895: Impacting CULTURE through content + creative services w/ Brianna & Jenna Tokioka

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Hey, what is up?

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Welcome to this episode of the Wantrepreneur to Entrepreneur podcast.

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As always, I'm your host, brian LoFermento, and this is an episode that has been long in the works, trying to line schedules up, because we have got two incredible entrepreneurs on today's episode that I think are doing really important and significant work, not only from an entrepreneurial and a business perspective, but especially from a cultural perspective, and I think that the way that they're marrying the creative side of the agency world with the entertainment, the platform, the publishing side of the world to really connect brands and influencers and personalities with audiences and engaged consumers, I think it's deeply powerful and I'm so excited to hear all about it.

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So let me tell you all about today's guests.

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They actually are twin sisters, jenna and Brianna Tokioka.

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Together they in 2022, founded Everlast Korea, which is a hybrid creative agency and entertainment platform catering its services to the global expansion of Korean culture and entertainment, and, as someone who lived in California, I know how deeply impactful Korean culture is.

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Not only as someone who lived in California, I know how deeply impactful Korean culture is not only on the West Coast, but all throughout the United States.

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So I'm excited to dive deeper the global entertainment platform side of their business strives to evolve alongside the ever-changing media and entertainment landscape by establishing a genuine global platform where more authentic storytelling, documentation and global coverage about Korean culture and entertainment can take place.

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In collaboration with its clients and partners.

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As a creative agency, everlast Korea continuously seeks unique ways to provide a variety of data, tools, services, solutions and resources for talents, brands, businesses based in South Korea that will help them expand within global markets without having to sacrifice their rooted culture and identity.

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There's so much that I think is brilliant inside the minds of both Jenna and Brianna.

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I'm personally very excited, so I'm not going to say anything else.

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Let's dive straight into my interview with Jenna and Brianna Tokioka.

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All right, jenna and Brianna, I am so very excited that the two of you are on the show today.

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Welcome to the show.

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Hi Brian, Thank you so much for having us Again.

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As we had stated before recording that we are very, very excited to join this podcast, we obviously have gotten to learn a little bit more about entrepreneur to entrepreneur and, yeah, we honestly are just super excited to talk about what we've been building and, as twin sisters, you know- working together, I'm sure there's many other family run businesses out there that can relate to us and, yeah, we're just super excited to be here.

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So thank you so much.

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Yes, very well said.

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Well, I'm going to kick things off by throwing it over your way, because I want to go beyond the bio.

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Obviously, as twin sisters, you have spent a lot of time together, and all that time has coincided with the launching of a company together, which I think is such an incredible venture, doing deep and meaningful work.

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But take us beyond the bio.

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Who's Jenna, who's Brianna?

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Tell us about your stories to get here.

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Yeah, definitely, so actually we went to college together at Arizona State University.

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So actually we went to college together at Arizona State University.

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Thankfully, we were able to spend our last two years in college together, but basically we were still trying to figure ourselves out.

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We wanted to do career-wise, and I think I can speak for both Brianna and I that we have literally done so many different jobs since we were in high school, and so there's a lot of different skills and facets of ourselves that we, you know, believe that you know we could be an all jack-of-all-trades type of you know individual and professional, but we still never really knew what we want to do career-wise.

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And it actually wasn't until we got into the Try Guys YouTube channel that we were watching every single series that they had out there online and the one thing that we didn't end up watching until like towards the end of our journey, watching all Try Guys videos was their Korean culture series, and I think it was the music video reactions for kpop music specifically that really gravitated us towards.

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Like what is this?

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Like we've never really you know come across it before.

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I mean, we did have friends in high school that were into k-pop back then.

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Um, and so they got us into it a little bit by actually showing us english songs that korean artists came out with, um, but from you know, watching these music video reactions from the try guys, we started realizing that we were adding korean songs to our spotify playlist, realizing that we were adding Korean songs to our Spotify playlist, and then we kept adding in some more songs and watching music videos on YouTube and from there it literally just got going down the rabbit hole, going down the rabbit hole as many K-pop, k-drama, any Korean culture, entertainment enthusiast knows about and, um, yeah, I mean, it also came down to the pandemic, unfortunately.

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Um, but I got laid off from a job working at a law firm.

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I was doing professional development work and still not really understanding what I want to do.

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But when I got laid off, I ended up following my passion, which was korean culture and and I ended up getting internship opportunities remotely to work with South Korean startups based in Seoul, so I gained my experience from there and Brianna, I guess you can chime in on your experience as well.

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Yeah, I mean, I think what we have really good in common is that we have a very big passion for music and also sports.

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So we're always about that teamwork.

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How does everyone's strengths can?

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come together to make something that's very special and because we coach volleyball together, club volleyball for girls between the ages of nine, 10, to 18 and stuff like that, and also boards.

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I think you coach for like 16 year olds back then.

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You know, we found a great way to be that yin and yang so it was really cool to see how our strengths and weaknesses kind of are very compatible in terms of like looking everything on the big picture and also looking at the smaller details.

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So it's like we balance each other out in a way where it's easy for us to be partners.

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So, for example, I'm very logistical analytical.

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Jenna's more of the creative type of person, so it's like again together.

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We're that perfect person.

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So I think because again, we grew up with each.

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So, um, and I think, because again we work with each other, we know each other's rhythms we know when to step back or when we can start collaborating on things you know, because we have everything on our side done and how we can basically collaborate together to make something happen.

