SmallBizResource Blog -- Women in Business

Shustir.com Co-Founder Shu Kim: Wednesday's Woman

Posted by Gayle Kesten Wednesday, Jun 24, 2009, 02:00 PM ET

Shu Kim's family emigrated from Seoul, South Korea, to New York when she was only three; ironically, a work assignment took her back many years later. In retrospect Kim realized the time she spent in her birthplace helped her tap into her entrepreneurial roots.

Khanh Pham and Shu Kim

"Professionally I went from 1 to 100. It pushed me to the limit and tested my abilities in so many ways," said Kim, a lawyer who joined Lehman's global real estate financing group in 1999 and was immediately moved to South Korea to launch the firm's real estate platform. "South Korea was a real entrepreneurial experience, and emphasized the characteristics that are servingd me well in my own business."

Back in Lehman's New York office, Kim and co-worker Khanh Pham, who worked in the same group, quickly became good friends. "We used to go out to lunch and talk about starting our own thing some day. This went on for years," said Kim, who lives in Weston, Conn., with her husband and two young children. An idea started to take shape in early January 2008 -- just a few months before Pham was laid off. A few months after that, Kim decided to leave on her own. "No one knew Lehman was going to declare bankruptcy, but I did know it wasn't going to be good," Kim told me. "At that point [in May] I said to myself, 'I can't do my job at Lehman and focus 100% on [this idea with Khanh]. I decided to leave and work with Khanh."

What they were working on was a site called Shustir.com, which provides an optimized, interactive "virtual storefront" for small business owners and freelancers who don't have the money, time, and/or know-how to build their own online presence. "We cater to small businesses, entrepreneurs, and those who've lost their jobs and are looking to re-create themselves," Kim explained. "Khanh and I are examples of that."

Shustir.com, which went live around 2-1/2 months ago, officially launched at the end of May. To date, more than 14,000 storefronts have set up shop on Shustir, the majority of which are women-owned, ranging from freelancers to small mom and pop stores, liquor stores, grocery stores, delis, gift shops, and clothing stores. Setting up a site is free for up to eight offerings, and $25 per month if the store requires ecommerce functionality. Paying members account for 30% of Shustir's base, "which is OK by us," Kim said. "Right now we really want to push and expand the platform. We're more in the growth phase."

Read on for my conversation with Kim, who shares how she and Khanh expanded Shustir's original scope based on initial feedback, when she finally realized outside financing was in order to get the business moving forward, and what's on Shustir's near-term horizon.

SBR: You and Khanh come from the world of real estate financing. Why didn't you choose to start a small business related to that?
SK: We knew that anything we did had to be about online. We also felt that if we were going to develop a business, why not do something that benefits people, and gives them a tool to reach out over a geographic mass instead of just locally? We brainstormed many ideas; one idea evolved to the next until Shustir was born. We don't tell this to a lot of people, but initially Shustir was targeted for the Asian-American community whereby it would be a one-stop marketplace to showcase their businesses and, at the sa- Americans own small businesses. Once we started developing the site, we started talking to people, and they were saying, "We're not Asian, but we really need something like this. Khahn and looked at each other and said, "Let's open this up to everybody." It's a win-win because if we open it up to everyone, it's inclusive of Asian American businesses.

SBR: Did either one of you have Web experience?
SK: Zero. We outsourced with a Web firm, and they played a huge part. We brainstormed our idea with them, and they were good about translating our concepts onto the Web, making the site simple and functional. We were there almost every day! What you see on the Web is very similar to what we had in our minds.

SBR: So now you're starting a new business, you're paying someone to develop it, and you're without an income.
SK: That's right -- and that was the cause of my stress for six months. We both put in our own equity to start this, but soon realized the money involved in marketing and optimizing Shustir [for the search engines] would be enormous. That's when we realized it was time to get angel funding. We went out, but in that market, who was going to fund us? It was so hard. We spent two months looking for the right person to believe in us and our platform.

SBR: And then?
SK: Finally I reached out to a friend who was hedge fund manager in London; he wanted to diversify his investments and was really interested. I flew out to London and met with him. He really believed in our mission and business model, and he trusted the fact that because we had finance backgrounds, we knew how to float a business. He became our angel investor. Without him we wouldn't have been able to move this forward the way we have, especially with the launching phase.

