Self-control is essential for "entrepreneurial warriors.

Junya Tanimoto, Founder/CEO, O: Inc.

In the early 1980s, Japan became the world's largest trade surplus country. Japan enjoyed a period of remarkable economic growth and a bubble economy following the Plaza Accord in 1985. Hard work is the norm, and people who cannot fight 24 hours a day are not needed. It is hard to imagine today, when "work style reform" is being promoted, but the 1980s was the era of the "corporate warrior" who worked like a cart horse. Many of us have probably heard the famous commercial phrases "Can you fight for 24 hours a day?

As we entered the 2000s, we heard more and more about "work-life balance. However, there is still a question mark over whether all industries are actually practicing a balanced work style. Many salaried workers are still busy with their work. However, it is not all doom and gloom. The government's "work style reform" has begun to raise the curtain on a new era in which "diverse work styles" are being recognized, and "starting a business" is no longer as rare as it used to be.

Pushed by "Diverse Work Styles," Moves from Major Advertising Agency to Startup

O:'s representative Tanimoto, who worked as a copywriter for a major advertising agency before starting his own company, was one of those who were encouraged by the "diverse work styles" of the company. He was not a salaryman in the era of "corporate warriors," but he started working in 2011, when the world was rallying around the economic recovery from the Lehman Shock, and he was busy with a steady flow of work. He was proud and fulfilled with his life as a salaryman because he worked for a major advertising agency and was able to accumulate experience while working for many well-known companies, but he had trouble sleeping due to his extremely busy life with no time to stop, and he gave himself a yellow card for "overworking. However, he gave himself a yellow card for "working too much.

I want to be an evangelist for "work-life balance.

So, in an attempt to relieve sleep deprivation and to get some real refreshment in a place far removed from everyday life, I set off on a deserted island by myself, without any sudden moves. There, he experienced about 10 days of natural sleep and morning awakenings that left him feeling remarkably refreshed. This experience led him to focus on the "body clock," and he chose to start his own business in 2016 to become an evangelist of "work-life balance. When we asked him if anything had changed since he started his business, he jokingly laughed and said that leaving the organization had given him a great deal of freedom and freed him from sleep worries. However, leaving the organization has made him feel the greatness of the company he used to work for. He added that no one would help him just because he was sick.

Essential elements for starting a business

The essential elements of starting a business: work (projects), time, health, environment, mental strength, etc. - these are all essential to starting a business. Once you leave the organization, all of these matters are indeed your responsibility (self-control). As a representative of a company that promotes health improvement through better sleep, he says he tries to eat as many vegetables as possible as part of his health management, in addition to sleeping, and drinks a homemade vegetable juice once every two days. This habit, which he has continued since he started his business, is not just a matter of health management; it is his own self-control and an expression of his determination as an entrepreneur to face social issues. We look forward to Tanimoto's challenge as an evangelist of "work-life balance" and an "entrepreneurial warrior," rather than a "corporate warrior.
(April 24, 2019)