I attended an opening seminar by the Administrative Scrivener Association | The reality of starting a business as heard from senior administrative scriveners

The other day, I attended an opening seminar hosted by the Administrative Scrivener Association.

In this seminar, there was a session where senior administrative scriveners shared stories based on their actual experiences, such as the situation immediately after opening their offices, how to acquire work, and connections with other professionals.

Information regarding starting a business can be found to some extent on the internet and in books.
However, there are few opportunities to hear about how administrative scriveners who are actually in business started their work and how they increased their workload.

In this article, I would like to summarize the reasons for attending the Administrative Scrivener Association's opening seminar, the content of the seminar, and what left a particularly strong impression on me from the senior administrative scriveners' stories, as a record of my business preparation.

Reasons for attending the Administrative Scrivener Association's opening seminar

The main reason I decided to participate was that I thought it would be an opportunity to speak directly with administrative scriveners who are currently in business.

Since the guide mentioned a "round-table discussion with senior administrative scriveners," I imagined a space where participants and senior administrative scriveners could talk interactively.
In reality, it was basically a seminar format where the instructors spoke, and it was not an atmosphere where one could ask questions freely.

Even so, I had a chance to talk a little after the seminar ended, and I was able to confirm the things I was curious about.

I believe that, as a result, I was able to fulfill my goal of hearing realistic stories from active administrative scriveners that cannot be obtained from the internet or books.

Content of the opening seminar

The seminar lasted two hours, from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM. It was held in a conference room.

There were about 20 participants. Including myself, there were 5 women.
My impression was that the women were in their 30s to 40s, and there were more older men.

The content was broadly divided into two parts.
The first half was a lecture on the work of an administrative scrivener, and the second half was a format where multiple senior administrative scriveners came to the front to answer questions from a moderator or interact with each other.
I believe there were about 12 senior administrative scriveners, including the moderator and those who gave greetings.

Since the guide said "round-table discussion," I imagined an interactive space that included the participants, but in reality, it was centered on listening to the senior administrative scriveners talk.

Even so, since there are rarely opportunities for multiple active administrative scriveners to gather and talk, there was a lot that was helpful to hear.

What left an impression from the senior administrative scriveners' stories

Here, I have summarized what left an impression on me from the senior administrative scriveners' stories.

1. How to learn practical work

There was a story that they learned practical work after receiving the job.

Also, it seems that if the staff at government office counters are kind, it can sometimes be the trigger for deciding to specialize in that field.
I was told that it is good to ask senior administrative scriveners about things I don't understand, and that I don't have to carry everything on my own.

It seems that training sessions by the Administrative Scrivener Association can also be utilized.
Once registered, training information will be sent via email, and I heard that general training is held twice a year, and sessions are also held regularly at each branch.
Hearing that the sessions are often held around 2:00 PM was helpful information for me as I am currently raising children.

(2) Connections with other professionals

The most important thing is to meet people was the advice given.
I was also able to hear personal experiences about actively participating in cross-industry networking events.

Also, since many administrative scriveners hold concurrent positions in other professions, participating in Administrative Scrivener Association events is said to be a good way to get to know other professionals.

(3) Office equipment

Before attending the opening seminar, I had requested the documents necessary for registration from the Administrative Scrivener Association.
However, there is no specific mention of office equipment in the documents.

So, when I asked about it at this seminar, I received the following explanation.

• The only necessary equipment is a printer and a lockable cabinet

• A home printer is fine

• Registration is possible without a fax machine. However, there are some tasks that cannot be handled without one

Since I was able to confirm the specific equipment needed for registration, it was helpful for proceeding with my business preparations.

*Please note that there seem to be differences depending on the prefecture, so please check with the Administrative Scrivener Association in your relevant prefecture.

(4) Bank accounts and trade names

One practical point that left an impression on me was regarding bank accounts.

I was told that if you don't have a local bank account, you cannot have the Administrative Scrivener Association membership fees deducted.
There was also talk that many people use accounts with just their name for business purposes.

I already have a business account with an online bank and am thinking about changing it to an account with my trade name plus my name.
However, I would like to open an account with my trade name at a local bank as well, so I wanted to gather a little more information.

(5) Utilization of IT tools

There was also talk about the utilization of IT tools.

There was advice that setting up a custom domain with Gmail is recommended for email, and talk that using NotebookLM effectively can have the same effect as hiring one assistant.

It seems there are senior administrative scriveners who actively use IT tools, which served as a good reference for improving work efficiency after opening my practice.

Things I plan to do in the future

The thing that left the biggest impression on me through the seminar was the phrase, "It is important to meet people no matter what."

My work up until now has mainly been a style that is completed online from home.
I have mostly attracted clients online and handled work alone, so I haven't had many opportunities to go out and meet people.

I feel that I need to consciously change that aspect when starting my business as an administrative scrivener.
I thought I would start by going to the Chamber of Commerce to hear their advice and looking for cross-industry networking events that I could participate in.

Also, I plan to gradually build up my website and social media before I open for business.
I want to create a place where I can convey what kind of work I do before I go out to meet people.

This seminar helped me get a more concrete image of how to operate after opening my business.
I would like to continue preparing for my opening little by little.

Thank you very much for reading until the end.

I will continue to update my experience of preparing to open an administrative scrivener office in my note magazine "Record of preparations until opening an administrative scrivener office".

I would be happy if you could like and follow me!