We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Sady Ly a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Sady, thanks for joining us today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

“I am creating the life of my dreams” written across the main wall of our Brooklyn Park location, one of two beauty schools we own and operate.

Our mission is to provide those in our community with the opportunity to live out their dreams. Often times, this is the opportunity for underserved community members to gain education in a highly lucrative trade- to gain financial freedom and or the ability to schedule and live their life on their own terms.

We are a minority owned; women led beauty institute. Our student success rate is high due to the intensity and rigor at which we teach. We aim for student success and want our students to leave with the ability and intention to build their own empires.

As women who have worked in the cosmetology industry for over 20+ years, we understand the adversity many women face in terms of entrepreneurship, and business ownership. Living difficult lives, we can empathize with having to live life on life’s terms- making this version of freedom that much more meaningful.

Sady, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Petra V Pro:
Meet the founders, Maryna and Regina Vong.
“PETRA” a shared middle name meaning “stone, rock” symbolizes strength, a namesake given to both daughters by their mother. “V” standing alone, a tribute to their maiden last name Vong. Both women with long-standing relationships within the beauty industry found themselves owning their own beauty school. While Regina was away on vacation in Thailand, Petra V Pro was started. She found herself in a rougher area of Thailand, and parked outside of this two story building was a Lamborghini, which is maybe three times more than what it would cost here in the States. Being that both sisters were first-generation and their parents ran successful small businesses through the early 90’s, Regina with her entrepreneurial spirit was curious. What did these people do for a living? After touring the area she found out it was a school, owned by two sisters. When sharing about her adventure with her sister, they realized this was a unique opportunity. A sign, if you will. They should open a school of their own-here in their home state of Minnesota.
They didn’t decide this out of the blue. Maryna had been doing nails at this point for over the years. In those years, she herself, a small business owner, loved to share her trade with family and friends. To help those around her to gain financial independence. She trained many people to work in her own salon, and was thrilled to watch them grow to own their own shops in the metro. Regina, one of the first to offer individual lash extensions in the early 2000’s here in Minnesota, too loved to help educate others about the services she provided and why they were so different from what other people were providing at the time. An early pioneer. She cultivated her own curriculum, and taught multiple classes before lash extensions later became a regulated service in 2017. With their passion in education, and their love for community building they collectively believed it would be a great business to begin.
Their path to owning a beauty school was not easy. Being successful business owners of multiple endeavors- this was far more particular, far more difficult for a series of reasons. Maryna and Regina would find themselves in many MN State Board of Cosmetology meetings- they had to contest laws, demo buildings, change locations- they jumped through many hoops to make Petra V Pro possible. Along with this, their funding was limited. Many schools have large investors, a large team to build the basis of a cosmetology school. Being that Petra V Pro was self funded, makes us so much more passionate about our business and genuinely care for the success of the students that leave us. We are committed to watching our students continue to grow beyond their time here at Petra V Pro.
Community building was also another thing we are passionate about. Their father, incarcerated in federal prison for over a decade, was the reason why they were so passionate to come home and help educate others, giving others the skill set to be their own boss and gain financial freedom- we say it all the time “education is the one thing others can not take away from you”, something my great-grandmother, Regina and Maryna’s grandmother preaches constantly. Because of the nature of their fathers time in prison and understanding the difficulty of those reentering the workforce, they jumped through more hoops to become the first cosmetology school to be WIOA Grant Approved- offers those who have been federally incarcerated, facing adversity, receiving unemployment benefits and or are suffering from the misfortune of being dislocated from work- an opportunity to become a business owner by teaching a skill set in which you can obtain a six figure salary and have your own business hours which not only gives you financial freedom but also the freedom to build your own schedule. WIOA grants are county funded programs which can help cover tuition for those in need and or fit any of the listed criteria.

Meet Maryna:
Maryna Vong, Founder/Nail Instructor
Maryna has been in the cosmetology industry for over twenty years.
Learning how to do nails was a way to make ends meet for the then teen mom, who was originally working multiple jobs while pregnant. One of the benefits of doing nails is you no longer cap your income. She learned young-that working for hourly pay was not going to benefit her in the same way that doing nails would. She first learned how to do nails in luxury, high-end salon settings. She then moved cross country to work with her sister in-law, where the environment was a total 180. She had to pivot and needed to adapt to make it in the cut throat, faster pace environment. Returning back to Minnesota with the intended goal of buying a salon she opened “The Nail Shop” in St. Paul, Minnesota. She encouraged many of her family and friends to get their license-gave them a place to work and helped deepen their understanding of nail technology, which is where her passion for teaching began.

Meet Regina
Founder/School Owner/Eyelash Extension Instructor
Regina, a young entrepreneur that has been in the beauty industry for 18 years.
At the age of 16, she learned makeup application and did makeup as a side hustle to help pay bills. At 18, she was balancing books and managing the family businesses in both the banquet and restaurant setting along with the family diamond business. Her passion for the beauty industry had always been a hobby until a trip to Thailand where she had learned how to do eyelash extensions. This hobby became a skill that she would refine and cultivate into a booming business. Eyelash extensions had not existed in Minnesota at the time and she was one of the first eyelash extension technicians in the state. Due to financial hardships within the family business she continued to work endlessly to help her parents pay their debts with the money she’d collect from doing eyelash extensions. She would offer courses and train students on weekends to help other young entrepreneurs. When eyelash extensions became a regulated service in 2017, she was a pioneer- an advocate for those who did lashes but did not have a cosmetology or esthetician license. Going to many board meetings and advocating for the board to create a way to obtain just an eyelash extension license. By doing so- the board would come to decide on offering a licensed 38 hour eyelash extension course.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

The path to owning a beauty school was not easy. Being successful business owners of multiple endeavors- this was far more particular, far more difficult for a series of reasons. Maryna and Regina would find themselves in many MN State Board of Cosmetology meetings- they had to contest laws, demo buildings, change locations- they jumped through many hoops to make Petra V Pro possible. Along with this, their funding was limited. Many schools have large investors, a large team to build the basis of a cosmetology school. Being that Petra V Pro was self-funded, makes us so much more passionate about our business and genuinely care for the success of the students that leave us. We are committed to watching our students continue to grow beyond their time here at Petra V Pro.

Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?

Because we are a small family-owned business. we have a level of transparency with our students. Upon entering class, we always joke that each student has been added to our family, and to truly make themselves feel at home. Because it is my mom (Maryna), my aunt (Regina), myself, my mom’s best friend Lan along with Regina and Maryna’s cousin, Laura. We have aunts, uncles, grandparents, siblings in and out of Petra V Pro on the daily, delivering snacks, just in the neighborhood, helping our daily operations- you name it. Every day truly feels like a family get together. The intimacy and closeness of our relationships help foster a home for our students, they feel what we feel, they know we want them to genuinely succeed, and that we celebrate their success when they do. Brand loyalty solely exists because someone can stand behind a brand and what that brand stands for. Our inclusivity, love and passion- are just a few reasons on why we are able to own two of Minnesota’s Five Star Beauty schools.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.petravpro.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/petravpro/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/petravpro/reviews/

Image Credits
Sady Ly