Freelancing in Tokyo: Do It Yourself

Many of you have escaped Japan for the summer, and I cannot blame you. It's HOT. Although, this summer has held many surprises -- extra typhoons bringing in much needed rain and some powerful gusts of wind. Beautiful sunny days followed by remnants of June's rainy season. Like elsewhere in the world, the weather in Tokyo (and Japan) is unpredictable these days... and so, as most of you are experiencing, is the economy.

Perhaps some of you, at this very moment, are peacefully drifting across a crystal blue pool, nestled in a turquoise/emerald-colored flotation device with a drink holder for your daiquiri, your iPad propped on your stomach, enjoying your summer reading. Tokyo is a distant memory... but soon, you will return. Are the jobs lined up and waiting for you? Or are you going to have to take the reins of your sled and start careening through the twisted maze of Tokyo's nooks and crannies, searching for new opportunities? Whatever your situation, I strongly believe that you are the one who dictates what the path will be. 

Which brings me to today's topic: Do It Yourself. It is easy to say this and much harder to do, but do not rely on agents (be they voiceover agents, "teaching" agents), temp employment agencies, classified ads or job sites. Go out and get the type of work you want--by yourself. This basically comes down to networking. I am not a master networker... I wish I could say I was. I never had to do it when I was younger and I am only slowly cluing in to the value of it.

But when I first came to Tokyo, the way I got work was through a loose network of people I met before the Internet was up and running. We helped each other. We recommended each other. I find that is not so often the case now and there are many FITters who jealously guard their contacts. I can understand why, but I still believe (foolishly perhaps?) that there is enough work to go around. It is a matter of you taking it upon yourself to build the contacts and ferret out the job opportunities. 

I am amazed at how many foreigners I meet here in Tokyo who want to get on the gravy train and have yet to either get a proper business card (meishi), build a website (lots of free stuff out there, folks, and if you have a Mac, there's iWeb, part of the iLife series, all under 10,000 yen/$100) and/or imagine themselves doing anything other than teaching English or proofreading accounting reports. Then, when they get stuck, they stand like deer in headlights, unable to do anything except... lose a chance to get ahead or expand their worlds.

Which again brings me back to "Do It Yourself." A little shameless promotion here. I wrote a screenplay with my co-writer Blake Pinter (brilliant, brilliant, brilliant man!) called "Do It Yourself." To date it has won five awards and I'd like to believe it's because it's a story about a downtrodden individual who picks herself up by her heel straps (because she doesn't wear boots), reinvents herself and makes a name for herself in the world. Yes... she hits rock bottom, and maybe that's what it takes to say, "Okay, screw this; I'm doing it myself."

I have, since coming to Japan, produced my own album, produced or directed or written five short films, self-published FIT, and, for anyone who has read the book, worked a catalog of jobs, most of which I had very little experience for. But what I did have was a belief in myself, no matter how small, that I could do something... that I had some modicum of talent. It's this belief that has enabled me to survive in Tokyo through thick and thin. So, take a moment, look at your lovely self in the mirror. If you are facing rough times financially, if jobs are scarce, look at yourself and say, "I can do it, and I can do it by myself." You'll figure it out -- I did, and I wrote the book on it!