PASSIONS' Charles Divins is turning entrepreneur by opening a hair salon in Austin, Texas.

"It's a proper hair salon for guys and girls," Texas native Divins previews. "It's called Path — www.pathsalon.com is the Web site. We're going for a small, boutique feel. It's cool and a little different. It fits into the Austin vibe."

The model-turned-actor, who just cut off his own hair, is thrilled to be working with his two oldest pals, Ryan and Greg. "I don't have siblings, so these guys are my brothers. They're the guys I went to Europe with (see story here. We wanted to put all of our talents together to benefit all of us, so we'd have something in common all the time. Ryan, who lives in Austin, is going to run the place and is a stylist. Greg is a financial guy, and I'm the leader of the pack. I keep it together. No! I do marketing, and we set up promotions and general concept stuff."

The business venture means Divins is getting regular breaks from the hustle and bustle of Los Angeles, Harmony and the audition circuit. "It's become an excuse to go hang out with my buddies in Austin. I go back once a month. It's nice. Plus, my mom lives in Dallas, and this gives me a reason to cruise through there."

As for that old maxim about mixing business with family and/or friends, Divins isn't concerned. "The problem with working with friends and family is that little fights turn into big ones. It helps that we're in different cities. It's not like we're in the same place banging around each other," he says. "We also each have definite roles in what we do and we leave it at that. We make a general decision and whoever's going to handle it from there, handles it fully, instead of micromanaging and getting in fights about little things."

It must be working, because the trio are already looking to the future. "We're going to open a retail clothing store, maybe a sneaker store, a bar — all under the same name," Divins previews. "I'm enjoying being an entrepreneur. This will be a side thing initially, but who knows what it could turn into? Acting is what I do, but it's always good to have other interests — to keep you sane."