June 30, 2019　=========

☆  disciplined  訓練された

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Someone who is disciplined behaves or works in a controlled way. If you are running your own business, being disciplined is probably one of the most important things you need to be, I think. When you have a job, you “have to” get up and go to work. You “have to” listen to your boss and do what they say.

But what do you do if you are the boss!!??? If you’re not disciplined, then it might be easy to take a day off when the sun is shining. If you’re not disciplined, then you might be tempted to skip the deadline and do it later… allRead more about June 30 – disciplined[…]

June 29, 2019　=========

☆  motivated  やる気に満ちた

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I think one of the hardest things for running a small business is staying motivated. When you first start, everything is new and exciting, and you are learning new things, and being motivated is easy.

That is one reason I am interested in reading the book I mentioned by Paul Jarvis, Company of One. I haven’t read it yet, and I’m interested to know what he says about staying motivated. If you are in a company or have employees, then you have people to talk with and you can keep each other motivated. But what about a Company of One? How do you keep yourself motivated whenRead more about June 29 – motivated[…]

June 28, 2019　=========

☆  frugal  倹約的な

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A key to business success is being frugal, I think. Especially in the beginning, when you are just starting out. Unfortunately, this is one lesson I learned from experience! Oh no!! As I said, when I got my first client I celebrated, and when I got my first payment, I went shopping… I was definitely not frugal back then!

Now, even though my business is not new or just starting out, I am much more frugal. Not in a stingy or negative way. I just try not to spend more than necessary, and definitely don’t buy things the business doesn’t need… (mostly!)

How about you? Do you thinkRead more about June 28 – frugal[…]

June 27, 2019　=========

☆  long-term 長期的な

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Another sample answer from the Q&A this month is, “Having long-term goals to keep you motivated.” In fact, I would say that this is good advice for a successful life, not just a successful business, what do you think?

In Australia, June 30 is the end of financial year, so June is actually good timing for businesses to start thinking about long-term goals. Many businesses have EOFY Sales – End of Financial Year sales, trying to get businesses to buy new machines or new cars, etc., to save money before they have to pay tax.

It’s a dangerous situation for a business! Without long-term goals, you might think,Read more about June 27 – long-term[…]

June 26, 2019　=========

☆  consistent  一貫した

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If you are consistent, you are constant, dependable, regular, persistent, unchanging. If you are consistent in business, you take action on a regular basis. The Q&A for this week is “What do you think is important for business success?” One of the sample answers is, “Taking consistent action.”

I think this is a great answer – it’s true you must take constant and consistent action. And you also much be dependable, and unchanging. One of the reasons McDonald’s is so successful is not because of the delicious burgers (because are they even delicious?? I don’t think so!). They are successful because they are consistent. No matter whereRead more about June 26 – consistent[…]

June 25, 2019　=========

☆  immediate 緊急の

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An immediate result or action is something that happens without delay. When I started my business and got my first client, my immediate reaction was to celebrate! And when I got my first payment for a huge amount of work I did, my immediate action after the money hit my bank account was to buy myself something! Ha ha! I was quite young at the time, so that is my excuse!

Not anymore, though! Now that I have a family, and other financial commitments, my immediate reaction to getting a payment from a client is to transfer it into my bank account and work out what “job”Read more about June 25 – immediate[…]

June 24, 2019　=========

☆  calculated  計算された

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If something is calculated to have a particular effect, it is specially done or arranged in order to have that effect. Other words you can use are deliberate, intentional, planned or intended.

The most common way you’ll hear this word used in terms of business, is that someone took a “calculated risk”. This means that the person is doing something that they think might be successful, but they know it is risky, and they have fully considered the possible negative consequences.

For example, if you decide quit your job to start your own business, you would hopefully say it is a calculated risk – you have considered theRead more about June 24 – calculated[…]

June 23, 2019　=========

☆  stand out  目立つ

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Continuing on from yesterday, and the idea from Paul Jarvis of staying small… he says there are over 152 million blogs on the Internet, over 12 million books on Amazon. Over 7 million products on Etsy… that is a lot of people trying to sell stuff and get our attention.

