After two years of door-to-door sales in Tokyo, his efforts for Matsushita were finally going well enough to open an office. But being only nineteen and full of ambition, Toshio dreamed of starting his own business. From working for his brother-in-law, he had the practical experience necessary for his own business. And from his evening study, a solid education in electronics. Plus, he had survived and was familiar with the aggressive Tokyo market. However, to succeed Toshio knew that he needed to expand his knowledge so that his skills covered every area of the industry. This meant finding a new job, away from Matsushita. Toshio, however, knew that he was to be conscripted in one year. Desperately wanting to try his hand at his own business but knowing that military service would take up several years of his life, he decided to stake his future on the results of the military's physical examination. If he passed, he would do his time in the military, give up his dream and go back to Matsushita after discharge. With a year to go before the exam, Toshio decided to ask Konosuke for a one-year leave of absence from Matsushita – helping out only on Sundays. Should he get lucky and fail the physical, he wanted to be ready to start his own business. This required saving money and finding the right job. Working as a mechanic for a socket manufacturing plant turned out to be the perfect choice. The company paid him 90 yen a month and on a strict budget Toshio was able to put much of that away. Plus, Toshio used his ability to sniff out potential business opportunities and took a chance on a few side jobs. He purchased a pressing machine and a neighborhood mechanic produce and deliver socket parts to the plant where he worked every morning. In another attempt to make money, Toshio invested in a factory owner's plan to manufacture innovative new plugs. Toshio provided the funds necessary, the owner produced the plugs and all profits were split 50/50. From these ventures he earned an additional 100 yen per month. In an effort to establish sales channels, he succeeded in obtaining exclusive selling rights from two Tokyo companies for the entire Kansai region (western Japan). After a year had passed, Toshio had two solid agency contracts and had saved 2,500 yen – enough to start his own business. But in the spring of 1923 Toshio passed the military exam. Knowing that he could be called at any time, Toshio gave up the idea of starting his own business and returned to work for Matsushita.