Many years ago, a first-time visitor walked into Juut for her appointment. Like any new client, she was given a tour of the salon, had a great guest experience, and then finally, was given a copy of David Wagner’s book “Life as a Daymaker” as part of her new client gift. As she stood at the desk checking out, she began to cry. Brenda Wherry, guest care coordinator, has been at Juut for 10 and a half years and still remembers this client vividly. “She was in a really hard place in her life,” Wherry explains. “She had left an abusive relationship and found herself on the streets. When she came into a little money, she wanted to do something nice for herself so she came to the salon.” The client had expected a simple hair cut, not to receive a five-star service. She told her service provider, “You could never have known my situation. But you treated me like a queen.” Wherry says her first thought was, “We didn’t treat her any different than anyone else. But that service was enough in her situation to turn things around for her.” The client left the salon and read her copy of “Life as a Daymaker” cover to cover. She then checked herself into a facility to get help with alcoholism. “She was a guest for a long time and eventually became a counselor for women in trouble,” Wherry says. So what makes the Juut service so special? “We treat clients like human beings,” Wherry says. “That client wasn’t judged for how she looked when she came in. We treat all clients with the respect and dignity everyone should be treated with,” she says. “And for her to experience that at that time in her life gave her the feeling she was worthy of that respect.” In her current role at Juut, Wherry spends her time creating systems and processes for Juut employees to be Daymakers for guests. “If they’re getting caught up in unnecessary obstacles, we can streamline systems for them,” she says. “They’re learning about our culture and we meet them where they are, which means finding out what’s important to them.” Wherry says everyone comes to the company with different intent, and she wants to find out what that is so she can tailor the job to their needs, whether it be a long-term career or a stopping point so they can go to school. Whether it’s a guest or an employee, for Wherry, the experience at Juut ultimately boils down to the Daymaking culture. “Humanity is beautiful,” she says. “Everybody has a story, and they are all so valid and important. I love the challenge of making someone’s day when they are hell bent that I can’t. “They need to know they are worthy of having a great day, and I want to make a moment that puts space between them and whatever is going on and just give them hope,” she says. Wherry says the focus is on “why” a lot at Juut. “We encourage employees to identify their own ‘why.’ For a while they might borrow Juut’s, but we want them to figure out why they are here, why they chose this career, why they give to people every hour,” she says. “The ‘why’ makes it all so much easier, it keeps you centered. Daymaking is a North Star for me, it keeps me going in the right direction. The ‘why’ becomes our employees’ North Star.