‘An entrepreneur must have an appetite for risk’

Ashim Kadariya

Business Coach

Ashim Kadariya, a business enthusiast from the age of 21 was always inclined to open his own venture. He founded Business Coaching Nepal in 2020 with the aim to facilitate entrepreneurs find their feet in the competitive world of business with training and sessions. However, his entrepreneurial journey began with a company called Foxglove Management which he initiated at 21 and struggled to keep afloat. That venture was a taste in expectations not matching results and the realization that he needed to sharpen his skills and business knowledge. He went to New Delhi to meet his mentor in 2015 to seek guidance and which he says was the turning point in his career and what led him to the path of becoming a business coach. He shares, “My mentor told me that if I have been facing constant loss then there must be something lacking in me. He advised me to start investing in learning because educating yourself is one of the most powerful tools”. Having gained clarity was one thing, contending with the financial losses and paying back dues was another. There were moments of self-doubt and anxiety but he knew that the way forward was a choice: “There is no point in just sitting back and dwelling on the problems. One needs to look for ways that one can resolve tough issues”. His decision to become a business coach also stemmed from wanting to connect and give back to the community. Since its inception, Business Coaching Nepal’s main purpose has been to train business owners who need guidance to boost their businesses through training programmes. Kadariya says that his company provides three types of programmes after assessing the needs of the participant. The first is Business Growth Seminar which was started through webinars due to the lockdown during the Covid pandemic and is now a one-day physical programme. The second module is a three-day training seminar called Business Growth Intensive. “We also have a long-term programme for nine months titled Everest Mastermind for Business Acceleration (EMBA),” he says. Kadariya states that at the heart of each programme is the focus on the concept of owner-independent business and how to double profits. All programmes are currently only offered in Kathmandu with expansion plans for Butwal and New Delhi in the near future. Business coaching in Nepal is a relatively new concept and many people doubt its efficacy. “However, I am confident about what I offer to the point that if a participant is unsatisfied, we will fully refund the amount they have paid. We get a lot of business through word-of-mouth references and social media,” he says. Talking about the entrepreneurial and startup culture in Nepal, Kadariya shares, “I see new entrepreneurs more focused on valuation rather than providing value to the customers.” He adds that a business requires time to actually start giving returns, “If you are looking for profits immediately after you set up a venture, you are bound to fail because you will be taking steps that are for short-term gains rather than long-term sustainability”. Having tasted failure himself, Kadariya advises young entrepreneurs on the need for clarity of a business model and strategy to sustain in the long term. He adds that one must also have an appetite for risk and understand that any failure should come as a learning process. READ ALSO:

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