Ask Lorraine Lillis to describe the salon culture at Salon 2000, the Florida salon she has owned for 15 years, and she can sum it up in two words: “teamwork and intention.”

There’s a sense of camaraderie that Lillis has worked hard to cultivate—she has even evolved her own role to keep the culture thriving and team strong.

About eight years ago, Lillis hired a manager who changed her business for the better.

“I was trying to work behind the chair, run the front desk and do everything else at the same time,” she says. “When she came in, I needed help. And from the moment she started, we really saw ourselves grow.”

Lillis no longer had to go back and forth between roles, and could put her focus on her employees. She stopped working behind the chair and doesn’t have to worry about day-to-day management issues, so her time is spent as a motivator.

“I’m all about the contests and awareness,” she says. Her motivational role complements the other leadership roles in the salon as well—three coaches and the salon manager.

It helps that Lillis has embraced working with her Millennial stylists, too.

“It took me a while to understand that mentality, but my manager helped me and we have a good little thing going here.”

Lillis also accredits the strength of her team to attending many Aveda classes and conferences as well as Serious Business, where she is always learning and growing. “I go to everything,” she says.

Team Players

To ensure her team of positive stylists stays intact, Salon 2000 interviewees spend time shadowing in the salon before they’re hired.

“The candidate can get a feel for the personality of each employee, and current stylists can see if the candidate will fit in,” she says. “We’ve had some people come in to shadow and we know within five minutes they aren’t the right fit.”

But for those who do join the Salon 2000 team, the training process has just begun.

“We have a studio floor where new stylists go for a 90-day training program,” Lillis says. “Twice a week for four to five hours, they study cutting and color.”

After spending a couple weeks getting a feel for the pace of the business, trainees start working their way through the three levels they need to pass to get onto the main floor: entry level, second tier and third tier. At each level, stylists are also trained to hone their retail skills.

“We start them at a reasonable pace with retail,” Lillis says. “We don’t want to set the bar so high that they give up, so we make it very achievable. Often, they become over achievers because they get so involved and are not intimidated.”

Within a year, stylists are typically on the main floor, and that’s where their growth really takes off.

“When they start with us, everyone has a defined path of growth with benchmarks, Lillis says. “There are never any questions—it’s blueprinted for them.”

Also included in the blueprint is the salon’s team-focused culture.

Pricing is structured in tiers at the salon with lower prices on the studio floor, where new stylists work, and higher prices on the main floor.

“Sometimes our more advanced stylists have a client going through a financial problem, and they can’t afford their regular services anymore,” Lillis says.

When this happens, the senior stylist recommends the client to someone on the studio floor. And when circumstances change, the client comes back to the original stylist. Lillis says she often sees clients go back and forth, and they feel comfortable doing so with their stylist’s support.

The salon team also comes together in community service projects. They are very involved with a local children’s home, where they take care of the children and the house parents who work there. They also support the local river, and recently raised $10,000 to help keep it clean.

To incentivize her employees during fundraisers, Lillis puts up a chart to track who gets the most people to donate to the project. This year’s winner is receiving an all-expenses-paid trip to Congress.

Perks and Benefits

Lillis is well aware there are plenty of other Aveda salons in the area that may woo new stylists, but she feels confident she is offering something unique. In addition to the extensive education new stylists receive, she offers benefits, too.

“We have health care, paid vacation and this year, added a 401k plan,” she says. “We also offer a new perk: Stylists who have $100,000 in services and $25,000 in retail receive an extra day of paid vacation for every year they achieve this.”

Lillis goes over all these benefits before a stylist is hired and then encourages them to visit other Aveda salons.

Client Raves

When a client comes into Salon 2000, she’ll be greeted by a front desk staffer, given a robe, offered a beverage and taken to her stylist—every time.

After a thorough consultation, the client then receives a stress-relieving treatment.

“The stylists tells her, ‘we’re not going to talk, we’re going to destress you,’” Lillis says. “The stylist closes her eyes, too, and gives a scalp and/or neck/shoulder massage, depending on whether it’s a color or cut.”

At the shampoo bowl, clients get a shampoo, treatment, hot towel and hand massage. It’s no wonder Salon 2000 clients rave.

“We do hear about a great haircut, but the majority of our client compliments go beyond technical ability,” Lillis says. “They can’t get over the attention and service they receive.”

She adds, “We’re all about the points of difference for every guest, every time. We do a refresher on each other so we can feel what we are doing for our guests. We want these extras not to be something stylists feel they have to do, but rather something they want to do for their guests.”