【Follow-up question】I’m the person who asked about taking over a company. Thank you for your answers.

I’m Tetsu, a male member. This has gotten a little more specific. Hearing the details, I don’t think I would accept the offer myself. In the entertainment industry, connections are everything. If you or your papa (a male supporter) have powerful connections, you may have a chance of succeeding—but it’s only a possibility. In the end, whether you succeed or not depends on your talent. You’re still young, so it might be worth taking a chance and aiming for a breakthrough. Good luck.

I’m Date◎Yume, a male member. It seems like most people here are taking a cautious stance, but as someone who has started a business—and as a papa-katsu guy who’s had sex with partners—I’d like to offer a more proactive opinion… (lol) > You suggested setting up an agency. Anything you try to do costs money. If you’re employed, you receive a salary, but unless you’re doing it as a side business, the moment you become a full-time business owner, your only income will be business profits. So if you can reasonably expect the business to generate enough profit, it might be worth considering setting up an agency. That said, if you’re entering the field later, there will always be established businesses ahead of you. You’ll need something that gives you an edge over them—for example, creative services, celebrity connections, pricing, and so on. When you actually try to enter a new market, invisible barriers inevitably appear. (lol) Depending on how you look at it, finding a way to overcome them can be enjoyable in itself. If you’re a woman in papa-katsu, you probably have enough guts to take it on, so I don’t think it’s impossible—I think you might actually be able to make it work. Even if you eventually had to close the business, you could simply consider yourself back where you started, since you had nothing to begin with anyway. You could incorporate as a joint-stock company and limit your liability to the amount of your investment…

I’m Mamiya, a manager at Universe Tokyo. I’ve heard of a male member starting a business with a female member he had become close to. The two of them were growing together in so many ways, and I was truly impressed at the time. There are certainly some risks involved. I think it’s important to discuss and establish in advance what you’ll do if things don’t work out. Your relationship will probably change to some extent as well. While you may discover new positive qualities in each other, there will also be aspects you need to evaluate more objectively and strictly as business partners. That said, I’d be delighted to interview you as a success story when the time comes!

I’m Hikōki, a male member. > We meet several times a week, and he kindly gives me an allowance (as living expenses), which has really helped me. I’ll take this as a reference and bring it up with him right away. Thank you very much. As for the point you’re worried about: > Since you never know what the future holds, I’m worried that the man might push me out of the company. Regarding this, the way it’s written makes me feel that there’s virtually nothing to worry about. I also don’t think he would be disappointed even if he happened to see your question box. Also, since it requires little to no investment, involves little inventory, and is easy to start and quit, it does seem like a good opportunity… But when you say it’s related to the entertainment industry, and that you’re not a big name yet, would this be an agency where other people besides you are also signed? Rather than your relationship with the man, the entertainment-industry aspect seems like the bigger gamble, with more uncertainties and possibilities. Also, based on my experience starting women’s businesses several times in the past, unless you have an exceptionally strong will of your own, it can be difficult to feel that something you were given and started was truly your own responsibility when things don’t go well. You may end up blaming the other person, making disagreements more likely, and the relationship will probably have to change from what it was before. That said— You only live once. “Regret what you didn’t do rather than what you did…” Mr. Yanai of Uniqlo said: “It’s fine to have a string of failures.” If you’re hesitating, choosing to give it a try is also an option. > Flagmaker, I never imagined you were brothers-in-law… lol No, no—whatever kind of relationship we may have, our lasting bond is still going strong. I haven’t lost touch with anyone because of work. I’ve never had a relationship end in divorce because of work, either. P.S. I think it’s perfectly fine to tell the man everything you’re worried about, even things that may seem trivial. If he has ten times more life and relationship experience than you, he’ll probably accept everything you say and won’t get angry no matter what you tell him. After three years together, he must be growing increasingly attached to you, so I suspect he may even be prepared to provide eight figures or more over the course of your lifetime. To live up to those expectations and your relationship, I believe he’ll accept whatever choice you make. So I think it would be best to discuss all your concerns with him before making a decision. From what you’ve written, it doesn’t seem as though you need to rush into anything. Rather, this feels like an opportunity to deepen your relationship with him even further.

I’m Column Writer Flag Maker. My sister started a business under similar circumstances, but in the end, our relationship deteriorated, she was made to go independent, and the business eventually closed down. After that, she met and married a company executive who had been divorced three times through Rakuten O-net. He has a huge belly, yet wears black designer shirts with “ARMANI” emblazoned across them in white, which I find kind of off-putting, haha. Not exactly separation of church and state, but I think it’s safest to keep romance and work separate. For a moment, I thought, “Wait, is Paper Airplane-san that sister’s husband!?” But you’re not, right? Haha. How many times have you been divorced? You don’t wear Armani shirts, do you?

I’ll answer from the perspective of Maezawa in the CEO’s office. Some people work for a company for around 20 years before going independent and starting their own business, while others start a company while they’re still students. In the former case, they’ll have a good understanding of how companies work, and may even have studied business management before starting up. As a result, the company’s structure will probably resemble that of a typical business. However, their previous experience as a salaried employee may actually hold them back. They may be unable to take risks when it really matters, or find that their age limits what they can push themselves to do. Those could be disadvantages as well. In the latter case, since they have no experience as working adults, the company’s structure might make people wonder, “What is this—a club?” But because they can focus on moving forward rather than worrying about appearances, they may end up constantly taking the offensive. On the other hand, their internal structure may be weaker defensively, and they could quickly run into cash-flow problems if something goes wrong. With that in mind, there are advantages and disadvantages to starting a business at any particular stage, but there’s no single best time. Whether the company grows or not will ultimately depend on the CEO’s ability. If you’re worried about being forced out of the company, why not ask whether they’ll let you hold at least 51% of the shares? If they refuse and simply tell you to trust them, I think there is a possibility you could eventually be pushed out. But if you look at it from their perspective—naturally not wanting to risk losing their money—that’s understandable. Conversely, if you have the ability, you won’t be forced out. So I think you should take on the challenge with the attitude of showing them what you can do. And if you turn out not to be as capable as you thought, then being forced out may simply be unavoidable. As for what to do if you fall for someone else, I think you should deal with that when the time comes. There’s no point in trying to have everything—falling for someone new while insisting on keeping the company as well. If you really have the ability, they’ll probably ask you to continue working with them even if your romantic relationship comes to an end. If that doesn’t happen, it simply means you didn’t have enough ability. In that case, enjoying a happy life with the person you’ve newly fallen for isn’t necessarily a bad thing either.

I’m Rin, a female member. It sounds like you’ve built a wonderful relationship with a wonderful person. Thank you for sharing the details of how things came to be. I think you need to: - First, study business management and consider whether you have the ability and capacity to take a leadership role. - Have an honest discussion with your male supporter about not only the good things ahead, but also potential difficulties and how your relationship might change in the future. Rather than asking here, I believe the first thing you should do is speak directly with him and humbly reassess your own abilities and motivation. Instead of expecting others with more experience to give you all the answers and solutions, I think you should first face the reality in front of you.