can expect a respectable income early on due to demand. But later, an experienced owner of a fashionable eight- chair shop can do very well, indeed.

School director Scott Bills was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, where his father at the time of his birth was a computer programmer, and his mother was a medical technician. His younger brother Brice has two undergraduate degrees, and he is a grade E- 5 in the U.S. Navy's riverine forces, what was called the Brown Water Navy in the Vietnam era.

Bills finished Woods Cross High School. Woods Cross is a suburb of Salt Lake City. He moved on to the University of Utah, where he graduated with a degree in business management.

Bills met his wife Michelle, now a member of the staff at Paul Mitchell's Gervais Street address, while they were both in school at Utah. They have three children: Zachary (12), Jeffrey (10), and Camrin (4).

Taking his business management degree into the work force, Bills started out in laser printers, working his way up to the Chicago distribution headquarters.

Bills' sister- in- law, Tova Stroman, got the family interested in Paul Mitchell Schools, so the family came into the business as a group. Besides the Gervais Street shop, they own one in Fayetteville, and they are building another in North Charleston. From a Columbia base, nearby expansion opportunities might include Augusta and Greenville.

Like the Gervais Street location, which is part of Ben Arnold's real estate properties, a Paul Mitchell School setting needs about 15- 16,000 square feet. That many square feet can accommodate the full course load on hair, to include cuts, colors, textures, anatomy, and chemistry. Other courses covered are in business principals and shop sanitation and more. The full breakdown of the school's curriculum can be seen at www.paulmitchell- theschool.com.

Paul Mitchell himself began as a '70s hair dresser. He and his partner John Paul DeJora, now CEO, borrowed $750 to crank out their ideas on hair- care products, and now it's a $100 million (sales) business, still privately held. The business gives back, too. With the help of Irmo's Leeza Gibbons, the California- based company's annual fund raising is coming up to $1 million for charity in the current year.