| Sajha.com Archives | |
| Username | Post |
| Padme | Posted
on 13-Feb-03 03:54 PM
I am taking a management class and I have a project to prepare a business plan. I would like to prepare a business plan to do a business in Nepal. Where can I get information to start businesses or get business ideas for Nepal? I would like to go to back to Nepal and implement that business plan. I am open to manufacturing, service idea or any idea. Please help!! |
| Padme | Posted
on 14-Feb-03 12:16 AM
kasalai pani business idea chaina?? brain-storming ta ho ni jawas na. It will help me a lot. |
| isolated freak | Posted
on 14-Feb-03 01:10 AM
nepal ma fail nai nakhane business, RAXI business. arko: Churot arko: Momo arko: Advertizing agency arko: Sabun factory arko: Chau Chau business arko: developed in Japan, Made in Khasa "saaman" business arko: Snadhyakalin newspapers business. arko: Baluwa/Roda/Itta/Mato supply business dherai cha.. .. |
| BRIT | Posted
on 14-Feb-03 05:09 AM
Estate business... Ghar banaune ani bhada ma dine (Takes a lot of investments though) Nepal ka pashmina, carpet, insence, handicraft adi etyadi Europe Amrika ma lagera bechnee... Another profitable business is... Nepali bidhyarthi haru lai bidesh ma padna pathuane agency kholne. IELTS, SAT GMAT TOEFL dhamadham padhune.. fail nakhane business. School, College, University haru kholne... tyo pani American ra British university haru ko affilitiation liyera Nepal mai European ra Amrika education dine. Aruu ne Consultancy ra especial busiii-nes pelan detail ma banaunu pare malai samparka rakhnuu hola RE K he he he... Busii-ness ko lagi Reen line dekhi liyera, funding ko samet sabai detail dine chu RE K.... he he... Your well wisher |
| Padme | Posted
on 14-Feb-03 11:02 AM
IF ra BRIT ji, Thank you for the input. Where can I get the relevant data for the above business like demographics, market, market penetraion etc. BRIT ji, business kholne bela ma tapilai khabar garchu ni hai. :-) |
| Logical Sense | Posted
on 14-Feb-03 01:26 PM
Padmeji, please contact FNCCI office, CAN office, UNESCO office in Kathmandu for business ideas, present rules and regulations and contacts. There are tremendous opportunities in Education, Tourism, IT, and Hydro projects. Contrary to many negative postings here, Nepal is considered Regional leader in some areas. This is just because the countries in the region wants to see alternatives to giants in the region. This is one region why there are lots of Regional offices of many international institutions are open in Nepal. (Maoist Ko Problem Matrai Sidhosna ....) Good luck to you. - iti |
| Padme | Posted
on 14-Feb-03 01:45 PM
Logical Sense ji, Thank you for the info. It is helpful. |
| ashu | Posted
on 14-Feb-03 08:01 PM
Padme wrote: "I would like to go to back to Nepal and implement that business plan." As someone who spends a lot of time every working day, meeting with and crafting strategies for two to six private-sector, for-profit Nepali entrepreneurs and businesspeople in Kathmandu, my blunt advice to you is this. Use the business plan experience to sharpen, to structure your thinking about the product . . . any product . . . its market, its customers and how cash is going to flow in (more) and out (less). Don't worry about implementing your B-plan in Nepal . . . things are changing here . . . but as long as you, as a student now, MASTER the skills to think clearly, to make reasonable assumptions, to do the legwork to find relevant information, to persuade a few initially skeptical people of the validity your idea, to be quick to spot oppotunities and to translate thought into action through teamwork, and can bring an element of fierce persistence, you'll be prepared to do just about any business in Nepal . . . sooner or later. For more on aspects of writing b-plans that are more likely get read by potential investors, I recommend this great article: "How to Write a Great Business Plan" 11 pages, Harvard Business Review, July 1997. Also, are you an entrepreneur, find out by reading this too: "A Test for the Fainthearted" HBR, May 2002 by Walter Kuemmerle Once you get your b-plan ready, know what service you want to sell to other businesses, and start looking for some seed money and strategic advice, then come to Business Service Aadhar at Heritage Plaza in Kamaladi. For more on Aadhar, please visit (still being constructed site) www.aadhar.com.np Hope this helps. oohi ashu ktm,nepal |
| ashu | Posted
on 14-Feb-03 08:06 PM
