Note: To complete the dissertation and to pursue a doctorate, The University of North America had involved this writer in research on factors contributing to the success of the Nepalese business in the United States. I am thankful for the university’s support to manage and facilitate to conduct great work like this. These excerpts are the first in the publication series, and the other write-ups will be published continually.
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Here are some of the excerpts not precisely, but the essence is the same. I will try to publish in a series and hope that this will be a supporting material for those who want to flourish and initiate their own business.
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The study had covered data on business knowledge, educational level, and investment level that contribute to business success among Nepalese immigrants in the United States of America. The study contained 30 business firms in the Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C., areas. The study has covered thirteen restaurants, four Subways, six Seven-Elevens, one liquor store, two grocery stores, and three pizza parlors. This research found that fast food, retail trade, and food and beverage are the significant businesses operated and owned by Nepalese entrepreneurs. More detail on these subjects will be discussed in the later publications.
The study was conducted to understand how Nepalese entrepreneurs describe their current business knowledge and its impact on business success. Also, directed to know how Nepalese entrepreneurs relate the influence that their education has had on their business success. and to examine how the entrepreneurs describe the relationship between investment and business success.
As mentioned before, the study had focused on an exploratory analysis of the business ventures Nepalese entrepreneurial immigrants have established. It also examined the original status of the Nepalese American entrepreneurs before they migrated to the United States. It explored the objective skill, knowledge, education, and capital investments these new American entrepreneurs brought with them.
Thousands of Nepalese have embarked on an epic American journey. However, the journey seems more like one undertaken for the Nepalese, perhaps a century ago, than one began today. Thus, Nepalese Americans’ resultant population is more varied, less homogeneous, and more formed by accident.
Nepal’s majority of people live in rural areas. It lies in South Asia with 56,136 square miles, located between China and India. It is well known as a place with the highest mountain globally: “Sagarmatha” or “Mount Everest.” Nevertheless, and contrarily, it is a land that traditionally breeds successful entrepreneurs, including many able to thrive in a distant alien land.
This writer is a native of Nepal and had tried best to communicate with participants and interpret the study results from both cultural perspectives since having familiarity with both Nepalese culture and the business environment of the United States allow to communicate with participants and interpret the results of the study from both cultural perspectives.
Although this study focused on implications for businesses created and operated by Nepalese entrepreneurs in Virginia, Maryland, and the Washington D.C. areas, this writer hopes its findings supported other future entrepreneurs as they consider businesses’ creation.
To be continued
Part 2
The size of the American Nepalese community in the United States is increasing year to year. However, there is no synthesized analysis focusing mainly on Nepalese immigrants by linking their skill, knowledge, education, and the types of businesses operating in the United States. As a business student, I felt the issue is emergent and worthy of attention.
The factors addressed in this study were business knowledge, educational level, and investment.
The reasons to conduct the research was:
Higher skill, knowledge, education, and a financial background lead Nepalese entrepreneurs to business confidence. This study is also significant because it offers entrepreneurs greater insight into business ideas, knowledge, and information.
This study focused only on Nepalese immigrants. However, this research may be generalizable to other immigrant populations. The study was also limited to the states of Virginia and Maryland, and Washington, D.C. The study was conducted using survey questionnaires for in-person interviews to obtain concrete results. The variables selected for this research were business administration knowledge, educational levels, and investment. Similarly, the dependent variables chosen were business success and profit.
A complete listing of all the businesses run by the Nepalese immigrants in the United States would be difficult to acquire, so an appropriate frame was prepared to draw a representative sample for analysis purposes. A further limitation was based on the assumption that the participants would provide honest and direct feedback during the interview process.
After a thorough exploration of the existing literature on business, this researcher found that entrepreneurs must be equipped with better business skills, knowledge, education, experience, and risk-bearing capacity to achieve above-average returns. This study has explored and categorized the businesses introduced and created by Nepalese immigrants to answer these questions:
This study selected the Nepalese businesses to be studied via a purposive sampling method. According to the Baltimore Association of Nepalese in America (2010), Baltimore, Maryland, in the USA’s eastern region, is the place where the highest numbers of Nepalese are engaged in their own business. It has become a promising destination for Nepalese doing business over the past few years, with many running food businesses, especially Nepalese restaurants and pizza stores.
The Baltimore Association of Nepalese in America (2010) also stated that other Nepalese are involved in the information technology consultancy field, wholesale and retail stores, grocery stores, construction, automobile and gas stations, liquor and beverage, music and entertainment, jewelry, coffee shops, finance and taxation, the practice of law, and travel and tourism, to list a few. Many more small businesses entrepreneurs are in the process of starting up.
To be continued
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Part 3
Dhungel (n.d.), in a research note, indicated that in the United States, Nepalese immigrants centered in the big cities and where renowned universities are located. States like California, New York, Maryland, Illinois, Texas, Michigan, New Jersey, and Virginia, and Metropolitan D.C. area have relatively large numbers of Nepalese Immigrants. Dhungel (n.d.) further added in his research note that Nepalese immigrants in the United States have not established big businesses or entered industrial entrepreneurship yet.
Nepalese immigrants hold jobs such as engineers, doctors, professors, lawyers, economists, and semiprofessional junior technicians. Some established Nepalese individuals can run small-scale businesses such as consultancy and engineering firms, health clinics, travel agencies, food stores, restaurants, and oriental craft import shops.
This researcher determined that there are forty-two businesses run by Nepalese entrepreneurs in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. A complete list of companies operated by the Nepalese entrepreneurs in these states was prepared and used to choose appropriate samples to collect data.
This research also found 42 businesses run by Nepalese entrepreneurs in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. Among the three states, in terms of the number of companies operated, the study found that Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C, rank first (26), second (14), and third (2), respectively. These numbers may have been changed since the study data were in the year 2010.
The study collected data from a sample of 30 businesses out of the list of 42 firms. All 30 sample entrepreneurs surveyed in this study were owners. These businesses were included in the selection because they could represent the total population. This study sample was based on data collected from restaurants (13), subways (5), Seven-Elevens (6), liquor stores (1), grocery stores (2), and pizza parlors (3).
A preliminary review shows that Nepalese businesses in the United States were generally concentrated in California, New York; Maryland; Texas; metropolitan Washington, D.C; and Virginia.
Nepalese entrepreneurs do not start businesses out of nothing. As shown in the table below, Nepalese businesspeople have been inspired to start a business for various reasons.
Primary Reason for Starting a Business
| Reasons for Starting a Business | Number of Participants |
| Work experiences | 8 |
| Family member inspiration | 5 |
| Prior export- import business | 1 |
| Family member, connections with friends, and learning on the Job | 5 |
| Strong business motives | 1 |
| Internationalize the Nepalese cuisine | 3 |
| Work experiences and business knowledge | 5 |
| Worked in a store in a professional position | 1 |
| Educational background, technical Know-How, and entrepreneurship skill | 1 |
| Total | 30 |
Another participant who was engaged in operating four Subways and one Seven-Eleven business in this region had reported that the influence of a family member, connections with friends, and learning on the job here in the U.S. prepared him to operate businesses over the years in this country.
One entrepreneur engaged in an alcohol retail trade business expressed that he purchased a liquor business store out of strong business motives. Some interviewees said that after migrating to the United States of America, they started to work in hotels; this inspired them to open businesses within the hotels and restaurants.
To be continued
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