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Recently, I came back from a two-week trip to Nepal.  I spent the majority of the time in small cities and remote villages.  As an entrepreneur, I noticed how people there make a living. Here are some stats on the country: Nepal is one of the poorest countries in the world, second poorest in Asia. More than half of the population is under the international poverty line and make only $1/day. Looking around, there are just no jobs. People make a living by running their own business.

Surviving Through Business

The people I saw that were able to maintain a decent living had a business of some sort. Some had a small “convenient” store selling bottled water, t-shirts, electronics, etc. These stores did not list prices for anything they sold. You would only find out if you asked. If you looked anything other than Nepali, they would charge you double the price. A few times, I would ask a native to help me buy a shirt. Others would rent out parts of their living areas as a motel. There are a lot of foreigners that trek through Nepal so motels in remote cities make a lot of sense. Still, there are others selling whatever they can on the streets- candy, fruits, water.

I met someone who was making $10/month. He did not have a business and was currently out of a job.  There are just no jobs in Nepal in many of the smaller cities and remote villages. And if you didn’t have a business in those areas, you had a hard time supporting yourself and your family.

It’s completely different in a developed country. A steady living would be to find a job. Once you find a good paying job, you are set. Starting a business on the other hand, is viewed as risky and is not the way to go about supporting yourself. After visiting Nepal, I realized that people were meant to support themselves through creating a business, not working for someone else. That is actually the safer of the two options.

Opportunities Everywhere, No Excuses

In Nepal, there are no opportunities. When you start a business there, you really only have 1-2 chances. If that fails, you’re in big trouble. Banks would not loan you money for your next venture. You would need to find a job to pay off loans. Most likely, the job could hardly support you let alone the loans.

In America and other developed nations, we have tons of opportunities. We can fail 100, no 1000 times and can still start the 1001st business. We have jobs that we can get as backups. In short, we have it good.

So the question is, do you really have a good excuse for not giving your idea a shot? You can always come back 1-2 years later and try again if it doesn’t work out. You have all the opportunities in the world, make use of it.

Read Further:

• Overview Of Nepal

[Image credit: Lev Yakupov]