▲ Photo provided by I Love Pink and Fashion PoliceChoe and Cho? online mall have women? clothes, bags and shoes of latest style.

   You sit down in front of the computer just to kill time. As you surf around the Internet, you spot a jacket you had been looking for. You click some buttons, and then you just have to wait a couple of days until your jacket arrives.
   We are used to shopping this way these days. With the Internet, we can buy what we want while saving time and money. But while we enjoy the advantages of online shopping,?some other students are figuring out how to satisfy customers like us. Choe Seon-ah (Business, 4) and Cho Eun-bit (International Studies, 1) shared their experiences of running their own online shopping malls.
   E.V.: What was the occasion of starting your shopping mall?
   Choe: I had financial difficulties and had to do something in order to support myself. I used to make money selling cosmetics on the Internet. I gained a lot of confidence and skills from my previous experience and decided to extend my business to selling clothes.
   Cho: Actually, I had great interest in business and management ever since I was young. I knew that many of the foreign brands Koreans prefer were being sold here in Korea at high prices. So I wanted to meet the demand for foreign products at lower prices.
   E.V.: What are the difficulties in managing the mall?
   Choe: The biggest problem would be lack of time, which is still one of my problems. At the beginning, it was almost impossible for me to have any time for myself. I had to live an irregular life-pattern, sleeping only four hours a day.
   Cho: It was hard for me to handle both my studies and the shopping mall. I am the type of a girl who likes to hang out with my friends, but naturally I couldn? do that often anymore.
   E.V.: Explain to us your methods or ways of running the mall.
   Choe: Currently, I work with seven employees, and we each have our own roles. We receive most products from wholesale dealers. We manufacture them by ourselves too.
   Cho: I import them directly from America. Mostly, I get help from my brother and friends who are staying there.
   E.V.: What advice do you have for those who plan to start their own business?
   Choe: Be certain of your reasons for wanting to have a mall, before you start. Running an online shopping mall can be a strenuous job that demands a lot of time and effort.
   Cho: By running an online mall, you can test your capability. I started it because I believed that in the future this experience would be part of my business background. But you must remember that it requires a lot of sacrifice.
   Many students are frustrated and feel overburdened with schoolwork. It is hard to find students who devote their time to developing their interest and talents. These two students are admirable because they are testing their capabilities while they are in school.

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