2. Education

Education—both a training program and advanced classes—plays a big role at Van Michael salons.

“We have a strict, two-year training program,” Council says. “And we train, train, train—it takes 10,000 hours to master something.”

Five of the Van Michael locations have New Talent salons within, allowing clients to come in at a lower price point and stylists to build their books under the prestigious Van Michael name.

“Then when the stylist moves up into one of the regular salons, the client follows,” Council says.

Van Michael’s Monday classes are an “essential part” of their culture.

Council also advocates specialization for his stylists. They are all required to choose whether they will be a cutter or colorist so their proficiency is visible in their chosen department.

“It’s the highest commitment to quality you can have,” he says.

Perhaps just as important as the technical training is a more informal part of the Van Michael education program: mentoring.

“We are careful how we match up our mentors and stylists,” Council says. “We also have classes on how to be a great mentor.”

New stylists benefit from having someone more seasoned to seek advice from and the more experienced team member hones their skills by teaching and mentoring.

But the biggest winner is the salon’s culture, which is continually communicated to all new stylists through mentors, management and teammates.

3. Creativity

“This is the fun part,” Council says.

And Van Michael stylists have a lot of fun. The salon participates in many fashion shows as well as the North American Hairstyling Awards (NAHA). In addition to other creative awards, Van Michael stylists have received the coveted NAHA Hairdresser of the Year award four times.

Van Michael stylists are also regularly featured in national trade and consumer magazines, and the salon has a long list of celebrity clients.

The artistic outlets and recognition also keep stylists fresh and engaged in their regular clientele.

4. Competition

Recently, stylists at Van Michael salons have been encouraged to get competitive every day through the app, ZeeZor. ZeeZor gives stylists access to their stats all day long—prebooking, client tickets, retail, etc. They can compare their numbers to co-workers and even compete against their own numbers from the previous day.

“It creates in-the-moment competition,” Council says of the app.

While stylists are working to build their books and increase revenue, Council and his management team are coaching, observing and motivating—keeping competition friendly, but thriving.

“I also take the top 15 producers to dinner every year,” he says. “I have 35 hairdressers who brought in more than $200,000 each last year and they get very competitive.”

The Van Michael culture isn’t just clear to employees. Clients are also aware they’re getting more than just a hair cut or color when they book a service at one of the salons.

“We use a service wheel and create value,” Council says. “You have to become a great performer and give more in value than you take in payment.”

And at Van Michael, Council has created an “incubator of greatness” that his employees live in and clients keep coming back to for superb service.