Club Inaba, Aki Shirasaka | Successful people are "those who can involve others"

Appeared in NHK's "Professional Shigoto Style". Sometimes a best friend, sometimes a lover, sometimes a mother. Is IQ 500 Required for Hostesses Who Play Various Roles?

Mr. Shirasaka, who became a female college student mother while studying at Waseda University, has continued to run a luxury club in Ginza for about 25 years while facing many crises due to the Lehman shock and Corona. We asked Mr. Okubo, representative of Founding Techo, about how to win people's hearts and what kind of person is a successful person.

Aki Shirasaka Club Inaba Mom Born in Taketa City, Oita Prefecture. While she was a student at the First Literature Department of Waseda University, she started working part-time at a club in Nihonbashi, and two years later she became a mother. In 1996, he opened the club "Inaba" in Ginza 5-chome, and currently manages three clubs. Author of "Ginza Style - Club Inaba's Mama's Guide" (Jiji Press) Such. Interviewer Sachiyo Okubo Founder's Notebook Co., Ltd. Representative Director A major IT venture officer. After seeing many entrepreneurs, he realized that "the troubles after starting a business are common" and devised the company's guidebook "Founder's Notebook". Current: Established Founding Techo. Successful unique business model. The print edition has a total of 2 million copies, and the number of monthly web visits exceeds 1 million people in the field of entrepreneurship. He is also a member of the standing committee and teaches at universities. He is also a hot topic as a person who created T-shirts every day. Founding Techo CEO Yukiyo Okubo's profile is here

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Contents of this article

What skills are required of a hostess?

Okubo: Thank you for your time today. Mr. Shirasaka, you started your own restaurant 25 years ago. What is the difference between your current customers and 25 years ago?

Shirasaka: Nice to meet you. When I became a hostess, it was right in the middle of the bubble economy, so the customers at that time were drinking wildly. Generally speaking, everyone is smart now. In the past, there were many business people, and the bosses often brought their subordinates with them, saying, "I'll teach you the manners of Ginza." has decreased. There are many people who are about 40 years old and are the president of an IT company and come to Ginza saying they want to study.

Okubo: It's a common phrase at Ginza clubs to refuse first-timers, but is it possible to enter without an introduction?

Shirasaka: It's not like I'm refusing to come unless it's a referral, but for the sake of other customers as well, I'd like someone with a proper identity to come. There are not many people who come by themselves saying "nice to meet you". After all, there are many people who are brought by someone. There were said to be about 3,000 clubs in Ginza during the bubble economy, but it is said that the number of clubs decreased to 300, one-tenth of the number after the Lehman Shock. It would have decreased again in Corona.

Since it is said that the boundaries between clubs and hostess clubs have disappeared, it is difficult to accurately grasp the number of clubs.

Okubo: An acquaintance of mine told me that in Roppongi he would listen to women, and in Ginza he would listen to women. What do you think?

Shirasaka: That's right. If what Roppongi wants is the brilliance and beauty of women, then in Ginza, customer service is important, so looks are of course important, but that alone is not enough. Since the customer is in charge, it is also the role of women to collect accounts receivable. However, now that I have a card, it has become more convenient. I used to write bills one by one.

Remember the customer's birthday, hobbies, work content, family composition, etc., and when they come to the store, read whether they want to make a lot of noise or drink quietly today, and how to interact with them. Changing is also important.

Okubo: Do ​​you remember your birthday and family composition?

Shirasaka: That's right. He remembers what we talked about, and the next time he comes over, I will continue from the previous conversation. You will feel that you are there, and you will be able to open your mind.

Moreover, it's hard to remember the information and conversations of multiple customers while drinking alcohol, but I always tell the girls, "Keep your IQ at 500 during business hours." I'm here.

This is a profession where you have to increase sales as well as hospitality. For example, if you say, "I brought a friend with me today. I can't use the entertainment expenses for private purposes, so I can't get a new bottle." If you say, "I'll put it in myself." We put our minds to the test to make our customers feel good while also increasing sales. If you can't count money, you can't be a hostess.

Okubo: How do you study?

Shirasaka: In the past, it was said that reading the Nikkei newspaper would be enough, but now customers' jobs and interests have diversified, and that alone is no longer enough to keep up. We order about 30 magazines a month. I can't read all of them, but I just flip through them. As for sports, if you are good at about 5 broad and shallow, you can keep up with most topics.

I don't study so that I can speak, but when something big happens at a customer's company, it's strange to greet them with the same attitude as usual. , understanding or studying.

Okubo: I think you go to the store at night, but what do you do during the day? Shirasaka: I'm busy during the day, sending thank-you emails and letters for coming to the store, making reservations, studying, and getting ready to go to the store. There is a lot of clerical work, and in the past it was said that it was open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Okubo: I think it's hard to be so busy, but how do you keep your mental state?

