Modesty Labbe, Endless Summer Tanning & Wellness

She may have only opened her salon in 2012, but Modesty Labbe is no stranger to business. After many years managing a veterinary hospital, she’s brought her business savvy to the industry and is already enjoying success. Modesty prides herself on following the beat of her own drummer, which has allowed her to escape the confines of more corporate environments. Now that she has a business of her own, she loves making people feel like valued participants in her business.

Q: What makes your salon stand out among competitors?

A: Scout, our little mascot! We have a dog at the salon, and he is trained as a therapy dog. Everyone loves to cuddle up with him. Sometimes customers will pop by just to visit with Scout! We have so many pictures of people just lying on the couch with him – I’m serious when I say he has a following! Because he’s a service dog, we have to keep him up to date on his training, but clients were very upset when they came in and the dog wasn’t there. He is a very important part of our salon.

Q: How do you keep your employees motivated?

A: So far, the team is so excited to help lift this place up. We don’t rely on commissions to motivate people into high pressure sales because that’s not what’s good for the client; our employees are happy that they can relax and talk about options without ulterior motives. We also include the team members in our plans for the business and take their input seriously.

One of the employees recently mentioned that we have unlimited memberships for tanning but not for the spa services in our salon. She was so right! Now we do unlimited monthly memberships on the hydro massage and hydration station. We implemented it, and it’s a great example of how our employees pay attention to what customers need. Now we have this awesome option for customers to keep supporting us even if they don’t tan.