December 26, 2020
[What kind of year will 2020 be?] Looking back on this year
Hello! This is HushTug's Hariuna.
Christmas is over, and there's only one week left in December. I was imagining that the streets of Japan would be decorated with Christmas decorations at Christmas time, and it would be a wonderful winter... (laughs). When I walked outside in Mongolia, there were also places with Christmas trees decorated, so there was a bit of a Christmas feeling.
We are soon going to enter the new year, 2021. So in this blog, I would like to look back on what 2020 was like for me!
table of contents
Now, let's take a look back at HushTug's year so far!
1. Improve your Japanese!
First of all, my personal improvement has been that my Japanese has improved!
I started writing a blog in November of last year. When I first started, I was often told that I was taking myself too seriously and that my writing was too stiff (lol).
Since then, I have been writing while improving my blog based on various advice I received from my employees in Japan and from Kawada-san. In this way, I have written about 24 blogs in the past year.
This was my first experience writing a blog, and I was a little confused at first, thinking, "I've never written a blog in my home country either, so why am I writing a blog in a second language?" But I feel that this is exactly why it was a new challenge for me.
I am grateful to the company for giving me this opportunity. Now I enjoy writing blogs and I want to continue studying Japanese. I also want to continue writing and introducing a lot about Mongolia.
Since I started writing the blog, I have been exchanging emails directly with Japanese employees about imports and exports, and occasionally holding meetings. I use Japanese every day, and I feel like my Japanese has improved since I was in Japan.
*This is the background of the meeting (interpretation) with Technical Director Fleury and Kawada.
Now I do a lot of things, such as exporting, importing, blogging, and management, but my basic job has always been interpreting Japanese. This year, I learned a lot from interpreting the production schedule of Mr. Fleury, the technical director, and Mr. Kawada, and how to make the factory produce efficiently. It was a great learning experience to be able to express people's ideas and thoughts in abbreviated form into another language.
2. Try a new job!
I think HushTug is a company that gives employees many opportunities to try new things. I am one of those people who have been given opportunities, and I have been able to try many things this year.
One of them is a challenge to project managers!
I started in January this year, and at first I was wondering, "What is a project...?", and by December I felt like I was starting to understand it. I still have a lot to work on!
There are still difficult times due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. In times like these, various problems arise and we have to deal with each one. It's difficult, but that's why I think it's fun.
3. About the workshop!
The biggest change this year is that our workshop has moved!
*The workshop is on the first floor of our current two-story office.
Our production volume has been increasing since last spring, and is about three times larger than it was a year ago. With an eye on future increases in production, we have moved to an office four times larger.
Based on the recent production numbers, it has already tripled, and we are close to quadrupling it. I think we will soon have to look for a new workshop or a second workshop (laughs).
Currently, the business of the workshop is running smoothly and steadily. I'm relieved because the heating broke in the office I rented last year and it was sometimes too cold to do business.
4. About the craftsmen!
When Toda-san came to Mongolia last year, he said, "Next year, the number of craftsmen will double from the current number." At the time, it seemed like a distant dream, but now it's actually happening just as Toda-san said (laughs).
Since the end of last year, we have been increasing the number of craftsmen, and 80% of them are in their 20s. It's not just the numbers that have increased, but the skills of each craftsman have also improved. This year, we have been holding study sessions to improve the skills of our craftsmen little by little, and I think the results are starting to show.
I'm sure that in a year's time, there will be even more craftsmen than there are now! I'm looking forward to it!
5. Summary
Looking back on the past year, I feel that we have grown in many ways and I am very happy about that. What I can say for sure as a result of this year is that we have quadrupled our workshop area, doubled the number of our craftsmen, and tripled the number of products we produce.
With the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic all over the world, it will be difficult to continue growing, and I believe there are few companies in Mongolia's leather industry that have been able to grow this much in such a short period of time.
*This photo was taken two months ago. 60% of the HushTug team are craftsmen.
We have come this far by facing various problems together as a company and working hard to solve them. I hope that we will continue to work hard together for everyone, for Mongolia, and for our customers.
Thank you for reading to the end!
We look forward to your continued support next year.
