Making it in Germany: Berlin's nail queen

DW (English)

Amelie Hoang built a nail salon empire in Berlin, with the kind of studios she felt were missing. She explains how smart marketing fueled her success, why so many Vietnamese work in the nail business, and how she handles the pressure.

Transcript

00:00My mindset back then was different.

00:03I used to think being successful was about money.

00:07I wanted to earn my first million by the time I was 30.

00:12The glow is back, yes, because I need to feel glowy too.

00:19My name is Amelie, I'm the founder of the Glowy Beauty Bar

00:22and run several beauty salons in Berlin.

00:25I'm passionate about empowering women to become financially independent

00:30and helping them start their own businesses.

00:41That's when I realized, hey, why isn't there a cool nail salon in Berlin?

00:45I mean, there are tons of nail salons everywhere,

00:48but not really one that I'd actually want to go to.

00:51And I never actually thought I'd open one myself.

00:58Other countries were much further ahead of us.

01:01For example, there were these cool salons in London,

01:05or in the US too, where everything was so much nicer

01:08and the atmosphere was much better.

01:10And here in Berlin that just didn't exist.

01:16No one had really focused on it.

01:18So I thought, this could be my first project, let's do it.

01:22Let's do it.

01:23So that's when I started.

01:25Getting a loan was incredibly hard, especially with that kind of bank,

01:33as a student with no credit history or anything.

01:37Getting the loan was a miracle, and so was the landlord giving us the storefront.

01:43It was also a miracle that it was in the Mitter district, an amazing location.

01:50We started marketing right away.

01:55That was nine years ago.

01:57We reached out to up-and-coming influencers.

02:02Then came the first influencer events,

02:05where we started showing people what a visit with us actually feels like.

02:10Vietnamese people have a really strong presence in the nail salon business,

02:21including my own parents, who worked in it for many years.

02:28You have to realize that when Vietnamese people come here,

02:31there are going to be language barriers.

02:34It's hard to get regular jobs, so many people start their own.

02:40Nails is a good option.

02:42It's a learnable trade with low barriers to entry.

02:49Many Vietnamese people work as florists, sell produce or run restaurants.

02:55Jobs with low entry barriers,

02:58where they can still earn despite language challenges.

03:05The most important thing for us is to earn enough money to support our families.

03:10and send the money to Vietnam, or simply to pay off debts.

03:17I also made a conscious decision to hire Vietnamese women here,

03:21because it's really powerful.

03:23Every time I see my employees, I see a little bit of my own mum in them.

03:27And that's why I think it's so important to support my employees,

03:33give them the knowledge, and simply help them to be successful themselves.

03:39One of our employees, she's been with us for two years.

03:46She came here from Vietnam and didn't speak very good German.

03:50She learned everything because I showed her everything, and I'm really proud of that.

03:55This year, she's setting up her own business, and I'm also supporting her.

03:58I've also realised that all the pressure you put on yourself eventually builds up so much that you kind of break down.

04:10And at some point, I asked myself, am I only doing this for my parents, or am I actually doing it for myself?

04:18Or why am I actually doing this?

04:20It's not like you have to do everything on your own.

04:23There's no ceiling.

04:27At one point, I realised my body and mind were just overwhelmed.

04:34It was all just too much.

04:38So this year, work-life balance is my top priority.

04:42I don't have to put so much pressure on myself.

04:46Yes, and I'm really good the way I am.

04:49I've also just learned to praise myself and tell myself, hey, you did a really great job.

04:56My tip to entrepreneurs is dare to start your business, and don't be afraid to ask for help.

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