Every Last Thursday of Gregorian month, Bikalpa – an Alternative jointly organize the “Last Thursday’s” event at Biratnagar in collaboration with Hotel Namaskar, Makalu Television and Merryland College (BBA) Biratnagar. Objective of the program is to disseminate the ideas and knowledge about entrepreneurship through the personal sharing of successful entrepreneurs. Also the program creates an opportunity to do networking and share ideas among the participants.
The 43rd Last Thursday with an Entrepreneur held on 31st May, 2018 was held in Hotel Namaskar Biratnagar. The Guest Speaker for the program was Mr. Santosh Chaudhary, Director of Tej Cement & Janaki Polytank Ind. Pvt. Ltd.
He started the session by congratulating the organizer and shared his personal and professional story with the participants. During his remarks, he shared his own experiences about his journey which wasn’t as simple as it sounded. Coming from the small village of Dhanusa District of Nepal, it was not easy for Mr. Chaudhary to settle and build a name for himself in the city. During his childhood, he used to carry plastic sack bags and wooden card board while going to school. His family owned a small grocery shop from where he used to take money to have lunch with his friends. He completed his primary education from Godar and went to Jaleshwor for his secondary education. After completing his SLC, he returned back to his village and started a business of lending VCR and a fresh house with his friends. From his childhood, he was curious and never shied away from trying all sorts of things.
After his marriage, he settled in Biratnagar and started a cyber cafe business with his brother-in-law. He further shared his story about how he ended up starting a hardware shop while going to buy a sack of cement for his personal use. He felt that there was a dire need for cement in the Nepali market and saw great potential in this business. Now, he is a proud owner of a cement factory himself.
During the program, he also told that everyone wants to get paid well or wants some incentive for themselves, but no one realizes the kind of work that goes into executing it. He further added about the importance of risk-taking, as well as dedication and hard work. Only then can one be whatever they want to be. Speaking about his own challenges, Chaudhary stressed on the importance of taking risk and how that was instrumental in building a big business. “Business is business, whether it is small or big. You need to have courage to take risk otherwise you will not succeed. Changing our mindset is also important in this era. Earlier, people dared to take risks but now he doesn’t see Youth taking much risks to expand their business. The scenario will only change when people will realize that business is good, it’s a matter of time.” he shared. “When would a dead body show up at a crematorium or a customer arrive at a shop, can never be predicted.” he added.
He told the audience that there is money and opportunity everywhere, one should be able to recognize it in order to utilize it properly. He is now planning to make his business international after achieving domestic success.
