Once upon a time there is an idea. An idea inside someone’s head. Then it begins to take shape. The name of the company gets registered and the web domain/social media handles are taken. It’s a constant evolution from inception to execution.
As a startup, it’s about survival. The founder(s) and the team is looking to find customers, get signups/orders and generate revenue. There are different types of challenges you face as a startup in the earlier stages and later in the growth stages. The growth stage challenges are getting more customers, managing and growing the team, keeping a system in place, caring about the culture among others. As the company scales, people challenges take mostly centerstage. The majority of the employees will be onboard if the hiring and training is done right. There will be a few who will resist the change, won’t be wholeheartedly with the company’s mission/vision or just need constant guidance.
Would you change your policies/culture to accommodate the few or make decisions that benefit the majority? The latter would be better.
I got an email from Growth Leadership Academy for a Training proposal on “Training of the Trainer (TOT).” The email contained a lot of text, some bolded text and the price of the workshop. Another email from LCCI Nepal on Train the Trainer contained less lengthy text, some bolded text, links its website and a YouTube video explaining the workshop. Further details of the Train the Trainer workshop was on the attachment along with the price of the 3 day training. I also received an email from FranklinCovey, Nepal & Bhutan which shared the yearly calendar from January-August 2019. The email was a mix of regular text, some bolded and italicized and used a variety of colors to highlight the monthly activities. One observation is that the price of the individual workshops in 2019 was not on the email.
First impression is the last impression. The objective of an email from a training institution is to provide information to the interested learners and attract them to the workshop. It’s important to provide just enough information for the interested people/companies to make a decision on whether or not to attend the training or workshop. Regarding the above three emails, FranklinCovey’s email stood out because of the combination of nice layout and non disclosure of price. That email invokes our interest, makes us curious and want to inquire further details (time, venue, price etc).
The willingness to consider ideas and opinions that are new or different to your own is being open minded.
I believe a great leader is someone who is open minded. Leaders make decisions. Decisions are made with information, facts, outcomes in mind and many things considered. Without being open minded, an individual (the leader) misses out on hearing other great ideas, thoughts and possible outcomes. Being open minded does not mean always changing your opinions and thoughts to cater to others. It’s about sincerely considering the weight and validity of others’ opinions and ideas while tweaking your initial plans accordingly. When you listen carefully, you welcome others to share their heartfelt feelings and thoughts. Without open mindedness, you close off avenues for healthy and fruitful discussions.
A leader consults his/her team, takes in new information/ideas in context and makes decisions.
How do you pull the best talent towards you, your idea or your company? Share your vision.
Vision is a powerful tool. People especially the talented and ambitious ones are always looking for new challenges, bigger goals and grand visions. The vision will motivate and inspire the people to get behind the idea or the mission. When you get a chance to work on a big goal, it’s daunting and thrilling at the same time. If the idea or project is the first of its kind (even worldwide), then the individual will feel that he/she will be making a bigger impact/ a positive difference in the world.
If you are an entrepreneur, visionary, or someone whose role is to mobilize groups of people behind a mission, then share your vision. Tell them why that vision is important and why each individual’s contribution is important to achieving that mission.
The bar is not set for everything. As you take on new projects and work, you will be setting standards along the way.
The important question is how high will you set your own bar?
Your work will speak volumes. When you’re working on something new, you are the bar setter. There are no standards set for this new project. Will you do just enough to get by or will you do it until you are proud to say that you did what you can? It’s easy to set the bar low and move on to the next task…the next thing to check off the list. But the bigger fun is to take on the new challenge, set the bar really high and produce work that you are extremely proud of.
As stressful as it can be, getting into the habit of shipping your work is thrilling to say the least.
Have you worked on a project or projects where you were really focused on doing quality work, spent hours/weeks on it yet it never saw the light of day? Oh yes, we’ve all been there, done that. Quality work is always important. However, waiting to only put out flawless work in the world or not getting comfortable to showcase what you have worked on wouldn’t do you much good. When you ship the work, you are making a statement. You are taking a stance on something. You are representing a part of you.
The world sees what you ship. That’s the way to get better, to get acknowledged and to get advice. There are no perfect product releases. It’s always a work in progress. Work on your craft and keep shipping. The world needs to hear from you.
Magic Johnson talks business and shares insights on his first deals, his relationship with the then Lakers owner-Jerry Buss, what he wants his legacy to be among many things. Lots of wisdom, knowledge and experiences shared by Magic Johnson.
