Recently, I’ve been apart of the first APC Fellowship organized by (LACI) or the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator. Their mission states: “LACI is building a more diverse and inclusive ecosystem that integrates women, people of color and other under-represented groups into the cleantech sector.”.
This whole experience gave me a lot more than an introduction to a CNC mill, and 3D printing, so of course I had to write about the experience.
Before I found out about the APC Fellowship I was attending Small Business Expos and Workshops. I was frustrated because I wanted to take my business to the next level, however, I didn’t know where to begin.
I knew that I wanted to get away from being hunched over tapping away on my computer and be around entrepreneurial individuals. As fate would have it, I came across the Technical Bootcamp opportunity and immediately applied. A short time later I was accepted into the Fellowship and got to meet the LACI staff, budding Engineers and other Entrepreneurs.
My first impression was that everyone was at different levels within their careers. Some of the participants still attended University, others recently graduated and some like myself wherein the process of a career change.
The concept of the Technical Bootcamp was to go through courses, which were created by Assist 2 Develop in partnership with Solid Professor. Accompanying the Autodesk Software courses was hands-on training in the Advanced Prototyping Center. * For my final project I created a 3D model of a purse holder engraved with my blog logo.
Class Experience
In addition to the courses, we had a 30-minute mentorship session with a career coach to discuss our immediate and long term career goals. We could discuss what we needed to work on i.e. interview skills, and a resume and or what we were good at i.e. networking, and computer skills.
Apart from that, we had awesome speakers discuss their career experiences using the skills that we were currently learning. Lastly, we created a Slack group where we shared inspirational videos, tech-based meetups, and networking events.
These courses, hands-on training, and mentorship sessions were great because you could learn a lot. Don’t get me wrong it was fast-paced and some days I felt overwhelmed at the amount of information. In the end, I learned to ask questions and adjust my initial product design. * It took over 3 hours between the 3D printing and hot water cleaning to create my purse hook.
As a final stage for the Bootcamp, we could present our projects to the LACI staff, sponsors and mentors. The common theme for the entire Fellowship was building a community, teamwork, and innovation. Overall, I am grateful that I was able to be apart of the two-week technical boot camp and inaugural fellowship. I look forward to the next three months of career coaching and working with business mentors to create my translation mobile application.
Looking for more information on Assist 2 Develop Engineering and Manufacturing training check out their website here.
If you would like more information about the APC Fellowship and the LACI organization check out the APC Fellowship Program webpage.
Questions about the survey, travel or small business related news contact Erica Dozier, Founder at support@koreanconvenience.com
Part of my ongoing effort to keep up to date on events occurring in South Korea, I joined Entrepreneurs In Seoul Facebook group. Tony is another member within the group and he recently launched a new venture Entrepreneur Korea.
I asked if he would be willing to share with Korean Convenience readers about his experiences? The following interview was written by Tony about his experiences owning two businesses in South Korea.
Editor’s note: The following interview has been lightly edited for clarity.
Small Business Interview: Tony Choi, Entrepreneur Korea
1. Can you tell me a little bit about yourself and your background? What made you initially want to come to South Korea?
My name is Tony Choi and I was born in Toronto, Canada. I came to Korea after finishing my undergraduate degree in 2007 and taught English for a year in the Chungnam Province with the EPIK program.
Then I came back to Korea in 2010 and have been in Korea since. I went from teaching at an English hagwon, to working at a Korean company, to teaching in a Public School, to starting my own English Gyosoopso, to starting my own Flowers and Gifts business, to selling my Flowers and Gifts business.
I initially wanted to come to Korea because I wanted to learn more about my roots and understand the perspective of my Korean family members. Also, there was something tugging at my heart to come to Korea and I honestly didn’t know what it was.
2. Can you describe what Hagwons are for the readers who are not familiar with the South Korean school system?
A hagwon is a business that people pay money to attend to either learn a particular set of skills or to enhance their skills to help them get higher scores on a test. The most common example is an English hagwon business.
A lot of students attend an English hagwon to learn English or to improve their overall English ability. Also, there are English hagwons that specialize in helping people past certain tests.
Tony and Brandy At Flower Gift Korea South Korea Business
3. Can you tell me about your business and or businesses?
a. How long were you in business?
IGL English was an English Gyosoopso that my wife and I started in April 2013 and closed in February 2017. A Gyosoopso is pretty much a one-man run English hagwon.
Flower Gift Korea is a gifts and flowers business that I started in April 2016 as a side business while running my English Gyosoopso. We sold the business in September 2018 and it is currently being run by new owners.
b. What service (s) and or product (s) do you offer/manufacture?
