2 Days to a More Inspired (and Trendy) Team
Permission to play: Lux’s twice annual, two-day retreat merges technical training with what’s trending.
Lux Salon owners Wade Zylstra and James Cook are big fans of Serious Business. Every year, they leave the event inspired by motivating speakers and stimulating conversations. A couple of years ago, they began brainstorming ways to bring Serious Business back to their stylists.
“We wondered how we could bring the Serious Business concept back to team on a retreat level,” says Zylstra. “So we began working on the concept of a seasonal trend calendar producing the same results on a monthly basis.”
Inspired by a presentation at Serious Business by Red Chocolate (a color education program), the idea began to take shape.
Last March, Zylstra and Cook kicked off their first Lux retreat at their Fullerton, California salon to inspire their staff. The two-day event is held twice a year, in March and August, to coincide with the release of Aveda’s inspirational collections and the fashion and beauty world’s spring and fall launches.
“We’ve been attending Serious Business for a long time,” says Cook. “We wanted a blend of that on a smaller level, so we brought technical skills and inspirational pieces together for a two-day retreat in the salon.”
Two Days of Inspiration
Zylstra and Cook thoughtfully took the time and effort to custom tailor the retreat to their staff’s needs and their own goals.
They decided to close the salon for two days from 9am-5pm and broke the event down into “Best Self” on day one and “Best Work” on day two. But first, they come up with a theme for each event. In March, the theme was “Dare.” In August, it was “Little Things Make a Big Difference.”
“Day one is a lot of lifestyle inspiration for their best self,” says Zylstra. “We have physical fitness, wellness and nutrition,” he says. And these are just a few of the topics covered.
They look at everything that’s trending for the coming months in fashion and makeup, focusing particularly on Aveda’s collections.
“Then we translate that to finding your best self through inspirational speakers.” In August, 11 speakers including a therapist, an interior designer, a boutique owner, a Crossfit gym owner, a local social blogger and many more, spoke to Lux stylists about the state of business, trends and how they relate.
“We were looking to get each speaker to explain how they do their best work,” says Zylstra. The speakers also provided tangible inspiration. For example, the boutique owner translated the latest Aveda collection with accessories and clothing and brought everyone clutches.
On day two, Lux stylists got hands-on with models.
“On day one, we’ve talked about what’s coming for fall/winter in conjunction with Aveda’s collection,” says Cook. “Weeks before the retreat we put out a model call so all of our stylists have the opportunity to take their consultation to the next level on day two.”
Lux stylists take what they’ve learned and talk to their models about trying a great hair color change, new make-up and completing a whole new look, preparing them to translate trends to clients.
“Stylists can get stuck in a rut of doing the same thing all the time,” says Cook. “We wanted to create a better conversation and have a more highly educated stylist looking out at fashion.”
Zylstra and Cook carefully chose the models for day two and then delegated which stylist would be best suited to each model. Then the salon’s artistic directors worked with three or four stylists at a time to go over consultation and ideas before sending them out to service the models.
At the end of the day, the models fill out a questionnaire, creating a focus group for the salon.
“Our stylists want to hear from guests,” says Zylstra of the focus group. “We asked the models questions like, ‘How important is it for your stylist to teach you how to recreate your look?’ The team loves the feedback.”
Retreat Results
Since starting the Lux retreats, Zylstra and Cook have seen some interesting changes in their staff. Their stylists are more aware of fashion and trends than ever. And they aren’t just implementing these new ideas on their clients.
“We started with one person who had her nails done regularly. Now they all have nails with fresh colors and we’ve seen a lot of jewelry and accessories, too,” says Zylstra. “The retreat inspires them at work and outside of work. It’s interesting to see them interpret current trends.”
Cook says, “The reality is that they are being able to apply this information in their regular, everyday schedule. It’s exciting for them to build themselves up a bit.”
When the owners solicited feedback from the staff on the retreat, the stylists said they felt it was “something for them.”
“Everyone is going to take away something no matter what,” says Zylstra. “Everyone is looking to be a better version of themselves and they look forward to it.”
After the retreats, Cook, who still works on the floor a few days a week, is seeing longer consultations. Clients who’ve done the same thing forever are engaged in totally different conversations with their stylists.
“Often you have young women who are just starting, so they’re still building their confidence,” says Cook. “The retreat offers them an opportunity to practice in building their confidence in addition to ongoing coaching.”
As Zylstra and Cook move forward with future events, they want to continue to receive feedback from stylists and wow their clients.
“One of the main reasons people leave their stylist is because they’re bored,” says Zylstra. “We want to inspire stylists to support change throughout the year and be their best self.”
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So amazingly proud to have started my career with Aveda at this salon, and to have been mentored by Wade and James! You both are an inspiration and have always lived to better your best! Cheers to you both!