The village idiot of Las Vegas and his cousin Joel from Kansas City...

"What happens if you can't make it work? How long are you going to keep trying?" The other day I was chatting with my cousin Joel. He moved from Kansas City to Las Vegas a year prior to me. The last few months I've been in his ear constantly about my belief's as pertains to Asian growth strategies and Chinatown. He's been a great sounding board; but he's starting to worry about my obsession. "Let's face it cousin. You're holding a tiger by the tale. I'm not sure you have the wherewithal to wrestle it to the ground and I get the vibe that I'm not the only person who feels that way."

I appreciate him watching out for me; but I've made a commitment to seeing it through and it needed to be reiterated. "Look, I appreciate your concern. I know this idea I'm chasing is something most people don't understand or believe in. The thing is if I don't do it someone eventually will. The last thing in the world I want to be is that guy at the bar crying in his beer because he gave up and someone else didn't. It makes all the sense in the world to me. Take into consideration how much the Asian population is exploding in Las Vegas. Eventually they're going to buy the whole town up. Online food ordering and delivery is non-existent in the restaurants of Chinatown; and it's not because other companies don't want to be there. They don't know how to attack it like I do! The first person to successfully box Chinatown in is going to reap a reward that most only dream of."

He's heard the pitch before and agrees to a varying extent. "I know it makes sense, I'm not arguing that point; but still, what happens if it never works out for you?" I decided to cut right to chase with him. "I don't have a Plan B. I'm going to pursue it until it works or I'm in a pine box. If I didn't believe in it I would have abandoned it a long time ago. The numbers, the projections, the model, the connections. It all points in the direction of Chinatown!" After my explanation I thought I was done with the conversation; but Joel had one more legitimate question for me. "When are you going to find an investor for your idea?" That's a question I ask myself frequently, "Joel, one of these days the right person with resources will come along and appreciate all the legwork that's been done. They'll share the vision and that's how it will happen. When will that person come? I don't know, but they'll come."

I like to end every post of mine with a thought I'm having...Call it the village idiot thought of the day. "I received an e-mail from a reader of mine the other day. He said that he was tired of hearing about Asian growth strategies and Chinatown. 'Get back to writing about all the women in Las Vegas' were his exact words. I understand his gripe; but like everyone else. He doesn't fully understand how vested I am in Chinatown and Asian growth strategies. If it makes him feel any better; the first thing I'm going to do once I get my idea off the ground; have my partner Kam get me a suite at Hard Rock. After that happens, I'm going to invite every girl in Las Vegas over for a soiree."