Dwayne Wade wrote on Twitter: Every Basketball fan in the world should feel good for DRose. Tonite was an example of never giving up on yourself and when others believe in you. Amazing things can happen. I’m smiling like i scored 50! Congrts to a good dude!
Dwayne was congratulating Derrick Rose for his game on Wednesday night, scoring a career-high 50 points to lead the Minnesota Timberwolves to a three-point win over the Utah Jazz. The NBA brotherhood went on social media to congratulate Derrick on the special night especially given the physical challenges that he has gone through the past couple of years.
An inspiring story of a human being who believed in himself, kept going, struggled, kept on going and had a night that the world remembers. Thanks Derrick.
It’s easy to look at problems and say there’s no opportunity there. It’s easy to give up when faced with challenges. Yet if you are aspiring to become an entrepreneur or are an entrepreneur right now, problems and challenges are what you thrive in. Problems and challenges test you, your idea/passion, how much grit you have among many other things.
Here’s Dibyesh Giri sharing his entrepreneurial journey of building Smart Tech Solution in Nepal. Interesting to hear how he embraced problems/challenges, kept going and created opportunities!
If Pema wants to write for the national newspaper, he needs to come up with a good story, content and the right length (over 1200 words). Just pondering on the possible topic and how much he will get paid once the article gets published won’t be of much help now. Pema needs to take certain steps. He can open his laptop and start writing a possible topic or what he knows. The publication ready article might take some time but the small step of opening the laptop or notebook and writing a few lines will help Pema tremendously.
The vision and goal of any project/task will allow an individual or team to keep the big picture in mind. However, it’s the small critical steps in the beginning of the journey that is vital to accomplishing the goal. It would seem overwhelming to try to achieve something big without having the consistent daily or weekly targets/milestones leading up to it. Breaking the big goal down into small achievable tasks will boost the team’s confidence, build momentum and lead to a more satisfying result.
Rajeev Amatya, Managing Director at daraz.com.np will discuss the “Future of E-Commerce in Nepal” on Monday, October 8th, 2018 at Nepal Tourism Board Hall (Bhrikutimandap) from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm.
I wrote a blog E-commerce in Nepal heats up, where I shared my assumptions on what would happen in the next 3-5 years in Nepal’s ecommerce scene. The Venture Talk with Rajeev Amatya will provide a great opportunity to understand the current and future of online shopping in Nepal. With Rajeev’s experience in the ecommerce industry for a few years, it would be good to hear his industry insights, market challenges and the next frontier for ecommerce in Nepal.
There are certain moments in your life when you get a chance to make a global impact. You’re excited to embark on that journey and see where it will go. You’re thrilled about the process itself as much as about the results.
That moment for me now is with the Artificial Intelligence Scholarship Program powered by Fusemachines. The goal of this scholarship program is to provide 10,000 scholarships worldwide for basic AI courses. The scholarship program will help individuals start their careers in AI.
To spread the word on the scholarship program, Fusemachines has promoted it through press release, social media posts, and by visiting colleges in Nepal. Reaching out to colleges, explaining about the exclusive scholarship program and then visiting those colleges for presentations has been exciting and meaningful. The current AI talent is concentrated in the West and with our AI scholarship, the talent can grow from Asia to Africa. It’s important to democratize AI and provide opportunities to individuals around the world and not only for a specific group in a certain destination.
An article on The New York Times reported Typical A.I. specialists, including both Ph.D.s fresh out of school and people with less education and just a few years of experience, can be paid from $300,000 to $500,000 a year or more in salary and company stock, according to nine people who work for major tech companies or have entertained job offers from them. The demand for AI talent is extremely high and the supply extremely low. Thus, the need to democratize AI is not just the right thing to do but also presents a huge economic opportunity.
It makes me very proud to work on a global movement that is building the future of AI talent from Nepal to Nigeria.
Cal Newport’s Deep Work Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World is nicely summarized by Productivity Game.
Three rules for doing Deep Work are:
1. Schedule distractions – Schedule the time that you will allow yourself to check email/social media/chat etc. Write it down as a Distraction break and hold your focus until then.
2. Deep Work ritual – Create a rhythmic flow of doing deep work typically in the early mornings. The point is to create simple regular habit. Adhoc deep work sessions typically are not productive.
3. Evening shutdown ritual – Getting adequate sleep is important. Make a plan of the unfinished tasks and their action plan for the following day. After the plan is complete, the goal is to shutdown completely and go to sleep.
There’s no “right” time to start a business. It’s never too early or too late to start one. I believe what’s most important to consider is timing of launching the business.