So, if you are a business owner, how do you stand out from these millions and get people to buy from you not one of the other million people? Paul Jarvis says you do it by having other people recommending you. The connections you make with other people are what make you stand out.

To do this,Read more about June 23 – stand out[…]

June 22, 2019　=========

☆  grow  成長する

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One thing that most people believe about business is that you need to grow and in order to grow, you need to hire staff and make the company bigger. Interestingly, a man called Paul Jarvis has recently published a book called “Company of One.”

His book is all about staying small! Instead of just growing your business by making it bigger, he says you should think about making your business better instead of bigger. His idea is that you need a rich life, not to actually be rich. He says the key to doing this is not to grow to a big scale company, but instead workRead more about June 22 – grow[…]

June 21, 2019　=========

☆  analyze  分析する

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If you do start a business, you’ll need to analyze it often; in other words, you’ll need to monitor and check internal and external variables to see where you are successful and whether you need to make any changes.

So, what kinds of things can you use to analyze your business? Customer research using surveys online or in-person, for example. If you have a product, you will want to analyze your production, and make sure that quality is high and consistent. If you are a small business with staff, then analyzing labor costs is very important. Salary costs can be quite high, so if you are notRead more about June 21 – analyze[…]

June 20, 2019　=========

☆  implement  実施する

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If you implement something, such as a plan, you ensure that what has been planned is done. Other words with a similar meaning are carry out, execute, or perform. Remember the detailed plan I talked about a few emails ago? Well, one problem with it was that it was not at all inspiring.

The other problem was that although it was well-thought out, it lacked a clear way to implement it. The goals and objectives were clear, but I didn’t take time to break them down into goals, so that I had actual tasks to implement. I wonder if I went back and looked at it again,Read more about June 20 – implement[…]

June 19, 2019　=========

☆  sacrifice  犠牲にする

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When you sacrifice something that is valuable or important, you give it up, usually to obtain something else. For example, the useful phrase is something that you see quite a bit in Australia with people who run their own businesses. “Don’t sacrifice your health for your business.”

Do you know anyone who does this? My sister did for a while. She and her husband ran a very successful phone installation company. Unfortunately, they both sacrificed their health while running the business. They were too busy, no time for relaxation or rest. Thankfully, they sold that business and now have a new business which doesn’t require them toRead more about June 19 – sacrifice[…]

June 18, 2019　=========

☆  complete  仕上げる

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If you complete something, you finish doing, making, or producing it. One common business strategy I see these days, is people marketing a product they haven’t completed making! This way, they get people interested in buying the product, and get them to give their email address to go on a list, so they can be notified when the product is completed and ready to purchase.

One way this works well, is using a website like Kickstarter. I really love this way of doing business. If you have an idea for a product, or a sample of your product, but not really sure if it’ll be successful, youRead more about June 18 – complete[…]

June 17, 2019　=========

☆  avoid  避ける

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If you want to start up and run a successful business, then you need to know what to do, but also what to avoid. One of the main things to avoid is undervaluing your product or service. So many new business owners think that a cheaper price is more attractive to the customer or they lack the confidence to charge the price they want or need to charge to be profitable. Try to avoid this mistake!

Another big mistake new business owners make is avoiding marketing. There are no rules on how to market your business. You can do word of mouth, or internet marketing, or evenRead more about June 17 – avoid[…]

June 16, 2019　=========

☆  knowledge  知識

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Many people think they don’t have enough knowledge to start their own business, but most people have a lot of life experience that can be used for their business. If you have employees, then you have access to their knowledge too!

If you choose to start a business in the area that you already work in, then you have a lot of knowledge already. The thing is though, thanks to the internet, you can access the knowledge of almost all the people in the world! If you want knowledge about your market, google it! Want to know what your customers are thinking? Google it!

