Within the past several years, Arizona has experienced a surge in growth within businesses. This has mainly been due to the growth in population, specifically in Phoenix , which includes Scottsdale and Tempe. Mylien Tran, a business owner of the salon Happy Feet Nails and Spa in Scottsdale, reflected on what the city did for her in starting the business.
“Scottsdale areas have always been a top choice for us for expansion. It has a reputation within AZ as a top destination for higher spending clientele who value quality nail works,” Tran said.
Scottsdale residents are actively doing their part in supporting local business by aiding in the resources they need to have in order to succeed, especially in times of need. Tran said their business got a lot of help financially during Covid from the city. Scottsdale residents helped the business to stay afloat while we had to close down our shop for a month.
“They got us a business loan and grants to pay our employees and also get sanitization protective equipment such as masks, sanitizers, and station barriers. This helped us to get back to work safely and helped our customers to regain the confidence of coming back to the shop,” Tran said.
The city representative helped Happy Feet Nails and Spa, assisting the business along the way of completing the application for grants and loans during quarantine. Short-term rental did not affect the business and about 10-15% of their customers are "snow birds," meaning customers who come during winter time from colder states.
“We get used to working with the customers here and some have become like our family. We took care of their kids and saw their kids growing up, and even came back to our business during college breaks. Those are the things that keep us staying in Scottsdale,” Tran said.
The city promotes new businesses in a variety of ways, offering a welcoming community from customers and the government.
Tempe, another major city in Phoenix, also allows success in local businesses with the help of students at Arizona State University (ASU), as well as support with finding the right locations to start the business. Colden Nguyen, owner of The Alley in ASU’s campus, started his business in 2023. He also spoke about his experience with opening up a business in the area and how the city helped him.
“The city is very business-friendly, especially where we’re located, being in the center of campus. I chose Tempe because I felt like boba's target demographic is definitely younger people, which was the main reason,” Nguyen said.
The city offered The Alley a slot on the city of Tempe’s advertisement, which helped the business grow. Nguyen said that doing business in Tempe allowed him to appreciate younger people and their energy, which really helped the business’ reputation in the long run.
Tran and Nguyen both emphasized how each city allowed for their businesses to grow and succeed through the help of resources they were given, as well as events and the growth in population in Tempe and Scottsdale.