When you’re working full time, you get to understand the challenges, problems and opportunities of working in a particular field/industry. Using that domain knowledge and skills you have acquired, you can work to build something on your own. Instead of quitting the job right away and working tirelessly on your venture, taking some calculated approaches can pay off big later on and minimize the time/cost/pain of launching a business.
Launching a business is very exciting and it completely changes your life. Taking the initiative to start an enterprise is daunting, challenging and thrilling at the same time. Here are few tips based on my experience and from others I’ve learned from on how to start your venture while still working full time.
In the beginning all you have is an idea. So do the research, collect data, talk to people/stakeholders, figure out how big is the problem you are solving, understand why no one has started the business you are about to or how many players are currently in the market. At this stage, your full time job will help you financially to start the ground work.
Once you’ve identified the problem you’re trying to solve for others, think of the name of the company and get the domain name/social media handles and channels in that name. Once I was at a Startup Weekend Kathmandu event and the winner’s web domain was taken by a competitor as soon as they were announced the winners. At this stage, you don’t need to leave your job yet because the above things can be easily done in a few hours.
Start putting up content and slowly work to build up your audience. You can tweet/post/write through the company handle so it won’t be noticed by your current employer. No need to mention that you’re the founder of the company yet. At this stage, your full time gig will be paying the bills that come along of initially setting up the business – domain/hosting/lawyer fees/company registration fees etc.
If you’re going to be selling a service or a product, build it yourself or hire people to make a MVP. You should not quit a job without getting your idea first tested in the market.
Once your product or service gets a bit of a traction, work to get paying customers and a steady revenue stream. Identify a business model that works and how you can scale it up. When the idea has gone from conception to execution and a product/service is out in the market, you will start to realize that the moment has come to devote full time on it. You will then have to approach your boss and explain to him/her why you will be moving on. Always important to maintain good relationship with your boss because they can offer your mentorship, support and help as needed. Then quit your job and devote 200% in your startup. It’s now or never. Nothing great has ever been achieved without taking some risks.
Starting a business is both extremely exciting and challenging. There’s no formula to predict the right time to launch a business. The timing of the idea is a crucial component of how successful the startup can be in the present/future. By taking calculated steps to launch the business as mentioned above, you will be in much better shape when you actually do.
As an entrepreneur, how did you decide it was the right time to launch the business? Do share.
Binod Chaudhary’s autobiography English version. Photo: nepa~laya
Binod Chaudhary My Story From the Streets of Kathmandu to a billion dollar empire is a story of one man’s ambition, determination and vision.
Binod Chaudhary’s autobiography provides insights into his childhood, business ventures and plans to extend the Chaudhary Group (CG) brand globally. The entrepreneur provides historical context to how his grandfather moved to Nepal from Rajasthan when he was 20 years old. Early business experiences of the author’s grandfather setting shop (Juddha Sadak) in 1934 to his business prowess is shared in the beginning chapters. I loved the anecdote of grandfather opening his shop early in the morning to casually interact with the locals and building relationships. It was a smart exercise in public relations. After grandfather’s passing, Binod’s father Lunkaran Das Chaudhary worked to expand the business delving into exporting jute, construction and flooring and furnishing store. Arun Emporium was the most successful venture out of those.
The author talks about growing up in Kathmandu, his early interests in music and cinema and how he got into managing the family business. I was keen to learn about the origins of Wai-Wai, the popular noodle brand. Until I read the book, I had associated most of the entrepreneur’s success because of Wai-Wai but Wai-Wai is only one of the businesses of the Chaudhary empire. The author touches on his encounters with politics, FNCCI, CNI and relationship with the then royal palace. He also highlights his relationship with many world leaders. In particular, the story of Jeet Bahadur whom Narendra Modi treated like a son is shared. Jeet Bahadur’s story gained national headlines in 2014 and it’s good to know that he was reunited with his family. There is a chapter on the author’s guru, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and how he become an ardent follower of him.
The professional battle stories of Binod Chaudhary showcase the entrepreneur’s business prowess, strong resolve and sheer will to get things done. Stories of Nabil Bank, Butwal Power Company and Mahalaxmi Sugar Mills are shared. A chapter on the start of a MNC highlights the foundation of a multinational company in Singapore with seasoned foreign entrepreneurs. Binod elaborates on a provision pertaining to Non resident Nepalis (NRN) in the Income Act which is worth mentioning. A Nepali who lived outside the country for more than 183 days a year was an NRN in the eyes of the law and thus he or she was free to invest abroad. Binod’s sons Rahul and Varun look after the business interests outside Nepal as NRNs. The later chapters go into the multinational journey of CG from the partnership with Taj, CG Hotels & Resorts (200 hotels by 2020) and the creation of CG’s first global hotel brand – Zinc.
