WE GROW TOGETHER Interview Series - Changgo Salon

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Simple Steps presents an interview series introducing inspiring women’s communities and companies that solve difficult problems in the name of solidarity. The third interviewee is Changgo Salon.

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Changgo Salon is a paid online community for women, which began its first season in December 2020. With more than 80 salons under its belt, it is now preparing for its third season. The first two seasons saw 70 paid members, about 60 percent of whom have participated since Season 1. Approximately 200 people have participated in Changgo Salon, including Open Salon, which is open to non-members.

On July 21, 2021 (PST), Simple Steps met the three co-founders and Connectors-in-Chief: Hyunjin Hong (Narrative Connector), Inseong Choe (Creative Connector), and Hyeyoung Jeon (Discovering Connector). They told us about how Changgo Salon saw such dramatic growth and became the tight community it is. 

 

1. Tell us about Changgo Salon and how it began.

Hyeyoung: Changgo Salon is a paid online community where Reference+ers can share their unique narratives about how they made their own choices at certain inflection points in their career and life.

Changgo Salon’s motto is “my narrative becomes a reference.” It calls its members Reference+er because Changgo Salon believes that we can be a reference to each other. Our slogan is to “create a sustainable career and life according to one’s speed and style.”

Our community consists of the following: Story Salon, where we engage in structured conversations, discussing books and movies; Reference+er Salon, where we share our experience and stories; Special Salon, where we talk about a subject in depth; Interest Group Salon, which Reference+er members make and participate in freely; Class Salon in Salon, where Changgo Salon offers different classes.

Inseong: I was trying to build a business model on the “life and career of women who became moms” when I participated in Google Campus for Moms. That’s where I met Hyeyoung. Hyunjin and I had worked together at a media outlet, and we had co-founded the webzine Mothertive (Mother+Narrative). The three of us had common themes in life: women, career, and life. We talked a lot about these subjects, and, after a while, we decided to make a community, which became what is now Changgo Salon. We all share a love of books and movies, so our first event was a small culture salon. 

Hyeyoung: I went back to work thanks to the “Impact Career W (ICW)” program. The program was organized by the social sector that helps women with career breaks go back to work. This experience made me realize that I wasn’t the only one experiencing a career break and that it is a common social problem to which many women can relate. I met Inseong at Google Campus for Moms, and I found out that she was also interested in this subject. The two of us had already discussed it a lot when Inseong introduced me to Hyunjin, and the three of us hit it off right away.

Those days, we often met at Daerim Changgo, in Seongsu-dong, Seoul. That’s where we got the brand name “Changgo Salon.” When we looked up the etymology of changgo (warehouse), we found out its historical significance. It was used to preserve important things and also contribute to a flourishing culture. We felt that our business model was similar to that. The name “Changgo Salon” bears our hope that our community serves as a place where our members will preserve their uniqueness and potential and follow their visions.

Hyunjin: Everyone knows that people need references and colleagues. Quitting a job can feel like the end to everything. However, once we see cases that don’t fit the usual dichotomy of life or work, this or that, we realize that there are many more pathways to life and that our choices have to be true to who we are. We felt a real need for an emotionally supportive membership community where members know that their unique story (narrative) can be a reference to others, engage in conversations in a safe environment, and fully support one another.

2. Can you tell me about the members of Changgo Salon?

Hyunjin: We are women who think about having and keeping a sustainable career and life. Working moms make up more than 80 percent. Some women are on maternity leave, while others are childless and mulling over career and life decisions. Younger women in need of role models come to our community, as well as people who have retired. In other words, our members are mainly hardworking women in their 30s and 40s who act as a reference to one another. 

Hyeyoung: In brief, those are people who share our identities with their unique narratives: women at the inflections points in their lives, such as marriage, birth, childcare. These did not matter too much before they became a mother. Many are alpha girls of Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z, struggling to balance their life and career sustainably.

Inseong: We built this community on a mother’s life, so most are married with children. That said, all women, who can be described to be at certain inflection points in life and career, can join. They are often experiencing burnouts or struggling between caregiving and a job.

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3. What new things did you learn from running Changgo Salon?