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And um, because we really got into k-pop and you know, after you know getting into k-pop you have to go down the rabbit hole of learning all the cultural nuances that a lot of non-K-pop fans really know about unless you are Korean.

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So we wanted to kind of fill in the gaps of you know how can we help international fans of K-pop or just to help you in general.

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So, korean beauty korean fashion, korean dramas, film, tv, stuff like that, where you know they can have the resources, as well as good, feel good entertainment, to go to um, which is why we started our media and content platform, um, and after that, you know, we started meeting all these different industry professionals that really liked our mission and goal as a company and just our values as well, because we are very small Korean and we're mixed Asian American.

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A lot of people tend to lean on us in terms of having different perspectives because we work, you know, with different cultures within the household, but also, you know, just learning from a lot of different people from around the world who have the same passion in terms of trying to expand the Korean entertainment and just the Korean culture in general on a global scale.

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You know they're like.

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You know we really want to work with you guys and we want to kind of help build up from you know where it is right now.

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It's a global phenomenon.

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Yeah, I love that overview for so many reasons.

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I me personally I can so deeply resonate with so many elements of not only your personal stories but your entrepreneurial start, because I come from an immigrant family and so I think that that gives us that perspective of both opportunities domestically but also the bridges that we can cross.

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Our families have done it before us.

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Obviously, we were all raised here in the United States and we grew up here, we went to school here.

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But it also does give us that valuable perspective.

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And when I started my first business back in 2008, it was a soccer blog, so it was the merging of soccer news but also fan opinion, and for me, you all are ahead of me, because I didn't realize that I was sitting on a business.

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I was doing it very much for fun.

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But when I look at your business and how intentional and strategic you both are being with Everlast Korea, it is marrying entertainment and culture with the business perspective, because I think it's clear to me from the outside that you have a really strong recognition of the fact that culture drives society and business can help guide and shape that.

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When you align it with brands and personalities and entertainment people, I think that that's really powerful, how you're merging that.

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So, of course, tying it with the creative agency.

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I think it's such a smart, strategic move.

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Talk to us about how that was born, because obviously you're doing a lot and a lot of it looks intentional and strategic, but I also know it took a lot of work and navigation to get there.

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So tell us that story.

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Yeah, definitely so, as piggybacking off of what Brianna was saying towards the end of the first segment, yeah, piggybacking off of what Brianna was saying towards the end of the first segment, yeah, I mean, I think, when it comes down to it, the people that we were coming across in the professional world and just the networks and connections and the willingness of people in Korea and in a different variety of industries and specifically with entertainment.

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you know they've come to us saying you know we've had issues finding this service or finding this solution to something, and especially when it comes to entering the US market or just an overseas market in general especially outside of Asia there have just been a lot of issues coming down to you know, how can we market ourselves?

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How can we?

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Expand ourselves in a global market and maximize our presence, and so we actually were thinking like how can we help these?

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businesses that are really trying to make a name for themselves and, at the same time, we're like you know what we like creating solutions for things, and so our creative agency just really started off of people telling us about their stories and really trying to figure out how they can maximize their business overseas, and so we just started brainstorming ideas of, like, you know what we could potentially help with, just based on what our network has been talking about, but also just doing extra networking with people who are actually experts in, you know, pr and marketing, it could be e-commerce, it could be event management you know anything revolving around what our network was looking for.

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We were just talking to experts based on the region that they were looking for.

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And thankfully that grew our network internally, and so we just ended up finding the right global partners.

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that were willing to take in.

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You know Korean culture and entertainment based businesses and helping them expand their business in whatever region they were looking into doing and granted, yes, some of these global agencies have never really worked with people from South Korea before, but the fact that they were eager enough to take on a client that they had no prior experience to, but just wanted to work with us to provide.

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you know, our network, those solutions and those services that they were looking for just goes to looking for, just goes to show that we're trying to build a village of like-minded professionals and businesses that genuinely want other businesses to succeed, If that could mean bringing a business from South Korea to Canada or to the United States or anywhere in Europe.

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That also brings consumers in those regions another opportunity to find something that they maybe have never found before.

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Maybe they're finding a product or service that they've been longing for, but it hasn't been in that market, and so there are just so many things coming out of South Korea that are great, whether it's technological or a service or product whatever it may be, and we want to showcase that, and I think Brianna can talk a little bit more about.

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You know just how our creative agency sort of operates in terms of in-house and outsourced services.

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Yeah, so I think you know the main point of us again building a village with like-minded professionals is that you know we want to help make a positive impact or influence within the entertainment industry because obviously, no matter what industry and there's always going to be the good, the bad you know what's rumored to be, you know what goes on in the industry and stuff like that, and I think, because my sister and I were always about, you know, fandom and culture as well as entertainment right.

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Especially because you know we're in the?

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U, we're based in the U?

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S, so you know, tv, film, Hollywood I guess you could call it is very, very impactful all over the world, it's not just in the States.

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So you know, we wanted to help bring more opportunities for, you know, like K-pop artists, korean actors or even just startups that are coming out of Korea and maybe even moving them here to Silicon Valley to learn more about how they can expand their business or brand on a global scale.

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Because you know, I think, just because you have some type of success in the States right, you're going to have a lot more eyes on you from different countries, different regions.

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So we want to kind of help, you know, brands, businesses and talents from South Korea, and it might even have to be you know they're Korean, you know they could be people who are working within the Korean entertainment industry but are coming from the States or Canada or Japan and China and stuff like that.

