Case Study - Mr. R, Mongolian Businessman (2015)
Make your unique background your best asset
For Fukuoka people Mongolia is a kind of "special" country because of the Mongolian attack in the 13th century where the Hakata bay was the battle field. Fukuoka people are generally very kind and curious to know about Mongolia but still adhere to many old stereotyped images. Mr. R's background was a government officer, appointed as the person in charge of business with Japan. His mission was to find appropriate technology to remove sulfur dioxide emitted from steam coal power plants which pollutes the air in Mongolia. It took him nearly 6 months just to explain the serious situation of air contamination in Mongolia to Japanese people here, and almost nobody was aware of the bad pollution in Mongolia when he told them about it. About 60% of patents and new technologies are owned by SME's in Japan, but most of them don't know, or aren't aware of potential very lucrative foreign markets for their products. It was very hard to make them imagine how their product will be accepted in Mongolia. Before even studying the Mongolian market potential, their first question to Mr. R was "can you pay?" / "show me 3 years financial report", and so on. Mr. R's company is 10 times larger than these small local SME's and he felt that they insulted him in a polite way. With StartupFukuoka's low cost packages and valuable hands on advice, you may discover that clients come to you instead, after reading your story in Japanese on your local website. Helping you get a quality website in Japanese is one of our most unique and attractive offerings.
Case Study - Mr. P, Dutch trading company (2015)
In Japan, the true definition of communication is not "to understand what he said", but "to understand what he wanted to mean"
Mr. P has a very successful trading business in the Netherlands. He tried to offer a potentially very lucrative opportunity in Europe to two famous Japanese manufacturers. However, for 2 years he could not even reach a basic agreement. He did not want to work through a local trading company or any agents because his margin would be diluted too much in the initial stage. By chance he bumped into Mr. Kojima, one of our collaborators, and found his response to be amazingly fast and concrete with an immediately understanding of what he was trying to achieve. Mr. P discovered that having "accurate English translations for Japanese business partners and customers was not enough. He had to learn to understand cultural barriers, like the "Honne and Tatemae" concept (what a Japanese person really feels and what he says in public are often completely different). Mr. Kojima showed him how to approach his target customer in the right way. Such information was never available in Europe, or in English. Behind the language "firewall" SME's in Japan have valuable information that will be available to you once you understand the way of communication with Japanese. Startupfukuoka will be your truly useful gateway to make your business in Japan successful, while avoiding spending too much money or making the same mistakes others have done.
Case Study - Mr. K, Korean Entrepeneur (2005)
Real useful information can't be found on the internet
Mr. K. started a small company in Seoul. His product was an innovative storage system that enables companies to store cables neatly in the office. He was interest to sell it in Japan and spent a lot of time attending exhibitions. After a year and spending about 2 million yen he still had no customers. He met with Mr. Kojima, one of our advisors and instantly received very valuable information on how to go about selling his products in Japan. In Japan capital investment in office space is fixed done in a quite different way from Korea, and Mr. K could never imagine it. After following the advice, his total turnover in Japan now exceeds his turnover in Korea. In Fukuoka there are many people who are interested in Korea and the Korean language, however it doesn't mean they know how to do business in Japan. Finding finding potential client in short period is very difficult here. The "Startupfukuoka" team provides truly useful and practical that will help you avoid the same mistakes Mr. K made in the beginning.
Case Study - Ms. H, Indonesian business women (2016)
Japanese Government agencies are friendly and honest, but it doesn't mean they are capable.
Ms H's company has participated in a famous trade show held in Fukuoka. to try and find customers. In three years she couldn't find any potential clients here despite the fact that her booth was financially supported by a local government agency to some extent. She just could not close any deals. She asked the government agency how to sell, how to present, and how to make her goods attractive but none of them gave clear answers. If Ms H had met up with StartupFukuoka team from the beginning, she wouldn't have wasted such a lot of money. Ms H has now already found 2 very good clients in Kitakyushu and Oita without spending such a large amount of money and she is confident that she will get more customers in Japan.
Case Study - Mr. C, Columbian Entrepreneur (2009)
Lost 7 million yen with friendly smiles (Colombia, man, 2009)
Mr. C started his career as an employee of a car repair factory in Saitama. After he divorced, he moved to Fukuoka and started exporting computer parts and batteries to Latin America. The most difficult obstacle he faced was the daily and weekly administrative tasks that had to be handled 100% in Japanese. There are very few professionals such as accountants, legal advisers, civil servants and even bank officers in the banks "international business department" that can communicate in English. That means you have to handle everything in Japanese if you are individual entrepreneur, and it is almost impossible. Mr. C trusted some of his local Japanese friends that could speak English, to help him. They were no doubt very friendly and honest, but unfortunately none of them were capable enough to support his business. They would ask help from their other friends, who in turn would ask their own friends. The result of this "friendly" support chain was layers of middlemen that had to be paid. Mr. C lost all his savings (7 million yen, about US$65,000) in just 1 year. Unlike Tokyo, here English in Fukuoka is very limited and many local Japanese that are looking for an opportunity to practice their English will approach you and they may appear to you as "saviors" when you are in difficulty, but this does not mean they can help you with what you really need. Japanese people are very honest and kind, and especially Fukuoka, people are more friendly than in Tokyo. However, a smile doesn't solve your problem. On the contrary it may make you waste your money. StartupFukuoka's very reasonable accounting and website packages will help you from the start.
Case Study - Mr. I, Pakistani exporter (2003)
It is very difficult to deal with local suppliers without Japanese support.
Mr. I started exporting 2nd hand car parts to Pakistan and the Philippines after quitting his job. The first obstacle he encountered was how to win the trust of his Japanese suppliers. He didn't want to depend on the local Pakistani community because in a way they were his competitors, so he wanted to establish a direct link with his suppliers. He met with Startup Fukuoka's Mr. Kojima Kojima after being introduced through a mutual friend. He was told how Japanese 2nd hand car dealers find cars and parts. He was also taught how to win and maintain trust, how to approach suppliers, how to read and interpret key important words in the powerful auction website written only in Japanese, and how to write a letters of intent to Japanese suppliers. Mr. I's margin increased immediately after following this advice. Like in most countries, competitors will not teach you how to earn, and if you can't read Japanese properly you can never reach the source of information. However if you have reliable local support, your linkages and knowledge of your own home country's market becomes your advantage!