This is a synopsis from the second article I recommended above. "Description: Just a few years ago, becoming an entrepreneur was pretty simple. All you needed was some idea--any idea--a little experience, and venture capital funds to get you going. Many young people started to believe that entrepreneurship was a viable, even safe, career choice. Older folks, too, underestimated the risks of financing start-ups, and, as a result, they ended up throwing millions of dollars into doomed ventures. The economic downturn has laid waste to those illusions. So now is a good time to ask potential entrepreneurs and their financial backers the hard questions unheeded in the days of the Internet boom: What makes an entrepreneur? What characteristics set successful entrepreneurs apart, enabling them to keep their companies alive even when the going gets tough? This article addresses those questions, reminding us that becoming a successful entrepreneur is decidedly not a squeaky-clean affair; you may end up making powerful enemies, risking your own financial security, or even, in extreme cases, looking at jail time. Specifically, the article explores the key qualities that make someone a successful entrepreneur. Walter Kuemmerle has distilled these characteristics into a kind of litmus test of the following five straight-forward, albeit disquieting, questions you should ask yourself if you are considering starting your own venture: Are you comfortable stretching the rules? Are you prepared to make powerful enemies? Do you have the patience to start small? Are you willing to shift strategies quickly? Are you a closer? Answering these questions honestly will help you decide whether you have what it takes to become an entrepreneur." |
| Padme | Posted
on 15-Feb-03 02:11 AM
Ashu ji, Thank you for the wisdom of the wise. I believe I have what it takes to be sucessful. My first step is to come-up with a viable business idea. Then the rest will follow. I will certainly look you up when I am in Nepal, if you do not mind. Thank you for your advise, I appreciate it. Regards. |
| ashu | Posted
on 15-Feb-03 05:36 AM
Padme-ji, I applaud your enthusiasm. That's the way to go. My only field-based caveat is this: Business ideas are really dime a dozen in Nepal . . . or for that matter, anywhere. Everyone has great ideas. .. all sorts of ideas, all the time. Trust me on this. It's the execution, execution and execution that alone counts. The rest is all BS. (For instance, look at the guy who started MomoKing: the idea of selling momos in Kathmandu is not exactly the unique idea that one can think of. Momoking's success lies entirely on how the idea of selling momos is executed in various locations in Kathmandu.) That is why, it would be great if your business plan openly and honestly addressed the issue of execution upfront . . . potential investors are more interested in that than i the brilliance of the idea. Sure, do look me up in Kathmandu. Since I am paid to work with profit-oriented, private-sector entrepreneurs (both established ones and start-ups) and help them make money from the market, it would be my pleasure to help you start/launch your business or even to share biz-related networks and resources with you. In the event that I cannot be of help, then, I will surely refer you to others in Nepal who can be of help to you. Let the most powerful Nepali network on the Internet -- aka The Sajha Network -- work for you, hoi na ta? All the best. oohi ashu ktm,nepal |
| rajunpl | Posted
on 15-Feb-03 09:06 AM
Here are again some idea. EXPORT and the IMPORT. 1. Open LC in banks and do the HUNDI in major countries like uk,HK,us. 2. Import fake items from KHASA something new for now like (mp3, dv3,and many others.) 3.Start publishing fancy nepalese date diaries and the inf. about nepal. 4. Open a site like thamel.com (commercial site.) 5. Clothes industries that have patriotic features.(MADE IN NEPAL) with the nepalese pictures. 6. Open a CHAIN SHOP OF MOMO nationwide with the good name and controlling all the health features.LIke the Mc donalds. literally not many others re kya.Just choose one of the above ..............re kya. |
| rajunpl | Posted
on 15-Feb-03 09:10 AM
Eeeeeeeeeehhhh ! ashu bujhina kya ! would you clarify that? sounds too complicated to me. |
| Padme | Posted
on 15-Feb-03 09:12 AM
Ashu ji, Really value your input and appreciate it. Looking forward to seeing you in Kathmandu. It might take me a year or two before I come to Nepal. See you then. |
| rajunpl | Posted
on 15-Feb-03 09:19 AM
PADME JYU .As far as I know business has two environment 1. external environment. 2. internal environment. And NEPAL does not qualify in the both environment. 1. external environment.=Nepal has lost this oppernutiy by the heavy debt of ADB and WB.Each nation knows how strong nepal is. 2. internal environment.=Nepal is one of the country that is breaching the human right .1000's of report in amnesty. a) The internal conflict between the maoist and the govt. b) public lifestyle is so poor that their primary importance is to struggle for survive. c) Government has no control over the money that has enter from the foreign country. Unless the political stability is setteled you will be failure to do any means of the business PADME JYU. |
| Padme | Posted
on 15-Feb-03 11:38 AM
