Vietnamese girl without a college degree, still earns 14.5 billion VND/year

Starting from scratch in a big city.

Jenny Nguyen (29 years old) is a renowned nail artist and the owner of a large nail salon in Los Angeles, USA. Her salon offers a range of services, from manicures to eyelash extensions.

A Vietnamese-American woman earns 14.5 billion VND per year doing manicures (Photo: Andrew Evers).

Using gel polish, top coat, rhinestones, stickers, and other materials, Jenny is able to create intricate cloud scenes or a spring bouquet on someone's fingertip. Each design typically takes 2-3 weeks to complete.

Some of Jenny's celebrity clients include Paris Hilton and Hailey Bieber. Her designs have also been featured in advertising campaigns for companies such as Apple, Converse, and Chanel.

According to tax documents obtained by CNBC, in 2022, her beauty salon earned over $600,000 (approximately 14.5 billion VND). This figure is expected to increase in 2023 as her customer base grows significantly.

Jenny studied education at Hofstra University in New York. However, she dropped out of her final year to work full-time, helping her parents financially support her three younger siblings.

At that time, Jenny's family lived in New York. She first moved to Los Angeles in 2019, seeking a break from the harsh New York winter. Around that time, Jenny became a substitute teacher for a public school district and planned to continue her teaching career in Los Angeles.

"I wasn't making enough money to live on from teaching," Jenny recalled. She knew she wanted to try a new job, in a new field, but didn't know exactly what to do next.

So she decided to try working for herself. Jenny said, "I've always been drawn to business because I like the competition. I prefer working for myself to listening to others tell me what to do."

After the Covid-19 pandemic, Jenny started seeing famous nail artists' manicures on social media. She then wondered, "Why don't I try doing their nails?"

Working until late at night

Jenny didn't take long to perfect her skills. In early 2021, she obtained her online nail technician license after spending approximately $9,000 and a few weeks learning.

At this point, Jenny began advertising her services to clients on Instagram, reaching out to photographers and offering free manicures.

Despite earning a lot of money, Jenny still works late into the night and doesn't take any days off on weekends (Photo: Andrew Evers).

Her designs quickly gained a following on TikTok and Instagram – where social media influencers and celebrity assistants would message her and request appointments.

Jenny said, "Social media and customer referrals have helped me build my customer base."

In January 2022, Jenny opened a nail salon in downtown Los Angeles. She says the salon typically serves around 300 customers per week. Her business currently employs 16 people, including Jenny's husband, Bryan Truong, who co-owns and manages the salon with her.

"Becoming an entrepreneur is very lonely and stressful. But when I started hiring more people, I felt much better and I was able to grow my business faster. So, if you want to go far, you have to go together," Jenny confided.

Jenny shared that she still works late into the night and on weekends to grow her business. Especially during busy weeks, she estimates she works between 80 and 100 hours.

However, Jenny never complained, believing that the long working hours were worthwhile as she pursued a creative job she loved and that paid well.

"Nail art is always fun and brings people joy. I'm so grateful to be doing this job," Jenny said with a smile.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/lao-dong-viec-lam/co-gai-goc-viet-khong-co-bang-dai-hoc-van-kiem-145-ty-dongnam-20240104214015251.htm