We always hear about how there are no opportunities in Nepal.( Which is why so many people are going abroad to pursue their studies, in the hopes of getting a better education and job.) However, Nepal is a place where so many opportunities are hidden under challenges. So, let’s talk about these opportunities and challenges of running a business so that we can think of ways to overcome the challenges. The unstable Government with their unclear systems, and lack of standard procedures is one of the challenges businesses face. There’s always ups and downs when it comes to the government and we have to learn to do everything in process without shortcuts. Apart from the governmental challenges, we have enough capital as well as investors to run any type of business. The natural assets, various geographical locations and the range of climatic conditions all add to the availability of opportunities for businesses in different fields.
The next important step is the product and services we offer. For any business to run consistently, we depend on vendors and suppliers for raw materials and expert services. The availability of resources depends on the third party or country from where they are being extracted. The main challenge in Nepal is the consistency and reliability in providing the products/ services for any industry in Nepal. To compete with the national and international market, it is crucial that we produce high quality products. So, we have to be very careful to find a reliable vendor/ supplier. We’ll talk about how to find such vendors/ suppliers further below.
Other than the challenges listed above, one of the biggest reasons behind companies being unsuccessful is skilled manpower. The problem isn’t the lack of manpower but finding the skilled manpower. There is also a problem of high turnover of staff as well as less number of retention rate. This may be due to employees not finding the right job for themselves or employers not looking at the right places. Human capital is one of the most important aspects of running a business in Nepal.
Now, that we’ve talked about challenges. Let’s move on to talk about how we can overcome these challenges. While reading this article, your thoughts were probably along the lines of, ” I know how hard it is to run a business in Nepal.” So, when we are aware of the problems we know the solution as well. Where we get stuck on is how we implement these solutions for effective results.
This is where a consulting company comes in. Getting help from a management consulting company will not only reduce your costs but it also helps you save your time and I’ll elaborate on why. Start ups will not have proper experience and knowledge on the technical parts of business, such as being ISO certified, maintaining transparency, even big businesses running for a long time need help from consulting companies to make their company more efficient and the work they do more effective. As we were talking about problems with skilled manpower, some managerial consultancies in Nepal also provide human capital for businesses. They become conduits for businesses, individuals, vendors and suppliers to get them together.
Even with the best practices and best human capital, during the operation of a business it is crucial to have a planning process. Without a process, what may happen is, if a problem arises people will just assume how to fix it and think about fixing the problem as they go. This is another mistake that creates bigger problems and we won’t have the mechanism to measure those problems. By the time we realize the lack of expertise to manage such problem, the problem will become larger than it was.
Every company is clear on their Mission, Vision and Objectives when they start a business. They also have terms, policies, rules and regulations set before starting a company to combat these managerial problems. What businesses have to realize is it is equally important for them to start taking concern over their company’s risk and opportunities and sets the crosses for operation and planning. Only then they reduce the risk of problems hampering the business. Also, the company should be up to date about whether the activities they perform are heading towards their goals or not and whether it is fulfilling their objectives or not. This is also where management consultancies come into play. They help with setting these goals and objectives as well as indexes to measure set goals. This makes it less time consuming for the company and more cost productive.