Rajunpl Jyu, You are right. Business is affected by internal and external factors. Maobad is certainly the biggest problem. I am hoping they would not resort to violance and let people like myself help Nepal. Maobad is the biggest problem for now, hope this will be resolved soon. I am cautiously watching the cease fire. My biggest concern is how the political parties are trying to destroy the peace process. They want to support the peace process but they do not want to get involved. They are Hypocrites. Read the news for more info. They are messed-up and they have messed-up Nepal. I hope that people oust Girija and Madhav Nepal and let new faces rule those messed-up political parties. |
| bill_pusateri | Posted
on 15-Feb-03 12:04 PM
Friend, how about a day care center because more and more women are working outside the home. How about a clean diaper service. Everyone is having more babies and needs clean diapers. This might not work because many women do not even diaper their children. How about a baby supplies store, furniture for small children, bottles, teaching materials for toddlers all in one very clean, attractive place. How about recreational facilities such as bowling, chess tables, pool tables, exercise room with equipment with proper supervision and environment for young people after school. You have to have something that is new and inventive. Churot, momo, salai, chau chau, video and CD store have all been tried and are copy cat businesses these days. I think the key to business in Nepal is to have a clean, well lighted facility with space to move about without bumping into something or someone else. Even so, you should realize that even in the USA the rate of failure of a new business in the first 2 years is quite high. I wish you luck. Do it for Nepal. |
| baljoshi | Posted
on 15-Feb-03 12:52 PM
Ashu has a great point. Its not the Idea its the execution. From my personal experience in running a micro enterprise in Nepal, I see a lot of growth and opportunity for any ideas. Any Joe can establish a business, but sustainability is the key. The trend in Nepal is like setting up Hong Kong Bazaar in Ratna Park. The infrastructres are temporary, there are no business plans. The foundation of business is "if the danthe comes, we wil pack up and run like hell." Changing that metality is what needed. Nepal can certainly not implement the modern management principals from Harvard or Wharton but what Nepalese business houses/entreprenuers can do is simply find an equilibrium point between the great strategic importance the west offers and the traditional business values what nepal has. Remeber that Kathmandu has always been a business hub and we certainly need to appreciate our own business values and models that have existed over hundreds of years. What's lacking is the refining of some of the values.. When you have a right vision and right intent you will have a business. Business is not only about making a buck. Its about creating a value proposition and finding the right tool to delivery it...then the buck will follow. Don't go after big ideas start small. In Nepal it used to be a time where doing business was a status quo more than susatainable oriented venture. Start a venture where you feel you can pay salary on time. If not don't do it. eg. I was in fulbari resort month back during my trip to Nepal and it was so sad to see that the employees had not received their salary for 6 months. My question was that a good business model for an investment of 20+ million dollars.?? My grandfather used to say "ghanti herera had nilnu." We nee to examine what we can digest, what we can produce and only take an initiative. Focus on independent markets meaning, focus on markets that can "stand on its own feet." eg. we spent so much time, energy and effort on tourism market look what we got now? Business Idea: Finance: Once we resolve security issue in Nepal this is an area that has potential to explode. Nepal has opportunity to become Switzerland of the South Asia. Our strategic location and the way the global economy moving towards China and India could cash in mega ways give we jointly create an infrastructure to atract their excess capital. Book reads: What the CEO Wants You to Know : by Ram Charan Its an excellent management book. If you are interested in business its a must read. Author compares and capture the similarities between a fruit seller in India and a megha corporation. How the priciples, ethics are very similar. Good luck! |
| ashu | Posted
on 15-Feb-03 09:55 PM