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You know we want to help give more opportunities where you know they're not spending so much money.

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You know just to market.

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Here, you know, we want to be able to put five different affordable options that come up with different budgets, but also work with people who just have very good intentions to help our clients.

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So we have in-house services where we can do PR and marketing.

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We can do video content, whether it's original series, on our YouTube channel or exclusive content in terms of maybe doing video interviews with K-pop artists to help promote their comebacks, and any upcoming music releases that they're coming out with.

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But it can also deal with just getting, just getting consultation on in terms of how to market themselves in a good way, in an authentic and genuine way to the us audiences and you know we wanted to be able to provide that type of good dependency on an american company to help bring that authenticity of their brand and not having to sacrifice.

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you know what they built their brand on and also you know we have our like-minded partners, our global official partners, where you know, even though we're not experts in everything, obviously you know we want to help bring different services and different products that can help our clients and expand themselves in more regions more industries so that way they can get all the help that they need to maximize their potential to basically sell their service or products here in the States and hopefully in other regions.

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So we have global partners in London, in Mexico, latin America, canada and even across Asia.

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So being able to have all of these global partners where they can provide their expertise in their region.

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It's going to help our clients in a way where they can feel like, okay, well, as long as everyone's working collectively and they're all like-minded.

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We all have the same values, the same goals, the same missions in terms of how we can help our clients.

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that's all that matters, and I think that's why a lot of our clients, you know, keep wanting to work with us, because we help, provide that sincerity in terms of you know how we can actually maximize the potential, and just to go off of that as well, you know the other part of it is we want to provide results, and results that you know go along with our client's budget, for example.

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You know I've worked with many.

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PR agencies you know, across the US that are, you know, very, very expensive, and I'm talking tens of thousands of dollars on just PR and marketing for one campaign and most of the time they weren't either providing the results that they said that they could, or they just end up, you know, not having the transparency and communication.

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So the process of a campaign is just so much harder to do and we just wanted to make sure that anyone that we come across in Korean culture and entertainment they have the right partner that they can consistently communicate with.

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And that's why we're also here Everlast Korea can be sort of seen as a middleman when it comes to you know, helping, you know our clients expand their business in another region especially if they're working with our global partner.

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But that's the other part of it is.

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We're here for any translations that need you know between our client and our global partner.

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It could also be helping our global partner understand a little bit more like.

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Here are some cultural nuances that you need to know about our client and their culture, and just let's just make sure that they're being marketed correctly, and so you know when it comes to us at Everlast Korea we just want to make sure both our global partner and our client are growing their business together, along with ours and I think you know, just having that collective mentality is just something that I think is needed in entertainment that I feel like I'm just going to repeat myself so many times today by using the word bridge, because I think that that's such a powerful value add that you both bring to this.

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We've seen the high potential of Korean culture here in the States.

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I would argue that every single listener knows the song Gangnam Style by Psy.

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We've seen glimpses of it here in the United States and it's such a powerful cultural immersion or I guess fusion is really the word that I want to use, because obviously we use that term melting pot here in the United States so much, and the three of us are real life examples of why we are a melting pot of a nation.

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And so, brianna, I also want to pick on.

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You said the word authentic, and authenticity is so at the core of the way that you all portray the stories, the brands, the personalities that you're working with.

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Talk to us about being that bridge and the authenticity behind it, because it's not just.

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You're not looking for the next one hit wonder from Psy with regards to Gangnam Style.

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You are looking for that deep rooted impact.

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What are some of those cultural considerations?

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Because we know there's opportunities there when you look from the Korean perspective or, from the American perspective, what makes these markets so different and so opportunistic for us to really merge them?

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Yeah, just going off of what you were saying about middlemen and authenticity, I think the one thing that Korean culture is bringing to not just the US, but just to people worldwide.

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Is this sense of nostalgia?

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with Korean culture and entertainment specifically entertainment pertaining to K-pop music, for example.

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You know the first generation of K-pop was in the 90s and you know it was very much the 90s R&B and hip hop, also American pop that was you know sort of their inspiration.

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And just heading into the early 2000s.

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You know a lot of it was based on.

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You know sort of their inspiration and just heading into the early 2000s, you know a lot of it was based on.

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You know that girl group pop sound which in the US it was very much.

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You know girl group R&B groups, you know like Destiny's Child and stuff like that.

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We obviously have Britney Spears and many other great artists.

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But you know, when it comes to Korean culture, it's very much about community and group, Whereas you know the US, for example, or just the West in general, we're very individualistic, which is a great thing.

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In Korea, having a good mindset is a great thing as well, and I think, when it comes down to it since Korean culture is very different in the sense of, you know, like that group mindset, versus the West, where it's very individualistic you know we sort of want to bridge that gap of you know people, especially over social media who start comparing?

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themselves to influencers or wanting to look like influencers, and this, this, and that you know K-pop has sort of been an outlet for a lot of people who said that K-pop has made them feel like you know, if they're out there creative and you know just very artistic, that they can pursue something as good as K-pop.

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And I don't know if you've seen K-pop music videos, but you know they're very, very out there in terms of concepts you know versus what a lot of the US has done music video-wise and both, you know, are great in their own individual ways.

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But K-pop again.

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Just this group collective mindset has brought K-pop fans specifically to draw themselves into this mindset of how can we better people together?

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And I think the one thing that Korean entertainment has done well, is they take this?

