Report No.27
*****************************************************
Japan Entrepreneur Report No. 27 January 2005
*****************************************************
- Homeless entrepreneur launched $100 million empire
- "Garbage piles are gold mines"
- Enjoying work from the bottom up
- Bits and bytes
*****************************************************
Homeless entrepreneur launched $100 million empire
When Horinouchi Kyuichiro was sleeping in his car on the streets of
Hamamatsu, he had plenty of time to reflect on how far he had fallen
since running his parents' oil refining business into the ground with
bad decisions and profligate personal spending. His reminiscences
weren't getting any brighter, either, until a conversation with another
homeless man prompted him to begin redefining his worldview and work
ethics.
"What the hell d'ya think running a business is all about? Making
money?" Horinouchi recalled the fellow vagabond's words during a 2004
interview with Nikkei Venture. "I'd rather live like this than be on edge
like that day after day. You've got to enjoy what you're doing in order
to keep at it, right?"
Horinouchi realized he had been obsessed with finding a profitable niche
rather than with pursuing any sort of personal passion. Since failing at
the inherited oil business, he had tried dozens of jobs and independent
ventures, all aimed at recovering the wealth and status he once enjoyed.
Yet he had succeeded only at running up gruesome debts.
One night, bankrupt and exhausted, he fled creditors and family in
Kagoshima, heading by car for Tokyo and a clean start. He ran out of
money in Hamamatsu.
He was 35 years old.
*****************************************************
"Garbage piles are gold mines"
After months of humbling survival among the homeless of Hamamatsu,
Horinouchi realized he had two choices: drift further downward--or face
up to his failures and pursue a real calling.
Cold winter nights were approaching when Horinouchi happened upon a
broken, discarded kerosene stove in a pile of oversized garbage left for
street-corner pickup the next morning. As logic would dictate, Horinouchi,
who had always been mechanically inclined, took the appliance back to his
car and repaired it. That night he and his homeless friends enjoyed the
stove's warmth.
But Horinouchi realized that really gave him joy was fixing a discarded
yet still-serviceable resource. That's when, as we like to say, the idea
hit him.
The streets of Hamamatsu, and the rest of Japan, were regularly peppered
with mounds of "sodai gomi"--oversized trash--including easily
repairable and even still-working televisions, radios and household
appliances of every description. Japan's bubble economy was in full swing
and its throwaway consumer culture at near-apogee, gleefully flinging
away decent items to make room for the newest wares. Yet surely some
consumers would buy a perfectly good kerosene stove at less than half the
price of a new one, Horinouchi reasoned.
He was right.
*****************************************************
Enjoying work from the bottom up
Horinouchi slowly built up a modest business collecting, repairing and
selling discarded merchandise, eventually saving enough money to lease a
small storefront he dubbed Seikatsu Soko, loosely translatable as
"Lifestyle Warehouse."
It was 1988, and two years later the bubble economy's meltdown ignited
ferocious demand for Seikatsu Soko's services. All around him, consumers
experienced often uncomfortable and pronounced increases in resource
consciousness--particularly with regard to the resource of money.
Horinouchi adopted a franchise model to expand his business and Seikatsu
Soko now boasts more than 230 stores nationwide and gross annual revenues
equivalent to U.S. $100 million.
Today Horinouchi is a business celebrity who speaks widely about
entrepreneurship and has written two books: "How to Succeed When You've
Hit Rock Bottom" and "Garbage Piles Are Gold Mines." His story of failure,
despair, redemption and renewal--and equally important, his message of
conservation, respect for resources and living a spiritually rich rather
than materially voracious life--resonates deeply in today's Japan and
has inspired other entrepreneurs in the booming "recycling" sector (read
about used bookstore magnate Sakamoto Takashi at
<http://www.japanentrepreneur.com/200302.html#2> and Social Venture
Competition winner Sato Daisuke at
<http://www.japanentrepreneur.com/200306.html#1>).
Rule Number Eight from "How to Succeed" may best sum up Horinouchi's
philosophy of work and entrepreneurship: "When you find yourself at a
crossroads, always choose 'looks fun' over 'looks profitable'."
And for those unsure of their ability to make a go of something they
truly enjoy, Horinouchi offers a comforting thought.
"People don't differ that much from each other in terms of ability," he
writes. "Good results depend on only one thing: the presence or absence
of sincere desire. Sincere desire creates incredible ability."
*****************************************************
Bits and bytes
When NEC developed a software/video system that automatically recognizes
and records store visitor demographics, yet protects customer privacy by
automatically erasing the video footage after relevant data is captured,
it knew it had a winner--but needed help focusing the application and
finding customers. That's when SunBridge Solutions stepped in. SunBridge
helped NEC identify five promising applications and locate its first
customer: Diamond City, a leading shopping center operator that signed a
deal with NEC last month. It's all part of SunBridge Solutions'
"Solution Scenario" new business startup support service. Details in
Japanese can be seen at <www.sunbridge-sol.com>.
Robert Eberhart, CEO of venture-funded online wine retailer/distributor
SanSonoma Wine Co. will speak on Tuesday February 1 at the monthly
Entrepreneur Association of Tokyo meeting. See <www.ea-tokyo.com> for
details.
Happy New Year!
Tim Clark
Senior Fellow (non-resident)
SunBridge Corp.
Voice (U.S.) 503.235.4419
Fax (U.S.) 503.235.4429
clark@sunbridge.com
*****************************************************
Address change and unsubscribe instructions
To change your subscription address, visit:
<http://www.japanentrepreneur.com/change.html>
To unsubscribe from Japan Entrepreneur Report, visit:
<http://www.japanentrepreneur.com/unsubscribe.html>
*****************************************************
Copyright 2002-2005 Tim Clark
Reproduction in whole or in part without express written permission is
prohibited, but feel free to pass along or quote with URL
(www.japanentrepreneur.com).
*****************************************************
<< Archive | Page Top | Home
Copyright © 2002-2005 Tim Clark All rights reserved
