When woman business owner and entrepreneur Camilla Kim moved from Seoul, Korea to Los Angeles in 2010, she set out to accomplish one goal: to grow the Palmpring brand in the United States.
Kim followed in the footsteps of her father, Dae-seob Kim, who founded Palmpring in 1996, and joined the company at his request in 2001. After 10 years of working for Palmpring in Korea, Camilla knew she wanted to go her own way and start a business–a bold move given that less than 5% of CEOs and business executives in Korea are female.
Camilla took a moment to chat with MyCity4Her about her business, how she defines success and more. Read her full interview below.
Did you ever imagine yourself achieving what you have?
Yes, I knew that I would be moving to the US to take Palmpring to the next level.
What in hindsight would you say you underestimated about your industry or business and why?
I never underestimated the US bedding industry. I knew from the beginning it would be challenging to introduce a new brand here and make it to the top since there are a lot of competitors with great products.
What is the best business related advice you have ever been given?
It’s better to grow business steadily than to grow too fast and be thrown off balance. Steady, consistent growth is better.
What do you love most about what you do and why?
I love to inform others about our healthy, wonderful products and have people experience blissful sleep and comfort when they experience a Palmpring mattress. I take joy in that.
What if you knew then what you know now –would you do differently and why?
In trying to grow the US market, I admit that I lacked patience at first. I was expecting quick dramatic results each time an article or commercial promoting Palmpring came out.
When you’re not working how do you like to spend your time?
When I am not at work, I like to spend time with my family, playing with my 2 beautiful daughters.
How do you define success?
Doing what I love and working hard is my definition of success.
If you had to share one final thought with our audience of thousands of women in business – what would it be?
Try your hardest till the very end, never give up, and then you will reach your goal.