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commonality of entertainment, whether it's music or sports or, um, you know, it could be cuisine, whatever it is things that are bringing people together.

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But starting to storytell through those commonalities is another thing.

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K-pop music videos and artists are very, very much known for creating their own universes, bts obviously being one of the biggest K-pop groups, you know.

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Just in the industry itself, you know their music videos actually have storytelling.

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Throughout their music videos there's a lot of lore, and I think that's something that's very interesting, because now you have these K-pop fans all over the world coming together, trying to figure out the lore together and trying to um, you know, support their favorite artists together um, there's just a collective of kpop fandom that I think, just that idea of you feeling like you belong somewhere based on a certain passion or an interest is something very strong that korean culture has built, and I think, when it comes to the US, especially because we're very much known for solo artists nowadays

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it's kind of hard to feel like you can't unless you're Taylor Swift.

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Obviously you have people all over the world banding together to support Taylor Swift, but yeah, there's just this idea of trying to just bring people together, and I think that's what we've been trying to do.

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Yeah, I mean, I think also what our main goal is especially if we're working with K-pop artists or even Korean actors and stuff like that is that we try to humanize them.

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I know that there's, you know, in.

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Korean culture especially in terms of entertainment.

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Right, they like to put you know them on a pedestal.

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That's why they're're called usually kpop idol.

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But we kind of want to help drive away that term idol and put them as artists, because for me an artist is all about showing your humanity right like an art, whether it's visual art or you know something is in terms of music, right, tv and film, like you want to be able to relate to people, and that's why people are always looking for entertainment to either escape or to get answers from something in terms of you know where they want to go in their lives, or you know how they can fix the problem that you know they're trying to figure out in terms of how to get out that problem.

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Problem.

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And we want to use the term K-pop artists just because we want to humanize them because obviously humans are human, no matter how much money you make no matter your status in society.

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If you wanna look at it that way, we wanna be able to show that these artists yeah, they might be living luxurious lives in some way, but a lot of other people that might not be like a BTS or a.

00:24:10.768 --> 00:24:21.685
Seventeen or even a Psy like you know, they're still struggling to, you know, make their dreams come true, you know, to become bigger, to gain more fans all over the world and stuff like that.

00:24:21.806 --> 00:24:28.373
And you know, I think, because we want to be able to show their again like a K-pop artist's authentic side, because we want to be able to show their again like a kpop artist's authentic side.

00:24:28.413 --> 00:24:44.124
We want to show them like their real personalities because obviously, you know, no matter if you're a celebrity in the states in europe, asia, australia, like you're always going to have some type of persona that you need to keep up right, because you need to keep up a good reputation.

00:24:44.124 --> 00:24:56.925
You want to be a role model for society and you know there are going to be people who want to use their public figure type of status for you know, to talk about social issues and stuff like that, which is great.

00:24:57.521 --> 00:24:58.105
But you know.

00:24:58.105 --> 00:25:05.529
I feel like when you are a celebrity you don't always have to talk about things that are going on in the world, because you know you're focusing on your own things.

00:25:05.529 --> 00:25:07.174
You're trying to focus on your fans.

00:25:07.174 --> 00:25:10.709
You're trying to focus on how you can grow your career, especially if you're in a group.

00:25:10.709 --> 00:25:14.423
Right, you're going to want to be able to stand out individually as well.

00:25:14.905 --> 00:25:22.387
Um, as well as you know, be part of a group and you know, we just want to be able to show that you know, artists are humans.

00:25:22.387 --> 00:25:43.008
We want them to be able to be more of themselves on camera, off camera, so that way they're not struggling to try and figure out who they are, and I think you know BTS and Seventeen, for example, are pioneers in that they're spearheading everything in terms of, you know, trying to build a more personable persona.

00:25:43.189 --> 00:25:48.568
That's closer to who they actually are, instead of just trying to be someone that they think they should be.

00:25:48.568 --> 00:26:01.084
I would even put Epik High in there, and Epik High, who has been a role model for many K-pop idol groups that have made it so big, like BTS and Seventeen, epik High is a duo.

00:26:01.084 --> 00:26:04.170
Sorry, not duo, they're a trio of.

00:26:04.170 --> 00:26:05.251
You know hip hop.

00:26:05.251 --> 00:26:06.153
They're a hip hop group.

00:26:06.660 --> 00:26:19.887
And so you know for them they're you know they're married, they have kids, you know like and they're touring and you know they're like really just being their true selves as artists but also as people.

00:26:19.887 --> 00:26:32.583
And I think a lot of people have been gravitating towards Epik High, even later into their career on an overseas level, because they're just so authentically themselves I mean one of the members literally just markets the group so perfectly.

00:26:32.583 --> 00:26:33.345
His name is tablo.

00:26:33.345 --> 00:26:36.070
Definitely check him out um, if you haven't um.

00:26:36.111 --> 00:26:36.913
But yeah, tablo.

00:26:37.099 --> 00:26:54.238
I mean he uses memes to market their music releases and they even, you know, make some you know humor humorous you know points of view of like the idol world, Like, yes, they're a hip hop trio, they're not an idol group, but you know they took concept photos that idol groups, would you know?

00:26:54.238 --> 00:26:55.221
Just to sort of show.

00:26:55.221 --> 00:26:58.250
Like you know, we can do this too, but we'll do it in our own way.

