The drop in temperature and the cold breeze is coming together with November. Is there any way to look fashionable in warm clothes? When opening the closet, it seems that there are no clothes to wear, and nothing looks suitable for today. However, these days, people can transform old clothes into new looks by simply watching some fashion Lookbook videos on YouTube. Therefore, the Sungkyun Times (SKT) would like to introduce Shin Min-jeong, who is a famous fashion YouTuber and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the online female clothes shopping mall, “Besimple”.
How to Become CEO of an Online Shopping Mall
Q1. Please introduce yourself.
My name is Shin Min-jeong, and I graduated from the Department of Fashion Design at Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU). I have been operating the online female clothes shopping mall Besimple as CEO for the past 16 years. In addition, I have been managing the fashion YouTube channel SoshinTV since March 2020. This channel usually uploads Lookbook content, which introduces various looks.
Q2. When did you start to get interested in fashion?
I started to get interested in clothes when I was a middle school student. I used to read more than 10 fashion magazines every month. However, I only thought of fashion as a hobby then. Before I entered university, I did not think about majoring in the fashion department. Even though I preferred to major in a different department, since I had to consider my grades for the National Entrance Exam for University, I changed my major to the fashion department. However, surprisingly, when I decided to apply for the fashion department, both my friends and homeroom teacher told me that I would fit this department. Actually, people around me knew about me much more. As a result, fashion, which I enjoyed only as a hobby, became my major.
Q3. Then, did you already have a dream of starting an online shopping mall when you started majoring in Fashion Design?
I did not think about starting an online shopping mall until I became a senior. After being disqualified from major businesses’ open recruitments, I decided to open my shopping mall. At that time, I wanted to earn only a small amount of money by selling some items on the open market. However, unlike my prediction, the open market became a huge success, and I started to hire staff and have an office for my business.
From a Shopping Mall CEO to a Fashion YouTuber
Q4. You have been operating the female clothes shopping mall Besimple for 16 years. Was there any difficulty during the operating process?
An online clothes shopping mall has a much higher amount of work compared to other shopping malls. Unlike other types of businesses, the clothes shopping mall must show new clothes every season. Since the trend and buyers’ tastes vary annually, the sellers always have to be aware of the trends, which is one of many difficulties.
Q4-1. You said that the sellers always have to be aware of the trends, then what is your secret? How do you approach recent fashion trends more easily?
In my case, I look around Instagram for more than one hour every day. Generally, I am following influencers in the fashion industry and CEOs of clothes shopping malls. Sometimes, I watch people sitting in a café around my house. For those who are in their twenties and are unfamiliar with fashion, it is a good way to join a fashion community and follow various fashion YouTubers or influencers.
Q5. As a shopping mall CEO, what is the most important point when you choose clothes?
I think the fit is the most important point to consider. People think that a person who has a good body proportion looks good even with simple jeans and a white shirt. However, even a person who has a perfect body proportion can look different when he or she wears clothes that fit weird. The quality of the fit differs based on garment cutters’ abilities. That is the reason why expensive brands hire competitive garment cutters giving higher salaries.
Q6. When do you feel proud of yourself as CEO?
I am pleased mostly when I read online reviews. I feel joy especially when I read a complimentary comment such as “Thank you for selling these kinds of clothes.” Recently, since I have been operating a YouTube channel and uploading Lookbook content as well, the number of orders increased. At that point, I also feel happy since the viewers trust me and buy the clothes in my shopping mall.
Q7. It doesn’t look easy to operate a shopping mall and YouTube channel at the same time. Why did you start YouTube and name the channel “Soshin Boss”?
I started to realize that personal influence is the most important no matter what kind of business I am going to do. Recently, almost every item is fascinating and attractive. At the same time, consumers are getting confused by excessive amounts of choices. Then, if someone who I trust makes me get rid of the process of choice, it would be very convenient. That is the reason why I decided to become an influencer and use the word, Soshin, on my YouTube channel. Soshin means “faith” or “belief” in Korean. Since I have a meticulous and acute personality, I could give belief to my customers about my clothes. Therefore, I gave the YouTube channel the name of Soshin Boss.
Q8. In August 2021, the number of your YouTube channel subscribers exceeded half a million. What is your secret to getting many subscribers so quickly?
Before I started the YouTube channel, I studied a lot about YouTube. I bought more than 10 books about YouTube and analyzed some other channels which got a big success. When I uploaded a video, I thought carefully about the title of the video and the hashtags. Also, I made various kinds of thumbnails and fixed a lot to attract more viewers. However, there would be some people who could not succeed even though they did just like me. Actually, I might be one of the lucky ones.
Q9. Your YouTube videos are mostly made up of Lookbook content. Is there any special reason for this?
Fashion or beauty contents are usually not interesting or entertaining. Since those are informative contents, people just get the information and do not watch more. However, Lookbook content is different. Since there is no dialogue in Lookbook content, it is much easier to be exposed more globally. Therefore, even though I am considering expanding my channel with different kinds of content, I would like to continue making Lookbook content my identity.
An Evident Fashion Identity of Shin Min-jeong
Q10. Do you have any plans to make new YouTube content?
First of all, I would like to make fashion content like entertainment shows. I want to produce interesting and entertaining fashion content. Since Millennials and Generation Z buy items based on their emotions, making interesting and entertaining fashion content would be an important point to induce them to buy clothes. Leading consumers to buy clothes after watching my YouTube content can be like killing two birds with one stone. Moreover, since other K-contents are popular globally, I am expecting fashion content to be like that as well.
Q11. What are your final goals as an online shopping mall CEO or YouTuber Soshin Boss?
I would like to make a brand that everyone knows. By adding the shopping mall business experience with the identity created from my YouTube channel, I would like to develop my brand globally.
Q12. Any last words for Kingos?
Since I have been in business for many years, I have hired a lot of staff. What I have felt is that recent staff members are much more capable compared to those in old days. This means the requirement of our society toward job seekers is increasing. Especially after the pandemic, many young people are suffering from unemployment. As the market size of Korea is limited, I want to say that you should put your effort not only into targeting Korea but also the global society. Then, you will be able to find some routes. I hope you have a much brighter future than me.
In the upcoming winter, it is hard to match clothes in fashionable ways due to the harsh weather. There is a definite solution for those who are suffering from these difficulties. They can mix and match their old clothes by watching the various fashion contents of Soshin Boss and browsing through her shopping mall. You can be fashionable in no time!