HushTug Haruner
Christmas is over, and there's only one week left in December. I was imagining that the streets of Japan would be decorated with Christmas decorations at Christmas time, and it would be a wonderful winter... (laughs). When I walked outside in Mongolia, there were also places with Christmas trees decorated, so there was a bit of a Christmas feeling.
We are soon going to enter the new year, 2021. So in this blog, I would like to look back on what 2020 was like for me!
table of contents
- Japanese Language Improvement
- Taking on a new job
- About the Workshop
- About the Craftsmen
- summary
Now, let's take a look back at HushTug's year so far!
1. Improve your Japanese!
First of all, my personal improvement has been that my Japanese has improved!
I started writing a blog in November of last year. When I first started, I was often told that I was taking myself too seriously and that my writing was too stiff (lol).
Since then, I have been writing while improving my blog based on various advice I received from my employees in Japan and from Kawada-san. In this way, I have written about 24 blogs in the past year.
This was my first experience writing a blog, and I was a little confused at first, thinking, "I've never written a blog in my home country either, so why am I writing a blog in a second language?" But I feel that this is exactly why it was a new challenge for me.
I am grateful to the company for giving me this opportunity. Now I enjoy writing blogs and I want to continue studying Japanese. I also want to continue writing and introducing a lot about Mongolia.
Since I started writing the blog, I have been exchanging emails directly with Japanese employees about imports and exports, and occasionally holding meetings. I use Japanese every day, and I feel like my Japanese has improved since I was in Japan.
*This is the background of the meeting (interpretation) with Technical Director Fleury and Kawada.
Now I do a lot of things, such as exporting, importing, blogging, and management, but my basic job has always been interpreting Japanese. This year, I learned a lot from interpreting the production schedule of Mr. Fleury, the technical director, and Mr. Kawada, and how to make the factory produce efficiently. It was a great learning experience to be able to express people's ideas and thoughts in abbreviated form into another language.
2. Try a new job!
I think HushTug is a company that gives employees many opportunities to try new things. I am one of those people who have been given opportunities, and I have been able to try many things this year.
One of them is a challenge to project managers!
I started in January this year, and at first I was wondering, "What is a project...?", and by December I felt like I was starting to understand it. I still have a lot to work on!
There are still difficult times due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. In times like these, various problems arise and we have to deal with each one. It's difficult, but that's why I think it's fun.
3. About the workshop!
The biggest change this year is that our workshop has moved!
*The workshop is on the first floor of our current two-story office.
Our production volume has been increasing since last spring, and is about three times larger than it was a year ago. With an eye on future increases in production, we have moved to an office four times larger.
Based on the recent production numbers, it has already tripled, and we are close to quadrupling it. I think we will soon have to look for a new workshop or a second workshop (laughs).
Currently, the business of the workshop is running smoothly and steadily. I'm relieved because the heating broke in the office I rented last year and it was sometimes too cold to do business.
4. About the craftsmen!
When Toda-san came to Mongolia last year, he said, "Next year, the number of craftsmen will double from the current number." At the time, it seemed like a distant dream, but now it's actually happening just as Toda-san said (laughs).
Since the end of last year, we have been increasing the number of craftsmen, and 80% of them are in their 20s. It's not just the numbers that have increased, but the skills of each craftsman have also improved. This year, we have been holding study sessions to improve the skills of our craftsmen little by little, and I think the results are starting to show.
I'm sure that in a year's time, there will be even more craftsmen than there are now! I'm looking forward to it!
5. Summary
Looking back on the past year, I feel that we have grown in many ways and I am very happy about that. What I can say for sure as a result of this year is that we have quadrupled our workshop area, doubled the number of our craftsmen, and tripled the number of products we produce.
With the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic all over the world, it will be difficult to continue growing, and I believe there are few companies in Mongolia's leather industry that have been able to grow this much in such a short period of time.
*This photo was taken two months ago. 60% of the HushTug team are craftsmen.
We have come this far by facing various problems together as a company and working hard to solve them. I hope that we will continue to work hard together for everyone, for Mongolia, and for our customers.
Thank you for reading to the end!
We look forward to your continued support next year.
HushTug Haruner