Finding Your First Clients in Japan: Event Summary and Insights

/ Blink Smart Work Space/
Finding Your First Clients in Japan: Event Summary and Insights

On Friday, March 20, 2020, I presented the latest version of Finding Your First Clients in Japan, a seminar designed to help designers, coders, writers, and other service providers launch sole proprietorships or small businesses in their fields.

Occurring during the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic, organizing this seminar presented the unique challenge of shifting what was intended to be an in-person networking event to a live, virtual format. Thankfully Asama Toyozawa of Blink Smart Workspace and Saga Partner LIFE.14 stepped up to deliver an online event with exceptional production values.

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Upcoming Event: Social Networking and Personal Branding on the Global Stage

/ Blink Smart Work Space/
Upcoming Event: Social Networking and Personal Branding on the Global Stage

I’ll be presenting the latest version of my social networking and personal branding seminar on November 22, 2019, at Blink Smart Space in Roppongi Tokyo. This event is designed for university students and entry-level professionals, however, anyone interested in getting started with global networking tools such as LinkedIn is welcome to join us. Sign up here and read on to learn more.

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Tackling the Toughest Interview Questions

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Tackling the Toughest Interview Questions

A large part of being a cross-cultural communications coach is helping mid-career professionals achieve their career goals through résumé writing and interview coaching.

On September 17, 2019, I gave the latest version of my résumé and interview seminar at the Blink Smart Workspace in Roppongi, Tokyo. In addition to the latest résumé writing tips, we also covered interview strategy and practiced the most common and challenging interview questions.

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Upcoming Event: How to Start a Small Business and Discover Your First Clients in Japan

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Upcoming Event: How to Start a Small Business and Discover Your First Clients in Japan

The organizers of the Tokyo Digital Marketers Meetup have graciously invited me to share my story at an event on August 27, 2019. Here’s the full event summary of “How to Start a Small Business and Discover Your First Clients in Japan.”

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9 Resources That Will Help You Perfect Your Presentations

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9 Resources That Will Help You Perfect Your Presentations

During my latest workshop on making successful presentations, I received several questions on a wide range of topics related to public speaking. Since we didn’t have time to cover everything in person, I decided to do a deep dive into these topics here in this blog post. Even if you weren’t able to join the workshop, you’ll still find some useful advice among the links below.

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Enhance Your Presentations with These 4 Free Stock Photo Resources

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Enhance Your Presentations with These 4 Free Stock Photo Resources

In the spirit of Presentation Zen, my seminars on advanced presentation techniques emphasize clean slides and powerful images.

After a recent seminar, a participant asked me where I sourced my photos--a good sign that my message was hitting home. Finding the right images for your presentation without breaking the bank can often be as challenging as giving the presentation itself.

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Event Summary: Social Networking on the Global Stage

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Event Summary: Social Networking on the Global Stage

Last month, I gave a 30-minute version of Social Networking and Personal Branding on the Global Stage for Global Taskforce at an event in central Tokyo. This quick presentation focused primarily on global social media use, emphasizing LinkedIn as a key tool for Japanese professionals who want to expand their global professional network.

As with previous versions of this presentation, the main takeaways are:

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Stepping Into the Unknown

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Stepping Into the Unknown

So you’re comfortable with the basics of presenting and training, and you are ready to integrate something new into your presentation. Most people face a dilemma at this point.

Your existing presentation or routine is probably cozy and safe. It gets the job done, but deep down, you know that you can push your audience or class even more. Of course, changing things up poses a great risk. Most people would rather have a safe, by-the-book presentation than risk failure for something greater.

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Leaving Your Mark

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Leaving Your Mark

If you live in Japan, at some point in life, you are going to have to acquire a “hanko” (name stamp). Like a signature in western countries, a hanko is a way to represent yourself in correspondence and business transactions.

The other day, I was staring at my own hanko and wondering how I could get more use out of it. The only place that requires me to use it is my bank—I can simply sign for everything else. Then it hit me: “This would make a great blog post!”

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Dress Rehearsal

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Dress Rehearsal

So you’ve been doing your presentation routine for a while now. You’ve gotten used to your regular rotation of topics and can anticipate what the audience will be like for each one. Your stomach is officially butterfly free.

Then it happens. For one reason or another, you are tasked with presenting a new topic, in a new style, with a new kind of audience. You don’t know where to begin, and unfortunately, those pesky butterflies managed to find their way back into your stomach.

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