【fivestar】Contributing to a Society Where Creators Can Work More Enjoyably

fivestar Co., Ltd. (Location: Kita-ku, Osaka; Representative: Yoshito Hihara) is engaged in the production of interview articles, SNS operation outsourcing, and e-book publishing.

Additionally, as Representative Yoshito Hihara comes from a sales background, the company also provides various sales outsourcing services.

"With the advent of AI, won't creators lose their jobs?"

These words, spoken to Hihara by someone, were the catalyst for this dream.

Before I talk about the dream, please allow me to share a little about Representative Hihara's journey so far.

[fivestar Co., Ltd.] The launch of the business was driven by the desire to create a specialized field.

Representative Hihara, who had been solely in sales since entering society, encountered writing when a client's president approached him.

"Hihara-san, why don't you try writing a blog?" With that single remark, his life as a writer began.

He heard that a startup company connected to the president was looking for public relations.

Since they couldn't afford to hire a professional, they thought of Hihara, believing that if he was serious and consistent, even an inexperienced person would be acceptable.

After about 15 years of continuous sales work, while feeling the enjoyment and greatness of sales, he looked ahead to the era of a 100-year life and thought, "I want to create other areas of expertise for myself" and "I want to put myself in a new environment." With these thoughts, he decided to accept the president's invitation.

Although Hihara now handles articles of tens of thousands of characters as a professional, in the beginning, he struggled daily to write even a 500-character blog post.

"If I continue for three months and don't find it interesting, I'll quit."

With that thought, he continued to post on his blog every day.

As the saying goes, "Continuity is power." As he continued for one, then two months, he gradually began to receive reactions from readers and saw an increase in PV (page views). He experienced the joy of seeing results in numbers and became engrossed in the fun of disseminating information.

Starting work as a web writer was triggered by the 2020 lockdown.

Several years after he started blogging, the startup company he was assisting had grown significantly, employing dozens of designers and writers for public relations.

During this time, Hihara, as one of the longest-serving members, gained experience in many tasks, including creating press releases, launching owned media, and directing writers.

Then came the lockdown period in 2020. Due to the pandemic, it was difficult not only to go to the office but even to go to the neighborhood supermarket.

While at home in Osaka City, a thought crossed Hihara's mind: "If I can't go out like this, will sales disappear?"

What he focused on then was web writing, which he had been doing consistently for several years and could be done regardless of location or time.

"That's right! I'll become independent as a web writer."

Even with over 10 years of experience in sales, he was a novice as a web writer, and his days were filled with trial and error on how to get work.

Every day, he realized that there was a big difference between smoothly performing tasks received as an employee and creating work for himself as an entrepreneur.

Leveraging experience from his sales days to create content for business owners.

The reason he was able to rapidly expand his business, from starting as a freelancer in July 2020 to incorporating in June of the following year, was by "combining sales experience with writing experience."

He excels at materializing the unspoken thoughts of interviewees.

He utilizes the interviewing skills cultivated through his sales experience in his writing.

This is particularly appreciated by busy business owners.

Business owners often have concerns such as:

・No time to manage SNS due to busyness

・Thoughts don't come together even when they have ideas

・Not good at writing in the first place

By combining these needs with his own experience, he is able to satisfy his clients.

What is particularly appreciated is SNS management.

Especially when launching an SNS, daily posting is necessary, and it can feel like a high hurdle for those not accustomed to disseminating information to continue.

Therefore, we approach the client's desire to write and assist them from account design to content dissemination.

Words like "it led to recruitment through SNS" or "we acquired new clients" make this the best job.

Towards a society where web creators can enjoy their work.

What I felt after starting work as a web writer was that:

The evaluation is still low compared to the amount of work.

Also, with the advent of generative AI, I clearly feel that the number of projects has decreased for writers and all other creators.

Furthermore, the number of creators is increasing compared to the number of projects, leading to a decrease in unit prices.

The current situation is that many web creators quit even after starting their activities.

My dream is to create a state where all creators can continue to work enjoyably.

I believe the keys to this are community building and improving sales capabilities.

Negotiating independently and securing projects under better conditions.

And for large projects that are difficult for one person, handling them with multiple creators.

I believe this is the path for web creators to be more successful.

As for community building, since becoming a freelancer, I have valued building connections with creators.

I hold monthly networking events exclusively for web creators in Osaka, and over 300 creators have participated.

New jobs and projects are also being created.

Even if you're not good at sales, you can create work with friends.

I believe creators have their own way of winning.

Furthermore, if sales capabilities are added, their status will improve exponentially.

fivestar Co., Ltd. will continue these activities to realize a society where creators can thrive.

"April Dream" is when companies announce their dreams they wish to achieve on April 1st.

We are seriously aiming to realize this dream.