Chum, an exotic valley hidden behind the Himalayas of Nepal

tourism, travel diary

 नेपालीमा पढ्नुहोला

Have you traveled to the hidden valley of Chum behind the Ganesh mountains in the Himalayas surrounded on 3 sides by Tibet ?

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My wife and I decided it was once again time for our annual trek onto remote Nepal. It was an excellent opportunity to rejuvenate our souls, secluded from the urban social distractions of Kathmandu. This was also our way of getting to know our Nepal. The sad reality is many Nepalese these days have seen other countries more than places within Nepal. If we only make it a practise of traveling within Nepal once a year, our tourism industry would be further self-reliant while Nepalese learn and enjoy the diversity and beauty within. Here is our daily account of how we ventured into the hidden valley of Chum. I bet many of you have never heard of this place which lies just behind the Ganesh mountain range that you see every day from Kathmandu valley.

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How to safely trek or hike in beautiful Nepal ?

places and travel, tourism, travel diary

Namaste. Over the years I have learnt often through my own hard experiences, the importance of safely trekking in Nepal as any instance could quickly turn into a dangerous situation particularly in remote mountains and the wild.

Here are some safety tips while trekking in the Himalayas in Nepal. Google around to find other travelers tips too. Meanwhile you can also read some of my trekking diaries here.

  1. Many trails in Nepal have mules /donkeys as main transport vehicles. If you see mules/donkeys coming towards you, make sure you always give side on the safe end. Don’t ever stand towards the edge of a cliff to let them pass, i.e stand on the side of the cliff wall. Mules/ donkeys will not hesitate to push you off the edge as they usually (obviously) want to take the safest side in the trail!
  2. Use walking sticks ( two if possible). it helps ease your balance and in some tricky situations like crossing streams or on broken paths. Trails usually go from good to worse within a day of change in weather. Sticks are a special help to your legs. You can find a pair at an affordable price

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How to succeed at business in Nepal ?

entrepreneurship, guestpost

There are many ways to entrepreneurial success. Here is one, if you are a first-time entrepreneur:

  1. Do NOT try to produce a totally new, new thing. The reason is simple. When you produce a totally new, new thing, you need a lot of money to educate the market about what your “new new” thing is. Educating the market is very expensive, both in terms of time and money.
  2. When you try to educate the market about your new, new product, you burn a lot of your precious capital. When you burn your capital (like the dot com companies did in the US in 1999), you may go out of business altogether.
  3. Adding insult to injury, as it often happens in Nepal, you may then have to watch late-comers succeed with the very idea that you came up with because you foolishly spent all your money educating the market about the new, new product for your future competitors to benefit from! [Believe us: nobody gives you a medal for being a “business saheed”!]
  4. Instead of trying to produce a totally new, new thing, look at an established industry where there are existing suppliers, competitors, customers, etc. In

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देश बनाउने सकारात्मक शक्तिलाई कसले रोकेको छ?

change, environment, leadership, nepali, politics, responsibility, thought provoking

Read in English

हामीमा प्रतिभाशाली नेपालीको कमी छैन। देशलाई माया गर्ने नेपाली पनि हामी उत्तिकै छौँ। हरेक दिन कुनै न कुनै अब्बल नेपालीले राष्ट्रको शिर ठाडो राखेको खबर सुनेकै छौँ। हामी नेपाली बाहिर गएर पनि मलेशियादेखि अरब देशहरु धानेकै छौँ भने भित्रै बसेर पनि आफ्नै लगन र मिहिनेतले नेपाल धानेकै छौँ। तर यत्ति धेरै राम्रा र प्रतिभाले भरिएको देश एकपछि अर्को बिपत्तिमा छिरेको छिर्यै छ त। पटकपटक असफल साबित हुँदा पनि उही नेतृत्वले राज गर्ने मौका पाएकै छन् त।

एकपल्ट सोच्नुस् त- अहिले यत्तिबिघ्न राम्रा र प्रतिभाशाली नेपाली हुँदाहुँदै किन सकारात्मक शक्तिले हाम्रो देशको नेतृत्व लिन सकेको छैन? सकारात्मक शक्तिलाई केले रोकेको छ यहाँ?

तितो यथार्थ यही हो- प्रतिभाशाली र ‘आफूलाई राम्रो  मान्ने’ नेपालीले नै रोकेका छन् कुनै पनि सकारात्मक शक्तिलाई

तपाईलाई नराम्रो लाग्ला, अविश्वास पनि लाग्ला र सोध्नु होला- कसरी यस्तो पवित्र काममा हामी ‘राम्रा नेपाली’ नै बाधक भयौँ र? कारण- हामीभित्र केही नजानिँदो कुसंस्कार हावी छन्।

जस्तो कि …

१. ‘कोठाभित्र रमाउँदै ठिक्क… ‘

हामी कोठाभित्र रमाएका छौँ र समग्र घरलाई बिर्सेका छौँ। देशको एक क्षेत्रमा उत्कृष्ट बनेका छौँ तर उत्कृष्टहरु बीचको सहकार्य गरी प्राप्त हुने ठूलो प्रतिफल देशलाई दिन सकेका

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Things to keep in mind when making sales

entrepreneurship, guestpost

Things to keep in mind when making sales

Your success as an entrepreneur depends on your ability to sell. But hardly any business school offers a class on sales. Many organizations offer training programs on sales that are about theories of sales, and not about the practice of sales. Below, we offer some not-really-original but sensibly practical tips on sales.

  1. Never talk cost. Never talk price. Always talk to clients about value. Value to them. Value for them – when they buy and use your products and services.
  2. Explain and re-explain value about how it makes the clients’ life better, or easier or more profitable.
  3. Always quantify what your strengths: 5 years of experience, 5,000 customers served, etc.
  4. Never leave a sales meeting without mutually agreeing what the next action step is.
  5. When making sales, talk more about the clients and their issues, and less about you. Listen, ask questions, understand what on the clients’ mind, and help the clients explain what they are looking for.
  6. When you make cold calls, the point is not to sell – but to have a meeting.
  7. Selling and negotiations are different: First, sell. Then, negotiate discounts, etc.
  8. Sales and marketing are

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