We were lucky to catch up with Nara Khakurel recently and have shared our conversation below.

Nara, appreciate you joining us today. Before we get into specifics, let’s talk about success more generally. What do you think it takes to be successful?

Well, usually people may wonder why on earth someone would take risks when he/she can just keep a low profile on a daily basis or simply remain in the safe zone. Here is the main point: to be successful, we need to have a successful mindset. Every individual has the power and ability to explore and expose their potential and positivity. Instead, what we so often hear is people complaining that they did not succeed in their life, for whatever reason. In this evolutionary society we live in, we have to get inspired from adventurous spirits and positive energy. Nature has taught us that progress can be made when failures are risked.

There are no doors in the universe, they do not open, all we need is to pay enough attention. And sometimes to be attentive is about a process of learning, which comes from our mistakes. So, we do not have to be afraid of making mistakes, otherwise we won’t learn. If we do not learn, we do not succeed. We also fail sometimes, but we learn more from failures. We cannot stop just because of the failure in something we do. Eventually, failures and mistakes become our experiences. Put your entire life in front of you and do the foundational work to go ahead and be successful.

I think just the big words do not impress anymore. And yet other times, we fear straightforward language might make us look dumb. But if we keep working hard and stay fully committed to what we want to do, success is always around us. For the last 13 years, I have been working more than 14 hours a day. In 2016, I started a coffee shop in Towson, Maryland. For the last 8 years I did not take any vacation, working 7 days a week to keep the store doors open. I am always driven to do things, and serving people is my passion. The coffee and sandwiches we serve to our customers at the store gave me an opportunity to present myself in the community. Often, I have been judged for working too much but my goal is to succeed in what I do. Today, I have built the trust from each and every customer, and Coffee Talk is not just my place, but it has become a community hub. It took me a long way to be in a place where I am today, and I have failed several times on the journey. So, I want to remind everyone that the pollen of failure fertilizes success.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I grew up in a farming community in rural Nepal, where my family raised cattle and crops like tobacco and sugarcane. I never felt particularly deprived but, looking back, I recall walking to school barefoot and not being able to afford a book bag.

Today, though, I am a college graduate and the founder of Coffee Talk Cafe (2016) in downtown Towson, and my young daughters are thriving in the local public schools. And I’m incredibly grateful to have been able to build a life here in Maryland.

It’s been a long journey. After gaining degrees in commerce in Nepal and hospitality studies in Singapore, I traveled to over 30 countries to learn and gain work experience in the service industry.

During the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, I spent 13 hours a day driving an Uber and Lyft in order to pay rent and prevent the cafe from going under. It was a real struggle. But with my full commitment to continue the entrepreneurship, I did not stop, I keep myself driven to my passion everyday. I also have to thank the Small Business Association, support from other local businesses, and the backing of Maryland’s 20,000-strong Nepali-American community that enabled me to stay in business.

I am very grateful for the community’s support and have chosen to repay that debt by supporting other local entrepreneurs. I purchase all the café’s food, from coffee beans to bread and ice-cream, from businesses in and around Baltimore County as much as possible. I want to make a contribution to the community. Every day is a challenge for an entrepreneur in various ways, but I feel incredibly lucky that our doors are still open. And Coffee Talk Cafe is not just my cafe, it is an important part of our community.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

The most important thing that helped to build our strong reputation within the market is dedication and passion for what we do.. I embrace fair competition in the market, so we can learn our strengths and weaknesses. I also practice that not 100 percent of the market belongs to me, I need to find my share of the market to sell/serve my products and services, and I work to achieve 100 percent on that share.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

What I have learned from my personal experiences over the last 20 years in customer service, we have to excel at interacting with people. The products or services we offer are an important gateway, but the backbone for growing clientele is how you manage your customers/clients. It requires a lot of studies, skills, knowledge and experiences. The positive and learning mindset helps us in the process of growing our clientele because it is infectious, and we attract these types of people on a repeat basis to our shop.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @coffeetalktowson
• Facebook: narayan.khakurel.7
• Youtube: justtwominutes
• Yelp: Coffee Talk Cafe