I also liked the Business Mantras section where Binod dives deeper into the qualities and skills that an entrepreneur should possess such as high ambition, building organization, market astuteness, discipline, and negotiation skills among others. Besides sharing his achievements and accolades, he also reflects on the business opportunities he missed and regrets making a few bad business decisions. Self-evaluation section provides an introspective assessment of the author himself and is commendable.
For aspiring and current entrepreneurs in Nepal, the author’s insights and experiences with the Nepalese government, political parties, local competition among other activities present the reality of doing business in Nepal. Despite the abundant challenges that most of us know that exists in Nepal, Binod Chaudhary and the Chaudhary Group’s success domestically and internationally is inspirational in summary.
The author presents challenges for Nepalese entrepreneurs to invest abroad and how he had to find ways to do business outside of Nepal. There are plenty of examples shared of investment friendly countries and their leaders who welcomed Binod to open factories, hotels and plants in their regions. Much can be learned from Binod’s business experiences for the Nepalese government. Some areas where the Nepalese government and relevant ministries can help the country are 1) make legislation better/easier for Nepalese entrepreneurs to invest abroad 2) create an investment friendly climate in the country and remove government redtape 3) have a strategic vision for the country.
Binod Chaudhary’s autobiography is a very good read for someone to understand how the entrepreneur built a billion dollar empire. A must read for the youth of the country and for aspiring/current entrepreneurs who want to build a multinational company from Nepal.
Binod Chaudhary My Story From the Streets of Kathmandu to a billion dollar empire is published by Nepalaya.
Competition breeds innovation. It’s a survival thing. If you’re not innovating when the competition is coming at you, then you’re gone.
There are thousands of websites (around 140,000 per day) that pop up on the internet. However, our daily visits are on a particular few websites where we spend most of our times. Why is that? One reason is that those few websites offer what we need. They have got our attention, time and it’s where we’ll most likely to spend our hard earned money. That’s the same trend that follows for all the physical stores from the momo shops to the coffee shops out there.
It’s unlikely that your idea is the first ever in the market. Even if you have first mover advantage, someone or many will come chasing to take a share of your pie. That’s when you have to continue to get better, faster and do everything with care. Competition will help you innovate and you’ll thank it when you keep getting stronger.
Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.- Muhammad Ali
The dogs were surrounding us as we fed them some biscuits. They were completely overjoyed. This particular Sunday, I was very happy that we decided to volunteer at KAT Centre in Budhanilkantha even for a few hours.
The volunteering experience at KAT was amazing. Besides providing dogs water and food, we also walked the dogs. I think this was my first time walking a dog. I was a little nervous but that nervousness quickly went away as “Ryan” led the way. He was a friendly and strong dog. I also walked another dog. Although I am more fond of cats, the KAT experience has made me like dogs more than before.
Volunteering at KAT with friends presented us with a great opportunity to learn more about each other, our pets and do something good collectively in the society. I believe volunteering has so many benefits that we can’t fully understand it until we really do it. Giving our time to volunteer anywhere gives life more meaning, more appreciation and more happiness in my opinion. Volunteering is the way to go.
I’m looking forward to reading Kul Chandra Gautam’s Global Citizen from Gulmi.
Launched in Kathmandu, Nepal in early August 2018, the book chronicles the life of Kul Chandra Gautam’s from the hills of Gulmi to the halls of the United Nations. It has received a lot of coverage and praise over social media, online and print mediums. The book was also beautifully reviewed in the Nepali Times. A paragraph from the review by Kunda Dixit:
Kul Chandra Gautam’s life is an inspirational story of how a school boy in one of the poorest and remotest districts in Nepal went on to become the senior most Nepali in the United Nations. He achieved this by a lot of hard work, extraordinary perseverance, and never losing sight of his duty to help those in underserved parts of the world, like where he grew up as a boy.
“I’ve always had this theory that, if you help enough people get what they want, you’ll always get what you want.”— George Raveling
Coach George Raveling’s theory is more of a fact in my opinion. When you help others to become successful, you are creating value. When you create enough value for others, you increase your own worth. That’s how the magic happens.
In the workplace, you have ample opportunities to make a difference, daily. You have tasks and responsibilities yet when you go above and beyond to create more value, that’s when you become indispensable. Wouldn’t you want to become indispensable?
