“Style and Grace” is now available from Lorna. She grew up with ideas, but things weren’t looking too good for her a couple of years ago on Tacoma’s Martin Luther King Jr Way, but with all the new high rises in almost every block in what used to be K Street and its surroundings, more things are possible.
Lorna learned her hair tricks when she was just a young teenager looking for the right look for young women who wanted more. She pretty much had that one look, but now she has Bob, Bantu Knots, Locs, Braids, Pixie, Afro, Twists, and African American Shorts and was looking for new twists and innovations. If you name it, you can have it done by Lorna.
Lorna’s only difficulty was losing income, not to other hair stylist shops, but to her own experts. She was growing tired of finding potential stylists, training them in all her secrets and then having them sell what they had learned to set up their own businesses for those who couldn’t afford Lorna’s best. The former clients would pay for the work and get an almost-as-good-look for what they saved.
Lorna needed a way to keep her trained crew. What she finally did was hire snoops. Each evening, she sent several drivers out to check on each former Lorna Stylist over time during the afternoon and evenings. She also kept track of all the oils in tubes and bottles. Soon there were fewer people working for Lorna, but Lorna was showing a profit.
She began giving small bonuses to the girls whose clients returned and asked for the same stylist again and again. She encouraged them to develop new elements to added to the hairstyles, in addition to paying her crew incrementally more as the shop got busier. Lorna encouraged the hairdressers to look for innovations and new twists themselves as well as look for other innovations on the horizon. Lorna’s instinct to start stocking the latest young women’s magazines for the stylists and clients added to the sheik atmosphere. She started bringing in the accessories that women wanted.
Other young women noticed the more polished and interesting looks being produced by Lorna and the crew, and the shops’ clients developed loyalty for the best service, and the smartest looks.
Soon people were coming from all around the area, from Lakewood to Puyallup, Spanaway to the military bases, with Tacoma in-between. Lorna was prospering and happy doing it. Her stylists learned how to do the new systems, were better paid than elsewhere and had loyal clients. They stayed with her and they all prospered. Soon, Lorna was looking for ways to expand the number of shops for the convenience of the customers and the future careers of her stylists. Lorna was now an “enterprise!”
