If there was one thing Ron Kessler was sure of growing up in Chicago, he was not the corporate type. Yet surrounded by uncles in business, he really liked the idea of being an entrepreneur, working for himself. The irony, he said, is that "success forces you to become a manager. Starting up something like Little Me is the fun part, always much more enjoyable."
Little Me is the name of the store Kessler established to sell American-brand children's clothing in Kobe in 1995. Last November he opened a branch in Jiyugaoka, Tokyo. And now there are plans for a third shop in Yokohama. "But don't ask me when or where. I'm still working on the logistics."
He first came to Japan at age 18 as a tourist with a group organized by the Buddhist sect Soka Gakkai. "The moment I arrived, I fell in love with Japan; I knew I wanted to be here. Returning to Chicago, I was never really happy. For one thing, I'm uncomfortable around guns; in fact, I hate them. I always had the feeling I was being drawn back."
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