00:26:58.779 --> 00:27:07.803
And I think you know that just points to what Brianna's talking about is people just want to resonate with other people, even if they're seen, indeed, as a celebrity.

00:27:07.803 --> 00:27:25.003
But you know, if these you know celebrities are able to show more of their human side, I think you know, the healthy relationship between a fan and the artist or the actor, whoever it may be, will just be all the more genuine, and I think that's something that's a little bit needed more in entertainment.

00:27:25.705 --> 00:27:48.272
Yes, gosh, I love hearing you two talk about these differences, because when you both talk about the market, you do it in such obviously we're using the word authentic, but I'm going to add to that in intentional way I always have loved that concept that success leaves clues, and so when the two of you are looking at the success of BTS or anyone that we could talk about here today, you're doing it through the lens of what is it, what's at the real root of it?

00:27:48.272 --> 00:27:50.381
And, listeners, I'm going to call all of you out.

00:27:50.381 --> 00:27:54.071
I knew that we could learn so much from Jenna and Brianna here in today's episode.

00:27:54.071 --> 00:28:05.452
This stuff applies to all of us the way that they're talking about authenticity and storytelling and the visual delights and the way that they can make our senses dance with the way that we consume content.

00:28:05.452 --> 00:28:08.730
All of this stuff plays into all of our brands.

00:28:08.730 --> 00:28:10.666
It isn't unique to entertainment.

00:28:10.740 --> 00:28:25.169
So I love the insights that you're both sharing with us, and I really want to give you very public kudos, because the way that you're both doing this having gone through Everlast Korea's website, which we're gonna talk about at the end of today's session you're delivering this content in really unique ways.

00:28:25.169 --> 00:28:41.272
And so, jenna, you use the example of K-pop music videos and how those are a feast of the senses, and so scrolling through your website and seeing the way that music is embedded right there playlists, as well as your Everlast digital magazine content style I absolutely love.

00:28:41.272 --> 00:28:44.307
It's dynamic, it's got videos, it's got fun questions.

00:28:44.307 --> 00:28:51.181
And so talk to us about some of the ways that you're delivering this content, because I think you both are pushing the envelope there as well.

00:28:52.703 --> 00:28:53.625
Yeah, definitely.

00:28:53.625 --> 00:28:59.945
I think, when it comes down to our content, a lot of it is again just in collaboration with whoever we're working with.

00:28:59.945 --> 00:29:02.070
We do work with PR agencies.

00:29:02.070 --> 00:29:04.751
We do work with artists and management teams directly as well.

00:29:04.771 --> 00:29:09.368
We've also been talking to Korean brands who may want to, you know, to participate in.

00:29:09.388 --> 00:29:10.751
Everlast magazine as well.

00:29:11.921 --> 00:29:19.288
But yeah, I think, when it comes down to it, a lot of what we're doing is we're either outreaching to people who we are- eager to work with, because we do know about them.

00:29:19.308 --> 00:29:23.943
We know about their work and we obviously want to showcase it in a way that maybe hasn't been done before.

00:29:23.943 --> 00:29:46.461
I mean, we're trying to be that media and content platform that isn't just trying to, you know, rush out content just to keep an algorithm going or to just show that we're doing work, like we always take on every project with meaning, whether it's covering a press release or whether it's conducting an exclusive interview or creating original video content.

00:29:46.541 --> 00:29:55.583
A lot of what we do is in collaboration, being transparent with our client and being like hey, like this is what we envision for, what we could do for you.

00:29:55.583 --> 00:29:59.071
How can we best help the direction that you do want to go in?

00:29:59.071 --> 00:30:03.119
And we do provide some of our insights when it comes to you know what fans have been saying.

00:30:03.180 --> 00:30:05.006
They've been wanting over social media.

00:30:05.807 --> 00:30:15.093
Also, we do our research, our team does research on a lot of the people that we work with and we I don't know if everyone- you know, on this podcast.

00:30:15.093 --> 00:30:18.307
Has you know any idea of whatever Last Grace platform has to offer?

00:30:18.307 --> 00:30:33.020
But when it comes to press releases or exclusive interviews, we always make sure to provide a bio of the person that we are talking about, because a lot of the times, what we want to do is provide the community members for Everlast Korea.

00:30:33.020 --> 00:30:34.106
We call them Everlasters.

00:30:34.106 --> 00:30:35.172
We want to provide.

00:30:35.232 --> 00:30:58.111
Everlasters, who may not have known about a specific artist or CEO of a startup or a Korean brand to let them know what they're all about, but doing it so that it's not just like a Wikipedia or K-pop profiles type of bio, but really providing the in-depth storytelling of who these people are and how they came to be, their journey, who they are now and what they've accomplished.

00:30:58.759 --> 00:31:08.828
And I think being able to have that more human touch to a bio just makes all the more interesting for people to read about or to learn about or watch if it's a video content.

00:31:08.828 --> 00:31:17.849
So I think when it comes down to it, it's just about real collaboration and transparency, and I think that's something Rihanna and I are really trying to push for.

00:31:17.849 --> 00:31:19.241
Is that transparency?

00:31:19.362 --> 00:31:48.900
I mean, obviously, k-pop idols are very much known for, you know having media experience, you know, giving PR answers and all this and that, but at the same time we do our best to make sure that we're still providing that environment, because that's pretty much what these K-pop artists are sort of in the system for, because that's pretty much what these K-pop artists are sort of in the system for but you know, we are trying to sort of switch up things in small ways to make sure that you know we can get that human touch from whoever we're working with.