So, if you’re thinkingRead more about June 16 – knowledge[…]

June 15, 2019　=========

☆  reward  報酬

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Ah, the reward! The compensation for running your own business. This is where it gets interesting! At a job, your reward is fixed, right? You might get a raise every now and then, but essentially, your reward doesn’t change much even if the company becomes very successful.

On the other hand, if you are the owner of the business, the success of the business greatly affects the amount of the reward you get. Firstly, any increase in profit is yours to distribute how you want to. It could be a bonus to yourself, or to your staff. But, best of all, I think is the non-monetary rewardRead more about June 15 – reward[…]

June 14, 2019　=========

☆  risk リスク

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The useful phrase this week is, “Sometimes it’s OK to take risks.” What do you think about this, do you agree or disagree? On the topic of business, when do you think it would be OK to take risks?

Leaving a paid job, to start your own business is probably the biggest risk of all, and I think that is why so many people never do it. They dream about starting their own business, but the risk of failure and then not being able to find another job is too scary. This is definitely true if you have a family to support or a mortgage to pay.

IfRead more about June 14 – risk[…]

June 13, 2019　=========

☆  result  結果

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Your business results are probably the most important thing you need to keep a check on, right? If you’re not checking your results, you don’t know if you are successful or not. So, what do you look at? A lot of online businesses look at page access numbers. If the number of unique visitors to your site is increasing, you could say that is a good result.

However, a more important result to check than the number of visitors, is the conversion rate, right? If you get 100 visitors and one person buys, or if you get 10 visitors and one person buys your product, the resultRead more about June 13 – result[…]

June 12, 2019　=========

☆  competitor  競争相手

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I took a business course a few years ago, and the first step in the course was to decide your profit plan. The teacher said that a strong profit plan will help you decide your goals and the numbers that you need to reach them.

Interestingly, this profit plan also talked about positioning and using your unique strengths to reach your market. According to the teacher, if you are able to articulate your brand in a way that resonates with your market, then you will not need to worry about your competitor, and you definitely won’t need to enter into price wars.

According to the course, setting yourselfRead more about June 12 – competitor[…]

June 11, 2019　=========

☆  survival サバイバル

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What are the business survival rates in Japan? In Australia, the failure rate of businesses is actually increasing… in other words, the survival rate for new businesses is decreasing! Which is strange to hear, because we are actually in a fairly good economy right now. Retail businesses and the food industry (cafes and restaurants) have the highest failure rate.

The reason survival is so difficult it seems, is because of rising energy bills, and paying salaries, and it has also been difficult to get loans from the banks in recent years.

How about in Japan? Is the survival rate of businesses increasing or decreasing? With the Olympics comingRead more about June 11 – survival[…]

June 10, 2019   　=========

☆  strategy  戦略

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A strategy is a general plan to help you achieve something. A business strategy then is your plan or road map to set out the decisions you’ll make and the actions you’ll take to accomplish your business goals.

In order to set up your business strategy, it’s important to think about your vision and your goals. Then, next up you need your plan or your strategy to reach those goals. What will you do about branding? And pricing? Who is your market? Will you take the strategy of being the lowest priced product? Or will you use the strategy of offering a better product at aRead more about June 10 – strategy[…]

June 9, 2019   =========

☆  detailed 詳細な

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When we moved back to Australia, I thought about how I would have to change my business, as I could no longer give workshops to Japanese people very easily! I wrote a very detailed business plan about my new ideas and how I would work from Australia with my business in Japan… it was very detailed, and very, very uninspiring!

Sometimes, having detailed information is important and helpful. However, in my case, the plan I wrote out was too detailed, and it didn’t give me any inspiration to reach my goals. So, sadly, I filed my detailed plan away in the filing cabinet, and rarely lookRead more about June 9 – detailed[…]

June 8, 2019      =========

☆  financial  金銭的な

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Speaking of being afraid, one of the useful phrases this week is, “Don’t be afraid to get financial advice.” This is a great suggestion! Where would you get financial advice from if you were starting a business? A friend? The bank? An accountant?

