Can I earn about the 'average annual income of an administrative scrivener'?
I am introducing common questions I receive from people considering opening an administrative scrivener office in three parts.
Last time, I wrote an article regarding the question, 'Will the work of an administrative scrivener be taken over by AI and disappear?'
In this second installment, the question is, 'Can I earn about the "average annual income of an administrative scrivener"?'
Many people seem to think their own ability is about average, saying, 'Even if I become an independent administrative scrivener, I have the knowledge and experience from my previous company employment, so I think I have about average ability. If that is the case, can I earn about the "average annual income of an administrative scrivener"?'
Can you really earn about the 'average annual income of an administrative scrivener'?
How much is the 'average annual income of an administrative scrivener'?
I personally haven't paid much attention to it, but the average annual income of an administrative scrivener is said to be around 6 million yen. (Reference: U-CAN website 'What is the average annual income of an administrative scrivener?')
It seems some sites write that it is around 5 million yen.
However, I have never reported my office's sales to anyone other than the tax office, and I have never heard of other professionals being surveyed like this, so I think it is just a rough estimate.
When I ask those who inquire, many say, 'I saw information on the internet and social media that said the average annual income of an administrative scrivener is about 5 million to 6 million yen.'
That is where the common question, 'Can I earn about the "average annual income of an administrative scrivener"?' comes from.
I think those who are currently employed are thinking, 'I am currently earning a salary of about 5 million to 6 million yen at my company, so I want to start at this level even after becoming an administrative scrivener, and in the future, I want to earn more than I would have if I had continued as a company employee.'
What is average annual income?
When I looked up what average annual income is, it said, 'The value obtained by dividing the total annual income earned by a specific group (the entire country, a specific age group, industry, etc.) in one year by the number of people in that group.'
Looking at the Aeon Bank website's 'What are the average annual income and median in Japan?', there was an average annual income by age and gender.
Looking at this table, for men, it shows a clean upward slope from 2.95 million yen at ages 20-25 to 7.35 million yen at ages 55-59, and a clean downward slope from 7.35 million yen at ages 55-59 to 3.8 million yen at age 70 and over.
For women, it remains almost flat from 3.7 million yen at age 25 to 3.56 million yen at age 59.
The annual income of an administrative scrivener does not fit the concept of 'average annual income'
What I thought when looking at this table was, 'The annual income of an administrative scrivener does not fit the general concept of average annual income.'
The reasons are the following two points.
[Reason 1] The annual income of an administrative scrivener does not increase based on seniority
For example, an administrative scrivener's business grows as 'experience,' 'trust,' and 'track record' accumulate, so there is no doubt that the business grows larger as the years go by.
However, that has absolutely nothing to do with seniority.
There are people who start in their 20s and grow their business in a few years, and there are people who quit after decades without having accumulated much experience, trust, or track record.
Therefore, I think 'average annual income by age and gender,' which assumes seniority, is not very meaningful when considering the annual income of an administrative scrivener.
There are young female practitioners who are expanding their businesses, and there are older male practitioners whose businesses are not going well, who have almost no income, or who have run out of funds and are in debt.
It is not the case that 'because I am a male administrative scrivener in my 40s, my annual income will be X this year.'
[Reason 2] Annual income can also drop sharply
The upward-sloping average annual income based on seniority assumes that 'annual income will not decrease until retirement,' right?
Sole proprietorships are different.
Sales can plummet due to unforeseen circumstances.
As I wrote in my self-introduction article, I actually had almost 100% of my business focused on foreign-related work, so when COVID-19 spread starting in 2020, my sales plummeted to the point where they almost disappeared.
I thought I was going to starve to death💦
So, can you earn at least the 'average annual income of an administrative scrivener'?
Well then, can a newly opened administrative scrivener earn the average annual income of 5 to 6 million yen?
I think it is difficult from the first year.
As I wrote earlier, an administrative scrivener's business grows as 'experience,' 'trust,' and 'track record' accumulate.
The possibility of earning 5 million yen when you have no 'experience,' 'trust,' or 'track record' is not zero, but I think the possibility of having zero income is actually higher.
I think your annual income will change significantly depending on what kind of work you do after opening, how quickly you do it, and how much 'experience,' 'trust,' and 'track record' you accumulate.
Depending on your area of expertise, I think it is quite possible to earn an annual income of 5 to 6 million yen by about the third year.
The range of annual income is wide
For typical office workers, I think the range between the upper and lower limits of annual income stays within a few million yen.
However, when you run your own business, your annual income is not a salary paid to you, so the range, both high and low, is very wide.
Looking at administrative scrivener offices, there are some with almost no income, while others have sales of several hundred million yen.
Since there is no official data, this is just my impression, but I think there is a large cluster from 0 yen to under 5 million yen, a medium-sized cluster from 5 million to around 20 million yen, a small cluster from 20 million to 100 million yen, and a handful of offices with over 100 million yen.
In other words, an annual income of 5 million to 6 million yen is a waypoint after opening a business until it grows; while many offices cannot reach that point, once they start to grow, I think they easily pass it and go on to earn over 10 million yen.
Whether you can pass that waypoint of 5 million to 6 million yen in one year, ten years, or end up never passing it, I think depends on how you work.
In conclusion
Not limited to administrative scriveners, but when you manage your own business, I hope you understand that the concept of average annual income is not very helpful.
If your business gets on track, I think there is a good possibility that your annual income will be higher than when you were employed.
However, I think there are also cases where it stays around 2 million yen and does not grow even after many years.
Rather than asking 'can I earn about the average annual income,' I think the mindset of 'how much can I earn as a result of my own actions' is closer to reality.
In the final episode of the next 'Frequently Asked Questions from People Before Opening an Administrative Scrivener Office,' I would like to answer the question 'I need at least 5 million yen,' which is often asked following the question in this article.