Vietnamese immigrant prospers the American way -- fixing cars
By John Quinlan, Journal staff writer | Posted: Sunday, October 02, 2005
Vina Auto Repair owner Thao Phan, right, and employee Walter Chavez look for information under the hood of a customer's car so Phan can order a part for the repair. (Staff photo by Jerry Mennenga)
Thao Phan is living the American dream.
The rags-to-riches story of this Vietnamese immigrant, an unskilled fugitive from a Communist country who found a fortune, sort of, as owner of an auto repair shop in Sioux City, would make him a poster boy for that dream.
He has his own home, his own business, a solid credit history, money in the bank and the all-American debt that goes with it. And the kind of success that he hopes will enable him to bring more family members to America from his homeland in the near future. He hopes to bring 20 people in all, starting with sponsorship of his younger brother and sister and their spouses and children who will be here soon, possibly next year, he hopes. As an American citizen since 1994, Phan earned the right to sponsor them. And now he has the net worth to get the job done.
His business is Vina Auto Repair at 618 Sioux St., just off the same West Seventh Street that has been a commercial home to Sioux City's immigrant population for more than 100 years. The name itself, Vina, is a popular abbreviation of Vietnam. Phan also owns three other buildings on the block (two abutting Seventh); and as the landlord, he collects rent from the eating establishments one associates with the polyglot nature of the neighborhood: Cafe Thuan and Shaker's, the home of homemade Louisiana and Indian food. His neighbors on the block, appropriately, are Linh Video and Bida Tran. The fourth building is available for lease.
Goes from meat cutting to computers
Trying to get ahead and support a family as a meat cutter at IBP (now Tyson), Phan was doing well enough to buy a home; but facing burnout and in constant pain from the repetitive nature of his work, he decided to quit IBP and pursue another career by learning the computer business at Western Iowa Tech Community College.
"So I have to quit from Tyson, and yet, I have to go to learn something to make my life better. First I go to learn computer, but all my fingers very pained," he said. "So I could not make very good type."
Hoping to avoid the high cost of auto repairs that were making it tough to keep his own car running properly, he looked into WIT's auto repair program, fell in love with auto mechanics and decided to make a career of it.
In 1998, he graduated from WIT's auto repair program. But he had trouble finding a job because the city's auto shops had so few vacancies, a problem also vexing his friends and fellow grads.
About one year later, he happened to spot a "For Rent" sign in front of a struggling shop on Sioux Street, and he jumped at the opportunity.
"I go up and I rent it," he said. "But after work here, I see that I love it and I believe I will get successful because I do the job from my heart. I do the best and I will treat my customer like my friend. So that is the reason why I must be successful. Yeah, I am very confident about it."
And rightly so. Starting with one employee to help do the heavy work required and his hands-on work experience from WIT, he saw the business grow from a few customers to its present customer base of about 1,000 souls.
"I have a lot of regular customers -- Vietnamese, Cambodian, Laotian, American, Hispanic people, Indian, black people," he said. "Everybody come in here."
The American way
Taking ownership of the property back in 1999 wasn't easy, however. The owner wanted to sell it and the three other buildings that came as part of a package deal, but Phan didn't have $40,000 for a down payment. He said he couldn't go to the bank because he didn't have the two-year income history the bank required for a loan.
So he did what a lot of Americans do -- many to their peril -- he got the $40,000 in cash from his credit cards. Fortunately, he had a good credit history from his nine years of work at IBP/Tyson and from buying a home on the west side.
"I learn the way Americans do. So I try to build my credit," he said. "So I buy a TV with a down payment. So from the TV with down payment, I have some credit. After that, after six months working at IBP, I can buy my house."
Soon after that, he was able to secure another loan to pay off the credit card debt. And the bank opened its doors to him. He was on his way. The rent from his other buildings pretty much takes care of the debt payments, which had grown in those first few years due to the high starting cost of the special equipment needed for a full auto diagnostic and repair business. But his net worth has grown as well. And he now has two full-time employees and two additional work bays.
Phan figures he still owes the bank about $110,000. But he puts the value of his house and business at about $600,000, leaving him about half a million dollars that's all his, more than enough to start bringing his family from Vietnam to the good life of Iowa.
