At 74, he's thinking like a creator...

Hey!

I hope you had a great Christmas and you're enjoying that sweet spot between holidays where nobody knows what day it is 😅

Speaking of Christmas gifts, I've got an interesting story for you about one that turned into a $25 million business...

Meet Mr. Yoshida.

His story starts like many great business tales - with a problem.

Back in 1982, during a tough recession, he couldn't afford Christmas gifts. So he made his teriyaki sauce and gave it to friends and family. He actually called it his "stupid sauce" at the time.

By 2000, Yoshida was producing 25,000 gallons a day, owned 26% of the total teriyaki sauce market, and had turned his Christmas gift into an empire.

Heinz came knocking with a $24 million offer, and he sold.

What happened next is something I see all too often in traditional business.

Heinz did what big companies often do - they started optimising for profit over product.

They cheapened the recipe.

Stopped investing in growth.

Let corporate politics get in the way of what made the brand special in the first place.

The sauce that people loved? It wasn't the same anymore.

But here's where this story takes an interesting turn.

At 74 years old, when most people would be enjoying retirement, Yoshida decided to buy his brand back.

For less than $1 million - a fraction of what he sold it for.

But he's not just trying to restore what was lost.

He's completely reimagining what his business could be.

And this is where it gets really interesting.

Instead of just putting the sauce back on shelves and hoping for the best, he's building something entirely different:

• He's focused on e-commerce and direct customer relationships

• He's creating content around real-life demonstrations

• He's brought in his 18-year-old grandson to drive cultural relevance

• And most importantly, he's gone back to the original recipe

This is exactly what I mean when I say the creator mindset isn't just for social media stars or content creators.

It's about thinking differently about business entirely.

What Yoshida understands at 74 is something many younger businesses still don't get:

• Direct relationships with customers are more valuable than shelf space

• Content that adds value builds deeper connections than ads

• Authenticity (like using the original recipe) matters more than margins

• Bridging generations through storytelling creates real brand value

I find this particularly fascinating because it shows how the creator mindset can transform any business, at any stage.

Yoshida isn't trying to become a TikTok star.

He's applying creator principles to a traditional product business:

• Building in public

• Testing and learning

• Creating genuine connections

• Putting quality first

• Thinking long-term

The traditional playbook would have been simple: get the sauce back on shelves, run some ads, maybe update the packaging.

But Yoshida is building like a modern creator while selling a physical product that predates the internet.

There's a lesson here that goes beyond sauce or social media: it's never too late to think differently about your business. Whether you're just starting out or, like Yoshida, reclaiming something you built, the principles remain the same.

• Build for your audience

• Create real value

• Never compromise on quality

• Think generationally

At 74, Yoshida showing us what building looks like when you think like a creator.

That's how you win going into 2025.

Chat soon,

Jordan

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