When I first started my business, the financial advice I got was from an accountant that was recommended to me. Unfortunately, we didn’t have the same goals for my business, so his financial tips were not much help. I ended up finding a new financial advisor, who was able to speak English and had some great ideas. So, yes, if you are planningRead more about June 8 – financial[…]

June 7, 2019 =========

☆  afraid  恐れて

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I recently read a statistic that said that over 70% of Australians do not like their job! That is a lot of people!! However, the problem is that those same people might have an idea for a business but are too afraid to start. They are afraid they might fail, or that their business idea is not good enough.

We often hear that people are afraid of success, too! How strange to be afraid of success – but it’s pretty common. Most people don’t want to stand out and be different from others. They are afraid that if they succeed people will notice them and theyRead more about June 7 – afraid[…]

June 6, 2019　=========

☆  essential 必須の

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In business, some things are essential – meaning they are either extremely important, or even compulsory for your business. If you are running a business on the internet, then a computer and good Wi-Fi are essential. On the other hand, a beautiful desk and high-tech ergonomic chair are not really essential.

On the legal side of things, there are things that are essential, such as registering your business, and having the right insurance. Many new business owners keep their personal and business money in the same account, however, from experience I would say that a business account even for a brand-new business, is essential. What do youRead more about June 6 – essential[…]

June 5, 2019　=========

☆  difficult 難しい

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Something that is difficult is something that is not easy to do, or understand. Do you think starting and running a business would be difficult? I think one of the reasons many women start their own business in Australia is because lack of childcare makes it difficult for them to get full-time work.

How about in Japan? Do many people – women or men – start their own business? Can you see anything that would make it difficult to start a business in Japan? I have many Japanese friends who now live in Australia, and they have all started their own businesses! The reason for this isRead more about June 5 – difficult[…]

June 4, 2019　=========

☆  organizational 組織の

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There are two useful meanings for organizational, firstly today’s meaning, which is talking about the structure of an organization. For example, “small businesses are generally more able to make organizational changes easily, compared to big businesses.” Or, “I need to think more about the organizational structure of my business in order to grow our sales.”

The other meaning is about abilities and methods relating to the way that something is planned or arranged. For example, as a business owner, having good organization skills is important to help things run smoothly.

Bye,

Chris

June 3, 2019   =========

☆  flexible  融通のきく

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If you are flexible, you are able to change easily and adapt to different conditions or circumstances as they happen. The useful phrase for this week is, “As a business owner, you need to be flexible.” What do you think about this? One of the reasons I love being a business owner is that it gives me flexible working hours… but I hadn’t actually thought that I needed to be flexible too! Hmm…

If you are a business owner and you have staff, then of course you need to be flexible about their working hours, and if they need to take day off for some reason.Read more about June 3 – flexible[…]

June 2, 2019      =========

☆  task  仕事

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Even if you don’t have a business or plan to start one, the useful phrase for this week is a good one to ask yourself (or others around you) each morning. The phrase is “What is your most important task for today?”

Of course, even if you decide that your most important task for today is to do X, if you don’t actually do X, then asking the question is pointless! So, I’d suggest a follow up question, once you’ve asked “What is my/your most important task for today?” the next question is of course, “When am I going to do that task?” Are you goingRead more about June 2 – task[…]

June 1, 2019　    =========

☆  record  記録

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Welcome to June! This month’s topic is “How to be successful in business.” Should be an interesting month. The amazing thing these days is that it is possible to run your own business from pretty much anywhere in the world, whether you are a full-time employee doing it in your spare time, or a stay-at-home mom working while the baby naps.

Have you ever thought of starting a business? Or maybe you already have one? In any case, one of the main things you need to do when you do start, is keep records. Keep a record of payments – a record of the money thatRead more about June 1 – record[…]