Where it began

In November 2003, I launched a small two-person start-up in the heavily regulated Japanese financial services industry. All we had was an untested idea for a portfolio-management service and a lot of determination.

Getting started wasn’t cheap. We needed about $96,000 just to open the doors. That included a twelve-month office deposit, equipment, and a ¥5 million yen license deposit for the Ministry of Finance. Before we could legally operate, the pressure to earn money was already sitting heavily on my shoulders.

Early Progress and an Unexpected Ceiling

Our first year went surprisingly well. By the end of 2004 we had earned just over $250,000 in recurring revenue and hired two more staff. Over the next few years we hovered just under $350,000. It was respectable, but we had clearly hit a ceiling.

My founding partner and I were strong in product development and financial analysis. I had learned enough SEO to keep our site visible, but beyond that we knew very little about marketing or scaling. We tried countless ideas, mostly based on guesswork, and wasted a lot of time and money. Eventually we accepted that we needed outside help and took on a 50/50 partner who agreed to invest over 1 million dollars into the business.

The First Cracks

Within months, the global credit crunch began. Our monthly spending had jumped to $120,000 while revenue stayed the same. Our new partner became occupied with problems in his other businesses and spent less and less time in Japan. His marketing drive which we were depending on never really happened.

Then, in January 2008, I received news that my dad (age 57) had passed away from complications during a routine operation. I was devastated. I flew back to the UK, and when I returned to Japan, I reviewed the marketing activities that had been approved in my absence.

Three decisions immediately alarmed me.
One was $14,000 spent on a one-page ad in a new English-language Asian investor magazine, even though we served Japanese nationals. Another $21,000 went into two professionally produced videos that had no distribution plan at all. And we had committed to a $7,500 per month PPC contract that sent paid traffic to our generic homepage. None of this made strategic sense. None of it produced a single meaningful lead.

We had spent $42,500 and were committed to another $37,500, with nothing to show for it. I felt a growing sense of panic. The tactics were random, disconnected, and sold to us by providers who never took the time to understand our business.

The Downward Spiral

Then the Lehman shock hit, the markets collapsed, and fear spread everywhere. Our clients were nervous and new customers were hard to find. And as if the situation was not heavy enough, in November 2008, I received another painful call. My mum (age 56) had died suddenly following an accident (just 11 months after my dad passing away). I flew back to the UK again, numb and exhausted.

While I was in the UK for her funeral, the Bernie Madoff scandal broke. Clients panicked. Some wanted to close everything. My wife at the time, called me from Japan to tell me she was tired of my long hours and suggested I quit and get a normal job. Her words, though practical, felt cold and poorly timed. For the first time in my life, I felt completely overwhelmed.

Reaching the Lowest Point

When I returned to Japan in early 2009, the situation was bleak. We were doing everything we could to keep the business going, but expenses were still higher than revenue. Our partner injected another $500,000 just to stay afloat.

The strange thing is that our service itself had not failed. Most of our clients were happy, even during the market chaos. What failed was our marketing. It was inconsistent, rushed, and built on hunches instead of a system. Eventually, in early 2010, we transferred our clients to a larger Japanese competitor.

After seven years, I was no longer a business owner.

Soon after, my marriage ended and I had to leave the family home, which I would continue paying for many years. Between 2008 and 2010, I felt like life had stripped everything away. It was the darkest period I have ever experienced.

Choosing to Rise

Despite everything, I refused to give up. I made a commitment to myself to stand back up again, no matter how long it took. I poured every spare moment into studying marketing, copywriting, advertising, and business growth. I promised myself that I would never again hand over the marketing or promotion of my business to someone who did not have the same level of commitment or vested interest as I did.

One lesson hit me deeply.
The real value, growth, and profit in any business comes from the ability to market and sell, not just from the quality of the product. A brilliant product means nothing without a consistent flow of leads, sales enquiries and new customers.

I had never truly understood that until it was too late.

My Breakthrough

For the next 18 months I read 8 to 10 marketing books every month. I joined mastermind groups, attended seminars, and completed courses in marketing, copywriting, and advertising. I eventually created a simple structure focused on three elements: Attraction, Conversion, and Retention. Later these morphed into what I call today: Planting, Nurturing, and Harvesting.

I presented my ideas to the company that had acquired my old service. They agreed to test them. One of their campaigns had been running for 18 months and averaged only two leads per month. After applying my system, the first month produced 27 leads. A 1,250% improvement. That moment changed everything for me.

Building a Repeatable System

We continued testing and refining the approach. The results became consistent and sustainable. Eventually I shaped everything into a clear, repeatable step-by-step system. This became the Get More Customers Method™, a practical and reliable way to attract, convert, and retain customers without guesswork.

To validate it further, I shared it with two business friends, and they too saw strong results. For the first time in my career, I felt confident that I truly understood how to generate customers and grow a business.

People began telling me I should offer what I had created as a service. After much thought, I agreed.

A New Beginning

In late 2011, I launched Asahina Marketing and Asahina Video to help businesses with marketing, advertising, and lead generation. Later, both sites merged and became scottasahina.com.

After my divorce, I legally changed my name back to Scott Western and rebranded again.

Why I Help Businesses

During my own struggles, I felt like a marketing victim. Agencies sold tactics instead of solutions. They cared more about their invoices than my outcomes. I carried the stress home every night and felt ashamed telling my family that things still had not improved. Even telling my then five-year-old daughter that her piano lessons had to wait made me feel inadequate. I never want another business owner to feel that way.

A quote from Zig Ziglar helped to push me toward a new purpose.

Ironically, the unexpected twist in my story is that what I eventually created (the Get More Customers Method™) was exactly what I needed back when I was struggling to get more leads and customers for my own business. I really wish I had known then what I know today, but that’s life, I suppose.

Moving Forward

If you are struggling to generate enough warm, pre-qualified leads, sales enquiries and new customers, you have three choices.

1. If you have more time than money, learn marketing and lead generation (like I did). Test, iterate, and build your own system.
2. If you have more money than time, hire or work with someone you trust who already knows how to build what you want.
3. Finally, you could choose to do nothing and hope things improve on their own, although they rarely do.

If you would like to know whether I can help you, you can start by watching the introduction video on my homepage.

Thank you for taking the time to read this deeper look into my journey. I hope my experience helps you avoid the pain I went through and gives you the clarity and confidence to grow your business.

Scott Western
Lead Generation and Digital Marketing Strategist
Creator of the Get More Customers Method™