NEWCOMER STORIES

Tony Van: An Entrepreneurial Story

A photo of a group of nine people some sitting and some standing behind with decorated Christmas trees around them.
Tony Van pictured centre row, left.

If you are looking for VIP service, check out VIP Nails in Belleville! This salon, known for its friendly staff and professional work is owned by Tony Van, a Canadian Citizen, and native of Vietnam. Tony has made Canada home for over 33 years. 

Tony is a true entrepreneur. He graduated from Marketing at Toronto’s Sheridan College in 1996. While visiting family in Florida after his graduation, family members trained him to work on nails so that he could have a job to pay off student loans. He stayed for a year and was able to get a nail technician license in the USA. Knowing that he wanted to open a nail salon in Canada, he used his skills to do research and advertise – but he didn’t see many nail salons in Canada at that time. He was starting to think that a nail salon business in Canada wouldn’t take off, so he did even more extensive research by traveling to other countries like Hong Kong and his home country, Vietnam. Unfortunately, Tony noticed that nail salons didn’t seem to be a profitable business anywhere he looked, so he put aside the idea of the salon at that time. 

When Tony came back to Canada, he had the opportunity to work for his aunt’s nail salon in Belleville. During that time, he got married in Vietnam and brought his wife to Canada. They welcomed a daughter soon after.  Tony and his wife worked in his aunt’s salon and in other salons in Toronto until his aunt asked the couple if they wanted to buy the business. They hesitated at first with worries about business prospects. Tony knew they had to come up with a good plan to better the business. When his aunt decided to help her brother get a permit to work in Canada, Tony knew it was a good sign that more family was coming to help. 

In June 2017 they decided to take over the business. With his marketing background, Tony had the family do a lot of advertising on social media, extensive business card distribution and flyers distribution on cars and in stores. Clientele started to grow, and now, in 2023, business is booming.

Tony’s best advice for newcomers wanting to start a business is to know what you’re interested in, find your strengths, and do the research. Lastly, have enough capital to back it up.

For his customers, he wants them to know that VIP Nails is focused on quality, upgrading skills and techniques and satisfying customers. He says,”…we pride ourselves on speciality design especially for younger generations.”

In the future, the family is planning to expand and modernize the size and style of the business as well as offer more services such as facials, eyelashes, and a minibar!  

VIP Nails is located at 366 N Front St, Belleville. Visit their Facebook page or Instagram.

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Quinte West is located on the Bay of Quinte at the mouth of the Trent River, serving as the gateway to the Trent-Severn Waterway which connects Georgian Bay to Lake Ontario. Boating, fishing and other watersport activities are very popular here. This community has a mix of urban and rural living, with an abundance of opportunities to get outdoors and active in the parks and green spaces.