The Reality of Taking a Leave of Absence from an Overseas University to Start an Advertising Business in a Competitive Market

Nice to meet you. I am currently 22 years old. I took a leave of absence from an overseas university (🇫🇷) and started freelancing, which I originally thought would just be for some pocket money, but before I knew it, it became a corporation last year. It started with creating explanatory materials for a middle-aged man who didn't usually use a computer, and now I am mainly involved in SNS management, including customer acquisition and recruitment for companies. I've been in this industry for about 4 years now...

In this Note, I would like to honestly write about why I jumped into the advertising industry, and the reality of the industry that I actually felt.

I would be happy if you could read this and laugh, thinking, "There are people like this, too."

Why I started a business in the advertising industry, which is full of rivals

To be honest... I started without knowing anything about the industry is the reality. I started getting involved in design production and SNS management when I was 19, and I originally intended to get a job at a company, but before I knew it, I was having fun and started my own company around the age of 21.

With a market scale of 7.6 trillion yen for the entire advertising industry, 3.6 trillion yen for internet advertising expenses, and 430 billion yen for production-related areas, and because it is a business model that is easy to become independent in, similar companies exist wherever you go.

Looking back, it's amazing that a young guy around 19 years old entered this market. I was fearless.

Honestly, I never thought I would start a business as a student

I had a longing for an overseas university after graduating from high school, so I planned to travel abroad after clearing certain conditions due to adult circumstances like scholarships. However, it was a situation where I couldn't travel abroad due to COVID-19. I had to stay in Japan for about a year and a half, so,

I was given the opportunity to work at a food trading company through a connection. In terms of job content, it was a job of purchasing ingredients (mainly fruit) from farmers and wholesale markets in various regions and selling them to restaurants. It wasn't a division of labor system like a large company, so I had to: ① Contact markets and farmers to purchase products, ② Think about inventory turnover such as products and volume (grasping the exit), ③ Actually purchase while matching prices and the requests of the wholesale destination, ④ Check the products and freshness before delivering them to the stores.

This seemed simple but was difficult, so difficult, and I was always scolded every time💦💦. After about half a year, I got used to the work, so I started to get greedy, and even though I had never done it before, I started to think, "

Wouldn't it be better if I did this?"

The origin of my entrepreneurship is exactly from here

While it is becoming common for large companies to use SNS and short videos not just for young people's dancing, but to actively disseminate information for business purposes,

the wholesale industry is full of companies that don't even have a website, let alone SNS..

This is also amazing, but in the wholesale industry, business partners and suppliers were decided only by connections between people.

On the other hand, ◎ New restaurants: It is difficult to find accurate information even if you look up suppliers ◎ The side selling products: I actually want to recommend this product, but I can't recommend it

➕ In terms of trends, it was a difficult situation where it was hard to do new things due to a decline in purchasing motivation due to rising prices, aging, and a shortage of successors.

I thought that if I could convey the products, the behind-the-scenes of purchasing, and the commitment to quality, I could break through this situation.

However, starting from a beginner's level with SNS and websites,

I had absolutely no idea where to start.

I explained to the president why we needed to create SNS and websites, read books on design, marketing, management, and video production, and spoke with people in the advertising and consulting industries to organize the company's current position and strengths using marketing frameworks.

In my spare time, I constantly created short videos while actually stocking goods at farms and markets, and thought about and posted still images that conveyed the company's appeal, while trial-and-erroring based on the reactions.

The way people looked at me with cold eyes changed.

In fact, when I first started posting on SNS, I didn't get any results. At the same time, I received comments from competitors like "

See, there's no point in doing this, right?" and "It's a waste of time", which were tough days for a 19-year-old kid. Since my followers and likes weren't growing, I really wondered if this industry was pointless after all.

After changing the content of my posts and waiting for over 2-3 months, I started to get inquiries and results (reduction in meeting time & shortening of company explanation time) here and there.

I was able to meet the president's expectations, the eyes of my competitors changed, and I started receiving individual requests for SNS management.

And before I knew it, I was on the path to incorporating.

Until now, I was able to work under the company's banner, but doing it under my own name and brand is too much pressure and weight.

Since a single video or post can flow in either a good or bad direction, I am always nervous and anxious every time. (Even after about 4 years, I still am).

After a year and a half, I went to an overseas university and worked online at the same time, but since last year, I had to take a leave of absence and start a company to survive, which brings me to where I am now.

My future prospects are

I want to deliver good products and services to more people & contribute to business growth.

I want to do whatever I can to contribute. As a means, I use SNS, and recently I have been supporting posting in English and other languages by utilizing my experience abroad.

I find it very rewarding to be able to contribute to people who are trying to make the world a better place, such as companies, local governments, and startups.

If there is anything we can do together, please let me know and I will fly anywhere, anytime!