Bill, Almost all of your ideas mentioned above are in operation, in various forms, in Kathmandu these days . . . and as far as I can see, doing quite well. Rajunpl, Unless you are planning to set up factories in Rolpa or get your crucial raw materials from one of the Maoist-filled areas, do be realistic about the Maoist threat to starting a business in Nepal. It's not as khattam as you seem to think. In the last two years alone, anecdotally speaking, MORE businesses -- of various things -- have been started in Nepal . . . so much so that the RECENT World Bank report actually rated Nepal's economy, on the whole, quite POSITIVELY. Not only that, to cite another example, ALL the multinationals -- from those selling insurance to garments to household consumer goods -- that have to publish yearly reports made money last year and the year before that, operating in and from Nepal. This should tell us something about the prospects of doing business in Nepal. That said, yes, you are right, there are many, many policy-level constraints. Simply put, Nepal's policies and laws are NOT friendly to business; and, by and large, they are designed to NEEDLESSLY hurt 95 per cent of the business community when they mean to punish only the bad five per cent. Besides, most Nepali bureaucrats' favorite extracurricular activity remains harrassing the members of the business community. And so it goes, on and on. Bal, The Fulbaari Resort was a goner right from the beginning. The owners, who made money from being DEALERS/ of beer and so on (and whose core competency lies in old-fashioned trading) were and are ill-prepared to run a major 5-start hotel. And it shows. True, the slack in the tourism market also hit them hard, but, let's not forget that in an economic downturn, the market tends to be more harsh on weaker firms than on relatively stronger ones. The plight of Fewa, Shangrila and other hotels in Pokhara is not as acute as that of Fulbaari . . . which remains an elephant that never learnt to dance to the tune of the market. That said, I happen to defend Harvard and Wharton ko management principles in Nepal NOT because they work here . . . but because they help one to come up with an analytically structured way of approaching business issues. As you know, business in Nepal is done intuitively and loosely and informally . . . and this approach works fine up to a point, just as this has worked, to give to example, in the case of selling bits and pieces of Nepali handicrafts to tourists. But to go for long-term growth, to go for newer, sophisticated markets, one needs to add systems, one needs to attract more capital and technology and so on and on, and that's where analytically sharp thinking (which need NOT come from H and W alone) come into play. Besides, the social networks that H, W and others similar schools provide are incredibly useful to attract additional capital, technology and labor to Nepal, provided one makes use of those networks. But I know what you meant earlier by that comment, and that's fine. oohi ashu ktm,nepal |
| baljoshi | Posted
on 16-Feb-03 11:34 AM
Hi Ashu, I do not mean to discredit the H and W insititution. Infact, I too am a product of western education. After my graduation, I was fortunate to take my education and experience that I received in the US and establish some fairly successful ventures in Nepal. From my experience what I found out was the integration of strategic, analytical frame work along with the traditional business values of Nepal if integrated properly we could have good results. Its for young people like you and me to build that bridge for the sake of development of Nepal's economy. I was an intern at Chaudhari group for 8 months. Boy I have stories to tell. Everything was done manually and till today I still have no clue how Mr. Chaudhari keep tracks of what's going on within his organization. As per my experiece as you have mentioned, the operation was and is the biggest biggest issue. What I would not do for a consultant who has education experience of the west and grass root experience of the east to establish a sound operation at my office in Nepal. Sustainable market tourism, etc.. What I meant was we need to start focusing on market where we have a market that is independent. Independent of tourists, independent of donations, independent of weather changes...We need to focus on industry that depends on Nepalese. How can we create a system where where Nepali products can be consumed by Nepali not having to be imported from else where. Not having to worry about shutting the door a hotel in in thamel if a guy in wichita, kansas fails to take Thai airlines to NEpal. EG. My experience with livestock farming. More than 80% of feed for livestock is imported from India. The indians at the borders esp Gorakhpur controls the pricing and supply. With my experiece and my educational background I discovered that given we have proper "tools" (management, Business, technology tool) you dont necessarily have to import 80% but can bring that down to 45-60%. And this is where the discussion of operation and management infrastructure comes in to play and somebody like you who is working as a consultant can help business understand that there are solutions but they have to take risks to implement these tools. And I am absolutely positive that that is the value you provide to your customers at present.... fulbari hotel: It is a typical example of a business house in Nepal. Mr. Amatya had this sentimental dream during his trek to Pok and he decides he wanted to build a 165+ rooms hotel. He is an educated man and from a very well established family that has been doing business with tibet over centuries. So lets discuss about what happened? he is educated and certainly from a very wealthy family...My analysis was it was more of an emotional venture than a business venture. As a result of this, his entire brand and his business is collapsing. This is definitely another loophole in our business system. Businesses driven by sentiments. As previously mentioned, doing a business if offering a value proposition to feel a need and finding the right tools to deliver it. From my experience with working in Nepal, the tools are the missing part. I would love to continue to discuss with you openly here or via email on the tools since we both have a common interest. Ciao Bal |
