About Yuzuru Ishikawa
Business begins with who you want to help.
I’m Yuzuru Ishikawa, founder of Globalcube. I start every project with one question: who is not being well served by the usual systems? Then I shape the value they need, connect the people and organisations who can make it real, and build a way to deliver it that can keep going. Based in New Zealand for more than 20 years, I advise business owners in Japan in Japanese and help organisations outside Japan work with Japanese partners and customers. Working across Japan and international markets, I combine marketing, business development, cross-cultural communication and relationship-building to turn untapped potential into practical businesses and partnerships.
New Zealand · Working in English & Japanese
Check the bridge before crossing.
There is a Japanese saying: “tap the stone bridge before you cross it.” I go one step further and make sure the bridge will hold before anyone steps on it.
Before taking on a project, I look closely at the people involved, the business model and the numbers. I only commit when I can see a plan that works in real life, and where customers, the people doing the work and partners can all win.
“I promise only what I can measure and deliver.”
From business owner to opportunity builder.
I didn’t learn this from a textbook. I learned it by building my own business, testing, failing and improving until it worked, then by working inside other people’s businesses.
Building my own business first
After moving to New Zealand, I taught myself online marketing and built my own business from zero. It took 18 months of testing and failure before it worked, and taught me SEO, content and how to scale by documenting and delegating what works.
Helping businesses grow
I began providing marketing consulting to small and medium-sized businesses, managing Google Ads, Yahoo Ads and promotions. Because clients saw real sales results, many asked me to help across their wider business, from a massage salon and a renovation company to a software company and a bakery.
Building what is missing
I now work inside businesses and partnerships, from a wellness franchise network to a Japanese home-cooking education community. I find who is not being reached, shape the value they need, connect the right people, and build models that can grow. Growth matters because it lets that value keep reaching people.
Growth that creates room for people, too.
Mānuka honeyWith a Japanese partner, I chose a New Zealand mānuka honey we could recommend with confidence. I looked after the New Zealand side, customer acquisition in Japan and finding franchise partners, reaching 16 of Japan’s 47 prefectures.
Kesae Total BalanceMarketing and business development for a Japanese-inspired wellness and beauty franchise network, now 12 locations across New Zealand, creating flexible work for skilled therapists.
WashocookMarketing Director for a Japanese home-cooking education community with more than 100 certified instructors, sharing everyday Japanese food culture with English-speaking learners.
Zenbido LindoCountry Marketing Director, leading New Zealand market development.
For example, people I’m working to help.
Organisations outside Japan that want to work with Japanese partnersHelping them understand Japanese customers and partners, make the right introductions and take a practical first step. (Working in Japan)
People who cannot work fixed hoursHelping people raising children, people with family or health circumstances, and people living with a physical disability use their skills and earn on their own schedule. (Kesae Total Balance)
People who want to learn everyday Japanese food, and the teachers who share itHelping learners experience real home cooking, and teachers earn flexibly from what they know. (Washocook)
Owners carrying a business on their ownHelping them get clear on who they serve and grow without doing everything alone.
Disabled peopleHelping them find work that uses their abilities, with employers who need them. (Under way, not yet at full scale)
Retired athletesHelping them build a second career from the discipline they already have, including wellbeing programmes in care homes. (Under way, not yet at full scale)
Short-staffed employers and people looking for workConnecting farms, care providers and businesses with people ready to work, including people new to New Zealand. (Under way, not yet at full scale)
These are examples, not limits. I do not restrict my work to particular industries. I start by asking who is not being reached, and what value is missing, then look for models that work in practice and can last.
What I bring
- I’ve been a business owner. I understand risk, cash flow and the pressure to get results.
- I start with people. Who you want to help comes before what to sell. Marketing comes after that.
- I build systems that last. Models your team and partners can repeat, not one-off campaigns.
- I connect people and markets. Fluent in English and Japanese, working across New Zealand, Japan and beyond.
“A lead is not a result until it books, attends and pays.”
Growth is not the opposite of purpose. It is what lets good work keep reaching the people who need it, so every recommendation is tied back to real outcomes: what came in, what went out, and what deserves the next dollar.
Straightforward advice, and results you can point to.
“We had a previous company looking after our Adwords campaign and never got the feedback we wanted. Yuzuru has been good at keeping us informed about what is working and what isn’t. More importantly, we noticed a spike in sales which we attribute to the new campaign.”
“Thanks to Yuzuru for his advice on how we can land new clients, we managed to get more new clients than ever. Appreciate his coaching — very precise, with lots of concrete actionable advice.”
“An honest man and a helpful business mentor, always just a phone call away. He goes above and beyond to make sure you achieve your goals, and keeps me up to date with progress. I cannot speak highly enough of Yuzuru and Globalcube.”
Start with who you want to help.
Most of the people I work with came through an introduction. If someone has put us in touch, the Before We Meet page is the quickest way to see how I think and what I am working on now. When you are ready, send me a short message through the contact form. I reply personally.
