Have you ever wondered why Asian entrepreneurs dominate the US nail salon industry? š¤ Discover the reasons behind this trend and the secrets to their success! #nailsalon #AsianBusinessOwners #USsalonindustry
Why are US nail salons mostly run by Asians?
– Cultural Influence: Asian communities have a strong tradition of nail care and beauty.
– Skill and Expertise: Asian nail technicians are known for their precision and creativity.
– Entrepreneurial Spirit: Many Asian immigrants start nail salons as a way to achieve the American Dream.
– Customer Loyalty: Asian-owned salons often focus on providing high-quality service and building lasting relationships with clients.
What sets Asian-owned nail salons apart?
– Attention to Detail: Asian nail technicians pay close attention to every customer’s needs.
– Trendsetting Techniques: Asian salons often introduce new styles and nail art trends.
– Community Connection: Asian-owned salons create a welcoming and inclusive environment for all clients.
– Business Savvy: Asian entrepreneurs leverage their cultural background to connect with a diverse clientele.
Next time you visit a nail salon, consider the hard work and passion that goes into creating a unique and inviting experience! š #nailcare #businesssuccess #asianentrepreneurs
Tippi Hedren. She basically introduced immigrants from Vietnam to the business to help them get on their feet, and they took to it like fish to water
Some places are really difficult to immigrate from. So by necessity of the people that do that type of immigration are very ambitious. But they also tend to lack the connections and formal education to make it in the corporate world. This result is a lot of immigrant from South and East Asia starting small businesses.
If you’re new to the country, you gravitate to people who speak your language, who will most likely be originally from the same country. They are successful in nails, so they get you into nails. You eventually get successful in nails, so when your relatives come over, you introduce them to nails, and so on and so forth.
The money is wild. I was a manager at my parents nail salon. One tech could bring home 1600 a week. And min 1200 on a bad week. Commision was wild even without tips. This was in a lower income area of the city.
Fairly low cost to start-up and not much of a language barrier or education barrier
Tippi Hedren is the starting answer
I dated a Vietnamese girl for a while and her family owned a string of nail salons. I asked her the same general question and her reply was that it was a relatively low overhead business and it was relatively easy to train new people on the job. The families always have more member that are interested in coming over to work. Once they learn the trade, they move and open up their own shop and continue the cycle.
Tipi hedren
https://www.npr.org/2019/05/19/724452398/how-vietnamese-americans-took-over-the-nails-business-a-documentary
In Germany it’s mostly Vietnamese people operating them. I asked my Vietnamese tattoo artist and he said it’s quite a cheap business to open yourself and that Vietnamese people are very good at this type of job.
Vietnamese.
Thanks for the question. Not only are US nail salons run by Vietnamese but most donut stores in California are run by Cambodians.
The OG is Ted Ngoy who started a donut shop in Southern California and then helped family and friends start their own. Watch “The Donut King” documentary. It’s a fascinating story and explains why donuts are sold in pink boxes.
Same in the UK and Spain!
https://www.naileditdoc.com/
This documentary is what you’re looking for, a great watch!
I need to watch that doc everyone is recāing.
Anyway, indentured servitude plays into some salons
https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/10/nyregion/at-nail-salons-in-nyc-manicurists-are-underpaid-and-unprotected.html?unlocked_article_code=1.o00.Mvzs.T-UGsuONHqMn&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare&sgrp=c-cb
I’m from Germany and I noticed this too. I think I’ve never seen a non-asian person working in nail salons.
Asian run salon near me in Dublin is the best I have ever been to
same with AAMP
Apparently there’s a whole documentary about this:
https://www.npr.org/2019/05/19/724452398/how-vietnamese-americans-took-over-the-nails-business-a-documentary
Itās not just the US. German nail salons are also run by Asians, I suppose because itās work that does not require good language skills.
You nailed it!
Nothing compared to the ones in Asian countries.
Nail salons, dry cleaners, and donut shops. If the donut shop owner isn’t an asian couple, usually older, then it’s no good. All the best donut shops are local asian couples making them.
There’s a Documentary that hora over this called Nailled It.
Talla about Tippi Hendrance being humanitarian that helped refugees find a job in this business.
Sorta like Cambodians running donut shopsā¦.
Same reason many donut shop owners are Cambodian. First immigrant came over and trained other immigrants how to do it. The Donut King documentary goes into this, very interesting to watch.
My partner says itās because they do the best. āVietnamese do the bestā she says.
They are in Australia, also!