00:31:49.140 --> 00:31:53.579
Yeah, and I think in terms of promotions, you know we try to make it fun for the artists, right?

00:31:53.700 --> 00:32:00.044
Because a lot of these K-pop artists especially if they are bigger artists, especially if they're very well known in the United States.

00:32:00.044 --> 00:32:13.587
Right, they're going on like these PR media tours where they're basically like trying to get three or four interviews done in a day and you can tell which interviews they're kind of like, just like, towards the end of the day.

00:32:13.627 --> 00:32:15.461
They're tired, they're probably hungry.

00:32:15.481 --> 00:32:25.438
you know stuff like that, so we wanted to be able to give them um not only different opportunities on how they can promote themselves, but you know, just give them a fun time.

00:32:25.438 --> 00:32:33.665
I mean there I feel like a lot of people tend to forget, like even though they might be living the life a lot of people want to live right.

00:32:33.727 --> 00:32:37.821
If you want to be an artist, you want to be celebrity in whatever way or form.

00:32:37.821 --> 00:32:45.651
Um, there's a lot of work that goes into it that a lot of normal people can't understand or they won't be able to fully.

00:32:45.832 --> 00:33:08.528
You know put themselves into their shoes so we want to be able to make sure that you know they're having a fun time with us, they're having a good experience, where they want to come back and work with us specifically, um and you know, even if we're covering a press release, for example, like how Jenna stated, before like we try to make sure that we're giving justice to that artist, whether it's a group or an individual, a business, a brand.

00:33:08.548 --> 00:33:29.171
we want to be able to make sure that, again, we're maximizing their potential and that we are really showcasing who they are as people and as well as an artist or a brand, business, whatever it may be, and we also again we started a business as fans, so we know what it is to be a fan and a consumer.

00:33:29.171 --> 00:33:30.625
What are we looking for?

00:33:30.625 --> 00:33:41.587
You know, we know that, especially within K-pop, there's so many fan accounts of many different artists, whether you're a solo artist a group or even an influencer or a content creator.

00:33:41.740 --> 00:33:46.686
There are so many fan accounts that kind of help other fans stay in touch with their favorite artists.

00:33:46.686 --> 00:34:03.605
So we were like we should make a business out of this, but also give credit and honor the people who created fan accounts to kind of help build this sense of community, and we wanted to be able to make other fans proud and be like you know what.

00:34:03.605 --> 00:34:13.882
This is what we've been asking for for so long, and there's actually someone there doing it like you know, legally on a business scale and stuff like that.

00:34:13.943 --> 00:34:23.010
So we wanted to help provide a great experience for both the fans, the artists, the brands the business, the brands, the business, the consumers and everyone involved behind the scenes.

00:34:23.199 --> 00:34:37.150
We want to make sure that everyone is having a great time and a fun time because we honestly believe that if your employees are happy, the consumers will be, happy and I think a lot of people tend to forget that because obviously everything is about money.

00:34:37.170 --> 00:34:42.385
right, you want to as a business, you want to make a profit, you know, you want to help your business keep going and stuff like that.

00:34:42.385 --> 00:34:46.510
But it's also again the intentionality behind everyone that you're working with.

00:34:46.510 --> 00:34:56.045
You want to be able to work with people who are very like-minded, who have good intentions and who honestly just want to make a positive impact on society.

00:34:56.226 --> 00:35:08.625
Yeah, and just piggybacking off of that, I think the other part of what we're doing with our content in video or in format is the fact that we are doing it for the fans.

00:35:08.704 --> 00:35:13.407
But also for those who might not even be fans of whatever we're writing about or that we're filming.

00:35:13.920 --> 00:35:18.833
We want to create an environment where we're informing the public about who this person is who this?

00:35:18.833 --> 00:35:19.335
Brand.

00:35:19.335 --> 00:35:19.817
Is who this?

00:35:19.817 --> 00:35:23.885
Brand is who this business is, but also for the fans.

00:35:24.306 --> 00:35:44.811
We're providing them new things that maybe have not been said before, or we're providing them more deeper insights into their favorite artists or their favorite brand and I think, being able to have that mindset in which our team is very much like okay, how can we take the person who isn't a fan to be able to read this and at least understand and respect who this person?

00:35:44.811 --> 00:35:55.315
Or who this brand or business is, and then, at the same time, still giving the fans what they're wanting, which is new content, which is new information, new questions new questions um.

00:35:55.315 --> 00:35:59.690
You know we have icebreaker questions in our exclusive interviews that don't get asked a lot.

00:36:00.079 --> 00:36:13.387
And you know, it could just be as random as you know, if you could throw a birthday party for your fellow member who you know is having a birthday in the next couple of months, what type of theme would you create for their birthday party?

00:36:13.387 --> 00:36:31.485
The ordinary, but something's just so relatable and so human that it makes the beater whether you're a fan or whether you're just a public viewer just be like oh okay, like this sounds a little bit interesting or this person sounds interesting, and it's just creating that dialogue of being informational but also entertaining.

00:36:32.168 --> 00:36:53.822
Yes, you know what I'm going to call this out because, brianna, you said it, you started this business as fans, but it's so clear to me, and I'm sure, to every single listener today, that you're now running this business as true entrepreneurs and I love the fact that you're years into this journey together and obviously your company has evolved and the way that you've worked has evolved along the years and I know that there's more changes coming in 2025.

