Before We Meet
Thank you for stopping by.
If someone introduced us, or you found me through LinkedIn, thank you. Before we talk, here is a short picture of how I think, who I work with and what I am building now. It takes about three minutes to read. If your team in Japan introduced us, Working in Japan is the quickest read.
Yuzuru Ishikawa · Founder, Globalcube · Based in New Zealand
Working inside businesses, alongside the owner.
I am the founder of Globalcube, and I have been based in New Zealand for more than 20 years. For over 15 years I have worked inside businesses in wellness, food education, farming and more, taking responsibility for customer growth, systems and teams.
I do not only advise from the outside. I prefer to work alongside the owner, as the person behind the scenes who helps the business run and grow.
Business begins with who you want to help.
Whatever we talk about, my first question is the same: who do you want to help? Once that is clear, it becomes much easier to see what to offer, who to connect with, and how to build something that can keep going.
What I am involved in now
I describe this work by type of business rather than by client name.
A multi-location massage and wellness businessSupporting 12 locations across New Zealand from the head-office side. Head office looks after marketing and operations, so therapists can set their own availability first: people raising children, people whose family or health circumstances make fixed hours difficult, and people living with a physical disability.
A Japanese home-cooking schoolSharing everyday Japanese home cooking with English-speaking learners, with more than 100 instructors able to turn what they know into flexible work.
Advising a farmerWorking with a farmer who runs the business alone on products, pricing and how to tell the story.
Taking Japanese content overseasHelping a partner in France bring Japanese content to audiences outside Japan.
Care, second careers and new productsConnecting short-staffed workplaces with people who want to contribute, and starting product development with mānuka honey. These projects are under way but not yet at full scale.
A first conversation does not need an agenda.
I do not actively sell. Almost everyone I work with came through an introduction.
Some collaborations start on day one with “we could do this together.” Others start with “let’s do something together someday,” and only later, as we each grow and my network widens, does the right project appear. Some began as advisory relationships and became partnerships as the owner grew.
So there is no need to arrive with a finished plan.
If you have a little more time
Working in JapanFor teams outside Japan: what I do on a Japan project, and what I leave to specialists.
About Yuzuru IshikawaMy approach and business journey.
How Globalcube worksHow a project moves from who we want to help to a model that lasts.
LinkedInWhat I am working on now.
Japanese versionThe same page, written for Japanese-speaking readers.
If you would like to talk directly.
Send me a short message through the contact form and I will reply personally by email. Tell me what you are working on, who you want to help, and where you are stuck. A rough idea is fine.
