Building a Great Guild Where Members Bloom in Their Own Way. Why a Gen Z Planner Aims for "Everyone as a CEO"

"Blooming in your own way"

At Bokuwata Inc., our vision is to realize a lifestyle that is uniquely your own by leveraging your strengths.

In fact, many Bokuwata members are working on something by utilizing their own individuality, and they are colleagues who possess the resilience to survive even on their own.

Such members are truly reliable, and it is precisely because of these members that I feel I want to do the best work possible.

Therefore, at Bokuwata, we are starting an interview project for members who bloom in their own way!

Since I often have the opportunity to appear in regular media interviews, I would be happy if you could get to know the charm of our members through these interviews.

As the first installment, I will talk from my perspective as the representative about why Bokuwata members possess the "resilience to survive on their own" and about the "Bokuwata Guild" that we value in our relationships with members.

What Bokuwata Aims For

What does it mean to "bloom in your own way"?

I use the expression "blooming" for individuality because I want members to not keep their individuality inside, but to appeal it in a way that is useful to someone else.

Just as flowers soothe the hearts of those who see them, there is nothing that would make me happier than if the individuality of Bokuwata members could bring positive feelings to those around them.

To realize this vision, the following are what I aim for together with our members.

A group of professionals where everyone earns in the 8 million yen class

I tell all Bokuwata members that I want them to be "professionals."

There are various definitions of a professional, but I use earning in the 8 million yen class or higher, or being talent capable of generating that much value as one standard.

In fact, it is said that while happiness increases as annual income rises up to 8 million yen, it does not increase much beyond that. Having an annual income of 8 million yen or more is one standard for judging human happiness.

On the other hand, I do not think that a member's annual income needs to consist solely of income earned from Bokuwata. What Bokuwata is aiming for is ultimately talent that has reached that level, in other words, a group of talent (professionals) with enough value to earn that amount.

By the way, at Bokuwata, we do not pay an annual salary of 8 million yen or more per person. When they reach 8 million yen, we have a system that increases the value per hour by reducing weekly working hours instead of giving a raise.
Everyone has 24 hours in life. It is natural that rewards increase if you work twice as much, and we emphasize the improvement of the person's own market value by increasing the value in the same amount of time.

By reducing working hours in this way, members gain free time. Since they can use that time to bloom in their own way, becoming a professional talent is directly linked to blooming in their own way.

Entrepreneurship is the "shortest route to growth"

I mentioned that many people at Bokuwata are entrepreneurs, but in fact, almost all members aim to start a business, and as a company, we encourage them to become CEOs. Last year, 5 companies were launched from among Bokuwata members, and 3 companies were incorporated this January as well.

I encourage entrepreneurship because it is the most suitable way to study how to "let your individuality bloom."

I have experienced entrepreneurship, working as a civil servant, and working in the private sector, but I believe entrepreneurship is the “shortest route to growth.” By monetizing what you want to do, the level of personal ownership changes dramatically, and the quality of learning improves.

The harder you work, the more returns you get, and the more you compromise, the further growth drifts away.

I believe that taking on challenges with your own discretion optimizes the learning cycle and leads to turning the gears of learning smoothly.

Benefits of Bokuwata members starting their own businesses

Furthermore, by starting a business while working at Bokuwata, members enjoy the following benefits:

The biggest benefit for Bokuwata members when starting a business is the ability to receive powerful support.

As stated on our website's member introduction page, where we describe each person as a “genius of XX,” at Bokuwata, everyone works by leveraging their strengths. Therefore, even if you start a business, it is possible to ask members for help or request them to handle projects.

For example, suppose you are creating a landing page (LP) when starting a company.

In that case, if there is no designer in your company, you would normally have to request an outsider, but as a Bokuwata member, you can ask someone who already understands you and your business content.

Since the economy circulates within the guild, both the effort and psychological burden are reduced, aren't they?

Aiming to be the Avengers! The relationship between members and Bokuwata

What I want to convey here is that while Bokuwata encourages members to start businesses, the companies members create do not become our subsidiaries.