| Padme | Posted
on 16-Feb-03 12:12 PM
Ashu ji and Bal ji, Your insight is very helpful; please continue the discussion online for the benefit of the entire sajha basis. Your insight is certainly helping me and will be invaluable for the survival of my business in Nepal. It will also help many would be entrepreneurs. Thanks. |
| Adirondack | Posted
on 16-Feb-03 02:18 PM
Hi Padme, I don't know if I am looking too far ahead in the future, but I found some good info on the strategy of six-sigma. check out the following links: http://www.all-six-sigma.com/ http://www.ge.com/sixsigma/ Sooner or later, six sigma should work in Nepal too. What say you, Ashu? |
| Padme | Posted
on 16-Feb-03 04:47 PM
Adirondack ji, Thank you for the info. Business decision should be based on facts and figures. Collection and analysis of relevant information is crucial for success of business. Thank you for the link. |
| ashu | Posted
on 17-Feb-03 04:34 AM
Bal, interesting observations. In a spirit of friendly kura-kani, et me just try to sharpen the discussion by these quick responses. Bal wrote: "I was an intern at Chaudhari group for 8 months. Boy I have stories to tell. Everything was done manually and till today I still have no clue how Mr. Chaudhari keep tracks of what's going on within his organization." I have heard that hardly anyone lasts at Chaudhary Group as an employee for more than a year. So, your tenure there is quite respectable :-) On a serious note, as the playing field gets (as it must) more and more even in coming months and years in Nepal because of reforms and so on, wieldy and bulky conglomerates like the Chaudhary Group will face stiffer competitions from smaller, nimble and more agile competitors in all sectors. And that would be a very good thing. Unless those days arrive in Nepal, I afraid that business will go on as usual for Chaudhary Group and others. Bal wrote: "We need to focus on industry that depends on Nepalese. How can we create a system where where Nepali products can be consumed by Nepali not having to be imported from else where." I am NOT as patriotic as you seem to be on these matters. Let me explain. My attitude is: As long as customers -- be they black, brown, white or yellow or Nepalis or non-Nepalis -- are buying my products and services, and are happy with what they are getting after paying for them and want to continue buying from me, I call that a good business. On a larger note, Nepali businesses need NOT be self-consciously Nepal- or Nepali-centric. But they do need to be more customer-centric (REGARDLESS of whether the customers are Nepalis or not), need to be more market-centric and less and less product-centric. An example: ONE of the many ways to sell more Nepali carpets in Germany would be to hire artists out of art schools to come up with new, cutting-edge designs that appeal to potential (sophisticated) buyers in Germany and elsewhere, and NOT try to sell those buyers the same old carpets with the same old predictable designs depicting Yak, Yeti, Cow and Danfe . . . in the name of some Nepali rastriyata . . . you get the idea. Bal wrote: "[Re: Fulbari Hotel in Pokhara] My analysis was it was more of an emotional venture than a business venture." Yes, but don't all great businesses start off with an emotional element, the element of passion ands emotional bonding? When Pravakar SJB Rana was at Soaltee in the '60s, he knew that he did NOT know how to run a hotel. So what what did he do? He brought in a stronger, larger partner whose core competence was hotel business. For Rana, the Oberoi Group of India, came in as a partner, and handled the hotel for him, even stamping its name on the hotel for a long time. Rana, the clever man, learnt all about the business from the Oberois. Did anything like that happen in the case of Fulbari Hotel, Pokhara? I guess not. Sure, there must be many more reasons that can better explain the woes of Fulbari. But I would think that this reason of straying too far from the core competency could well be one of the top ones. Meantime, those of you who have never been to Fulbari, check out: http://www.fulbari.com/ More later oohi ashu ktm,nepal |
| Dr. No | Posted
on 17-Feb-03 08:32 AM
Ashu, Fulbari had a short tryst with the Dusit Thani of Thailand but the romance kinda fizzled. Core Competency....you are starting to sound like Mintzberg. |
