Why I Don't Understand Starting a Business in Tokyo

I have gone bankrupt three times.

But after that, working only 4 hours a day, I successfully sold my company to a listed corporation for approximately 1 billion yen in just 3 years.

Obviously, I didn't suddenly become a business genius after failing three times.

What changed?

"Business is all about trends."

https://x.com/minatoku_genkai/status/1931234310843175052

A meeting to lower CPA from ¥1,000 to ¥900 (a ¥100 reduction) is less effective than changing the market by 100x.

When running a company, you spend a huge amount of time on things like:

• Lowering CPA from ¥1,000 to ¥900
• Increasing CVR by 3%
• Improving sales closing rates by 5%
• Reducing churn rate by 1%
• Boosting productivity by 10%

Of course, all these are important, and I've done them extensively.

But those few percent improvements are easily blown away by the power of trends.

In a market where demand is expanding rapidly but competition is non-existent, customer acquisition costs are low. Supply cannot keep up with demand.

In such a market, you don't need high-level strategy; you grow simply by doing the basics.

Conversely, no matter how much you improve management in a headwind market, it remains tough.

Therefore, I believe that

Management is a game of deciding "where, when, and how to bet" before fine-tuning numbers.

↓ Think about the essence of marketing

https://x.com/minatoku_genkai/status/1964532867394130432

↓ Don't chase variables that only create margin errors

https://x.com/minatoku_genkai/status/1975764068507263346

The 3 Years Betting on the Instagram Market

One of the markets I bet big on was Instagram.

In 2019, individual Instagrammers were starting to grow, appearing alongside magazine models, and more people were earning income as sole proprietors.

I believe there is a certain flow to any market.

① Innovators (individuals) achieve results

↓

② Individuals form a market.

↓

③ Early adopters jump on board.

↓

④ It begins to cross the chasm.

↓

⑤ Corporate budgets enter.

SEO was the same. First, individual blogs rose, then companies branded their internal blogs as "Owned Media" and started pouring large budgets into them.

It is common knowledge now that SEO involves budgets that individuals can never compete with.

When I looked at Instagram, I was convinced the same flow would come.

"Next, corporations will definitely start building media on Instagram."

As a result, in just 3 years (and without working even 4 hours a day):

• 6,000 inquiries per month without sales efforts
• 3 consecutive new businesses reaching ¥10 million MRR within 12 months
• Attracted 7,000 attendees to paid events
• Sold over 100,000 copies of books
• Ultimately sold the company for approx. ¥1 billion

¥10 million MRR means guaranteed subscription revenue of ¥10 million per month. Creating this in 3 consecutive businesses means creating a business that brings in ¥30 million monthly while sleeping (of course, there are other businesses too).

My abilities didn't increase tenfold in 3 years.

This is proof of strong tailwinds.

Trends Can Be Predicted to Some Extent

Companies recently talked about on X or YouTube are similar.

In an era of urban concentration and AI, labor shortages for essential workers will absolutely accelerate, and inflow from white-collar workers will also increase.

This is an example of tailwinds blowing at points where supply and demand are significantly distorted.

https://x.com/sakaiman100/status/2096494014468162019

Also, a company known to me started an AI school when the generative AI market emerged.

In just 1-2 years, it grew to exceed ¥400 million in monthly sales.

Achieving ¥400 million monthly sales from zero in 1-2 years in a normal market doesn't happen easily.

This is the power of trends.

So, for the next 10 years.

Where is the biggest distortion?

I naturally think it's 'Regional Areas' (the countryside).

I'm not analyzing regional areas; I live there, so I know things others don't.

I moved my entire family to a marginal settlement over a year ago.

We live in a house over 100 years old. It has gaps everywhere, leaks rain, and drafts are severe—hot in summer, cold in winter.

Because of this, I get primary information: raw voices and gut feelings that you'll never get from searching online or asking AI.

I do farming.

I visit busy restaurants in rural areas.

I experience activities myself.

I look at vacant houses.

I talk to local business owners.

I talk to municipal governments.

I renovate my own home by assigning craftsmen myself.

Then, distortions invisible to Google Search become visible.

For example, kitchens.

A kitchen seen in a manufacturer's showroom cost about ¥5 million.

But if built custom with furniture makers and carpenters, it could be more free, my preferred design, for about ¥700,000.

There is a huge gap between market norms and actual costs.

This is something you understand by experiencing it locally as a user and communicating with people from various genres.

Also, I can casually meet mayors and department heads of municipalities, and easily connect with local entrepreneurs.

I am invited to give seminars by Junior Chambers and Young Entrepreneurs Associations.

And now,

I operate facilities that would require over ¥300 million investment to build, for ¥0.

From the perspective of me one year ago, this is truly 'incomprehensible' territory, and exactly what 'falling luck' means.

Regional Business ROI is Bugged.

In just these last 3 months, I encountered quite abnormal cases.

What surprised me wasn't just the size of sales.

The return is too large relative to the money and time invested.

