Broadcaster Kim Soyoung said she would abolish her cookie business and book club as she faces emergency management while running her ventures, drawing regret.
Kim Soyoung, who left MBC and turned freelance to pursue business, recently announced she is under emergency management. She said on social media, "For about two months, I have been spending time thinking of it as emergency management in my own way because I had to make important decisions and set challenging plans."
Although Kim Soyoung suffered so much she was almost physically ill several times, she said she tried to maintain composure rather than outwardly talk about the emergency and tension, recalling that she launched the brand in September six years ago and explaining, "If I summarize the time so far, it was a period when I worked to gain confidence in myself."
Kim Soyoung said, "I feel grateful that it has become a stage where anyone can be told what our company does and what it aims to do, not because the organization grew or sales increased," adding, "I remember the team members who sincerely helped during the chaotic early days when there was nothing, I am grateful to the team members who have been with me so far, and I am also thankful that I can see the enormous amount of work that still needs to be done. The middle part of a game is the most fun," expressing her resolve.
Facing emergency management amid several businesses, Kim Soyoung recently wound down her cookie business. On the 26th of last month she told a fan on social media who said there was no substitute for her cookies, "I also think there is no substitute because there really was nothing left," and candidly said, "I probably won't run a business that produces food directly in the future. To survive you have to sell food made with appropriate ingredients and efficient processes that follow trends while keeping cost ratios under control, but after trying that it didn't work and my tastes are rather particular. (In plain words, I tend to be picky.) Cosmetics or health foods can achieve economies of scale even with good raw materials, but food is difficult unless you build a factory."
In particular, Kim Soyoung regretted, "Even when they sold well, they were losing money. Because we made them carefully and slowly, they used a lot of labor and ingredients," adding, "Looking back now, I may seem like I am cautious but actually I am the type to dive in without knowing well. Looking back on 10 years of business… if I had known a little about the structure, I wouldn't have done the cookie business."
Following the cookie business, she also announced the end of the book club she ran for six years. She said, "Although the time had come to close the book club as various market changes and internal circumstances converged, I selected books every month, wrote letters and held webinars, and on the way home I felt so sorry to discontinue this service that I could hardly bring myself to announce the news, so the announcement was delayed."
Although Kim Soyoung is ending both the cookie business and the book club, she plans to continue other ventures and meet fans. Kim Soyoung, a working mother with one son and one daughter, who married broadcaster Oh Sangjin, faces attention on whether she will overcome emergency management and continue communicating with fans.
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