SBR: What makes Shustir different from other online marketplaces?
SK: It's interactivity. Shustir is not only a place where small businesses can showcase their goods and services, but it's a place to showcase themselves. It's the face behind the small business. In this economy if I have $50 to spend, I'd rather give it to a small business because I know it's going back into a community; it's not lost in big-box retail. Shustir gives small business owners the Web visibility they need most.

SBR: Why should a small business use Shustir rather than build its own storefront?
SK: They could have a standalone Website, but it costs a lot of money. And, while people who know about the business will be able to find them, new visitors -- forget about it. Small businesses need a platform that's already SEO'ed [so new customers can] find their storefront. It's takes a lot of money, time, and knowledge to optimize a site, which your everyday shop owner doesn't have.

SBR: How did you build SEO into your platform?
SK: We hired an SEO firm who is right now as we speak creating catalog pages for the platform. It's looking at all of the storefronts on Shustir, making sure all of the keywords are optimized. Within two or three months we hope the site will be really optimized. Then as more user content builds, the more optimized Shustir will be, so within six to 12 months it'll be in a good place.

SBR: How did they first learn about you?
SK: Initially through all word of mouth. We actually pounded the pavement, so to speak, visiting all these stores in my neighborhood, New York, and Brooklyn -- and then after being exhausted after two weeks of doing that, they started spreading the word themselves, so it was very grassroots. Then we engaged with a traditional PR company, and then once our press release was done, it went everywhere.

SBR: Do you do anything involving social media?
SK: Yes. We created a Facebook page, a Twitter page, we created an online presentation video that we put on YouTube, and we started blogging. We did a lot of that.

SBR: What's involved in setting up a storefront?
SK: All you need is a valid email address. You just click on any of the buttons that say, "Create New Account," and it'll prompt you to fill in some fields. You'll get a link, you click on the link, and you're verified and on.

SBR: What do you get with Shustir's for-pay membership?
SK: You get unlimited enrollment images, videos, ecommerce, and Google AdSense on your storefront. All revenue you get from Adsense goes to you. We hope that one day when we get a lot of traffic that $25 a month will be a wash. If you're blogging and active, that Google Adsense will create enough income to offset the $25. We also sell some content ads, but we're not really banking on that.

SBR: What's next for Shustir?
SK:. In a few weeks we are implementing phase 2 of Shustir, which will include an expansion of the consumer advocacy profile area. Let's say you don't have a business -- you're a consumer coming on. You'll be able to set up a consumer profile, put up information about yourself, and then advocate by posting your favorite businesses and inviting businesses you like to the site. We're trying to create more of an intersection between customers and storefronts.

SBR: What is the most challenging part about running your own business?
SK: Disciplining yourself, keeping focused on what you need to do next, and keeping the people who are on Shustir on. Other challenging part is sometimes feeling like you're the only one who believes in what you're doing. Luckily, I have a lot of support, and I get a lot of inspiration from our members.

SBR: What are your must-have technologies?
SK: I love my iPhone. I have to be on the Internet, and although the new BlackBerry does that, I'm already comfortable with my iPhone. It enables me to get on my Website quickly. All my social media is right on my phone.

SBR: Finally, what was it like for you switching from corporate to the world of self-employment?
SK: I tell my husband that it was easier when I worked at Lehman because I had the uncanny ability that when I left the building I would completely forget and focus on what I was going to next, which was my family. But now that I work from home I'm constantly thinking about what I need to do, who I have to speak to, the email, etc. I've been getting better at putting that aside and really spending quality time with my kids, and then going upstairs and working. I'm the most productive at night. Then I'm lucky because my husband is such a wonderful person. He's a stay-at-home parent and does most of the work.

---

Recent Wednesday's Woman articles:

• TwiddleMuff Maker Margaret Light
  
• Social Media: Where The Girls Are
  
• RosieKnows.com Founder Rosemary Blandford
  
• Spiral Shell Web Founder CM Boryslawskyj
  
• Connected-Women Founder Runa Magnusdottir
  
• Archives

The Wednesday's Woman series is written for today's community of hard-working, small-business women, featuring profiles, industry trends, research, work/life b

Women in Business

This is a public forum. CMP Media and its affiliates are not responsible for and do not control what is posted herein. CMP Media makes no warranties or guarantees concerning any advice dispensed by its staff members or readers.

Community standards in this comment area do not permit hate language, excessive profanity, or other patently offensive language. Please be aware that all information posted to this comment area becomes the property of CMP Media LLC and may be edited and republished in print or electronic format as outlined in CMP Media's Terms of Service.

Important Note: This comment area is NOT intended for commercial messages or solicitations of business.