> Another quick google search would show that in the US, approximately 50% of nail salons are owned by Vietnamese. And in New York specifically there is a Korean prevalence.
Serious question: how is “approximately 50%” supporting the original statement of “almost always”?
Immigrants gravitate to businesses that have low barrier to entry and good profit margins. Nail salons fit that requirement, and the skill level necessary to work isn’t high.
Same reason a lot of Indian people own gas stations around here. Decent business to buy into and, once the path is paved, their peers can see a good way in. Applied economics.
Same reason most gas stations and hotels are run by Indians and middle eastern people. Someone comes here, has success with it, then tells their friends and family back home about it and they come here to replicate it.
Most places in the US will not hire immigrants due to either education not transferring and also English not being the first language, getting a job is quite difficult, as well as prejudice.
This is why Asians have to start businesses as a community, whether itās nails, dry cleaning, restaurants, motels etcā¦.
There’s a documentary about this called Nailed It.
You can read the NPR article about it [here](https://www.npr.org/2019/05/19/724452398/how-vietnamese-americans-took-over-the-nails-business-a-documentary)
“In 1975, Tippi Hedren was doing humanitarian work. She was running a program for 20 Vietnamese refugee women to resettle them in the U.S. They admired her nails, the care that she took, and she got the idea to get her personal manicurist, Dusty Coots, to come to the refugee camp in Northern California and teach these women how to do a manicure as it would be done in Beverly Hills. And they’re really the first manicuring licenses out there in the world, because before that time, women always got licensed for both hair and nails.”
The actress Tippi Hedron had a large part in this. During the 70ās, she was doing humanitarian work with Vietnamese immigrants. They needed a way to make a steady income so she arranged for her manicurist to come to the refugee camp and teach them how manicures were being done in the Beverly Hills area. They took this training and started offering the same services in lower cost areas and the trend took off
(Not Asian here but)
The simple answer.
Itās a low overhead business that you can make work really well if you have family workers. Like you still pay them alright, but rules for working at a family business are Different.
And I canāt stress this enough.
āWhite folksā Just donāt want to do a lot of jobs that involve likeā¦ bodily functions. I have a few friends in college that work at a nail place and are fine with the work. But a lot of other kids who are not asian are just grossed out by parts of the work and donāt want to do it.
Gujus have motels, Punjabis do trucking. Most Indian own stores. Punjabis also do trucking in India too. Itās the area of expertise that the community has
The answer is successful families. To my understanding a family or group would help sponsor a person in essence,they send them over with enough funds to get started , then in return they sponsor folks from the same family or group with a job in the store and usually help with accomodations, after getting their feet under them they start their own store or send money back for another family to come and then the cycle begins again. To my understanding this has been so successful in America with some business or areas you can link to a particular city or state of another country to that. I think I’ve seen or heard of a lot of donut shops, hotels, restaurants, and like you mentioned nail salons where one group of folks dominate it.
It’s the same reason a lot of asians run laundromats or fast food restaurants.
A long time ago, not that long but probably before you were born, a lot of people came to America seeking that American dream. Only to struggle finding a job due to bold faced racism, so they made their own jobs. Now it’s just the path of least resistance because they already built the infrastructure to support each other.
You might be wondering why don’t more people start there own business if it’s so easy. Well the answer is simple. Because immigrants are just better people. Can you imagine the courage needed to leave everything behind and go to a foreign land the intelligence needed to learn a whole new language. Then compare those people to the guy who never left his home town and barely even knows his own language. I really just wanted to answer the question to praise immigrants, so thanks for coming to my TED talk.
And assisted living facilities, the small home ones. We talked with the owner and she said they bring over and train the workers and add homes as they grow. Probably similar to nail salons.
Iāve been under the impression that local communities of Vietnamese immigrants/ business owners will pool their money to help someone get started and then that cycle continues as new people arrive, but I am not Vietnamese and cannot speculate on how true this is.
Long story short, family investment. If you moved to another country with about ten people, invested in a spot, and those same people could all work there and bring money strictly back into the familyā¦it makes sense.
Same reason the rub and tug joints are. They cornered the market early.
My theory is that when a group immigrates to America and gets work, they bring everyone else over into the profession now that they have an “in” at the job.
Like, I have a whole family of Italian carpenters, and my husband has a whole family of Filipino nurses.
Correct me if I’m wrong, I’m curious if this holds true for others.
They locked up the industry. They know where the money reside. Black women will pay beaucoup money for nails and even will endure racial abuse. Not me but plenty I know
Just hear to say Iām very thankful for them lol
92% Vietnamese if Iām not mistaken