Do Nothing Rental Guy

Shoji Morimoto, 39, has been hired more than 4,000 times since starting his unique “rental person” business in 2018 and, until recently, has been getting paid for “doing nothing.” Clients now have the luxury of allowing Morimoto to grace them with his presence by simply reimbursing him for his travel expenses and any food and drink consumed during his meeting. Unfortunately, those looking for deep conversation or building a personal relationship are out of luck. (NY Post Jan 19, 2024)

One of the most common activities requested of Shoji is to just sit with people while they work. With so many of us working remotely, it can be lonely, difficult to find motivation, or to stay focused. When Shoji sits in the room (often reading magazines or scrolling on his phone!), his clients tend stay on task and get the job done! This speaks to the value of “accountability partners.”

Another popular request is to listen while the client talks. Shoji’s commitment to “doing nothing” prevents him from giving advice or his opinion. He doesn’t even use much “active” listening and typically makes simple responses like “oh” or “ok”.

My questions for you are:

1.     Who is your accountability partner? Who helps you to do the things you want to do, or be the person you are striving to be?

2.     Who listens to you without judgement? Who helps you to figure out what YOU want to do when challenges arise?

Soji Morimoto has figured out how to make a living doing what he believes he’s great at, just being there, and he’s filling gaps in others’ lives. His new memoir, Rental Person Who Does Nothing is an interesting quick read and will make you think about relationships, communication and what’s missing out there!  

I won’t commit to professional coaching helping you to get paid to “do nothing”, but I will promise that coaching can help you to be more accountable and figure out how to handle the challenges that you are facing!