Meet The Owner – Evergreen Beauty College

Editor’s note: MyEverettNews.com is working to introduce our readers to more independent business owners here in Everett, Washington. We want to highlight their businesses, tell their stories and invite you to shop locally and help move Everett forward. If you know of a business we should feature, send us a suggestion via email: news@myeverettnews.com. Leland Dart – Publisher
 

Joe Trieu at the entrance to Evergreen Beauty College in Everett.

A student mixes color under an inspirational quote from Mama Thi.

As you walk into Evergreen Beauty College on Everett Mall Way in south Everett, Washington you’ll see this on the wall, credited to Joe Trieu, President of Evergreen Beauty College.

In another area of the school on the wall of a different room – “We are here to help people create the type of life they want and can be proud of” – Ms. Theresa Tran.

On another wall, “We are here to build our lives through our students’ lives.” – Mama Thi Trieu, Founder.

Last week I had a chance to speak with Joe Trieu, President of Evergreen Beauty College, a true family business in every sense of the phrase.

Joe related to me the story of how his mother, a refugee from Vietnam came to the U.S. in 1975 after being rescued at sea. She met her husband in a refugee camp. He opened a janitorial business, together they cleaned buildings, then she went to beauty school and opened a one-chair salon, then another larger salon. In 1996, with a desire to teach, she bought a small beauty school. The same school just a few years prior she had been cleaning.

In 2002 Mama Thi and her husband moved Evergreen Beauty College into a former Future Shop building on Everett Mall Way. Over the years the school expanded from 5000 square feet to 13,000 square feet within the building. Evergreen has also expanded beyond Everett and there are now six campuses with Everett still the largest.

In 2007 Joe’s father passed away and he took over as President, but it truly is a family business with four siblings and a sister-in-law all active in the operation (in addition to Mama Thi). It’s also a hands-on effort with the family members visiting and interacting with the staff and students at the various campus locations.

“Our goal is that our students see this as a career of choice not a career of default,” Joe explained. “We know that beauty changes lives and our students want to change people’s lives and what is so great is our students lives are also being changed at the same time.”

“This just isn’t a place where people come to get a discount on having their hair done,” Joe continued. “Business leaders and owners come here, community members, people who want to make a difference and a lot of them go on to become our students’ customers as they graduate and open their own businesses and that is great, we want our students to build their clientele while they are here in school.”

The Pandemic was very impactful on Evergreen Beauty College. “I still have sleepless nights from the Pandemic,” Joe said. “We had to pivot and learned to teach our business online but we didn’t lay any people off.” Classes now are 20 hours on site and 10 hours online. “We learned a lot about who we are and to give freedom and flexibility for students and also to our employees who are going through life stuff more than ever.”

If you’re interested in being a student or being a customer you can learn more about Evergreen Beauty College on their website. The phone number for admissions in Everett is (425) 336-5120 and for the salon and spa, (425) 423-9186.