left the 9-5 to start a business (the reality, the struggles, the rewards)

here’s the youtube version if you prefer video (or continue reading below):

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it’s been about 4 months since we launched 要素 yōso studio, and i feel like it’s the right time to talk about the unfiltered transition.

i’ve talked about our journey before, but i don’t think i’ve ever really touched on the reality of our daily life - the struggles we still face with unlearning traditional systems and thinking, and of course, the rewards of leaving the 9-5.

since we just came back from our bangkok trip, i wanted to use that as a jumping board.

quick background:

we left japan (and our traditional teaching jobs) in 2024. since then, we’ve been self-employed, apart from the time i worked for a startup back in july 2025.

now, back to the point.

holidays. taking breaks. allowing yourself to rest.

i’ve been a teacher my whole life, and that means i’ve had decent holidays throughout my career. including the longest being summer vacations, a full month after a school year ends.

i never really had complaints about that because it was a structure drilled into me from, well, the education system. it’s always been the way we were programmed in school: study most of the year, breaks in between for holidays.

i mean, sure, that sounds about right because it was just the way it was back then.

now though?

i feel like i bought myself so much invaluable time by being self-employed. not only do i get to choose how long my holidays are, i also get to decide when i take them. i don’t need to ask for approval or permission.

coming from the constraints of school (even through my professional career) the ability to take breaks whenever i can, in itself, feels very liberating to me.

of course, this feeling of liberation is very subjective. to me, this is what liberation feels like. it might not be for you (and that’s okay).

financial freedom (or whatever that means to you)

again, this financial “freedom” varies depending on whichever lens you’re viewing it from. it’s the same with “success.” everyone has standards. what’s liberating or successful or rich to me may not be for you.

and again, that’s why we have to be discerning. we have to know ourselves so we don’t get caught up chasing freedom and success that, in the end, were defined by everyone else but us.

anyway, financially, i don’t really want to talk about that in detail. but let’s just say i’ve never been so financially free.

and to this day, it blows my mind how much the world has to offer for the value i provide.

obviously, all of us know how underpaid teachers are. and this shift is so huge to me i can’t even begin to grasp it at times.

but.

not to say it’s always amazing - it’s not.

and now we’re touching on one of the biggest challenges we face: “stability.”

i put that in quotations because the stability i held on to as a teacher is honestly as fragile as our stability in the business world.

if you look at it this way, they can take your job from you at any given time, and there goes your stability.

in the same way, when you work for yourself, client relationships and projects end. some months you’re working nonstop and the income flows. other months are slow, and the income slows down too.

but at least, you still have your business. you don’t just lose that and your sense of stability during slow months.

i know so many people are afraid of taking this leap because they lose the stability of a full-time job. we’ve felt that way. and most of the time, it still creeps up on us.

that’s because we’ve been conditioned that the only way to move through this world and survive is by working for someone else.

fair. others really do thrive in that. others really have no choice but to do that.

but if you, like us, have even just a tiny space in your life to build something of your own, give it a shot.

i promise you: you’ll only come out a better human being.

working for yourself is inseparable from growing as a person.

this is my favorite point.

working for yourself, nurturing your business, building something that’s truly yours…it’s inseparable from growing as a person.

this journey has propelled us into exponential growth through all aspects of our life. doing this is inseparable from living an intentional life.

i can’t explain how much better of a person i am (not that i’m perfect, i’m not) just by challenging myself in this way.

there’s so much to learn about yourself, the world around you, your partner if you’re doing this with them too, that i never would’ve gotten from my traditional teaching job.

because (and this leads me to my final point) …

the turning point is always this:

i used to work hard for other people’s vision and dreams.

now, through our own business, i get to work on my vision, my life’s work, the life we truly want to nurture together.

that discovery, and the level of reflection you go through each time you doubt yourself and question why you even started this in the first place, is truly unmatched.

it’s so fucking hard. it is.

it’s so difficult that you meet yourself down at the bottom so many times, and somehow, for whatever reason, you still convince yourself to keep going. to get up and do it all over again.

because to me, this is liberation. this is financial freedom. this is my version of stability.

and this is the life i truly, genuinely want to live.

bangkok.

bangkok now has that special place in my heart for being the first city abroad we’ve traveled to for 10 days through our small business.

i never once thought i’d be where i am now.

but i’m always glad my past self chose this version of our life.

i know deep down, i’m where i’m supposed to be.

now let me ask you: what does freedom mean to you?

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p.s. if this resonates: if you’re tired of the loud advice & ready to build something that feels like you…we’re hosting our first workshop next month.

live an intentional life (nurture an intentional business)

everything we’ve learned about building quietly, slowly, with intention.

register here.

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stay soulful,
jo from 要素 yōso studio