| miss_mixery | Posted
on 17-Feb-03 09:21 AM
ashu i can see where are you are going with this but i still feel that the nepali businesses should be nepali-centric on some levels. but you are right, many of the old ideas need to be revamped. i took a foreign friend of mine to buy carpets and i was apalled to see that there was nothing new about the designs, its the same old (design-wise) carpets that i showed to someone else 6-7 years ago. the carpet industry definitely needs to revamp its image. there are many reasons as to why so many nepali businesses have not been able to be successful and the main factor (i feel) is that our government fails to protect its own. there are many factories that have been forced to close down due to unfair competition from india. just out of curiosity ashu, do you think any of the other businesses are praise-worthy or just the ones that have attended the forums? any plans for piyush amatya doing the talks? |
| Gokul | Posted
on 17-Feb-03 10:12 AM
Ashu, If you haven't already, then read "India Unbound" by Guru Charan Das. It is beautiful and many of his ideas are applicable in Nepal also. |
| ashu | Posted
on 17-Feb-03 08:24 PM
Dr. No, You are right. Perhaps Sangey, if he is reading this, can enlighten us as to why Dusit Thani of Thailand left Fulbari shortly after signing the management contract. Another instance of partnership gone wrong soon, no doubt. Miss_Mixery, I am NOT that great a fan of protectionism. But I agree that competition among businesses, if it is to be afir, needs a level playing field, and that business-related policies and laws need to be made with an eye to make that playing field even for all. That said, yes, Mr. Amatya is on our list of potential speakers for the Entrepreneurs' Forum. There is much we all can learn from his successes and failures. Our next speaker, by the way, is Padma Jyoti, Chairman of Jyoti Group. Gokul, Yes, I have read Das's that book, and also his latest "The Elephant paradigm: India Wrestles with Change", which I bought in Calcutta late last month. Incidentally, the veteran journalist Mark Tully has recently come out with a new book called "India in Slow Motion", which, argues, that corruption and poor goveranance are slowing India down. Both "Elephant" and "Slow Motion" books, though about India, contain lessons for Nepal too . . . and I would recommend them to all of you who have access to better book-stores and larger libraries. oohi ashu tm,nepal |
| baljoshi | Posted
on 17-Feb-03 09:52 PM
Hi Ashu and all the business enthusiasts, more gaf suff.... Patriotism: I think patriotism and keeping funds inside the 4 walls of our country are two issues. My reasoning was we need to establish an economic system where we are sustainable. Not focusing entirely on markets that are beyond our borders. Areas needing such attention Top tier Managers; I have no clue as to today why big companies bring in especially the Indians to manage the Nepali companies. I think India and Nepal have a completely different markets. It 'sso funny to see the amount of turnover we have in Indian managers in these companies. Question: Are we in lack of Nepali managers? If these foreign managers are effective then why can't they be brought in as consultants than the employee of a company? If a guy can't even talk in Nepali, how is he or she going to understand a Nepali market? Agriculture: How can we leverage "tools" to increase efficiency, increase production, improve quality so that we don't have to depend on India for our daily "rasan" ? Tourism: Promote domestic tourism. Why only create package for the western tourists, why not the nepali daju bhai, didi, bahini. Finally, affter the recent collapse of tourism industry, domestic tourism is getting some attention but why not focus on creating products tailored to Nepalis. Where is one single website, that has packages for Nepalis? I am not saying everything has to be 100% made in Nepal. What I am saying is start creating products and discovering tools that mobilize domestic market. My personal experience( unfortuantely its fulbari ) I wanted to take my family to spend a weekend at fulbari. I went to their site, got the number and started to call to find out if I can get hold of customer service to assist me with my reservation. After 5 attempts I gave up and contacted one of the other travel agent who made reservations on my behalf. questions: -Why fulbari does not have a dedicated customer service to market their products to Nepalis who are willing to spend money to stay at their hotel? So I reach to the hotel and the service was not to my expectation. When I walked inside the hotel, I was not greeted like my foreign friend. I was looked upon as a guide until I paid the bills. Why not have a mentality that a Nepali can be a customer too? Infact, I put forward this to Mr. Amatya who is a good family friend and he was extremely apologitic of his messed up