A Story About Ninjas & Lemonade Stands
This is a story about entrepreneurship...
(And if you want the video version of it, you can check out my post from a few days ago...!)
Let's take a trip back in time...
Little Jongo is about 9 years old and he's sitting in his room one afternoon. He looks out his window and sees kids in his neighbourhood setting up their lemonade stands to make a few extra bucks during the summer holidays and thinks to himself...
I should be out there too!
The problem for little Jongo is, he thinks lemonade stands are boring. They are all the same. And doesn't really have a passion for selling the beverage to the parents that are lining up to support the kids in the neighbourhood...
So Jongo starts thinking....
What do I love? And how can I make money from it....?
Jongo scans his walls and sees posters of rap artists, GI Joe's and....Ninjas.
Ninjas
....Yes, every 9 year old kid I'm sure has had dreams of becoming a lethal assassin at one point or another.....No? O.K., maybe Jongo was a little crazy...
But he was 9 and a few of the more popular movies around those times were the 'American Ninja' series and of course, 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'.
Great, he knew what he 'loved' but how can he make money from it...I'm not sure too many people were hiring 9 year old 'comic book' trained assassins at that time...
Jongo was stumped.
Until he started talking with his mother and she convinced him to use what he's been learning in school...At 9 years old, arts and crafts was still a big part of the curriculum and Jongo had a massive supply of...Popsicle sticks!
And thus spawned....Jongo's Ninja Stars!
Of course, I'm pretty sure that business name has never been registered, so feel free to use this idea at anytime ;)
Jongo made about a half dozen different designs. And started sticking his stars into a binder he made to show them off to the neighbourhood kids. He was a door to door salesman and didn't even know it...Jongo had his marketing down PAT! And because of his unique little idea at the time, sold quite a few that summer...
He charged anywhere from 10 cents to 25 cents, depending on the amount of popsicle sticks he used in the designs, and came away that summer with some decent pocket change that inspired something in him...
Entrepreneurship.
Jongo learned how to take...Passion and mix is with a little bit of creative thinking. And then turn it into a business...
He then went on to develop 'real' businesses in his lifetime and continues to feed his desire of taking those passions and turning them into profits.
If a 9 year old kid can turn popsicle sticks into a business with little to no training, you can take ANY passion you have and turn it into a business.
But the message that Jongo really wants to hammer home here is this...
Anyone can build a lemonade stand. But if you don't LOVE lemonade, what you've really built is another 'job'...
Find what you LOVE and turn that into a business. It's o.k. to be a ninja in a world filled with lemons....
The 'Official' CTP Merchandise store is open for business.
https://teespring.com/stores/clicktra...
The Union Is Here!
Blockchain meets Affiliate Marketing....
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Posted from my blog with SteemPress : http://plus1daily.com/a-story-about-ninjas-lemonade-stands/
Great story… helps us see where you are coming from… all we need is a pix of Jongo at that age, selling his stars to complete the blog post…. lol... you have said how much attention a cute kid attracts!
ha ha if only Appics was around back then :)
This is a great Motivational post I think ninjas are awesome
Right? They are the best!!!
Thanks for sharing your early years Jon. As you said in your video, "do you choose entrepreneurship or does that choose you?" Lemonade stands are replicated businesses, where you swap time for money, using a standard formula to success.
Ninja stars, now that's creative genius! You determine the wares to sell and their prices, and take the lot to the doors of your neighbours, in effect a captive audience; how can they refuse a 9 year old boy, and where can they run to? Pure pre-teen entrepreneurial spirit rarely seen these days.
I look back now and I can honestly say...I had no idea what I was doing LOL But now I can see, the passion was there...Everything else worked itself out.
A lemonade stand is also a good idea if you know how to prepare hella-good lemonade, be the best, and be different than any other!
I was selling comics back in time and crystal marbles (if that is the word in English)... It was the first sign that I will NOT work for others... :)
LOL We all kinda know at a very young age huh?