Shirasaka: That's right. I have a steel mentality right now (laughs), but I'm still in the hospitality business, so sometimes I get yelled at. At times like that, I have a drink at the bar on the way home and reflect. In such a case, I sometimes write an apology letter by separating things that I should worry about and things that I don't have to worry about.

Young people sing karaoke, run, and watch movies that make them cry. If you are not mentally healthy, you cannot serve customers well.

What kind of person will succeed?

Okubo: You've been in Ginza for a long time and have seen many different people.

Shirasaka: As expected, the number of people who can get people involved will grow. Rather than just thinking about the growth of their own company, they are people who want to contribute to society by expanding their industry and region. Of course, there is competition at clubs in Ginza, and there are times when things get rough, but there is a tradition of giving flowers to each other on mother's birthdays, etc., and I think it's a good culture.

I also think it's important to be a person who has a passion for "I'll do it," and a straightforward person who doesn't cheat or lie.

I will never forget the words that Mr. Masao Ogura, the former chairman of Yamato Transport Co., Ltd., told me when I was just starting my own business. Mothers who graduated from university were rare at the time, but they told me, ``Have aspirations and a sense of mission, and do your best in Ginza.'' I came here with the feeling that I would.

Since 2006, the Ginza Honey Bee Project has been raising honey bees on the rooftops of buildings in Ginza. The themes are food safety, the environment, and regional revitalization.

All of our black clothes (shop staff) are college students. Many people get a job and get promoted or start a business because they can learn various things as a social experience. I hear that people are often interested in me at job interviews when I tell them that I used to wear black clothes.

Okubo: It certainly seems like the story will spread. Do you sometimes receive consultations from customers?

Shirasaka: That's why I've been asked for advice on starting a business recently, and since the top management of a company is lonely, I often get asked about work worries that I can't talk to anyone about. mark> I think that I can give a push on the back with words because I keep the customer's information in mind, listen carefully, and have an interest. In that sense, the hostess must be a close friend, a lover at times, and a mother at times.

Also, 13 girls are already independent from our house. We don't have quotas, and we're not a strict shop, but we leave things up to girls who can do it. If you think, ``Why won't this child become independent when she can be independent now?'', I will drop her off the cliff. I can understand your hesitation because the world in which an employee and a manager live is completely different.

Okubo: What do the customers do in such a case? If you take it to a new shop, you'll usually think about it.

Shirasaka: It's not goodwill, but I don't mind if you bring a customer. Customers in Ginza are often said to be migratory fish. If I had a fight, they wouldn't come to my original restaurant, but if I sent them off on good terms, they would come to my original restaurant for drinks, so I'm happy to send them off. I think everyone should be excited.

What's different about a stylish man?

Okubo: Can foreigners come too?

Shirasaka: Yes, there are many Americans, Indians, and Germans. It seems that you will be addicted to it if you come several times. It would be nice to have a girl who can speak English. There are people who come every time they go on a business trip, saying, ``There is no other world like this where such a beautiful woman listens intently.''

Okubo: Of course you sell alcohol, but what exactly do you sell?

Shirasaka: The fun atmosphere and the connection between people. After all, men are happy to be praised by beautiful women, and they will be fine. Actually, there aren't many other places where adult men and women can have adult conversations.

I guess you could say it's a a place to polish a man. A smart man doesn't ask for anything in return. The space in the shop is limited, so when it's full, it's a good idea to leave a seat. Okubo: What did you struggle with when you started the company?

Shirasaka: I had a hard time deciding how to recruit and train people, and how to distribute the customers because there are so many different kinds of customers. I don't have a single customer who doesn't like it now. Also, it depends on the economy.

After all, as a business owner, I think it's better to have a relationship with a banker. During the IT bubble, banks were like, "I'll lend you money," so I opened a Japanese restaurant. Before the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy around 2018, I felt that something was wrong with a customer, so I went to a bank and was told that something like this could happen in the United States. You may.

I also work as a lecturer, and I am often invited to meetings with bank customers.

It was tough because we couldn't open for a while, but I think the reason we were able to continue the store even during the corona crisis was because of our preparations from past experiences.

Okubo: Do ​​you have anything in mind for the future?

Shirasaka: That's right. I closed one shop due to the influence of corona, so I don't feel like increasing it anymore. As I touched on earlier, some say that the line between Ginza clubs and cabaret clubs is disappearing, so I want to maintain and mature the classic Ginza club feel.

I think it's important for the girls in the club to be well-educated, so I'd like to continue to educate them. For example, in order to make customers who are meeting us for the first time feel at ease, we use a soothing alto tone of voice and are conscious of smiling. I would like to continue to create shops that highlight the goodness of classics, rather than boring classics, and I will continue to work to revitalize Ginza as a whole.

Okubo: Thank you very much for your valuable talk today.

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