Meet Carl Choi | Entrepreneur & Creative Executive

We had the good fortune of connecting with Carl Choi and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Carl, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I grew up with an entrepreneur mother who worked from home selling used pianos while raising my brother and me so the lifestyle of the hustle was inherited to both of us via osmosis. Since it was already in the vision for my future career to be an entrepreneur, the thought process of starting my own business was a lot less thinking but a lot more doing. Every job I took up from being a server at a retail food chain to a bank teller taught me to watch closely as to how established organizations ran their shops. From studying their SOP’s, training material, to the everyday routines of opening and closing shop, I soaked it all in with the intention to do it for myself one day. It was obviously very different when you’re applying processes learned from a range of disciplines to your own, but it is the trial and error that helped me refine what works best for my businesses over the years. With the constant changes that take place in today’s business environment, I believe the process of thinking too much may even leave you behind since decisions made with today’s data may be completely obsolete with tomorrow’s data. My process is simple, don’t be ignorant, do my homework, jump in and learn.

What should our readers know about your business?
It has been a journey of discovery and chance when it comes to our business. We began as a nightlife promotions company that serviced 14 cities worldwide then evolved into a talent management company that packaged/produced music artists from USA to Asia. When the dust settled after a solid decade run with our talented roster, we as a company reinvented ourselves into a production studio that had a general capabilities to all things creative. It was not until the recent years where we found our forte in creative strategy consulting and leveraging our vast network of expertise to help our clients and partners thrive in brand engagement. We have scaled up and down over the years but found that our approach to be strategic modular has given us an advantage to keep overhead low thus passing on cost savings to our clients but offering AAA best in class service on the creativity front. We have also been very lucky to maintain true to our ethos as “The Great Company”, a reminder that its not WHAT we do its WHO we do it with. Being able to surround yourself with “great company” internally and externally is the dream come true!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Los Angeles is a beautiful place but none other spot says more about LA than starting the morning a hike up Griffith Park to the Observatory overlooking the Hollywood sign. Endless coffee shops await us late morning on Santa Fe Street in the Arts District in DTLA followed by lunch over great sandwiches presented with freshly baked bread at Bread Lounge. Afternoon drive down the 10 West to Malibu trying our luck with the traffic gods is a must while a quick stop at The Little Beach house by Soho House can’t be a better pitstop. Head back East late afternoon on a local drive down Beverly Blvd to end up at The Grove then get lost in the Farmer’s Market section before landing at Monsieur Marcel’s for a cheese plate to recharge. A MUST for dinner is hitting K-Town for its best-kept secret at Soowon Galbi, a jewel and must stop even for those visiting from Korea! Since we’ll be nice and stuffed by then, its a perfect time to head back to the Grove to catch the latest flick at the Pacific Theatres. Within walking distance right through the Farmer’s Market – Dupar’s Diner is my personal go-to as a closer, the legendary diner has the best corn beef hash in town, and it’s open 24-hours so there isn’t a rush to end the night!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
There is an endless list of individuals that have and continue to help me become a better person in facing the winnings and losses of life. One person I must recognize is my wife who met me when I had nothing, at the lowest of my career, and she believed in me enough to come along for the ride. Since meeting her, “My Story” has become “Our Story” because I wouldn’t be able to do what I do without her constant coaching, encouragement, and faith in reaching for my dreams.

Website: www.thegreatcompany.com
Instagram: @thegreatcompany OR @carlchoi
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-great-company OR https://www.linkedin.com/in/carlchoi/
Twitter: @carlchoi OR @thegreatcompany
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheGreatCo OR https://www.facebook.com/carlchoi
Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/soowon-galbi-kbbq-restaurant-los-angeles-2
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/GreatCoTV