Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
"Are ALL nail salons operated by Vietnamese these days"? My entire life & I'm not in my 20s anymore, I've ONLY ALWAYS seen Asian-run nail salons. The ONLY exception I see are (maybe Black) nail technicians working w/i another ethnicity-run hair salon. I don't think I've ever seen a White, Mexican, or Indian nail technician in my entire life.
I wonder this too.
Your geographic exposure may be limited.
Last edited by elnina; 09-13-2020 at 11:57 AM..
Reason: Added ]
I've wondered that myself, how they took over this niche. I started going to a (Vietnamese) nail salon outside Philly when everyone started getting acrylic nails. Moved to CA -- Vietnamese also. Moved to the Jersey shore -- same. Now I'm in Florida -- not sure if they're Vietnamese or from somewhere else in Asia. I really don't go anymore because I stopped getting acrylics years ago. But the thing I do wonder about is: The original group of Asian/Vietnamese owners/workers are now 20-25 years older, but there are always still young/new workers who mostly don't speak English either. So are they still immigrating in? And I'm not asking this for racist reasons, I was just curious.
Perhaps now those are house wifes making extra money, students, HS dropouts, people without any education or other skills, (a nail salon beats flipping hamburgers, or being a hotel housekeeper..).
In fact, where I live, I don't see many (any?) Asian kids in American fast food joints.
They tend to work in Asian run/owned places. They are networking.
I see a LOT of Asian people working in flea market type places. They are selling cheap replicas made in Asia.
Perhaps now those are house wifes making extra money, students, HS dropouts, people without any education or other skills, (a nail salon beats flipping hamburgers, or being a hotel housekeeper..).
In fact, where I live, I don't see many (any?) Asian kids in American fast food joints.
They tend to work in Asian run/owned places. They are networking.
I see a LOT of Asian people working in flea market type places. They are selling cheap replicas made in Asia.
That would make sense but they don't seem to be second-generation Vietnamese because they don't speak English. (I have seen a few, but very few, of the young Vietnamese workers speak perfect English and act just like the other silly American teenagers, so those I believe are second-generation who grew up here.) So these others seem too young to have been part of the Vietnamese war evacuation, but maybe they are coming in through family reunification. I really wish I could talk to them about their lives in Vietnam and how they ended up here but in most cases, the language barrier is too difficult.
They make most of their revenue off of repeat business. Many of them work for established salons to build a client base and tell their customers where they will be working next. It's very hard to make money off of walk-in's unless you have a prime downtown location with a lot of tourist or business travel traffic. The owner gets a 30 percent cut of the stated fee for the service, while the contractor keeps the rest including the tip.
Family can pool money together to buy a storefront. The goal is for the business to be unencumbered by loans after 10 years.
I've wondered that myself, how they took over this niche. I started going to a (Vietnamese) nail salon outside Philly when everyone started getting acrylic nails. Moved to CA -- Vietnamese also. Moved to the Jersey shore -- same. Now I'm in Florida -- not sure if they're Vietnamese or from somewhere else in Asia. I really don't go anymore because I stopped getting acrylics years ago. But the thing I do wonder about is: The original group of Asian/Vietnamese owners/workers are now 20-25 years older, but there are always still young/new workers who mostly don't speak English either. So are they still immigrating in? And I'm not asking this for racist reasons, I was just curious.
Closer to 40 years older actually. And yes as further immigrants came in while the American born and/or raised children graduated universities and left the running of the family business to cousins who got out of a liberating Vietnam after the initial panic and into the 90s and later when diplomatic relationships between the US and Vietnam were restored..
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