00:36:53.822 --> 00:36:56.329
And I'm so excited to follow your successes from there.

00:36:56.329 --> 00:36:58.655
But I do want to talk to you all as entrepreneurs.

00:36:58.655 --> 00:37:06.387
We always close these episodes out by asking the same question and today we get a little bit of a bonus because there's two of you, so we're going to get some bonus insights.

00:37:06.760 --> 00:37:09.784
But what's your one piece of advice For listeners tuning in?

00:37:09.784 --> 00:37:19.110
I know that they're going to be super inspired by the way that you both view your industry and the bridge, the cultural role that you play with everything that you're doing with Everlast Korea.

00:37:19.110 --> 00:37:27.048
But knowing that we're being listened to by thousands of entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs in over 150 countries, what's your advice for them?

00:37:27.048 --> 00:37:36.405
Because you've got a few years of entrepreneurial experience under your belts and so many evolutions and improvements and things to refine and optimize over the many coming years.

00:37:36.405 --> 00:37:38.688
But what's your one piece of advice?

00:37:38.688 --> 00:37:41.293
And I guess two, because we have two of you today.

00:37:43.621 --> 00:37:53.250
I would say my one piece of advice would be to be willing to take risks, obviously, when it comes to us and our business.

00:37:53.250 --> 00:38:02.865
A lot of the risk was involved, me starting this out full time and really trying to figure out oh, am I going to need to make money?

00:38:02.865 --> 00:38:17.373
And insurance is obviously a big thing as well, but as someone who was in many different jobs, and in many different positions and I had actually started doing blogging about Korean culture and entertainment back in 2019.

00:38:18.103 --> 00:38:26.759
And once I started getting you know, more experience than that and then actually getting another job again, I started to realize why I do want to pursue my passion and interest.

00:38:26.759 --> 00:38:36.842
I'm willing to take that risk and, obviously, being on our entrepreneurial journey now, a lot of the risk involved is you know, who are we willing to create relationships with?

00:38:36.882 --> 00:38:38.405
who are we willing to partner with?

00:38:38.405 --> 00:38:40.327
What are we willing to?

00:38:40.327 --> 00:38:47.068
You potentially give up if let's just say you know we're handling a project with a client and we're working with our global partner.

00:38:47.068 --> 00:39:01.295
You know there are a lot of risks involved, whether small or big, and I think, when it comes down to it, my biggest piece of advice is to be willing to be open and to take, you know, scary moments and potentially make it a successful moment in one's life.

00:39:01.460 --> 00:39:04.880
And even if it's not successful, you're going to learn so.

00:39:04.880 --> 00:39:07.085
I think either way taking a risk.

00:39:07.146 --> 00:39:15.291
Whether you win or lose, there's always something great attached to it, whether it's learning a lesson or succeeding into a goal.

00:39:15.579 --> 00:39:27.286
So I think that would be, my piece of advice yeah, and kind of piggybacking on what you said, I think, especially because, like, I'm a very precise person and for the people out there who are just like me.

00:39:28.590 --> 00:39:32.469
You know it is scary to think about taking risks and stuff like that.

00:39:32.469 --> 00:39:36.411
But I think as long as you are confident and taking that risk.

00:39:36.411 --> 00:39:39.849
That's something that I feel like a lot of people tend to forget.

00:39:40.431 --> 00:39:43.032
In terms of you know whether or not you should take that risk.

00:39:43.393 --> 00:39:46.835
Always feel confident about taking that risk always when the pros and cons.

00:39:46.835 --> 00:39:57.429
Always do your research, but I think also, you know, always be open to being adaptable and Always be willing to evolve your business.

00:39:58.360 --> 00:40:04.583
You might have a very, you know, precise vision in terms of how you want to run your business, what your business is about, but.

00:40:04.583 --> 00:40:07.449
I think, especially if you don't have a business background.

00:40:07.911 --> 00:40:14.030
You want to be able to adapt to all the different things that will come your way as an entrepreneur.

00:40:14.030 --> 00:40:20.713
But I think I'm actually going to give three pieces of advice, if that's okay.

00:40:20.713 --> 00:40:29.726
So for me, my number one piece of advice is if you feel like you are not giving, you're not getting opportunities always give yourself an opportunity.

00:40:29.726 --> 00:40:37.648
You feel like because of the advancement of technology and just being able to communicate with many different people around the world.

00:40:38.079 --> 00:40:54.009
Always be willing to network with other people there will always be one person that can change your life and your business, and I honestly believe that reaching out to people on LinkedIn whether it's DMing them on LinkedIn or sending an email, stuff like that.

00:40:54.239 --> 00:41:00.447
There's always gonna be one person that will say yes to meeting with you, talking with you, mentoring you in any way.

00:41:00.447 --> 00:41:06.621
And again, if you're not feeling like you're getting opportunities, you can always create opportunities for yourself.

00:41:06.621 --> 00:41:14.802
You should always be confident in yourself to make your business your dream, your business.

00:41:14.802 --> 00:41:25.784
My second piece of advice is to always feel like, always take risks in terms of who you are as a person.

00:41:25.784 --> 00:41:34.306
Always be willing to grow, because if you can grow yourself on a personal level, your professional career will grow as well.

00:41:35.659 --> 00:41:40.730
So that's my second piece of advice, I think my third piece of advice is to always remember to have fun.

