In this article, I’ll be introducing myself – I’m YASU.
[Student life]
I was born in the countryside of Japan. I loved sports and did well in school, even though I didn’t study much. When I turned 18, I moved to Tokyo to attend Sophia University, one of Japan’s top universities. Later, I earned a master’s degree in mechanical engineering.
[My Life as an Office Worker]
After completing my studies, I joined NTT Data, Japan’s largest IT company, as a systems engineer. It’s considered a prestigious place to work, and many people dream of joining the company.
I spent 8 years there, working overtime almost every day. It wasn’t unusual for me to stay at the office until midnight—or even until the next morning—and sometimes I worked on weekends as well. I became the typical Japanese workaholic, fully dedicated to the company with almost no free time to enjoy my life.
The salary was decent, but far from what successful entrepreneurs were earning. And although I was fortunate to work with many talented and respectable colleagues, I also had to deal with incompetent bosses and difficult coworkers. Navigating these relationships was stressful, and I often felt frustrated.
Even though I loved technology, especially IT, I couldn’t do the kind of work that truly excited me. I craved freedom. I wanted to choose what I worked on, when I worked, and how I lived. On the outside, people saw me as an elite employee, but inside, I was exhausted and unhappy. I worried that if I continued like this, I would eventually get sick. At that time, I was averaging 14-hour workdays and only 5 hours of sleep.
I was completely burned out.
[Becoming an Affiliate Marketer]
Some of my friends were freelancers working in digital marketing, and they genuinely enjoyed what they did. I envied their freedom, and little by little, they inspired me to consider a different path.
Eventually, I made the decision to quit my job and start my own business. I chose affiliate marketing because it seemed like a simple way to begin. I started a blog and used Twitter to promote products I personally liked.
To my surprise, within three months I was earning around $3,000 a month with relatively little effort.
As I continued learning about digital marketing and improving my skills, my income grew steadily. A year and a half after leaving my job, I was making $10,000 a month—while typically working less than four hours a day. My stress disappeared. For the first time in my life, I had full control over my time.
With that freedom, I began traveling around the world. I visited more than 20 countries while working remotely from my laptop. The passive income I had built allowed me to avoid stressful work and focus only on what I enjoyed.
But after a while, a sense of emptiness crept in. I had all the freedom I once dreamed of, yet I felt bored. I wanted friends who shared a similar lifestyle—friends who could travel anytime and enjoy the same kind of freedom.
That’s when I started thinking about sharing my skills and helping others create this lifestyle too.
[Becoming a Digital Marketing Consultant]
In 2016, I founded my own company and began offering digital marketing consulting services. Most of my clients were individuals, but I occasionally worked with corporations as well.
Seeing my clients succeed financially—and hearing their happiness—gave me a deep sense of purpose. I also love challenges, so I decided to expand my business globally. It sounded difficult, but the challenge excited me.
To prepare, I started learning English and moved to New York for six months in 2018. After that, I spent time living and working in Vietnam, Taiwan, Thailand, Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, Croatia, Montenegro, South Korea, and across Japan. I lived as a digital nomad until the early months of 2020.
When the pandemic hit, I returned to Japan and started an English vlog to improve my language skills. To my surprise, the channel grew quickly. Today, my YouTube channel (YASU Business Channel) has over 130,000 subscribers, my TikTok has 490,000 followers, and my Instagram has 290,000 followers—even though my English is still not perfect.
My mission now is to share everything I’ve learned about digital marketing with people all around the world.
[If You Want to Build Your Own Online Business]
If you’re interested in creating an online business, generating passive income, and gaining the freedom to work from anywhere, I invite you to join my free 7-day email course.
Inside, I share the exact steps I used to completely transform my life—from overworked engineer to digital nomad entrepreneur—and how you can start doing the same, even if you’re a total beginner.
Click here to sign up and start your journey to financial freedom today: Join My Free Email Course
