A New Story Created by the "Second Business Card"

When you hear the word "side job," what comes to mind? The traditional image was of earning pocket money in secret. However, now, in a different context, the number of people taking on initiatives separate from their main jobs is starting to increase. What we should pay attention to is the purpose behind it.

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 also being 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 such a second 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, and you will encounter unprecedented stimulation and unexpected meetings.

I founded the NPO Nimaimeno Meishi ten years ago in 2009. It 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 a "Second Business Card" myself and had a life-changing experience.

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 will be useful," I realized that I could create value outside of my main job. I experienced many failures, but they themselves became fuel for growth, and I felt myself changing. And I 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 Nimaimeno Meishi with the aim of making the "Second Business Card" a natural option and, at the same time, creating opportunities to hold one. I also feel that my own life has become richer because I held a "Second Business Card," and the fact that I am still challenging myself to manage an NPO while working as a company employee is both rewarding and an opportunity for growth.

At NPO Nimaimeno Meishi, we develop NPO support projects as a catalyst for working adults to hold a "Second Business Card." An NPO facing social issues and a team of about five working adults who want to contribute something to society work together on a three-month project. The fields of NPOs are diverse, including sports, education, culture, health, and welfare.

At first glance, it may look like a social contribution program, but what I want you to notice is the change in the participating individuals. Contact with NPO representatives—who have clear values and act with strong passion—redefines the values of company people that tend to be lost in corporate life. Collaboration with members of different industries and ages is a chance to realize one's relative strengths. Even working adults who participate solely out of empathy for the NPO, without necessarily having something specific 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 seen 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 are 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 ways" ingrained at a company, trial and error within a team is an opportunity to acquire an innovation mentality. Some companies believe it is the starting point for creating innovation and leads to the development of intrapreneurs (in-house entrepreneurs).

Some companies understand that strategically incorporating external initiatives into the company becomes a corporate value. Rather than opposing or standing by regarding 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 protagonist in that story? Your own choice will make a big difference in the future.