Hello, everyone.

This is Enta.

I went to Kobe a few days ago, and today I'm at the warehouse.

I'm completely wiped out after a two-day intensive course.

It made me realize that studying is always important.

It's also important to review the material after you get home.

Studying is really hard, but I'm doing it with an eye toward the future!

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But that's beside the point.

A construction business license is essentially contingent on having social insurance coverage.

Businesses that do not carry insurance will not be granted a license.

However, perhaps due to the siloed nature of the government, there is a slight delay because there is no issue as long as you are enrolled in social insurance while your permit application is pending.

The cost of this insurance is just so burdensome.

In the past, it wasn't a problem to go without insurance. But now, it's absolutely essential.

A few years ago, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism set a goal of 100% enrollment, and now nearly everyone is enrolled? (Though there are still a few unregistered operators.)

As income increases, so do insurance premiums. The company and the employee each bear half of those premiums.

From the craftsmen's perspective, this means a loss of income, so naturally they are opposed to it.

If you resist, there’s a chance it could lead to you quitting your job. (Though, I guess it is a civic duty, lol.)

To prevent that from happening, labor unit costs are also rising.

So, it’s fair to say that it wouldn’t be surprising if their salary went up accordingly.

In reality, general contractors and the like have actually seen their stock prices rise quite a bit.

In the case of self-employed craftsmen, while there are no particular issues these days if they enroll in self-employed contractor insurance, they are limited to jobs worth 5 million yen or less.

 

Actually, it’s relatively easy to make the transition from construction manager to entrepreneur.

The reason is that the paperwork gets done.

I think this tends to be a major hurdle when artisans start their own businesses.

The barriers to using a computer seem to be surprisingly high.

Well, since there are more and more companies that offer outsourcing services these days, it might be a good idea to just hand the whole thing over to them. (It does cost money, though.)

After all, smartphones and computers are completely different, aren't they?

There are budget and cost estimate hurdles on-site.

After all, questions like “How many days will it take?”, “How much will it cost?”, “What are the expenses?”, and “What will the profit be?” are extremely important.

Even in this area, construction managers tend to have a general idea of the situation, even if it’s only a rough one.

However, it seems that if you're a craftsman, you really do end up becoming a basket.

It’ll be tough unless you learn to keep track of labor hours, labor rates, and expenses as much as possible.

I don't really have to worry about this part myself, but since people often ask me to explain it,

I teach it. Since I make sure my method is easy to follow, it goes over well with the master craftsmen, too.

 

Starting a business in the construction industry is really tough.

Just because I’ve been able to get work done so far doesn’t mean it’ll be easy to quit my job, start my own company right away, and get to work.

If you're driving without a license, I guess it's fine anytime, lol (but if you get into an accident, it'll be a real mess.)

 

Even if you can do the construction work, it’s pointless if you can’t secure contracts, submit paperwork, and handle all the other administrative tasks.

I think the construction industry, in particular, is an industry with a lot of paperwork—paperwork, paperwork, and more paperwork.

Working at a construction site involves more than just the actual construction work, so if you start a business thinking otherwise, you’re in for a rude awakening.

I used to take it pretty lightly, too. I’ve had my fair share of painful experiences, lol.

Thanks to that, I think I've become quite cautious these days.

 

See you later.