From Advertising to Public Relations to K-Beauty Entrepreneur
How Soko Glam Co-Founder Charlotte Cho used her Communications Career Path to build a K-Beauty Retail Powerhouse
Being uncertain about your future career path is daunting to many us undergrads. For Soko Glam co-founder and founder of the skincare line, Then I Met You, Charlotte Cho believes that uncertainty can be used to carve the path that is meant for you. As the co-founder of one of the largest Korean Beauty retailers in the United States, Cho did not have life-long ambitions to establish a Korean Beauty online store and her own skincare line. In fact, it was her career path in Communications that led to her vision of starting her own Korean Beauty retail brand.
As an undergraduate student at the University of California at Irvine majoring in Film and Media Studies, Cho was initially unsure of what career path to take. After working at an indie movie theater part-time throughout her time at UC-Irvine, she decided on pursuing her first full-time career in advertising firm in Costa Mesa, California, that specializes in media planning and buying. However, Cho was not entirely set on devoting her entire career to advertising.
She decided to take a leap of faith and apply for jobs outside of the country. Since she had no strings attached and a deep love for Korean culture and the language, Cho decided to apply for an International Corporate Communications Manager position at Samsung in Seoul, South Korea. Several months after applying for the position, Cho received an email from Samsung, confirming that she got the job. “It was a random, lucky opportunity. I had internships [in the past]. I wasn’t expecting it,” she said.
At Samsung, Cho was at the forefront of the company’s global communications’ responsibilities. “Ninety-five percent of my work was outside of Korea and was mainly focused on large-scale corporate communications… [such as] writing press releases regarding new projects, handling internal communications, pitching interviews for the CEO for CNN, the Wall Street Journal, and to write press releases for different markets like Dubai and India,” she explained.
By this point, you may be wondering how Cho arrived to a career in Korean beauty. Living and working in the city of Seoul that is rife with skincare shops and through learning about skincare through colleagues and friends, Cho’s interest in the Korean beauty industry was born. The first of many Korean products she fell in love with was the Banila Co. Clean it Zero Double Cleansing Balm and the concept of the double cleanse, which will play an important role in the future of her career.
Since she was so enamored by Korean beauty products, Cho decided to officially establish an online Korean Beauty retailer, Soko Glam, in 2012. She thanks her experience in Samsung’s communications department for equipping her with the skills necessary to get the word of Soko Glam out to the press. “I didn’t have any connections in beauty, I wasn’t from a beauty P.R. firm, wasn’t in New York, [but I] had a background in Middle East communications, [so I] used my skills in P.R. and communications [to build relationships with the media]. For example, if I didn’t have good P.R. skills, I wouldn’t have been able to have the confidence to cold pitch to editors in a persuasive and engaging way. At the core, it’s all about good relationship building, having good common sense, being helpful to [editors], and providing them with a fun and engaging story,” Cho recalled. Cho surely possessed the confidence to approach editors, being that the first publications she reached out to were Marie Claire, Teen Vogue, and Glamour. While it may seem intimidating to reach out to editors at some of the world’s most popular magazines, Cho said, at the end of the day, editors will always be “human beings that will communicate with you that will find your story interesting.”
Not only has Cho risen to the ranks in the beauty space by establishing her own retail store as well as her own skincare line, Then I Met You. Launched in October 2018, Cho noted that the timing of the launch of her line — six to seven years after Soko Glam — was because good things take time. When reflecting on her choice to create her own skincare line several years after opening Soko Glam, Cho said, “I had a decade of experience in beauty, and I felt it was important to get hands-on, roll up your sleeve, good experience before [launching my own line]. It’s a natural inclination to do something right away, but there’s no problem taking your time.” In fact, the Banila Co. Clean it Zero Double Cleansing Balm inspired Cho to create her own cleansing duo.“ I have always loved the science behind it [the double cleanse], which is why I decided to create my own luxurious, elevated version of it,” said Cho.
From advertising to public relations to Korean beauty entrepreneurship, Charlotte Cho shows how an education in Media Studies equips you with the skills to test the waters of many different careers, especially when you don’t have a clear plan mapped out. Cho believes that many of the skills learned in Communications and Media Studies are transferable to many careers and most definitely in becoming an entrepreneur. “[You] have to be comfortable with selling something, hearing no most of the time, and have a lot of willpower and grit. You will hear a lot of ‘nos,’ but that’s okay... Push on!” Cho advised.