00:41:40.730 --> 00:41:50.262
I know it's a lot of you know it's very stressful to run your own business, to create your own business, but I think, at the end of the day, if you're very passionate about what, you're doing.

00:41:50.603 --> 00:41:54.831
You're having fun with what you're doing you will make your dream a success.

00:41:55.280 --> 00:41:56.782
Never give up.

00:41:57.023 --> 00:42:01.393
I feel like a lot of people tend to give up right at the moment where something big is going to happen.

00:42:01.659 --> 00:42:07.969
And you never know when that moment's going to come but if you have a, gut feeling, that like okay my business is growing.

00:42:08.231 --> 00:42:09.697
I feel like something is going to happen.

00:42:09.697 --> 00:42:12.045
Keep going until something does happen.

00:42:12.045 --> 00:42:14.967
So that's my last piece of advice.

00:42:14.967 --> 00:42:19.282
Just like Winston from New Girl, you're a big fan out there.

00:42:19.282 --> 00:42:28.710
Our moments will come, your moments will come, and you just got to keep working towards it and you know whether that's your plan becoming, you know, your successful journey.

00:42:28.751 --> 00:42:32.474
great If it's your plan, but you end up going another route and you're successful.

00:42:33.295 --> 00:42:34.195
Everything will be okay.

00:42:34.195 --> 00:42:35.117
You will have your moment.

00:42:36.039 --> 00:42:43.427
Yes, these are incredible pieces of advice from two incredible entrepreneurs that I'm so grateful we've had the chance to learn from here today.

00:42:43.427 --> 00:42:56.360
I also know that hearing you both talk about the great things you're doing with Everlast Korea is one thing, but seeing it is a whole nother thing, so I'm super excited for listeners to go deeper into all the incredible work and content that you're doing.

00:42:56.360 --> 00:42:58.601
It's so important in so many different ways.

00:42:58.601 --> 00:43:04.023
So, ladies, work and content that you're doing it's so important in so many different ways.

00:43:04.123 --> 00:43:06.105
So, ladies, drop those links on us when should listeners go from here?

00:43:06.105 --> 00:43:11.807
Yes, we're on Instagram at everlastkorea you can also check out our LinkedIn bio on our Instagram as well.

00:43:11.807 --> 00:43:15.128
You can find us on threads on Twitter, I know some of our.

00:43:15.269 --> 00:43:21.793
Instagram handles have a dot in between Everlast, korea or it's a you know underscore, so just be on the lookout for that.

00:43:22.112 --> 00:43:28.916
But if you just go to our Instagram, handles have a dot in between Everlast Korea, or it's a you know underscore, so just be on the lookout for that.

00:43:29.195 --> 00:43:34.759
But if you just go to our Instagram at Everlast-Korea you'll find our Instagram link in bio and you will find all of our links.

00:43:34.778 --> 00:43:41.684
You can also go to our official platform at Everlast-Koreacom as well, and literally as you open up the website, you will see all of our social platforms there as well, and check us out on YouTube.

00:43:41.583 --> 00:43:42.384
Yes, youtube.

00:43:42.764 --> 00:43:43.708
Just Everlast Korea on YouTube.

00:43:44.309 --> 00:43:46.039
Yes, listeners, you already know the drill.

00:43:46.039 --> 00:43:51.269
We're making it as easy as possible for you to find Everlast Korea and all the incredible work that Jenna and Brianna are doing.

00:43:51.269 --> 00:43:55.643
Down below in the show notes, you'll find all their social handles, as well as a link to their YouTube.

00:43:55.643 --> 00:43:56.164
I love that shout out.

00:43:56.164 --> 00:43:58.608
As well as a link to their YouTube I love that shout out as well as to their website.

00:43:58.608 --> 00:44:00.751
So, listeners, definitely check the show notes down below.

00:44:00.751 --> 00:44:02.775
You can click right on through from there.

00:44:02.775 --> 00:44:06.768
You'll find their main business website at everlast-koreacom.

00:44:06.768 --> 00:44:14.327
Otherwise, jenna, brianna, on behalf of myself, our entire team and all of our listeners worldwide, thanks so much for coming on the show today.

00:44:15.541 --> 00:44:16.568
Thank you so much, brad.

00:44:16.568 --> 00:44:23.027
It is such an honor to be here, and thank you so much to your listeners as well for listening to our story and shout out to your staff as well.

00:44:23.248 --> 00:44:32.304
Yes, thank you hey, it's brian here and thanks for tuning in to yet another episode of the entrepreneur to entrepreneur podcast.

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If you haven't checked us out online, there's so much good stuff there.

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Check out the show's website and all the show notes that we talked about in today's episode at thewantrepreneurshowcom, and I just want to give a shout out to our amazing guests.

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There's a reason why we are ad free and have produced so many incredible episodes five days a week for you, and it's because our guests step up to the plate.

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These are not sponsored episodes.

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These are not infomercials.

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Our guests help us cover the costs of our productions.

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They so deeply believe in the power of getting their message out in front of you, awesome entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs, that they contribute to help us make these productions possible.

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So thank you to not only today's guests, but all of our guests in general, and I just want to invite you check out our website because you can send us a voicemail there.

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We also have live chat.

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If you want to interact directly with me, go to thewantrepreneurshowcom.

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Initiate a live chat.

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It's for real me, and I'm excited Because I'll see you, as always Every Monday, wednesday, friday, saturday and Sunday here on the Wantrepreneur to Entrepreneur.