How I Built 3 Businesses in Japan (After Starting Over at 30)

After 18 years living in Japan, Lauren Rose Kocher has gone from teaching English to co-founding a venture-backed startup that grew to nearly 100 people, to building her own PR agency from scratch, to inheriting and running two completely different businesses, a grilled cheese restaurant and a streetwear brand. This episode breaks down what it really takes to build a business in Japan as a foreigner, the unspoken rules of Japanese business that almost no one talks about, and why most foreigners get stuck instead of building something that truly lasts. Lauren also shares the biggest mistakes she made along the way, how to actually sell to Japanese clients, and the honest truth about what it's like to run multiple companies in Tokyo. 🔹 FREE JAPAN BUSINESS PLAYBOOK A free guide breaking down the exact email that landed Lauren's first clients, the unspoken rule behind every Japanese deal, and how she runs three companies at once, and more: https://www.scalableskills.io/lauren-... 🔹 FREE EPISODE BLUEPRINTS I turn every interview into a written blueprint with key lessons, frameworks, and strategies you can apply. Get the free write-up here: https://ambition-abroad.com 🔹 ABOUT AMBITIONS ABROAD Ambitions Abroad is a documentary series about entrepreneurs who moved abroad and built real businesses and lives overseas. 🔹 VIDEO TIMESTAMPS 0:00 - Meet Lauren Rose Kocher 1:23 - The #1 reason foreigners get stuck in Japan 2:28 - How to break out of a comfortable career in Japan 4:36 - Leaving a stable job to start a business 6:32 - Starting Vegas PR Group 7:53 - What is PR and how can you make money with it? 9:14 - How Lauren actually started and grew her PR agency 11:25 - How important is it to have a niche when starting a PR agency? 12:11 - The best way to sell to Japanese customers / clients 13:18 - The best way to grow a PR agency 14:05 - How Lauren started running 2 more businesses 16:58 - Which business is the more difficult to run 17:42 - The key systems Lauren uses to manage and grow all 3 companies 19:58 - Is it harder to start a business or to take over a business? 21:13 - What makes you a good sales person? 22:49 - The unspoken rules of doing business in Japan 28:33 - The competitive advantages of being a foreigner in Japan 30:09 - Should a foreigner start a business in Japan? 32:19 - What would Lauren do differently if she started her business today 35:28 - How has creating content affected Lauren's business 38:46 - Rapid fire questions 🔹 STAY CONNECTED Takumi's Instagram:   / takumi.shyegun   Subscribe:    / @takumi.ambition-abroad   Vegas PR Group Website: https://vegasprgroup.com Lauren's Instagram:   / laurenrosekocher   Lauren's LinkedIn:   / lauren-rose-kocher   Son Of The Cheese Website: https://shop.sonofthecheese.com/ Buy Me Stand Website: https://www.buymestand.com/ 🔹 HASHTAGS #businessinjapan #prinjapan #entrepreneurship #foreignerinjapan #howtostartabusinessinjapan