jmfargo | I'll Go Kung-Fu On Your Ass

Have you ever wondered how you got where you are today? How many of you actually are where you said you wanted to be when you were five or six and people asked "So, little child, what do you want to be when you grow up?" I know I'm not. I think when I was six my answer was usually along the lines of "a ninja," and when the adult would quickly correct me by saying something like "No, you can't be a ninja for a job, what kind of ~job~ do you want," I would smile innocently up at them and say "a paid ninja."

Alas, I'm still not a ninja, which I suppose is fine considering that the modern day ninja probably gets paid less than I do as a house-husband, which is room and board. I'd imagine that a ninja only gets paid in very particular circumstances that don't come up very often these days. "Ninja! I need you to infiltrate the castle of Donald Trump using only ancient weaponry and tools, steal his corporate identity with your ninja mind powers, and slip quietly out the back without being seen by people or cameras!"

Maybe not.

Seriously, though, when I was younger I imagined being something I definately am not today. I know this is true with most people, because otherwise we would have a world full of firefighters, police, and ballerinas, and while we'd be safe and entertained, I'm not sure we'd function very well as a society.

So, I'm looking at my life like a child, trying to come up with "what I want to be." It's not an easy question, and even as a kid I had difficulty coming up with an answer that really appealed to me. Even back then I knew that what I wanted to be was "rich," but you can't tell the adults that because they tend to look at you funny when you say adult-like things as a child. Then they go on to share the amusing story with other people, and pretty soon you're the kid who wants to be rich. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

What this rambling is leading up to, other than nostalgia from thinking of when I was little, is that I'm trying to come up with some ideas about how to enact my ideas. I have great ideas for businesses that I think the Buffalo area needs, but no real-world experience to put behind these ideas. I know that if I want to encourage people to invest money in my thoughts and businesses, I have to have more of a business plan than "you give me money, and I use it to buy things." I just know that's not quite how it works. The problem comes in with the execution of going beyond that.

Does anyone have hints or tips on how to write a good business prospectus, or business plan? One idea that I had is already coming to fruition, but the other plans that I have for running a store or some other kind of business are a little big-scale to be able to pull off on my own. Please, if you can help, I need it! Suggestions are more than welcome, they're encouraged!

Don't let my six-year-old self down!

"I wanna be a RICH ninja!"

Okay, let him down gently.