A New Story Created by the "Second Business Card"

2019/11/18

What comes to mind when you hear the word "side job"? The traditional image was that of earning pocket money in secret. However, a growing number of people are now engaging in activities outside of their main jobs in a different context. What is noteworthy is their purpose.

The purpose of working is not just to earn an income. Growth through experience and personal fulfillment are also important factors. In the past, companies managed everything, including future income, growth opportunities, and motivation. However, the relationship between companies and individuals is beginning to change significantly. The active working period of an individual now exceeds the average lifespan of a company. It is necessary to design one's own career while remaining conscious of life stages. Having another axis of work outside of the company makes it possible to choose the balance of income, growth, and fulfillment in one's own life.

Apart from my main job, I call this other business card—one involved in creating the future of society—a "Second Business Card." It is a card you hold when you direct your vector toward society and express your own values within it. When you hold a "Second Business Card," the breadth of your life expands, bringing unprecedented stimulation and unexpected encounters.

I founded the NPO Nimai-me no Meishi ten years ago in 2009. This was a time when the general reaction to activities outside the company was, "If you have that much free time, do your work." One year before starting the NPO, in the final year of my 20s, I held my own "Second Business Card" and had an experience that changed my life.

At the time, I was working in the financial sector, but after my child was born, my feelings toward the future where children live grew stronger, and my interest in "food" in particular increased. Therefore, while studying abroad in the UK, I took on a project separate from my main job to collaborate with the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry to formulate measures to promote the export of Vietnamese agricultural products. It was an unknown field, but when the project ended and I was told, "Thank you, this is useful," I realized that I could create value outside of my main job. I experienced many failures, but those themselves became the fuel for growth, and I felt myself changing. I also found myself unable to forget being asked by a Vietnamese entrepreneur I interviewed during the project: "Vietnam is young and full of energy. How about Japan? I have started a business and am contributing to society through employment. Are you really okay with just going back to Japan and being a company employee?"

I want to deliver this experience and change that comes from holding a "Second Business Card" to many people. I founded the NPO Nimai-me no Meishi with the aim of making the "Second Business Card" a natural choice and creating opportunities to hold one. I feel that my own life has become richer precisely because I held a "Second Business Card," and the act of challenging myself to manage an NPO while still being a company employee is both fulfilling and an opportunity for growth.

At NPO Nimai-me no Meishi, we develop NPO support projects as a catalyst for working professionals to hold a "Second Business Card." A team of about five professionals who want to contribute to society joins forces with an NPO facing social issues to work on a three-month project. The NPO fields are diverse, including sports, education, culture, health, and welfare.

At first glance, it may look like a social contribution program, but I want people to pay attention to the changes in the participating individuals. Contact with NPO representatives—who have clear values and act with strong passion—redefines the values of corporate employees that tend to get lost in company life. Collaborating with members of different industries and ages is a chance to notice one's relative strengths. Even professionals who participate solely out of empathy for the NPO without a clear idea of what they want to do begin to see their own axis by the end of the project. It is a project where such changes occur.

These individual changes are beginning to be viewed as opportunities for "cross-boundary learning," where elements that companies cannot cultivate through OJT can be learned outside the company. Not a few companies position this as a human resources measure to encourage the acquisition of leadership within diversity and "career autonomy."

Social issues represent the needs of people that are not being met. In other words, social issues themselves are the seeds of innovation. Furthermore, there are no precedents or correct answers for solving social issues. Instead of following the "fixed methods" ingrained at a company, trial and error within a team is an opportunity to acquire an innovation mentality. Some companies believe this is the starting point for creating innovation and leads to the development of intrapreneurs.

Some companies understand that strategically incorporating external initiatives into the company becomes corporate value. Rather than opposing or standing by during external activities, they actively encourage them and work on organizational development so that those who have crossed boundaries can fully demonstrate their abilities within the company.

A story different from the traditional image of a side job is beginning to move. At that time, will you be a bystander or a participant in that story? Your own choice will make a big difference in the future.