In the beginning
That's where his story began, 51 years ago in Vietnam, the Southeast Asian country torn by war long before Thao Phan was born. In 1972, he was a high school student in South Vietnam when he felt obligated to join the army and its U.S. allies to fight the Communists from North Vietnam.
The war ended in 1975 when the Americans left and Saigon fell to the North Vietnamese. Life then became "very difficult" for the soldiers of South Vietnam who were left behind.
"A lot of people have to go to the camp for what they call 're-education.' A lot of people like me after the war go to prison. But I am lucky because I am a warrant officer, so they still think small," he said, meaning he was just small potatoes to the victors.
The re-education camp was bad enough. Phan and thousands of other Vietnamese were sent to such camps to work as farmers, jobs for which they were not trained on land that could not accommodate their numbers. "We get just enough food to eat, most likely rice to eat," he said.
Phan missed the freedom that he had experienced before 1975. So he knew he couldn't stay. His homeland had become a prison. The opportunity for escape came in 1987 on a small boat that took him to Cambodia and eventually to asylum camps in Thailand and the Philippines. Two years later, in 1989, he was admitted to the United States.
Since 1975, about two million people emigrated from Vietnam. About half wound up in the United States.
Phan had learned English as a schoolboy in Vietnam, but it was English grammar and writing, with little opportunity to speak the language. Then he moved to Texas where they speak English unlike that Phan had ever experienced. "The people in Texas talk English very difficult," he said. Learning became even more difficult. He never mastered the y'all.
After six months in Texas, the frustrated, penniless refugee got the break he needed -- a job offer from IBP inc. in South Sioux City, thanks to a friend he knew who was already working there. So he moved to Iowa, learned the Midwestern brand of English through the English as Second Language program in the public schools, and started saving the money he earned at IBP.
He and his wife, Hoa Lam, bought a house, and in 1993, their daughter, Susan, was born. She is now a student at West Middle School; and as is the tradition in many Asian-American immigrant families, American-born Susan is among the talented and gifted members of her class, her proud father said.
Phan's parents still live in Vietnam, but he doubts that he will be seeing them anytime soon. He can't afford to shut down his business to take a trip home. He said it wouldn't be fair to his customers, and he can't afford the lost income -- or the lost customers if they go elsewhere in his absence. He will need every penny to bring his family members to Sioux City.
"I have to work to pay off the loans, and at the same time, I have to support my family," he said, referring to his own small American family.
Learn, learn, learn, learn
What's the secret to his success?
No secret at all, Phan said. Just education and a lot of hard work.
"Western Iowa Tech -- that was very good place to start because I don't know nothing about car before," he said.
The hands-on experience at WIT gave him the foundation for later success in the real world.
"Every day we can see many different things, strange things," he said. "New things go on every day. So we need to learn, learn, learn, learn every day."
And the learning never stops. There's new technology every year, and he has to learn it.
As an independent dealer, Phan said he had to familiarize himself with every kind of automobile, from Acuras to Volvos. "But you know, I feel very confident, and I feel very, very good when we look at newer car and we figure out something go wrong," he said.
He also enjoys the satisfaction of a job well done. And to see that it happens, he has all the latest automotive diagnostics technology available on his office computer. He may not have gone into computer programming at WIT, but he picked up enough computer knowledge to make Vina Auto competitive.
"Right here and right now, I will say that my shop is one of the best shops in town," he said, attributing his success to two factors: good work and a good price.
Part of the reason is the low price he offers, low enough that his customers can afford it but not so low that he can't make enough of a profit to make a living. It's a delicate balancing act, he admits.
Recently, a second computer was added to his office -- a computer with a database for a second business venture. As an IRS-certified income tax consultant, Phan this year began helping other people with their income tax filing, working with customers across the country. His computer shopware enables him to help people with their taxes in 40-some states. Soon, an Income Tax Service sign will go up on his building next to Vina Auto.
Some people may think Phan is trying to do way too much. To him, it's just a way of staying ahead of the game. After all, what will his brother and sister and the rest of the family have to do when they get here from Vietnam? A growing income tax service business might be just the place for them to find some honest work, he said -- if they don't want to learn the auto repair business.
