Polished Nail Salon owner Charlie Nguyen works on a customer's nails Jan. 19, 2013. Nguyen was giving the customer a french manicure. Julia Nagy/The State News
After Charlie Nguyen lost his job at General Motors Corp., or GM, he found the cure for his unemployment — manicures and pedicures.
Nguyen, who worked for GM for 30 years, was asked to take an early retirement. Work was hard to come by in the passing months and his children’s college funds were dwindling, so Nguyen began nail technician classes with his wife.
The pair opened Polished Nail Salon, 2515 Jolly Road, in Lansing, about three years ago.
“(I love) to meet the people, and (they) became more than just a client — We became friends,” Nguyen said. “I love it to death.”
Nguyen and his wife worked at other salons before opening their own and weren’t unhappy with the fast-service mentality, so they opened their own place to ensure quality over quantity.
“At the first it was very scary,” Nguyen said. “We almost couldn’t make it, but we struggled through and survived.”
For Nguyen, the salon isn’t just a business.
“It’s the people who came in and became our regulars and became our friends,” Nguyen said.
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