In the end, everyone wants to be 'passionate' about something
I was curious about a video on YouTube and PIVOT featuring 'Horiemon and Yoshie Takeuchi' about how to start a small business from scratch, so I decided to give it a watch.
As the title suggests, the content was about how to launch a small business, but it was more insightful than I expected and gave me a lot of realizations.
So, I had Ryota watch it as well, and we decided to think it over together.
Horiemon's '4 Principles' hit the essence
The '4 Principles of Small Business' that Horiemon talked about were very rational and clear.
Do not hold inventory
Choose products with high profit margins
Introduce recurring purchases (subscriptions)
Start with a small team
These four can be called the 'golden rules' for avoiding failure.
In particular, the 'risk of holding inventory' is a pitfall that many new businesses fall into.
If you stock up too much on products with expiration dates, like coffee beans or bread, your cash flow will be dead just from that.
According to Horiemon, the ideal is a 'fabless strategy' where manufacturing is left to external partners, and the company focuses on the brand and customer experience.
It is the same structure as Apple outsourcing the manufacturing of the iPhone to Foxconn.
So, the structure is perfect.
That is precisely why Ryota and I wanted to think about what lies 'beyond that'.
The 'heat' seen in 'Komugi no Dorei' and 'WAGYUMAFIA'
When you look at the businesses Horiemon is involved in, you are surprised by their diversity and experimental spirit.
For example, 'Komugi no Dorei'.
It is a 'regional revitalization entertainment bakery' born from Takafumi Horie's online salon, HIU, which emphasizes connections with the local community and entertainment value centered on 'Zakkuzaku Curry Bread,' and is expanding via franchises nationwide.
To reduce inventory risk, the headquarters supplies frozen dough. It is an 'efficient model' designed to be easy for beginners to start, and can truly be called a practical example of the 'Horiemon 4 Principles'.
On the other hand, 'WAGYUMAFIA' was launched by Mr. Horie and Wagyu expert Hisato Hamada with the slogan 'Bringing Japanese Wagyu to the world'.
With store developments that are membership-based, experience-oriented, and focused on presentation, they have branded Wagyu not as 'food' but as an 'experience'.
Both are wonderful models, but the direction of the 'heat' you feel is slightly different.
'Komugi no Dorei' is a business of expansion and systematization.
'WAGYUMAFIA' is a business of conviction and passion.
Horiemon's own passion also seems to be directed strongly toward the latter.
We felt that it is that 'heat' that breathes life into the brand.
People are attracted not by 'taste' but by 'stories'
In the business world, the harder an area is to differentiate, the more power 'stories' and 'experiences' hold.
Coffee is a classic example of this.
No matter how good the taste is, it is not easy to beat brands like Blue Bottle or Starbucks.
This is because people are paying for a 'worldview,' not just 'taste'.
Take Tsuyoshi Takashiro, for example.
He pursues 'mold-toxin-free coffee' and believes that 'background/stories'—such as the origin, the farmer's narrative, and microbial/fermentation technology—create value beyond mere taste.
Also, his decision to intentionally avoid social media and publicly state that he 'doesn't need transient fans' is to connect only with those who deeply resonate with him.
In other words, a story is the greatest point of differentiation.
I believe it is not something you create, but something that naturally emerges from 'what you believe in'.
In the end, everyone wants to be passionate about something
Watching Yoshie Takeuchi embark on a new challenge, I suddenly thought:
Humans are, after all, creatures who want to be passionate about something.
I feel that 'oshi-katsu' (supporting one's favorite) and 'fan communities' are an extension of that.
Finding joy in supporting, being together, and being part of a group.
That is no longer 'consumption,' but a 'complicit relationship'.
When Horiemon talks about 'WAGYUMAFIA,' there is a passion there not as a 'brand,' but as 'comrades'.
Not just customers, but partners.
I think this structure is what drives modern business.
In the end, 'structure' and 'passion' are two sides of the same coin
Masatoshi Kumagai of GMO says this:
'Learn how to run a company from zaibatsu (conglomerates), and learn how to organize from religion.'
In other words, business is determined by whether it can generate people's 'faith' and 'enthusiasm' while maintaining a rational 'structure'.
Horiemon's four principles teach us about 'structure'.
And 'passion' is something each of us must find for ourselves.
No matter how efficient a model is, it won't last without a soul.
Conversely, passion alone cannot take shape.
Having no inventory and high profit margins. That is correct.
However, it is always 'passionate people' who move people's hearts.
No matter how much excellent know-how you learn, the starting point of business is'I want to do this!'I believe it all comes down to this one phrase.