Winn Claybaugh is testament to just how far positivity can take a person.
Claybaugh is dean, co-founder and chief operating officer of South Jordan-based Von Curtis Inc. and a California native who moved to Utah in 1982 to open a beauty salon — despite the fact that he had never been a hairdresser or attended any type of college.
However, Claybaugh was full of ideas about how such a business should be run. And as he interviewed potential employees for his salon, he concluded that existing beauty schools should be doing their jobs better.
Two decades later, Claybaugh, whose company now does business as Paul Mitchell The School, presides over nearly 100 U.S. cosmetology schools with more than 10,000 enrolled students. He also is author of "Be Nice (Or Else!)," a self-help book that outlines the culture and philosophy practiced by the schools, and a sought-after motivational speaker.
Just a year after opening his salon, Claybaugh opened the first Von Curtis Academy in Provo. He spent the next 15 years developing an innovative and profitable business model that quickly became a standard in its industry.
Claybaugh's company was pursued by several major players in the beauty industry, and in 2000, he joined forces with John Paul Mitchell Systems, maker of popular Paul Mitchell products. The Von Curtis academies became Paul Mitchell schools, which have since become the largest cosmetology school franchise in the United States.
Rather than merely teaching students the things they must know to be effective cosmetologists, Claybaugh's franchise schools emphasize students' success in every aspect of life. The company's "Culture of Praise" reinforces the things students do right, and the schools also have special standards of professionalism, a code of conduct and student-run motivational and achievement programs.
Claybaugh has ambitious plans to develop more Paul Mitchell schools not just in the U.S., but internationally. He also is opening a chain of salons, Lunatic Fringe, that will allow graduates of his schools to work in the same type of positive, professional environment during their cosmetology careers.