operations and some people might have been fired along the process. My point is its not only fulbari but also other place where Nepali customers are treated differently than others. Why not start tailoring products and services so that even their staff at all levels, have a set mentality that Nepalis can be customers too. Success example: Java Coffeshop or even our famous nanglo You can be a nepali and still feel cool. Only less than 5% of the customer is non-nepali and while all the other coffeeshops in thamel are killing flies, this one is attracting more and more customers. another success example: patan ko sana tina chwela pasal. you will have to wait in line for 30-45 mins. if you ask the sauji or sauni about their kids, they are all in foreign country on self finance....a sau may look like a typical low class Nepali but he sleeps with the bundle of cash underneath the pillow at night. Java and these small shops will be an excellent prototype for business analysis.. Thus my argument on Nepali Centric market has to do more than the issue of patriotism. It has to be about running any viable business, where you first focus on market that is inside your borders. Issue of sentimentality: I think a good businessman has to draw a line between sentimental values and ROI. Again its an issue of finding an equilibrium point. In Mr. Amatya's case, I think his sentimental value superceeded the ROI. It was more about his dream than the business itself. I have seen a lot of very wealthy Nepali businessmen who have simply gone bust, coz their sentimentality took over the core principles of business. My analysis: If fulbari, was 15% of what it is, it would have been a sustainable venture and could have easily competed with others like Shangrila or Fishtail. But now its like a dead museum. Thus my point is how far a good businessman should follow his sentiments. another example: Hotel Kathmandu in Lazimpat. If you have had chance to go inside before it was locked up by the bank, you would have been amazed. But again sentiments took over. The owner wanted to invest in Airline industry and once his airline industry went bust, he could not pay his financial dues and right now if you drive by it, you will not even see one single 40W bulb turned on. Passion is one thing but how far a passion can take ones venture is an entirely a different issue. The quantitative analysis on passion vs sentimentality needs to be addressed. Fall of fulbari, my analysis: I think Mr. Amatya needs a Miracle to save him. The core-competency is not only the issue. The issue is the business model. The business model was based around Mr. Amatya's trek where he was mesmerized by the beauty. But onething Mr. Amatya failed to do was, understand the "Value porposition" his customers have in Pokhara. Pokhara is not bahamas, nor Hawaii where people flood for an exotic adventure. Pokhara is a place where people want to appreiciate nature and wants to be one with the nature. Even the richest of the rich who go to Nepal want to explore the simplicity Nepal has to offer not the lavishness a third world country has to provide. 165 room accomodation is like opening a hotel in Phuket. Does Nepal bring Phuket type customers? So from the get go the hotel headed the wrong direction. The concept was great, a great newari palace, but if it was 15% of what it was, I think it would have worked but that is too much for Nepal to digest and unfortunately at the end, somebody has to take the fall. It will be bank and Mr. Amatya's reputation So my question is why not Nepali Business houses start using quantitative and qualitative analytical tools to make business decision? Why not have business plans that go beyond 5 yrs? What is the reason that is stopping these entreprenuers who have a lot of chance to succeed but for some reason, its not clickig. Another example: There was one project which was a joint investment between the South Koreans and the Nepali investors to bottle mineral water from Gosainkunda. They spent 10 million dollars and by the time the project ended, they simiply had no funding for marketing and I have no clue on the current status of the factory. I was appointed as an agent in the US and yes there were companies even COKE prior to their launching of their water DASANI was interested. Here is what they asked. "Why did not you contact us before you started this project? so as you can see, there was no market research done prior to investing $10 millioin dollars. So by the time the project completed, the funds ran out, they could not invest in marketing and now I have no clue as to what their current status is. Last I heard, there was a nasty relationship between the Nepali side and the korean side. So in conclusion, these type of business where sentimental values and lack of qualitative and quantitative analysis take over the business decision can they sustain? What happens to the pool of talents who are involved? so lets talk about what's lacking in management and operational issues and what can be done? How can us young entrepreneurs contribute? What infrastructure needs to be in place? Peace bal |