John Quinlan can be reached at (712) 293-4225 or at johnquinlan@siouxcityjournal.com
The rags-to-riches story of this Vietnamese immigrant, an unskilled fugitive from a Communist country who found a fortune, sort of, as owner of an auto repair shop in Sioux City, would make him a poster boy for that dream.
He has his own home, his own business, a solid credit history, money in the bank and the all-American debt that goes with it. And the kind of success that he hopes will enable him to bring more family members to America from his homeland in the near future. He hopes to bring 20 people in all, starting with sponsorship of his younger brother and sister and their spouses and children who will be here soon, possibly next year, he hopes. As an American citizen since 1994, Phan earned the right to sponsor them. And now he has the net worth to get the job done.
His business is Vina Auto Repair at 618 Sioux St., just off the same West Seventh Street that has been a commercial home to Sioux City's immigrant population for more than 100 years. The name itself, Vina, is a popular abbreviation of Vietnam. Phan also owns three other buildings on the block (two abutting Seventh); and as the landlord, he collects rent from the eating establishments one associates with the polyglot nature of the neighborhood: Cafe Thuan and Shaker's, the home of homemade Louisiana and Indian food. His neighbors on the block, appropriately, are Linh Video and Bida Tran. The fourth building is available for lease.
Goes from meat cutting to computers
Trying to get ahead and support a family as a meat cutter at IBP (now Tyson), Phan was doing well enough to buy a home; but facing burnout and in constant pain from the repetitive nature of his work, he decided to quit IBP and pursue another career by learning the computer business at Western Iowa Tech Community College.
"So I have to quit from Tyson, and yet, I have to go to learn something to make my life better. First I go to learn computer, but all my fingers very pained," he said. "So I could not make very good type."
Hoping to avoid the high cost of auto repairs that were making it tough to keep his own car running properly, he looked into WIT's auto repair program, fell in love with auto mechanics and decided to make a career of it.
In 1998, he graduated from WIT's auto repair program. But he had trouble finding a job because the city's auto shops had so few vacancies, a problem also vexing his friends and fellow grads.
About one year later, he happened to spot a "For Rent" sign in front of a struggling shop on Sioux Street, and he jumped at the opportunity.
"I go up and I rent it," he said. "But after work here, I see that I love it and I believe I will get successful because I do the job from my heart. I do the best and I will treat my customer like my friend. So that is the reason why I must be successful. Yeah, I am very confident about it."
And rightly so. Starting with one employee to help do the heavy work required and his hands-on work experience from WIT, he saw the business grow from a few customers to its present customer base of about 1,000 souls.
"I have a lot of regular customers -- Vietnamese, Cambodian, Laotian, American, Hispanic people, Indian, black people," he said. "Everybody come in here."
The American way
Taking ownership of the property back in 1999 wasn't easy, however. The owner wanted to sell it and the three other buildings that came as part of a package deal, but Phan didn't have $40,000 for a down payment. He said he couldn't go to the bank because he didn't have the two-year income history the bank required for a loan.
So he did what a lot of Americans do -- many to their peril -- he got the $40,000 in cash from his credit cards. Fortunately, he had a good credit history from his nine years of work at IBP/Tyson and from buying a home on the west side.
"I learn the way Americans do. So I try to build my credit," he said. "So I buy a TV with a down payment. So from the TV with down payment, I have some credit. After that, after six months working at IBP, I can buy my house."
Soon after that, he was able to secure another loan to pay off the credit card debt. And the bank opened its doors to him. He was on his way. The rent from his other buildings pretty much takes care of the debt payments, which had grown in those first few years due to the high starting cost of the special equipment needed for a full auto diagnostic and repair business. But his net worth has grown as well. And he now has two full-time employees and two additional work bays.
Phan figures he still owes the bank about $110,000. But he puts the value of his house and business at about $600,000, leaving him about half a million dollars that's all his, more than enough to start bringing his family from Vietnam to the good life of Iowa.
