It’s Not About Being the Largest Company: Build Million Dollar Companies With Kaz Iso

Million dollar companies don't just appear out of nowhere. The goal of hitting your first seven figures might sound like a tall order, but it's doable. You don't have to be a corporate giant like Amazon or Apple to hit that target. The pathway to success lies within you: in your mind and spirit.

In this episode of The Best Business Podcast, host Daryl Urbanski sits down with Kaz Iso. He is one of Japan’s most respected spiritual leaders and business coaches. He asks an intriguing question: What happens when you combine Zen philosophy with modern entrepreneurship? From his corporate beginnings at Sony to creating a thriving coaching empire, Kaz shares candid stories of failure, transformation, and ultimate success. His journey proves that the right mindset can turn setbacks into opportunities and passion into profit.

Kaz explains how mindset is just as important as strategy when it comes to building sustainable success. His story offers lessons not only in business growth but also in personal transformation and resilience. It reminds us that even the largest companies by revenue or market cap began with small, determined steps. For entrepreneurs and investors alike, understanding the balance between profitability, valuation, and purpose is what separates a struggling firm from a truly valuable company. Tune in to discover how Zen principles can guide your journey toward building a profitable, purpose-driven business.

Three Reasons to Listen to This Episode

1. Learn why your mindset is the foundation of success. Even if you have the aid of an executive coach for million dollar companies, your capacity to learn and grow is still critical.
2. Understand why authenticity is a powerful fuel for growth.
3. Discover how pivoting from a closed door can lead you to new opportunities in your career.

Resources

1. Kaz Iso website
2. You can connect Kaz Iso on LinkedIn | Instagram
3. Kaz Iso on Facebook
4. Best Business Podcast with Daryl Urbanski - Where you can find more insightful interviews like this one.

Interview Highlights

From Yokohama Roots to Sony Boardrooms

• Host Daryl Urbanski introduces Kaz Iso, one of Japan’s most respected spiritual leaders and business coaches.
• Kaz explains how he blends Zen philosophy with real-world entrepreneurship. His mission is to help people awaken their mindset while building profitable, impactful businesses.
• He learned the spirit of entrepreneurship from his father, who ran his own business.
• He built a successful corporate career in sales and e-commerce at one of the largest companies in the world: Sony. At Sony, he helped grow online sales by several hundred percent in only six months.

The First Failure: Entrepreneurial Leap

• Kaz left the corporate world to start a dietary supplement business. Within a year, his sales grew to $47,000 per month.
• The business collapsed overnight due to conflicts with the manufacturer and its MLM model.
• Despite facing a financial crisis, Kaz learned resilience and the value of persistence.
• This early failure became the foundation for his later success, reminding him that even the largest companies by market capitalization
• From Apple and Microsoft to Saudi Aramco, what were once faced with setbacks are now becoming valuable companies recognized on the Fortune Global 500 list.

From a Consultation Business to Million Dollar Company

• A phone call from his accountant changed the course of Kaz’s career after he helped a struggling HR entrepreneur avoid being ripped off by a marketing agency.
• That experience revealed that his corporate skills were highly valuable to the world's largest companies, but could also be applied to small businesses. Kaz pivoted into consulting and returned to Japan to ride the entrepreneurship wave.
• Kaz returned to Japan as coach Kaz, and wrote a 240-page PDF guide on how to succeed online. He sold the guide for $240 and earned $100,000 in six months.
• Later on, Kaz expanded into seminars, DVDs, and other training products. Within a short time, he built an email list of more than 20,000 subscribers in Japan.

Mindset as the Game Changer

• Kaz coached two clients who started at the same level of sales. One client grew from $2,000 per month to $80,000 per month, while the other remained stagnant.
• The difference was not tactics but mindset.
• Kaz realized that becoming a million dollar company depends as much on inner state as it does on external strategies.
• He now emphasizes that cultivating the right mindset is not optional.
• It is a critical metric of success, just like earnings, valuation, market value, or share price in the world’s top 10 companies.

Spiritual Awakening & New Path

• Kaz’s first Zen retreat during high school created a deep and lasting impression. As his business career progressed, he became increasingly interested in meditation and spirituality.
• He initially faced pushback from subscribers when he combined spiritual topics with internet marketing.
• A powerful spiritual experience convinced him to fully embrace life coaching as his path. Kaz boldly rebranded himself as a spiritual life coach, despite fears of losing his audience.
• His subscriber base doubled from 20,000 to 40,000 people in just 18 months, while his sales quadrupled.
• Kaz attributes his success to the alignment of his passion and purpose.

Building Lasting Success as a Million Dollar Company

• Kaz emphasizes that pivoting is essential; when one door closes, another always opens.
• He maintains daily routines of meditation, stretching, and affirmations to stay grounded.
• Recurring revenue models through memberships and long-term coaching programs were particularly effective for helping his clients and building his success.
• He proves that the money is in having a list of dedicated people; nurturing subscribers creates lifelong clients.

Kaz’s Coaching Philosophy

• Coaching should be about empowering clients, not feeding the coach’s ego.
• Kaz teaches that focusing on giving energy and genuine value is the key to growth; coaches who are happy and energized naturally attract loyal clients.
• Sustainable businesses are built on repeat customers and referrals.
• He stresses that true coaching success comes from creating transformation, not transactions.
• Just as a corporation or tech firm builds long-term trust with investors, retailers, and trading companies across different sectors to grow globally.

Wisdom to Live By

• Kaz describes Zen as a “life GPS” that guides people when their minds are clear. One moment of inspiration can transform an entire life.
• Discipline and repetition are essential for achieving mastery. He encourages people to live consciously, not just make a living, so they can create meaningful lives.
• Kaz is now expanding his coaching work into the U.S. market, offering free resources and tools at kaziso.com.
• His strength lies in combining left-brain business strategy with right-brain spirituality.
• His unique approach to the concept of Zen, not as an escape from reality but a way to unlock your full potential, helps further his own success and that of his clients.