IGL English was an English teaching business, and we focused on teaching elementary and middle school students overall English. Flower Gift Korea was a business that mainly sold flowers, but we also sold gift boxes, chocolates, stuffed toys, and a few other products. You can check out the flower Gift Korea website to see what is currently being sold.
c. The process of getting product and or service to customers? (i.e. Mail, Email, or Amazon, etc.)
IGL English: We basically relied on personally handing flyers to parents in front of schools and striking up conversations. Also, it helped that I was a Native English teacher at an elementary school not too far from where we opened up our English Gyosoopso, so most of our first few students attended because their parents heard from a friend or a colleague that I was a good teacher.
Flower Gift Korea: I created an e-commerce website (online shop) on the WordPress blog platform that acted as my homepage. I then worked hard to spread the news about my flower business via my own personal network. And we heavily relied on social networking sites like Facebook and Instagram to make people aware of what we offered.
When I first started Flower Gift Korea, I made a social media post almost every day. Through social media, I was able to draw people to my website and I was also able to close sales on the different sns platforms I was utilizing.
d. What made your business unique?
The only thing that made IGL English unique was that I was a unique teacher. It’s not to say that I’m extra special, but for a small hagwon type businesses like a study room or a Gyosoopso, you are pretty much selling yourself as the product.
However, Flower Gift Korea was very unique because we were the first online English speaking flower service in Korea that had a face to our name. We were present on social media and I made sure people saw t hat there were real people behind the business. That helped build our reputation and many people began to trust us. Also, it helped that I could speak fluent English, so people often felt more comfortable dealing with us than with our competitors.
4. On your business page Hagwonstart.com it states there are 3 main business components. They’re money, law, and marketing can you explain why an entrepreneur needs all three?
In short, you need to know how much things cost and how much money you can make because without any money coming in, you aren’t a business. And though you won’t know all of the laws, you do need to understand that you will legally have to pay taxes and know some major things not to do, because then you will need to pay some hefty fines.
And if you can’t market your product or service, no one will buy it. So in the end, I guess everything about business revolves around money and how much money you have left over after all of your expenses. Also, if you are weak in one aspect, then there’s always the possibility of partnering with someone.
5. How much preparation do you believe an entrepreneur should have before opening a business in South Korea? (i.e. Capital, Investors, Business Visa, and Social Media)
It really depends on what kind of business you want to start. My wife and I started Flower Gift Korea as a side business with less than 3 million won. I just had to pay for a decent server, a good website theme, some floral education, and flowers to make our initial products.
If you are looking to start a restaurant in Seoul, then you may need to have 100-300 million won saved up (or have some investors lined-up). In the end, you need to make sure you have the right Visa, so you should research first on getting the right Visa. There is a new F2-7 visa, which is probably a good Visa to consider for people who don’t have 100 million Won lying around.
And the best time to start a business is now.
You’ll never be fully ready, so my advice is to start with getting the right visa. As you go through the process of getting the right visa, network with as many people as you can, and take action so that you get closer and closer to actually starting your business.
I know people who say they would start a business if they had more money, or if they learned more Korean, or if they didn’t have to do this and that. In the end, this all just means that they are just afraid to get the ball rolling. And being afraid is normal, but my advice is set a timeline and stick to it because you’ll never be fully ready.
If you are working a job and are waiting to start your business, then learn some skills and increase your knowledge. Read up on doing business in Korea, network, and learn Korean.
6. You partnered with Korean business owners to purchase flowers for Flower Gift Korea can you tell me more about that process? Ex: How did you meet and form your business agreements?
Note: I speak somewhat fluent Korean and was able to build relationships with Koreans.
Simple, I built relationships with them over time. I invested money and time to create great relationships with flower merchants. I basically shopped around till I found a flower merchant I thought had great quality flowers and then just kept buying flowers from them.
Over time they knew we meant business, and once we increased our orders, they would give us discounts here and there. Another partner we had, we just went to the area where a bunch of merchants were and found one and just tried them.
Over time they saw we meant business and then slowly gave us better prices. I basically approached people quietly and showed them that I could be a great customer or that I could bring some value to them.
There’s no secret way of finding the best manufactures or suppliers in Korea. If you are just starting out, chances are that you won’t get any great deals or people may even just ignore you since you will most likely be a small fry.
You need to prove yourself in Korea to people and show them that it is worth their while to partner with you. And you will need to approach them or be introduced to them. The new owners of Flower Gift Korea inherited all of our contacts for the business, so they don’t need to go through the whole process of finding partners. But if you have no one to introduce you, then you’ll have to find them and approach them yourself.
