After 19 years of being a housewife, Social Media Consultant and Author Hitomi Kumasaka found the career of her dreams. She shares the story of her triumphs and failures as she pursues the work she truly loves.
Hitomi Kumasaka
Entrepreneur & social media evangelist
“Social Networking” is the term of our times. Whether we communicate through email, Facebook or Twitter, the computer has become the means with which we build relationships, cement deals and sustain connections. Kumasaka Hitomi has become what many would call a “social networking guru”. But she didn’t start out as such. Her career path began at the age of 42, when she was working part-time at a real-estate agency. She moved on to a sales job, to interview writing and then to consulting. It was during her time as an interview writer that she realized that most of the time, there was a gap in the communication between the seller and the buyer. Specifically, she noted that the buyer often did not clearly understand the feelings and motivations of the seller in a business transaction. Kumasaka turned to social media as a possible way to facilitate buyer/seller communication. After extensive research, she began putting her methods into practice. She now travels regularly to the U.S. to acquire information on the latest social marketing trends, and uses her gleanings to do consulting and give lectures. Her book on using social media for business has become a bestseller not only in Japan, but also in Korea and Taiwan. Kumasaka’s inspiration that not only person-to-person communication, but also person-to-corporation communication is possible is paving the way for a whole new level of social networking. Streamlined business communication is now possible, and we have social media and Kumasaka Hitomi to thank for it.
