2004年度（2004.4～2005.3）　ワークショップ講演

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Entrepreneurship Workshop II
(November 11, 2004)

Theme: Experiences from the Inauguration and Operation of a Small Enterprise
Guest Speaker: Mr. Shoichiro Yoshioka, Special Advisor for APOLLOMEC CO., LTD.

1. Personal profile
Mr. Yoshioka joined TOSHIBA CORPORATION in April 1960, where he designed transistor circuits for about 7 years. In 1966, at the age of 29, he started his own business, Apollo Denki Seisakusho (Apollo Electric Works, Ltd.). At first, he set up a maintenance service business for automatic ticket machines in order to make the money to develop noise-resistant non-contact transistors and to design, develop, manufacture, and distribute automatic control panels. Since that time, he has developed a string of new products like his own brand of computer designed for a golf course front desk and computer registers for meal coupons in dining halls. In addition to his existing electronics technology and software, in 1984 he established a business platform for the design and manufacture of automated machines, and renamed the company APOLLOMEC CO., LTD. Today, he serves as a special advisor for APOLLOMEC, an external auditor for ESPEC CORP, which is listed in the first sections of the TSE and OSE, and General Coordinator of the Hyogo Center for the Promotion of Small and Medium Enterprises.

2. Summary of Mr. Yoshioka’s Speech
(1) Careful preparation to start up business from his days as a salaried employee Mr. Yoshioka always kept his eyes open for people, goods, money, and information that would prepare him to start his own business. He wanted to create a company that would reward hard workers fairly, and shared his dream of setting up his own business with his colleagues at every opportunity. As a result, ten people from various sections joined his company just after its inauguration. Mr. Yoshioka considered solid accounting, among other things, essential, and recruited a former coworker from the accounting section. Meanwhile, he used his experience at TOSHIBA to develop a transistorized automatic controller. He gathered 4.5 million yen from his own savings and help from his parents to cover startup and development costs. He also spent the last three years of his employment at TOSHIBA researching promising markets through various people inside and outside the company in order to gather up-to-date market information.

(2) Development of the first product under his own brand name
Mr. Yoshioka thinks that small businesses are at a disadvantage against major companies in price competition. Subcontractors are unable to decide prices themselves and have no choice but to accept designated price limits. He argued that small businesses have to keep on developing new products to survive. Anybody can churn out work that lacks originality or unique characteristics, but that won’t lead to expansion. If a successful high-potential product is produced, the big firms move into the market within a year. Development costs have to be recovered before that happens. Mr. Yoshioka is fully aware of the severe environment that surrounds small businesses.

(3) Message to those who aspire to start their own businesses
It is advisable to recruit talented staff with experience struggling in companies listed on the first section of the stock exchange. They have acquired a wealth of valuable firsthand knowledge and skills at those companies. Firsthand experience helps in responding to an emergency. Ideally, the successful entrepreneur will have gained work experience for as long as three years in a company with a well-structured working environment before starting his/her own business. It is especially important to build a network of connections. Personal connections will do in a pinch. Firsthand experience at making desperate efforts is an important step for business success. There is no compulsory retirement, no restructuring. You gauge everything yourself and take full responsibility. When you start your own business, every job is yours. You map out your own course and act on it. Income depends on your own efforts, and it is great fun. He also pointed out the importance of the PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Action) cycle, and emphasized that good health maintenance was essential for an entrepreneur.

3. Comments from the minutes-taker
Mr. Yoshioka expanded his business through repeated mergers and acquisitions. He avoided price competition with big firms because that would gradually wear the company down. He thinks the best way to survive in competition is to continually develop new products. He set up a maintenance service as a separate business in order to make money for product development and, in that sense, he can be said to have taken a cautious approach. We fully understood his stance that careful preparation, personal connections, and desperate experiences occupy an important place in successfully starting a business. He cancelled all personal guaranty contracts with the bank when he resigned from his post as representative director. We were impressed by a strategic decision like that, and learned once again from his speech that founding a company is an enjoyable experience.

Reported by: Kunio Araki/Eiichi Tsukamoto
Graduate students in charge of minutes

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