It is not that there are subsidiaries within Bokuwata Inc., but rather that representatives of several organizations gather to combine their strengths for each project.

Conceptually, it is close to a “group,” but because it is often misunderstood as the general image of a “group company (=subsidiary),” I call it a “guild.”

Bokuwata Guild as an experimental ground for members

By Bokuwata being a guild, members can operate in a way that is more specialized in what they want to do. For example, usually, designers working at companies are often hired by the hour, and I think they sometimes engage in tasks other than design.

However, because Bokuwata designers can commit only to projects where their strengths can be utilized, there is no need to work on non-design projects, and it is possible to horizontally deploy those skills to the guild.

Also, the guild plays a role in reducing the risks of each company. Even if a member fails in their business, they remain a Bokuwata member, and even if Bokuwata Inc. were to falter, it would not affect the members' companies.

A field where members can work on what they want to do to let their own flowers bloom, and a place they can return to if things get difficult. The Bokuwata Guild is like an experimental ground for entrepreneurship.

It makes me happy that individuals can turn the gears of learning through entrepreneurship and feed their leveled-up skills back into Bokuwata; I believe this is a win-win relationship where both sides can be happy.

The ideal form of organization that the Bokuwata Guild aims for is one where there is no hierarchy among members and everyone is on equal footing. However, I think this is difficult under capitalism, where capitalists pay wages to workers.

That is precisely why at Bokuwata, we encourage entrepreneurship; by having each member own their own company, we want to maintain an equal relationship while respecting one another.

Valuing the size of the guild over the company. The future I want to realize with the Bokuwata Guild

At Bokuwata, we do not pursue profit targets as a company. Of course, having the cash flow to ensure every member can earn an annual income of 8 million yen is one metric, but that is ultimately to allow them to bloom as professionals in their own way; we are not looking at profit itself.

That said, in the two and a half years since our founding, Boku to Watashi to Co., Ltd. has continued to grow twofold.

Our sales for the first six months of fiscal year 2023 alone have already exceeded our annual sales for 2022, and we continue to receive inquiries almost every day. We will continue to move forward as a company that remains at the top of the Gen Z sector, living up to the name of "Gen Z Planners."

With this in mind, I want to grow the "Bokuwata Guild" rather than making "Boku to Watashi to Co., Ltd." larger.

Members gather at companies created by Bokuwata members, and those members then invite new relationships... It is often said that 30 people is the limit of what a person can see in an organization, but with the Bokuwata Guild, it is possible to make the organization as large as we want.

I am happy when members gather saying, "Let's do something interesting together," and I want to continue creating a Bokuwata Guild where people gather with that kind of sentiment.

In closing ~Regarding Recruitment~

Boku to Watashi to Co., Ltd. is always looking for colleagues to liven up Bokuwata together and help bloom many projects for Gen Z.

If you think, "I want to work with Bokuwata!", please get in touch!

To those who want to start a business

Most of our members aim to start their own businesses, but Bokuwata takes the stance that "you should only do it if you really want to." We are not looking for people who "want to start a business but can't because (they cannot live on their own)."

We would be happy to have people join us who want to do what they love as part of a team or organization, such as joining to prepare for entrepreneurship.

To CEOs who have already started a business

At Bokuwata, we are also actively recruiting CEOs who have already started their own businesses. In the last three months, three CEOs have joined Bokuwata. If you feel "It's lonely running a company by myself!" or "I want to belong to an organization about two days a week!", please feel free to consult with us.

To those considering a side job

At Bokuwata, we have established a system that makes it easy to work even as a side job, such as a full-remote, full-flex system and short-time meetings. It is recommended for those who want to efficiently turn their skills into money and those who are looking for opportunities to encounter new talent.

On the other hand, what we look for in a side job is 'skill' and 'love for Bokuwata.' Since external meetings will also occur, it is a mandatory requirement that you can adjust your availability during the day on weekdays. We are looking for people who have the mindset of doing what they want to do with interesting people, rather than coming to learn.