In May 2026, I had the honor of receiving the 2026 Salon Today Data-Driven Vision and Leadership Award at the Salon Today 200 Celebratory Dinner during the Data-Driven Salon Summit in Austin.
The award recognizes salon leaders who successfully combine operational excellence, innovation, business strategy, and people-first leadership to move the beauty industry forward.
While receiving national recognition is deeply meaningful, for me, this award represents something much bigger than performance metrics or business growth.
It reflects the culture we have intentionally built at [salon]718—one rooted in mentorship, inclusivity, education, accountability, and the belief that when people thrive, businesses thrive too.
Because long before awards, growth, or expansion, there was one guiding belief that shaped everything:
People come first.
From a Two-Chair Basement Salon to an Award-Winning Company
When I started [salon]718, it began as a humble two-chair salon operating out of a Brooklyn brownstone basement.
Like many entrepreneurs, I started with vision, grit, and a deep commitment to creating something different.
But as the company grew into a respected multi-location salon brand serving Brooklyn communities, one thing became increasingly clear:
Growth alone is not success. You can build revenue. You can expand locations. You can improve systems.
But if the people inside your business are burned out, unsupported, or disconnected, growth eventually becomes unsustainable.
That realization shaped how we built [salon]718.
In 2016, after graduating from the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Program, I became even more focused on building systems that could support not only business growth, but leadership development and organizational culture.
Later, serving on the Board of Directors for Intercoiffure North America & Canada expanded my perspective even further, reinforcing what I had already begun to believe:
The future of successful businesses will belong to leaders who know how to grow companies without losing their humanity.
The Philosophy That Guides Everything:
Nurture. Grow. Care. Repeat.
Over the years, I’ve learned that leadership is not about control.
It is about creating environments where people feel safe enough to grow, challenged enough to evolve, and supported enough to become leaders themselves.
At [salon]718, we summarize our philosophy in four words:
Nurture. Grow. Care. Repeat.
For us, leadership is a continuous cycle.
We nurture people by believing in them before they fully believe in themselves.
We help them grow by providing education, mentorship, accountability, and opportunity. We care by supporting them through life transitions, personal challenges, career development, and wins—both big and small.
And then we repeat the process.
Because culture is not something you build once.
Culture is something you reinforce every single day.
Culture Is Not Perks—It’s How People Feel
Today, many businesses talk about company culture.
Too often, culture gets reduced to trendy branding, perks, or surface-level benefits.
But real culture is deeper than that.
Culture is how people feel when they walk into a room.
Do they feel respected? Do they feel seen? Do they feel emotionally safe enough to contribute ideas? Do they feel challenged to grow? Do they feel supported enough to take ownership?
At [salon]718, we work intentionally to create an environment where team members can bring their full selves into the workplace while also being held to high standards of professionalism, accountability, creativity, and collaboration.
Because meaningful leadership requires both humanity and structure. People need support. But they also need standards. The strongest cultures make room for both.
Intrapreneurship: Creating Leaders Within the Company
One of the ideas I believe in most strongly is intrapreneurship.
I never wanted our salon culture to be driven by fear, scarcity, or internal competition.
Instead, I wanted to create an environment where every team member could think like a leader, creative, and entrepreneur while growing within the company.
To me, intrapreneurship means helping people develop ownership, confidence, and leadership skills without feeling like success is a zero-sum game.
When people feel supported instead of threatened, they grow differently.
When people feel invested in, they invest back into the business, the clients, and one another.
That shift changes everything. It strengthens retention. It deepens collaboration.
And ultimately, it creates healthier, more sustainable teams.
As a teaching salon and fully texture-inclusive space, we also believe education and inclusivity are essential to leadership. We are committed to ensuring both our team and our clients feel represented, supported, and empowered.
Leadership Means Investing in People Beyond Their Job Title
Some of the initiatives I am most proud of have very little to do with hair. They have everything to do with people. At [salon]718, we believe investing in talent means investing in the whole person.
That includes: Supporting beauty school education and career advancement Offering childcare return stipends for mothers reentering the workforce Creating mentorship opportunities for emerging professionals Building pathways for long-term professional growth
Because people do their best work when they feel supported—not just as employees, but as human beings.
Investing in the Next Generation
One initiative especially close to my heart is our [salon]718 Summer Internship & Camp Program, which recently completed its second successful year.
The program was created to introduce young people to the beauty industry through hands-on learning, creativity, mentorship, professionalism, and leadership development.
Participants gain exposure not only to artistry, but to teamwork, entrepreneurship, communication, and confidence-building.
Because opportunity changes lives. And exposure creates possibility. That same belief led us to launch [718]Cares, our nonprofit initiative dedicated to supporting underserved communities through mentorship, education, wellness, and confidence-building opportunities.
Together, these programs reflect something we believe deeply:
Salons can be more than service businesses.
They can become spaces where confidence is restored, futures are shaped, and communities are strengthened.
Growth Without Humanity Is Empty
As leaders, it becomes easy to chase expansion, efficiency, and achievement.
Those things matter.
But growth without humanity eventually loses meaning.
The strongest businesses of the future will understand something essential:
People are not simply employees. They are human beings with dreams, families, struggles, ambitions, and untapped potential.
Leadership is not about having all the answers.
It is about creating environments where people can evolve into the best versions of themselves.
The Future of Leadership
I believe the future belongs to leaders who can combine:
Accountability with empathy. Performance with purpose. Ambition with humanity. People-first leadership is not soft leadership.
It is intentional leadership. It requires consistency. It requires emotional intelligence. It requires vision.
And most importantly, it requires care. Receiving the 2026 Salon Today Leadership Award is an incredible honor, but for me, it is also a reminder of the responsibility that comes with leadership.
As [salon]718 continues to grow, our mission remains the same:
To build a culture where people feel empowered, supported, educated, and inspired—inside and outside the salon.
Because leadership, at its best, is never just about building a business.
It is about building people.
Interested in leadership consulting, speaking engagements, or conversations about people-first growth in the beauty industry? Connect with Michaella Blissett-Williams on LinkedIn.