Investment: Acquired a facility developed for over ¥300 million for ¥0

Return: Monthly sales over ¥3 million

Investment: ¥0 rent + kitchen equipment from Mercari

Return: Monthly sales over ¥3 million

Investment: Initial investment nearly ¥0

Return: Monthly sales ¥15 million

Investment: SNS operation ¥50,000/month

Return: Occupancy rate 7% → 70%

Investment: Former employee, 3 months

Return: Monthly income ¥500,000 → ¥3 million

Investment: 3 hours/day

Return: Monthly income over ¥1 million

Attributing all this to 'excellent managers' is actually unreasonable.

The market itself is bugged. That's the only conclusion.

And verification is beginning.

AlbaLink, which recently went public, is one symbol of this.

They acquire, regenerate, and distribute real estate that people ask, "Who would buy such a dilapidated detached house?"

From a niche-looking market until recently, a listed company has emerged.

https://x.com/sakaiman100/status/2073239508137713785

Large corporate capital is also starting to enter town-making companies.

Tourism.

Vacant houses.

Accommodation.

Regional transportation.

Business succession.

Regional assets.

↓ ¥70 billion gathering in deep countryside

https://x.com/minatoku_genkai/status/2012043961469448278

The atmosphere is clearly shifting from 'regional revitalization as social contribution' to 'regions as investment targets.'

If large corporations seriously enter,

Capital flows in,

Talented people flow in,

Assets start getting fair prices,

I don't think these kinds of distortions will remain forever.

That's why riding this trend must be done now.

You don't make money doing anything in the countryside. Of course not.

Some might think, "So if I go to the countryside, will I make money doing anything?"

That's completely wrong.

If you open a cafe in a place with no people, it will fail normally. Just because vacant houses are cheap doesn't mean you should buy them. Just because it's a tourist spot doesn't mean you should build lodging.

What I am targeting is not

'The Countryside'.

Places where demand remains but supply has disappeared.

Tourists come.

→ But there is no lodging.

People live there.

→ But there are no restaurants.

Companies exist.

→ But there are no successors.

Assets exist.

→ But there are no users.

(Incidentally, property belonging to the state due to lack of heirs amounts to approx. ¥130 billion annually.)

Find places with large supply-demand gaps.

So, how do you find such places?

I will discuss this finding method at the end, so please read on.

Don't You Want FIRE, But Aren't You Working Like a Bee?

Another reason I find current regional business interesting is that it is the opposite of trending jobs.

AI consulting, SNS management, video editing, web production, online schools.

Of course, they are profitable now.

But you broadcast yourself, sell yourself, teach yourself, and if you stop, sales stop.

And how many people can answer "YES" to this question?

"Will the work you are doing still sell at the same unit price in 5 years?"

If it were me, I'd want to run a business like this:

• People say "thank you" looking at your face
• It runs without me
• Can be horizontally expanded to other regions
• Tangible assets remain
• Demand exists in 10 years

There are many stories that cannot be written on SNS.

What I most want to convey is not "Go to the countryside."

It is

How to find the next market, when, and how to bet on it.

Naturally, it's full of stories that can't be posted on SNS.

Businesses where real names cannot be disclosed.

Revenue figures that cannot be made public.

Actual property acquisition prices.

Specific interactions with municipalities and local companies.

Regional businesses rooted in communities don't benefit from boasting "Our restaurant makes ¥5 million a month" on SNS, so information doesn't come out.

I have constructed a system to gather this information to me and continue to pioneer it.

This is undoubtedly information that AI and SNS will not know in 10 years.

Since you have patiently watched my humble country life, I want to deliver this information without hiding anything, so I decided to present it in a seminar format.

▼ Seminar Content (Free)

1. How to find businesses easy to target for gross profit over ¥1 million/month
2. How to find "regions with demand but no supply"
3. How to use land/buildings cheaply to free
4. How to easily involve municipalities, financial institutions, and local companies
5. How to start a business with ¥0 personal funds
6. How to use SNS, AI, and marketing in regional areas
7. What regional businesses you should "absolutely not do"
8. If entering from employment or side hustle, what to start with

After listening to the seminar, you will want to move immediately, and you will know how to move.

I have crafted it to be that kind of content, so please expect it.

▼ Get seminar details by adding LINE

https://go.the-local.net/s/ndAMAzF

Become the side that reads the market and receives the tailwind, not the side chasing the market.

About a year since I migrated, I will speak everything in this seminar about the materials to ride the wave of regional business derived from field sensations, surveys, and logical analysis.

In any case, the next 10 years will be the era of regional trends. Amidst this, various information will fly around on SNS.

This will surely become the foundation for selecting/dropping that information and incorporating it into your business.

I say it again, business is all about "market selection" and "which trend to ride."

If you are currently looking for "Where to bet for the next 10 years," you should listen to this seminar once.

I confidently say that after the seminar, you will feel excited, want to move, and want to tell someone. Please look forward to it.

To those who read to the end.

Over these past 3 months, regarding what kind of business to start in regional areas, focusing on:

• No dependency on specific individuals
• Nationwide expansion possible
• Demand won't disappear in 10 years

I summarized about 10 items in documents.

Participants of this seminar will receive these illustrated documents for free, so please accept them.

(I also created a ~30-page document on the thinking process for considering regional businesses, so I will include that too.)

▼ Get seminar details by adding LINE

https://go.the-local.net/s/ndAMAzF

I look forward to meeting everyone at the seminar.