So in short, you need to offer something to them. You need to be of value. We actually did not write any agreements or anything like that, so though I had a lot of “partners”, I never had a partner where I shared my profits with. Unless you count my wife. And again, you or one of our partners needs to be fluent in Korean if you are looking to partner with Korean merchants and manufacturers.
7. Who where your target customers? (i.e. South Korea, Abroad or both)
IGL English targeted the parents in the neighborhood since most parents like to send their children to hagwons that are easily accessible.
Flower Gift Korea targeted English speaking people who had a reason to send flowers and gifts to people in Korea. So it was a worldwide market. Flower Gift Korea had a lot of English speaking customers living in Korea and received orders from over 75 different countries.
8. How did you go about marketing your product (s) and or service (s)? What has been your most successful form of marketing?
Our most successful form of marketing is word of mouth. If someone tells someone your business is good, then they will believe it. That is why I focused my efforts on trying to get reviews from as many people possible when first starting Flower Gift Korea.
Flower Shop in Seoul South-Korea
If you are just first starting off and don’t have many reviews, then I think another form of social proof is important. You can just post some really nice photos of your product or service, or provide some really helpful advice. Then it is important to engage the customer and ask them how you can help them.
9. Describe your typical workday?
For IGL English it was different depending on the day. I basically arrived at my Gyosoopso by 2 p.m. or 3 p.m. and then taught till about 9pm-10pm. I taught mostly from Monday-Friday but also taught on Saturdays on certain years.
Once I got to my third year of business, I had very little to prepare since I was usually teaching the exact same curriculum and material as the year prior. If I had six different classes, then I might have done some preparation for one of the classes, but it was very systemized. However, year one was a lot of work.
For Flower Gift Korea, I would wake up in the morning, check the orders, see what flowers need to be bought, buy necessary flowers and supplies, go to our shop to make the flowers and gifts, deliver the gifts for the day, check social media and customer service, and then do some marketing. Honestly, every day was different because the number of orders was never consistent throughout the week. Some days we had just 1 and on super busy days we could have 100 plus. But super busy days weren’t very common.
Now, I will most likely go to a coffee shop to create content based on my experience as an entrepreneur / small businessman in Korea.
10. Where did your organization’s funding/capital come from and how did you go about getting it? How did you obtain investors for your venture?
We never used money from investors. Besides money we had saved up, we did get some business loans through some government programs that no longer exist. For IGL English, we got a 10 million won business line of credit, which we paid off within a year.
And for Flower Gift Korea, we got a 20 million won business loan through a government program when we shifted from online business to brick and mortar shop. My wife went through the process of getting the loan.
If you aren’t Korean, then the loans we got would not be possible for you. We basically had to show how much money we were currently making, how much rent we would be paying, and submit some other financial information. I, unfortunately, cannot go into detail about the whole loan process because I’m not very familiar with it.
11. What are your goals for your company?
I currently do not own a business, but I am currently focusing my efforts on creating helpful content for EntrepreneurKorea.com I’ve always wanted to teach others how to do business in Korea and share my experiences as well. I plan on writing a book or a few on doing business in Korea and life as an entrepreneur in Korea. For now, I will focus on content creation and if anyone wants me to create content on something specific, I welcome the suggestion.
12. What advice would you give to individuals who want to launch a startup in South Korea?
Start small and start right now. If you fail, learn from it and adjust. Don’t be one of those guys that talks about your idea for years and then complain that someone stole your idea and then uses that as an excuse to feel sorry for yourself.
If you are still scared, learn more about doing business in Korea and learn some helpful skills. Learning Korean is a very useful skill to have. Depending on the startup you launch, you may not need Korean, but the ability to use Korean when necessary can only be a benefit.
To learn more about Tony Choi and read additional business advice check out his website Entrepreneur Korea
Written by: Tony Choi
Interviewed by: Erica Dozier
If you plan on opening a business in South Korea check out the Facebook group Entrepreneurs In Seoul.
If you liked this interview check out similar posts:
I read a statistic the other day about iPhone repair shops. The statistics stated that iPhone repair shops owners can charge about $60 to repair your iPhone (sometimes it can be higher) and if you repair 10 phones a week than you can earn $600. If you think about the math, you can make over $2,400 a month without having to pay storefront fees such as a rental lease, lighting bill, maintenance and so on.
A steady income stream is something that you will need either at home or abroad. The great thing about iPhones, Samsung, LG, phones are their uniformity.
