Profile of the Month | Vivian Yeh – A Powerhouse

Many of Houston’s elite are familiar with Josephine’s Day Spa and Salon, which has provided the Bayou City with an array of world-class services for almost 20 years. With 4 locations and over 80 employees, Josephine’s is expanding once again with the launch of its new couture-branded spa in the Galleria area called POSH Aveda Lifestyle Salon.

The business has a garnered a strong following and loyalty with its clients over the years, but few are as familiar with owner Vivian Yeh and her hard-fought journey from start-up to success. She sits down with Lights Camera Action Host Ruchi Mukherjee for our September Profile of the Month.

Why did you start Josephine’s Day Spa & Salon and how many locations you have?

Josephine’s Day Spa & Salon was originally founded by my mother, Josephine Lin. She began her dream of opening a salon and performing services in a 5-chair salon in the Memorial area. I began working alongside my mother and helping with the daily business operations where I started learning more about the industry.

Unfortunately, Josephine passed away in late 2008 due to an unexpected illness. This shocked her friends, family, and employees but I knew my mother would want her dream to live on, and that’s exactly what happened.

The staff continued to grow, and the same cultures and beliefs Josephine and I shared continued to shine on in the salon. The salon expanded to a second location in Pearland, TX and a third in the Rice Village area. Today, the salons have a total of 82 employees, 33 salon chairs, 8 treatment rooms, and 8 nail stations.

After 19 years of the Josephine’s brand, I have decided to embark on a new journey and introduce a new brand of salon, POSH. POSH is a couture brand of Josephine’s and is now open in the Galleria area.

Why are your salons different from others?

The Josephine’s salons are different for many reasons. The salons are non-gratuity in order to ensure the most relaxing experience possible, and the locations are all Aveda-branded and have a friendly, welcoming culture that you are sure to feel when visiting. Business hours are made to fit the flexibility of all our guests, and we are open 7 days a week and from 9am-9pm weekdays.

Josephine’s Day Spa & Salon has also been nominated as one of the Top 200 salons in the nation by Salon Today magazine for the last 5 years straight. This is a true honor and we are always looking for ways to keep up with trends and discover the next big idea.

The POSH location is the first of its brand and is located in the heart of Houston’s Uptown District. This location is also an Aveda-brand salon and provides the more exquisite products and services to Uptown patrons.

All service providers are required to complete a rigorous training program and are coached from our in-salon educators. I also have a strong belief in continuing education—not only in the service we provide, but in every aspect of how we can improve and grow.

The employees at my salons also take part in an annual award dinner, where the top performers are recognized and the team gets together to celebrate. In order to keep growing, we make sure to attend seminars on performance, technique, personal growth, business, and motivation. I am always looking to discover what’s next.

You focus on a lot of charity work. Tell us about that.

I was once asked what my definition of happiness was. I answered: when I am able to give. I am fortunate enough in life to have what I need and I am able to give to those who may need additional support. This thought is one of the reasons I am consistently participating in charity work.

I feel like our community is very important and I love supporting other business and charitable organizations. The salons have also grown to develop a culture around fundraising for charitable causes such as earth month, The Breast Cancer Research Foundation, The Brain Aneurysm Foundation, United Way Foundation, The Children’s Advocate, and local schools. I love helping the community that we are a part of and the support that I have gotten from my team has been tremendous.

What do you like about Houston the most?

The thing I love about Houston is the size of the city. There are many areas expanding from the heart of the Houston area and a lot potential for businesses. As a family business, it is a privilege to have four locations located around the Houston area in order to conveniently cater to a wide range of guests. I also love that I have the leisure of being able to travel to all of my locations frequently in order to maintain a relationship with all locations guests and employees.

Your favorite hot spots?

My favorite hot spot is the BLVD place on Post Oak Boulevard in the Galleria area. I love the upscale shops, boutiques and restaurants that have established and are in progress. The parking is convenient to shoppers and of course, my favorite new addition to the center is the new POSH salon!

Watch the video. Josephine’s Day Spa and Salon recently hosted a fun Young and Fabulous Back to School Fashion Event to benefit Crime Stoppers of Houston in collaboration with Lights Camera Action.