Neil Ducoff from Salon Strategies judged the Global Salon Business Awards at UCLA's Anderson School of Business.

Here are some of the standout business practices Ducoff noticed in the entries to which they gave perfect score:

• Leaders are engaged, passionate, demanding and committed to finishing what they start.
• Profitability is a planned outcome. They work with and live their cash-flow plans.
• They have systems and procedures for everything. Nothing is left to chance.
• They have functional organization charts and clearly defined areas of accountability.
• Operations manuals are used for reference and to ensure quality.
• They have dynamic team cultures with little turnover.
• Growth paths are clearly defined for employees.
• Pay systems base compensation on overall performance, not just sales. Team-bonus plans are tied to revenue goals.
• They invest in their growth and expansion.
• Branding and marketing are professionally executed and consistent.
• Client initiatives are aggressive to drive new business, client retention, up-selling and retail sales.
• Training for skill development and customer interaction is organized and aggressive.
• They put their employees first. They celebrate team. They reward team.