I want to explore a little further into another opportunity for opening a business overseas and that’s owning a franchise. A franchise is defined in the Merriam-Webster dictionary as “The right or license granted to an individual or group to market a company’s goods or services in a particular territory.”
We visit franchise stores all the time because it’s representing a larger well-known brand and that brand has built-in integrity and trust with its consumers. While I will admit this is not a complete list of all of the benefits, features, and drawbacks, for any business decision, best practices should always involve speaking with licensed professionals, that and a whole lot of research.
Listed below are the pros and cons of opening each type of business.
Mobile Phone Repair
Pros:
Requires very little startup funding to begin business
Pay for additional parts for phone repairs $100-500
Tool repair kit = $50
Can advertise same day common repairs (replace the screen, battery, camera or charging port)
Cons:
Recurring business comes from word of mouth customers
If you make a mistake customers can lose important data (practice repairs costs money)
Deal with supplier & shipping companies to purchase quality repair parts
Competition with companies who have been in business longer
Cyber Cafe or PC Bang
Pros:
Start off with a smaller number of newer computer units
Fast internet connection needed (South Korea specific)
Small staff (tech and business savvy) – *no gamers*
Be aware of games that gamers want to play (know your audience)
Fixing compatibility problems (patches) with games after software release date
Cleaning of desks/chairs around computer station
Marketing to keep your customers up to date (Facebook, Posters, etc.)
7 Eleven
Pros:
Brand name and recognition
Training on how to run a small business
Assistance with ordering stocks & supplies
Cons:
Open 24/7 days a week
Initial franchise fees vary by location, inventory, and cash register fees. (There’s a financing program that provides financial assistance for qualified applicants)
3 to 6 months to open a store (application, credit check, background check, evaluations, training)
Yoga, Dance or Fitness Center
Pros:
Teach a class and enjoy a great workout
Can sale additional products such as bottles of water, workout apparel, and yoga mats
Charge monthly membership fees and group discounts
Cons:
Need to obtain a teaching certificate in Yoga, dance or fitness
Familiar with locals hangout, meetups, and social media to advertise effectively
These are only a few businesses that you can own either in the United States or overseas. I’m sure there are a lot more Global Franchises out there (Paris Baguette, Eye Level Learning Center, McDonald’s) that I haven’t listed.
Related Books
However, with these ideas, I wanted to know how one would go about opening a franchise. To further explore opening a franchise I read the book, “How To Buy A Franchise” by James A. Meaney (Attorney at Law) 202 pp. Sphinx Publishing.
Meaney introduces the reader with a word of caution about falling victim to franchise scams. He recounts a story of a couple who sought to become business owners through purchasing vending machines and was scammed by the vending machine sellers.
Overall, the book is a great how-to guide to understand the initial process of buying a franchise. It provides in-depth chapters on; Disclosure Laws and Statements, Understanding and Negotiating The Franchise Agreement and Investigating Existing Franchises.” It’s definitely worth checking out if you’re considering buying a franchise.
Resources
Lastly, I wanted to mention two very useful resources that can assist you with your research in opening a franchise overseas.
The association has great resources that include an international toolkit, a listing of international franchising opportunities, and a franchising 101 section to help you get started on your journey to owning your own business.
The event is captioned as “Korea’s Largest International Franchise Show” this annual event aims to provide the latest trends, investors, and networking opportunities for exhibitors and attendees. This event is a great resource for anyone looking to specifically open a franchise in South Korea.
Do you have any other book suggestions you feel will be beneficial to opening a small business? Leave your message in the comments below.
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After completing the Oasis Four class I was sent an email alerting me to the upcoming Oasis-One class. The class consisted of a two-hour orientation that would be held on Friday, May 12, 2017, and two weekend classes that would be held from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. the following Saturday and Sunday.
I submitted my application on the Korea Invention Promotion Association website along with the necessary identification requirements. On the first night of class, I got lost trying to find the correct subway exit. This was my first trip riding Line 2 subway, to the Gangnam station exit. Usually, the farthest I traveled on Line 2 was to Itaewon where I visited the Foreigners market.
Luckily, I had obtained contact information from one of the attendees in the previous Oasis class. I called and asked her for directions then headed back to the subway station. After finding the correct exit I walked to the Korean Invention Property Association building located about three blocks from the subway.
During the two hour orientation we introduced ourselves to the rest of the class and the presenter. The presenter gave us a brief introduction about her life in South Korea and then presented a powerpoint presentation with helpful tips on thriving in the Korean business culture. After her presentation, we were informed that we would have different presenters during the weekend classes.
