Creating a Culture of Cultivating Confidence and Love

When I became a hairstylist over 15 years ago it was a cut throat industry. Assistants were used to do the tedious tasks of cleaning, clients were the property of a stylist, and salon owners were drowning in debt trying to keep their doors open. Stylists had no vision of where they could advance inside a company, there was no transparency between salons, stylist or clients, and there was no culture.  I saw a big problem inside our industry. It was operating from a place without heart and without soul. Stylists would soon burn out, find another career path or become physically impaired in some way from working such long hours. Assistants would grow into uneducated stylists and produce low quality hair, and salon revenue would disappear as the overhead costs would be too large to keep their doors open. Before entering this industry, I worked in the corporate world and it’s a very different world if I say so myself. There was so much missing inside the hair industry that I found to be thriving inside the corporate world.

I began to brainstorm…What if we had more structure inside our salons? What if we changed the principles of how our businesses operated?  What if we became a salon who mentors their team? A company that provides guidelines and boundaries; who reinvests in education, a place where growth is a focus, a company that operates on values, where performance can be measured and stylist can make a 6 figure income, and best of all, provides a growth plan for teams inside the company. This sounded like a fairy tale. I knew in order to create my dream future I would first need to create a strong CULTURE. In order to do that I needed to create my foundation with the 4 ELEMENTS of culture.

VISION, MISSION, VALUES and PATH.

First, I needed to design the VISION of the brand; something I could share with the team and the clients. This was a piece of cake! I had been dreaming of this vision for quite some time: A luxury salon that cultivates confidence and love, while producing high quality results.

Second, I needed to create our MISSION, what would my company stand for?: To change the way salon’s operate. Where all stylists are equal and trained to produce high quality work. Where clients are able to relax in luxury and feel like they are VIP.

Third, I needed to create the VALUES for which my company would operate on; the bible of my brand:

– Passion: Success only happens with passion

– Team Work: As a team we can achieve more

– Quality: Provide a higher level of experience and always pushing ourselves to grow

– Creativity: A place where you can truly let your inner artist free

– Happiness: To ensure everyone inside our space is glowing

– Intention: Vision, action, and accountability

– Energy: Positivity

I want to leave you with 6 ways I keep a strong culture inside my company: (1) Lead by example! (2) Be Transparent with your team about success, failures, challenges and changes. (3) Prioritize your team’s well-being; make sure they’re living a balanced life. (4) Acknowledge the value of your team and reward them for their good work. (5) Embrace feedback; gracefully give and be open to receiving. (6) Support the growth of your team; guide and support them in their goals.