| miss_mixery | Posted
on 17-Feb-03 10:28 PM
ashu: i agree with you that competition is vital for all businesses but protectionism is needed especially when the factories are at its infant stage. most young industries go belly up within a short period of time because the govermnent fails to protect them. there is just a dire need for a well-informed and knowledgeble finance/industry minister who is willing to pay attention to the country's needs rather than his own. i'm not in kathmandu to be able to go to the forums. i just keep upto date online... anytime there'll be out on dvds? bal: excellent examples i must say. the part i dont really get, is that once someone is sucessful in that field, then everyone follows suit. do we need that many soaps, noodles? its not even like any of the products are a bit different. i think just the overall mentality needs to change. and hopefully that will come about slowly..... another successful example is the company that makes prototypes of dams, hrydropower systems. i think that they are affiliated with the pulchowk engineering campus. i was very impressed by their work. (i forget the name.... must be what they call growing old.... ;)) i think the areas that nepal has the most potential would be health: hundreds of students leave for india and bangladesh to study medicine. if investment is made to set up good schools then the tides would really turn and in addition we have nicer and cooler weather!! education: investing in education is always good hydropower: this 'powerhouse' called india just my two cents.... ~MM |
| baljoshi | Posted
on 17-Feb-03 11:27 PM
Dear Miss... well in a capitalistic economy, that is naturally the case. If it was only Ford making cars, normal people like us would never have been able to afford a car. The good thing about competition is consumer gets a choice. However, a challenge for "chow chow" like industreis is how do you differentiate from your competitors. It again goes back to adding addtional values to their products. In this process, the industries have to re-invent themselves to add values to their product. The bottom line again is how far one company should reinvest in reinvent themselves. cheers, bal |
| ashu | Posted
on 18-Feb-03 06:51 AM
Bal wrote: >I have no clue as to today why big companies bring in especially the Indians to manage >the Nepali companies. The labor laws of Nepal are complicated and rigid, thanks to the socialist undertones of our legal system. Simply put, for an employer's perspective, it's difficult and very, very expensive to fire Nepali workers/employees. Also, businesses bring in managers from India because those managers can be made to work hard and, if things don't work out, let go without much fuss. Doing the same for Nepali managers is next to impossible, and brings nothing but grief. [For some time, there have been talks about making Nepali labor laws flexible.] For trading businesses, managers from India working for Nepalis add value by their knowledge of culture and people in places in like Raxaul, Calcutta, Delhi and so on . . . knowledge that most Nepali managers do NOT usually possess, or even when they possess, are not somehow able to leverage that to their firm's benefits. Personally, with a few exceptions, I have seen that Nepali managers tend to have insufferably huge egos and brittle self-confidence. I've met Nepali MBAs from rinky-dinky universities from Australia or New Zealand or the Philippines, and they puff themselves up as though they were Stanford MBAs who're just doing this country a favor by hanging around running oh-so-boring businesses. I am quite used to dealing with arrogant people, and I can handle any amount of arrogance IF and ONLY IF it is backed up by a solid string of verifiably impressive (business) achievements: but the arrogance of most of these Nepali managers is often just too ridiculous (i.e. not backed up by achievements) and I see that they only end up hurting their businesses through their closed-mindedness. Who'd want to hire and keep people like that? Moreover, I am seeing that most Nepali managers are LOUSY at managing their careers. In these days, getting a job is NOT enough. You also have to know how to manage your career to go up and up -- honestly, strategically and confidently -- , and if you can do that, that is also a measure of your managerial ability . . . this is where most middle-level Nepali managers in Nepal are khattam and jhoor and are UNWILLING to learn and change . . . and this is one reason why you don't see many of these Nepalis at the top management of corporate Nepal. Maybe this will change, I don't know. ********* Bal, you've asked some good questions that are, quite frankly, PhD dissertation topics in business economics. Gotta go. Will share more thoughts later. Happy Fagoon Saat Democracy Day everyone!! oohi ashu ktm,nepal |