Day 1 ~ Saturday Weekend Class
Our first presenter turned out to be a lawyer that practiced law not only in South Korea, but previously worked as a patent attorney in the United States. It became an extremely helpful session as he used real-life cases to inform us about Creating Ideas For Inventions, Overview Of Intellectual Property Rights, and Understanding Patent Institutions.
Day 2 ~ Sunday Weekend Class
On the second day of class, the weather was rainy and windy. It was typically a day I would spend sitting on the couch watching a Lord of the Rings marathon and eating junk food. However, after signing the attendance rooster we listened to the presenter as he discussed Understanding Patent Specifications. We had a midday lunch break before the afternoon session began. I went to a great Indian restaurant nearby and had a chicken curry dish. Again, I wish I had taken a picture of both the name of the restaurant and the dish. A different presenter took over the afternoon session and presented on the Basics of Patent Information Search.
Lastly, the director of the program, called us, one by one up to the front of the class and we were presented an embellished dark blue horizontal folder with our Oasis 1 completion certificate.
Overall, the class was very informative for any foreigners who wish to start a small business in South Korea. I enjoyed the free lunch provided during the weekend sessions, however, the best part of attending the training was being able to network with fellow entrepreneurs.
The learning curve of starting a small business has been a steep and steady incline. The age-old adage one step forward, two steps back swirls around in my head. Whether it has been learning new social sharing applications like Pinterest or trying to articulate business goals while writing a business plan. You don’t know, what you don’t know until you know it.
Research. I love to do research on any topic that I am tackling because it provides a firmer grasp on any issues I may encounter. The only problem with research, there’s so much advice given on blogs, YouTube videos, and podcasts that being a first-time small business owner can be overwhelming.
I wanted to share tips I have learned so far with blogging and entrepreneurship.
Time. Time. Time.
It takes time to build an audience and to learn new software. Initially, I believed that I could set up my online business within three months. Imagine my shock when I met with a Small Business Administration mentor and he told me to do six months of research before I moved forward to determine the profitability of my concept. Avoid the belief that you will be making $10,000 within your first three months. The recent requirements in the YouTube Partnership Program is a lesson for everyone, one thing that’s constant for any successful business is change.
Day-To-Day Tasks
Picking a blogging platform to host my blog was an easy decision. Learning how to add backlinks, SEO, Marketing, writing effective Headlines and Sub-headings and structuring content has been an uphill climb. Fact: You need all of these tools if you want to have a successful blog or startup, but you don’t need to understand everything 100% to get started.
Everyone Loves A Winner
The term overnight success has been used time and time again. Why, because the life of a struggling writer, director, actor/actress, etc. doesn’t sellout movie theaters. Don’t expect professionals or organizations to jump on the bandwagon when you’re in the early startup stages. They receive dozens of request every day, and their time is also precious.
Mentors
While I do believe that having a mentor is necessary for moral support and tapping into monetary resources, don’t be afraid to have more than one. I have learned that one mentor may be great at writing a business plan and another mentor may be great at connecting you with angel investors. Diversifying your mentors ensures that you will get the best advice without overusing your mentor’s capabilities.
Like Minded People
Surrounding yourself with like-minded people equates to cheerleaders cheering in a packed stadium. It’s nothing worse than explaining your concept to an individual, and the person is negative or discouraging about your future plans. Getting advice from other bloggers/entrepreneurs will always resonate.
Free Resources
Canva
Their slogan states “Collaborate, & Create Graphic Designs for Free. This graphic design tool website is very easy to use and is great for creating social media posts, blogs & ebook covers, marketing material and advertisements. I used to it create my Media Kit and I am happy with the easy of instructions and being able to get started with a simple drag and drop method.
Foodiesfeed
If you’re a food blogger who wants to use mouthwatering pictures than you have your choice of hundreds of food photos to choose. Additionally, if you like to cook your own recipes consider the website a great place to share your photos and network with a community who are actively searching for food pictures.
Pixabay
A website that can be accessed anywhere in the world gives you access to thousands of free images and photos. *Tip – Try to use photos that are not commonly used because there’s nothing like posting your latest blog posts and scrolling through your timeline and seeing the same image someone else is using for their latest blog posts.
CoSchedule
A headline analyzer, their slogan states: “Write headlines that drive traffic, share, and search results.” Whether you consider this an additional step, to the other rules you already follow when creating a headline (35 to 60-word count, long tail keywords, etc.) it’s a great tool to gauge your headline’s effectiveness.
If you want more information about starting a small business check out my post:
Do you have a blog or startup business and received great advice? Leave a comment and let me know.
