Starting a new business should be old hat to me.
I have actually lost count. Let me think..... Yagumo Trading, Hobgoblin Japan, Europub Imports, EAP, Hobgoblin Shibuya, eHanbai. Latest ventures Auto-Viz and now, though not "New" but very much "new business"... KELTEQ!
I realized my limitations to grow a business "alone" about 2012 and what "might" be my strengths some years later. What I concluded was that positive thinking and ambitious goals are top priority. Then there are "lessons". Don't try too many new things at one time!! However, at the end of the day survival is the greatest success for most businesses. What's makes that happen is A) luck B) hard work as well as C) the support of so many friends, family and the stakeholders who directly contribute but are probably THE MOST IMPORTANT, staff and suppliers. (n.b. - social media and online platforms are only a distraction - mostly).
Simon Sinek's famous "What we do, How we do it and WHY do we do it" schtick is spot on, to a point.
Customer is king is not a bad policy but I really LOVED when one of my clients gave me his "needs" when we were pitching Vanilla - SAAS selling platform (spoiler alert; new start up on deck). They said "we want to make ordering as simple as possible for our customers" and if we can "make it easier for our guys to make that happen" that would be a bonus. I fell in love with that man, that very minute. Soon after that I heard that Jeff Bezos had a similar point of view (https://www.salesforce.com/blog/jeff-bezos-lessons-blog/). Worked for him! If it ain't broke.......
So now we have the company set up. A bunch of great products and services in the pipeline. A myriad of conversations started from (effectively) my bedroom (THE most "sustainable" office option in my opinion). However, I had to acquiesce and rent some fancy office space. Coffee shop meetings, Zoom and a visit by a client from a listed company to my "home office" made me wonder about doing business in isolation. Now that the SOE is over in Tokyo we shall proceed with caution.
All these years of screaming my lungs out on the Internet and at diner about: "melting icecaps", geothermal energy on a massive scale and "4% of the world's animals being wild" was losing me friends; making family members google "cheap homes for senile" and the dog wonder about his position in the world order. So I decided it is better to make new friends and find like minder persons for adventure and fun.
The cheapest room at the most expensive hotel - go for value - so we are putting a toe in the water in this new world order. That is where you'll find us for a little while to see what happens. Kiyoicho. Central but posh! and only 5 minutes bike ride from home.
The cheapest room at the most expensive hotel - go for value - so we are putting a toe in the water in this new world order. That is where you'll find us for a little while to see what happens. Kiyoicho. Central but posh! and only 5 minutes bike ride from home.
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