MENU
SEARCHLike most salon owners, Gayle Fulbright and David Linde, who head up Headlines The Salon in Encinitas, California are always looking for new ways to grow their numbers.While attending Serious Business 2016, they were impressed by one of the ...
At Headlines The Salon, Culture Guardians meet with their assigned team members regularly to encourage each other on their goals and work on ideas to improve the salon’s culture.
Like most salon owners, Gayle Fulbright and David Linde, who head up Headlines The Salon in Encinitas, California are always looking for new ways to grow their numbers.
While attending Serious Business 2016, they were impressed by one of the speakers, Van Council, co-owner of Van Michael Salons headquartered in Atlanta. They were particularly interested in how Council could possibly stay in close contact with his massive team at his salons, even knowing them on a personal level. Council had shared that one of his values was to create ‘Guardians of the Culture,’ and how these key team members help keep culture alive every day. With that in mind, Fulbright and Linde came home and started thinking, “How can we touch base, get to know team members better, and strengthen culture within our team of 40+ employees?”
The owners came up with charging some of their stylists with the mission of becoming Culture Ambassadors, and they hand-selected these ambassadors based on their leadership qualities, their demonstrated belief in the salon’s vision and their own strong numbers. “For each one, their task and goals were to lead and listen to the six team members that were assigned to them,” Fulbright says. “The six members were chosen based on their service-to-retail numbers, as well as their personalities, and how well they would interact with the others on their respective team.”
Each team was given a $200 budget to use at their discretion. They could use the money to facilitate their team meetings, as a reward in their own contests or decide to donate it to a cause, which one of the teams did by giving their $200 to a charity the salon was doing a fundraiser with for that month.
David Linde and Gayle Fulbright, owners of Headlines the Salon in Encinitas, California.
The teams meet at least once a month, outside of work, to talk about how they could contribute to improving the Headlines culture. By getting to know one another better, they were able to create ways to support their team and set goals for themselves, as well as the salon.
During monthly huddles at the salon, the owners give the employees time to break out into their culture teams to answer a specific question that is posed to them. They get to work on it with their team and then share their findings later in the huddle. “Last month the topic was, ‘listening to our guests and coming up with better scripting for the consultation,’” Linde says. “We came away with so many new, fresh ideas that we revamped our consultation forms!”
“We already are witnessing how this is giving everyone a stronger voice and ownership of the Headlines culture,” Fulbright says. “We also see how it brings them closer together, especially the ones who may not work together on the same days. When they aren’t meeting, they use the GroupMe app to keep in close communication with each other.”
While setting and accomplishing goals for the teams is important, Fulbright and Linde are quick to add that’s not what it’s all about. “They also have a lot of fun getting together outside of the salon,” Linde adds. “The ambassadors have set up meetings at local restaurants, on beaches and in the parks, which is nice for stylists who have babies and young children.”
Last month, the owners decided to challenge the teams and set a goal for improving their retail numbers. The winning group got a day at La Costa Spa, complete with services and lunch. “The competition for this was insane!” Fulbright says.
“In the future, we want to have the culture branch off and do some fun things like photo shoots, fund-raisers and fashion show,” Fulbright says. “The more they support our culture, the more they are aware that it’s about communicating with each other, praising each other and as Van would say ‘Be guardians of the culture!’ We are so fortunate to have such a great team of individuals that find their culture so valuable they are willing to work on it consistently.”
After moving to Colorado and teaching at a cosmetology school, Allison Stock joined Zandi K as a stylist, eventually becoming part of the Leadership Team, Education Team and Master Bridal Team. Today, as Director of Operation, Stock is Owner Nicki Wenz's right hand, managing human resources and operations, education and career development, and coaching and culture.
The company's Concealed Bead Method is raising the bar for what professional extension education can deliver.
Scott maximized her micro-salon by transitioning from stylist to strategic owner, focusing on recruiting and station-sharing. By prioritizing her ownership role over behind-the-chair work, she grew her team to six stylists within the two-chair, 150-square-foot space before eventually moving to a larger facility.
The former CFO of Perdue Farms and owner of Hardy Seafood, Terry Owens delivers a wealth of wisdom and strategies for entrepreneurs in his new book, "Business is Simple."
After scaling her single-location salon business, SALON TODAY 200 Honoree Amy Pal recently sold her six-location Whip Salon for seven figures. Using the six Ps for maximizing a business's value, she's ready to help her peers do the same.
Buried inside the One Big Beautiful Bill Act are federal solar tax credit changes that deserve your attention now. Two of the credits that matter most to commercial property owners, the Investment Tax Credit and the Production Tax Credit, are still available, but only if you move fast. A third, the Commercial Building Energy Efficiency Deduction, has a hard termination date that is closer than most people realize.
Up to 40% of hair stylists ghost the salon interview stage, leaving owners trapped playing endless phone tag with uncommitted applicants. This data-driven report breaks down why traditional job boards create recruitment friction and reveals the modern messaging strategies high-growth salons use to get pre-qualified talent to actually show up. Learn how to transition from cold calling to high-conversion conversations that protect your time and fill your chairs.
Sponsored by Beautista
Spit fests, hostile threats, and even an overachieving matchmaker--SALON TODAY readers share their craziest client tales and how their team handled these tough situations with professionalism and grace.
Keeping your appointment book full when clients are in vacation mode takes more than a good Instagram post. It takes a plan. The 2026 Summer Marketing Calendar from Meevo gives salon, spa & med spa owners a month-by-month roadmap with sharp themes, key opportunity dates, and campaign ideas specifically designed for the beauty & wellness industry. Here’s to your summer season working as hard as you do!
Sponsored by Millennium Systems International
AI is transforming the beauty and wellness industry, and the future is about empowering people, not replacing them. Discover how Phorest AI helps salons, spas, and med spas across North America respond faster, personalize every visit, and keep human connection at the heart of the client experience.
Sponsored by Phorest
Owner Michaella Blissett-Williams credits her General Manager Gloria Hortua with [salon] 718's year-over-year, double-digit growth and says she's been able to scale the company to eight locations because she can rely on Hortua to manage daily operations.
Shine Time: Aluram’s High Shine Line Delivers Moisture and Shine with Clean Ingredients
Sponsored by Aluram
Elyse Rogers is an uplifting presence at The Headroom who makes the team feel heard even in stressful situations. Owner Danielle Cherewyk sings her praises in this installment of Meet the Manager.
Despite a slight and predictable decline in client traffic for Q1, resilient pricing power is driving year-over-year revenue growth in salons. The KIM Report's Alain Audet reviews the data and what it's telling us about the state of professional beauty.
Same-store revenue grew just 2% for the second straight year—and new guest visits declined across every segment of the industry. The 2026 Benchmark Report reveals where growth is actually happening, which verticals are pulling ahead, and what the data says about where your business stands right now.
Sponsored by Zenoti
Hair restoration is entering a new era driven by regenerative science. This paper explores how Exosome technology is transforming treatment outcomes by targeting hair loss at a cellular level. Discover why EXOGROW is leading this shift.
Sponsored by Dermapenworld
A salon brand is much more than a logo. In this thought-provoking blog, Leon Alexander, Ph.D., walks you through the difference. SALON TODAY suggests sharing this article with your team and leading a discussion at your next huddle, asking the team to define your business's brand.
