Contagious Why Things Catch On

The Birds
, was drawn to the
refugees’ plight and would visit Hope Village every few days. Hedren wanted to help, so she became
a mentor to some of the women. Former business owners, teachers, and government officials in
Vietnam, these industrious women were eager to get to work. Hedren was enchanted by their stories
of Vietnam. They, in turn, noticed something about her: her beautiful nails.
The women admired Hedren’s glossy light pink fingernails, so she brought her manicurist in once a
week to give them lessons. How to trim cuticles, wrap nails, and remove calluses. The women were
quick studies and practiced on Hedren, themselves, and anyone they could get their hands on.
Soon a plan was hatched. Hedren got the women free classes at a nearby beauty school. They
learned how to file, paint, and trim. Then Hedren asked around and helped Le and the other women
find jobs in Santa Monica and surrounding cities.
It was tough at first. Manicures were not yet the rage and there was lots of competition. But Le and
the other women passed their licensing exams and started doing business. They worked hard, labored
long hours, and took the jobs no one else wanted. The women were diligent and kept at it. They made
money and worked their way up.
Seeing Le’s success, a few of her friends decided to get into the business. They opened one of the
first beauty salons owned by Vietnamese Americans and encouraged others to do the same.
The success stories soon spread. The thousands of Vietnamese who came to the United States
looking for new possibilities heard what others were doing, and they listened. Vietnamese nail salons
started opening up all around Sacramento. Then through the rest of California. Then the entire country.
These twenty women started the trend, but soon it had a life of its own.
Today, 80 percent of manicurists in California are Vietnamese Americans. Nationwide the number
is greater than 40 percent.
Vietnamese nail salons became contagious.
—————
The story of Thuan, Tippi, and the spread of Vietnamese nail salons is pretty amazing. But even
more surprising is the fact that it’s not unique.
Other immigrant groups have cornered similar niches. Estimates suggest that Cambodian
Americans own approximately 80 percent of the doughnut shops in Los Angeles, and that Koreans
own 65 percent of the dry cleaners in New York City. In the 1850s, 60 percent of the liquor stores in

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Boston were run by Irishmen. In the early 1900s, Jews produced 85 percent of men’s clothes. The list
goes on.
When you think about it, these stories make a lot of sense. People move to a new country and start
looking for work. But while the immigrants may have had various skilled jobs previously, their
options in the new country are often limited. There is a language barrier, it’s tough to transfer
previous certifications or qualifications, and they don’t have as many contacts as they had back home.
So immigrants look to their friends and acquaintances for help.
And as with the rest of the products and ideas we’ve talked about throughout the book, social
influence and word of mouth kick in. The topic of employment is frequent among new immigrants
looking for work (Triggers). So they look to see what jobs other recent immigrants have taken
(Public) and talk to them about the best opportunities. These more established immigrants want to
look good (Social Currency) and help others (Practical Value) so they tell exciting (Emotion)
narratives (Stories) about others they know who have been successful.
Soon these new immigrants follow their peers and pursue the same line of work.
—————
The story of Vietnamese manicurists, and immigrants’ choice of occupations more generally,
highlights a number of points we’ve discussed throughout the book.
First, any product, idea, or behavior can be contagious. We’ve talked about blenders (