Hyunjin: For Season 1, we were grateful that people would come to Changgo Salon even though they didn’t know us well, so we prepared a densely packed program. We later learned that members wanted to share each other’s stories more. That is why we decreased our roles in Season 2 and left more space for our members to do more. Once we realized how talented and capable our members were, we followed their lead.

Inseong: We learned that giving them a platform was much more important than planning a great program. When we were keen on providing our members with the best services we could come up with, they seemed to be pressured. As Hyunjin said, all we had to do was allow our members to do something. We thought we had to do a lot for them, but that wasn’t it. Our members were happy to be heard. All we had to do was suggest what to talk about or what to do together. It wasn’t really necessary for us to lead them.  

4. How did you tackle failures or difficulties?

Hyeyoung: It seems like there are (and always will be) failures and difficulties. First, there were several beginners’ mistakes. We experienced more problems as we started and ran Changgo Salon. There were also many other issues. Sometimes we didn’t have enough time, got sick, or something happened to our family members. It’s still difficult for the three of us to work together as a team and run our organization. Yet, we believe that being honest about it and sharing our difficulties will help us in this experiment of balancing our work and life sustainably. It still is a work in progress.

Inseong: We founded Changgo Salon for more sustainability in work and life, but I was disconcerted to find myself often facing burnout. We are all hardworking by nature, so we must learn to rest and make each other rest too.

Hyunjin: We are very honest with our members about our troubles and difficulties. When we stopped pretending that everything was fine and opened up to our members, our members created interest groups, where we discussed how to rest, how we (should) feel about rest, and how to manage our time. We keep telling ourselves and each other that we need to slow down and rest more if we want to continue the Salon until we grow old.

Hyeyoung: We used to torment ourselves when we thought that our plan and program weren’t good enough for a paid membership. But when we tried something and the result was poor, our members were very supportive. They said, “It’s OK if it doesn’t work. Better luck next time. Let’s just do it this way today.” We are very grateful for this empowering community. Changgo Salon is not something that rests solely on our shoulders, but something that we build together with our members. We talk about our stories, not qualifications, and discover each other at Changgo Salon, and we want to keep it that way.

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5.  Say someone just donated ten million dollars to Changgo Salon. How would you use it?

Inseong: This may sound too idealistic, but I want to share more opportunities with our community. I want our Reference+ers to challenge themselves and bring their A-game to Changgo Salon, and I’d like to compensate them fully.

Hyeyoung: It was a happy thought, for sure. In the beginning, when we brainstormed about Changgo Salon’s roadmap, we wanted to become a talent agency and support our Reference+ers with our resources to help them reach their full potential. 

6. What is your vision or plan for the future?

Hyunjin: Our slogan is to “create a sustainable career and life on one’s own terms and pace.” The Connectors-in-Chief are experimenting with our business model and four-day workweek so that we can avoid burnout. The thing is, our discussion on burnout can be the source of our prolonged burnout. (LOL)

Inseong: When our system becomes stable enough, I would like Connectors-in-Chief to participate in events like other Reference+ers while others run the community. I hope Changgo Salon runs smoothly even without us.

Hyeyoung: The three of us share the same goals. I hope we can expand to B2B and sow the seeds of Chango Salon’s culture and experience for others to benefit from our spirit.

7. What do you hope to get from connecting with other communities? 

Hyunjin: I identify as a narrative nerd, so naturally I am curious about what stories other communities hold. I also thought Changgo Salon could do a project together with another community. Maybe Simple Steps’ interview will mark the beginning of that.

Inseong: I don’t expect much, but I still believe different communities could help and complement each other. Many women communities exist, but they are too dispersed. It’s hard for a single individual or group of people to find the right community for their needs. Simply connecting with other communities while staying true to one’s objectives may be beneficial for all.

Hyeyoung: It’d be great for Changgo Salon and other communities to connect and stand with each other in solidarity. We are always open to such possibilities. Sounds exciting!


Interview date: July 21, 2021

Written by Jiyoon Yoo

WE GROW TOGETHER Interview Series was sponsored by the Code States. Code States offers software engineering, data science, AI, blockchain, growth marketing, and product management education.

 
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