She lost her father at age six, got divorced in her 20s, and made it to the billionaire list without any graduation from college.
Shinohara founded TempStaff, a staffing agency in 1973 from a one-bedroom apartment in Tokyo.
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She broadened the workplaces for women where they could apply their skills. Presently, TempStaff has 313 offices and touched revenues of $4.5 billion last year.
Shinohara's idea was almost illegal but she did not lose hope and lobbied to get the laws changed.
"Soon after my wedding, I realized that I would rather not be married, that this was not the right person for me. So I decided I had better divorce as soon as possible, a decision that my mother and brother were very angry about. After the divorce, I said, 'I have to do something with myself," she told the Harvard Business Review in 2009.
Like Shinohara, there are many people who want to create something of their own and serve the society. Even though Shinohara never set out to be a billionaire, she was focused on making a mark through her business.
If you want to share the same zeal as her, here are 4 traits that you can learn from Japan’s first self-made woman billionaire