During a city beautification event held in a lot behind Advance Beauty College, Garden Grove Mayor Stephanie Klopfenstein described the trade school’s chairman, Tam Nguyễn, as the ultimate connector.
“His middle name should be collaborator,” she told a crowd gathered to mark the first brush strokes of a vibrant mural depicting Vietnamese urban life on the back wall of Nguyễn’s family-run business.
Nguyễn, who organized the June 7 event attended by Orange County Community Foundation (OCCF) CEO Shelley Hoss and California State University, Fullerton Dean Sridhar Sundaram, told the Business Journal that he’s always been a “people person.”
“I love the essence of what I call the three C’s – collaboration, community, connectivity,” he said.
Through the support of his family, Nguyễn said he’s been able to “unleash” his boundless energy into serving on countless local boards over the years including OCCF, Vietnamese American Chamber of Commerce of Orange County (VACOC), Orange County United Way, Orange County Transportation Authority, CSUF Alumni Association, Garden Grove Community Foundation, Genesis for Good Foundation, Southern California Regional Rail Authority (Metrolink) and MemorialCare Orange County Hospitals, among others.
If that’s not enough, he is also a founding board member of Newport Beach-based Genesis Bank.
“I’m so grateful that I have the luxury to serve,” Nguyễn said.
For his work serving the Orange County community, as well as leading one of the nation’s top nail salon training programs, Nguyễn along with five other local Vietnamese American entrepreneurs are being recognized by the Business Journal this week in commemoration of 50 years since the fall of Saigon under the title: “Vietnam’s Loss, Orange County’s Gain.”
The others include Little Saigon real estate developer Frank Jao; Bolsa Row developers Joann Pham and David Nguyễn; MeridianLink co-founder Tim Nguyễn; Kei Concepts CEO and Executive Chef Viet Nguyễn; and Westcliff University CEO Anthony Lee (see stories pages 1, 5, 6, 8 and 9).
A Family Driven by the Entrepreneurial Spirit
Nguyễn’s entrepreneurial instincts are inherited.
His father, Minh Tâm Nguyễn, a former South Vietnamese naval officer, fled Vietnam 50 years ago, escaping the day before the fall of Saigon.
Nguyễn was a 1-year-old when the family first arrived in Walnut, California. His dad was working for a nonprofit social services organization helping to process Vietnamese refugees, while Tam’s mother, Kien, helped support the family as a manicurist. Despite limited English skills and no customer service training, he said his mom was pulling in a good salary.
“Mom was definitely bringing home the bacon,” he said.
His father wanted to capitalize on his wife’s success, so they opened a nail salon in 1977 in Los Angeles County. After moving to Westminster in 1987, they launched the beauty college in Garden Grove.
It not only served as the new family business, but it also provided a lifeline for Vietnamese immigrants looking to transition to jobs in the U.S.
“It’s an incredible story of entrepreneurship,” Nguyễn said of his parents’ immigrant journey.
The school has since trained thousands of students, enabling many of them to secure jobs at top nail salons or open their own businesses.
Medicine to MBA
While attending University of California, Irvine as a pre-med student in the early 1990s, Nguyễn worked in various roles at Advance Beauty College from answering phones to admissions director to the assistant to the president.
“I loved it,” he said.
But his parents had other plans for him.
His sister, Linh, would take over the family business, while he should become a doctor.
So, after graduating from UCI, he went to medical school for four years.
“Upon receiving that MD, I actually cried,” Nguyễn said.
Studying medicine was isolating for a person who thrives on social interaction.
“I was miserable,” he said. “Med school was the loneliest time of my life.”
Eventually he found the courage to let his parents know that he wanted a career pivot. He told them he’d rather join the family business – where he could help hundreds of people build careers in beauty.
“It was a more inspiring path for me,” he said.
His parents reacted to their first-born son with “extreme disappointment,” he said.
“It took me weeks to finally convince my dad to say, ‘You know what, let me have a shot at this. Let me get my MBA. Give me two years,’” he recalled.
MBA Studies: My Happiest Time
Nguyễn enrolled in CSUF’s MBA program, where he thrived.
He forged friendships and began building his Orange County network.
It was the opposite experience of the “cutthroat” world he lived as a medical student.
“MBA school was my happiest time as a student because it’s all about teamwork and collaboration,” he said.
In 1999, his shot finally came when he officially took the reins at Advance Beauty College, succeeding his father as president.
During his 23-year tenure leading the company along with his sister, Linh, who is now the president, the beauty college opened a second location in Laguna Hills and expanded the school’s training curriculum to include cosmetology and esthetician programs. The Laguna Hills academy, now closed, has moved to a hybrid program with virtual theory courses and hands-on classes taken in Garden Grove.
Nguyễn also partnered with Golden West College (GWC) to provide English language training for students after identifying lack of English skills as a gap among graduates.
“They are able to now learn through our partnership with Golden West College the language skills so that they can succeed at a minimum and converse with their customers,” said Nguyễn, who teaches part-time at GWC and CSUF.
Building an Enviable Rolodex
Under Nguyễn’s leadership, the school has also grown far beyond its Vietnamese-speaking roots. Today, 50% of students are Vietnamese (in the early days it was 100%) and the staff reflects speakers of multiple languages including English, Spanish and Chinese.
Nguyễn also cultivated strong ties with national salon brands such as Happy Nails, PROSE, Regal Nails and MiniLuxe — companies that now recruit directly from the college.
“Some fly in from their headquarters, from Boston, Baton Rouge and Phoenix, just to hire our students,” Nguyễn said. “We are considered the top nail salon training program in the nation.”
He said those partnerships wouldn’t have been possible without his extensive network, which he started cultivating 25 years ago when he joined the boards of his first nonprofits — VACOC and the CSUF Alumni Association.
“Those connections have helped my business tremendously in an untold amount,” he said. “I built an incredible Rolodex. I got good mentorship, and I saw people scale their own organizations, companies and businesses.
“I really discovered myself, personally and professionally.”
Hoss, chief executive of the OCCF, described Nguyễn as being “on constant surveillance” — always looking for opportunities to do good in the community.
“He lifts other people up,” Hoss told the Business Journal.
Nguyễn acknowledged that he loves not only connecting people but connecting communities.
“Once I got a taste of that, I never looked back.”