In your own words, what does your company do?
Heaven Himalaya is an adventure travel company that offers trekking, mountaineering, cultural tours, and peak climbing tours in the Himalayas.
The company offers a range of tours and treks, from beginner-friendly hikes to extreme peak climbing activities. Some of the popular treks include the Everest Base Camp Trek, the Annapurna Circuit Trek, the Langtang Valley Trek, the Manaslu Circuit Trek, and the Annapurna Base Camp Trek.
Heaven Himalaya provides personalized and high-quality services. We have a team of professional guides and staff that belong to the Himalayas and have a deep understanding of the culture, geography, history, and natural wonders of the region they work in. Moreover, the company also places a strong emphasis on sustainable travel and works with local communities and the environment, respecting their future importance.
For our clientele, we work hard to design one-of-a-kind, life-changing experiences that let them experience the splendor and spirituality of the Himalayas. The company has earned acclaim for its skill, attention to detail, and customer service. Heaven Himalaya is a winner of the 2023 Traveller’s Choice Award by TripAdvisor Inc. and has been listed as one of the best travel businesses in Nepal and among the top 10% in the world.
Heaven Himalaya was founded by two brothers, Ramhari Adhikari, and Sanjib Adhikari, in the hope of exploring underrated, remote trekking destinations in Nepal. Until now, we have aided thousands of adventurers in Nepal and created hundreds of jobs there.
We fully bootstrapped Heaven Himalaya with an initial investment of 10,000 USD. We started with 2 employees, and now we have 26 people who work for the company. We started in 2020 AD, but the COVID restrictions didn’t let us flourish, so our next launch was in September 2022. And by the end of July 2023, we had collected good revenue and also made a decent profit.
How does the company make money?
💰 High-altitude trekking adventures in Nepal are our key line of products. Out of all the tours, the Everest Base Camp trek is one of the most popular, and it alone contributes to 30% of the total income the company makes in a year.
💰 Our Everest Base Camp Trek package costs 1399 USD per person for a 14-day trek in Nepal. And we also have group discounts if there are many people in a group.
💰 Out of the total amount a client pays, we use that to buy different services they are going to use during their 14-day stay in Nepal. And we have some service fees included in the amount, which is the only thing we make money from.
3 strategies that have worked to attract and retain customers
Our first strategy to attract customers is to promote local and remote destinations in Nepal. Also, there are countless known trekking routes inside the country. So, we heavily invest in promoting such routes via our website and social media channels to attract adventurers. As we get to connect with prospective clients, we offer our different packages and try to sell them.
Our main investments will be in marketing the tours via SEO and other social media channels like Facebook, Reddit, Instagram, and Twitter.
The main three strategies we use are:
✅ Developing a strong online presence (Website and social media).
✅ Implement targeted marketing campaigns (Google ads, social media ads, and email marketing).
✅ Paying attention to details and providing personalized services.
What are three things that you’ve learned about hiring and retaining great talent?
✅ We have a very low rate of good employees leaving the company. This is because we have different profit-sharing models, even with the company’s employees.
✅ Also, we offer competitive salaries and free vacations for employees who perform well. We do have award events to recognize different talents within the company.
✅ During the hiring process, the most important thing we see in an applicant is their willingness to work and their capability to work as a team. First, we collect prospective candidates’ resumes, sort out the best ones, interview them, and keep them for a paid trial of 15 days in the company. We will evaluate their work after 15 days and offer them a contract letter if they meet our standards.