In the beginning
That's where his story began, 51 years ago in Vietnam, the Southeast Asian country torn by war long before Thao Phan was born. In 1972, he was a high school student in South Vietnam when he felt obligated to join the army and its U.S. allies to fight the Communists from North Vietnam.
The war ended in 1975 when the Americans left and Saigon fell to the North Vietnamese. Life then became "very difficult" for the soldiers of South Vietnam who were left behind.
"A lot of people have to go to the camp for what they call 're-education.' A lot of people like me after the war go to prison. But I am lucky because I am a warrant officer, so they still think small," he said, meaning he was just small potatoes to the victors.
The re-education camp was bad enough. Phan and thousands of other Vietnamese were sent to such camps to work as farmers, jobs for which they were not trained on land that could not accommodate their numbers. "We get just enough food to eat, most likely rice to eat," he said.
Phan missed the freedom that he had experienced before 1975. So he knew he couldn't stay. His homeland had become a prison. The opportunity for escape came in 1987 on a small boat that took him to Cambodia and eventually to asylum camps in Thailand and the Philippines. Two years later, in 1989, he was admitted to the United States.
Since 1975, about two million people emigrated from Vietnam. About half wound up in the United States.
Phan had learned English as a schoolboy in Vietnam, but it was English grammar and writing, with little opportunity to speak the language. Then he moved to Texas where they speak English unlike that Phan had ever experienced. "The people in Texas talk English very difficult," he said. Learning became even more difficult. He never mastered the y'all.
After six months in Texas, the frustrated, penniless refugee got the break he needed -- a job offer from IBP inc. in South Sioux City, thanks to a friend he knew who was already working there. So he moved to Iowa, learned the Midwestern brand of English through the English as Second Language program in the public schools, and started saving the money he earned at IBP.
He and his wife, Hoa Lam, bought a house, and in 1993, their daughter, Susan, was born. She is now a student at West Middle School; and as is the tradition in many Asian-American immigrant families, American-born Susan is among the talented and gifted members of her class, her proud father said.
Phan's parents still live in Vietnam, but he doubts that he will be seeing them anytime soon. He can't afford to shut down his business to take a trip home. He said it wouldn't be fair to his customers, and he can't afford the lost income -- or the lost customers if they go elsewhere in his absence. He will need every penny to bring his family members to Sioux City.
"I have to work to pay off the loans, and at the same time, I have to support my family," he said, referring to his own small American family.
Learn, learn, learn, learn
What's the secret to his success?
No secret at all, Phan said. Just education and a lot of hard work.
"Western Iowa Tech -- that was very good place to start because I don't know nothing about car before," he said.
The hands-on experience at WIT gave him the foundation for later success in the real world.
"Every day we can see many different things, strange things," he said. "New things go on every day. So we need to learn, learn, learn, learn every day."
And the learning never stops. There's new technology every year, and he has to learn it.
As an independent dealer, Phan said he had to familiarize himself with every kind of automobile, from Acuras to Volvos. "But you know, I feel very confident, and I feel very, very good when we look at newer car and we figure out something go wrong," he said.
He also enjoys the satisfaction of a job well done. And to see that it happens, he has all the latest automotive diagnostics technology available on his office computer. He may not have gone into computer programming at WIT, but he picked up enough computer knowledge to make Vina Auto competitive.
"Right here and right now, I will say that my shop is one of the best shops in town," he said, attributing his success to two factors: good work and a good price.
Part of the reason is the low price he offers, low enough that his customers can afford it but not so low that he can't make enough of a profit to make a living. It's a delicate balancing act, he admits.
Recently, a second computer was added to his office -- a computer with a database for a second business venture. As an IRS-certified income tax consultant, Phan this year began helping other people with their income tax filing, working with customers across the country. His computer shopware enables him to help people with their taxes in 40-some states. Soon, an Income Tax Service sign will go up on his building next to Vina Auto.
Some people may think Phan is trying to do way too much. To him, it's just a way of staying ahead of the game. After all, what will his brother and sister and the rest of the family have to do when they get here from Vietnam? A growing income tax service business might be just the place for them to find some honest work, he said -- if they don't want to learn the auto repair business.
John Quinlan can be reached at (712) 293-4225 or at johnquinlan@siouxcityjournal.com
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