Tennessean Meets Nepalese Sherpa on Lyft Ride, Sells Adventure Trips

This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.

[Music]

A communications director and a Nepalese sherpa walk into a bar, or actually they don't walk into a bar, they meet in a lift in downtown Nashville, Tennessee. This is a crazy but true story. It's also an adventure story of trekking the Himalayan mountains in Nepal. As I sometimes say, once you go down the road of adventure, you don't always know where you'll end up. Welcome to Side Hustle School.

My name is Chris Guillebeau, so glad you're here. Now in every story we feature on the show, we always ask the person, "Hey, what is your advice? "What about all those people out there "who want to do something like what you have done? "What would you suggest to them?" Now this person whose story I'll tell you about in just a moment, he said, "The biggest lesson I can impart "is to learn to recognize opportunities and then act on them, "even things that seem nearly impossible. "The bottom line is, even if we close shop tomorrow, "we found a way to fulfill a major bucket list dream "and help a bunch of other people do the same.

"It has been an amazing experience." Okay, so learn to recognize opportunities and act on them. Great lesson, that's what I try to demonstrate with the show every day. And as for the amazing experience, well, I'm gonna tell you all about it. Here's a quick little thank you to our sponsor. They allow the show to be completely free to you.

Then you'll hear about the Tennessee native who meets a Nepalese Sherpa on a left ride and goes on to sell adventure trips. [Music]

Do you believe in fate or chance or the stars aligning? Whatever you call it, Mark Johnson believes that without it, he never would have started his side hustle. His fortuitous experience all happened because his truck needed repairs. Mark and his wife Holly now operate Hobnill Trekking Co.

They provide full service tracks to majestic locales in Nepal, including Everest Base Camp. So how did fate play a part in the start of this adventurous project? Let's trek back to August, 2016, when Mark was one day away from leaving his job as communications director at a nonprofit organization. It was a hot and sticky afternoon in Nashville, Tennessee, and the air conditioner in Mark's truck had quit working. Needing a ride to pick up that truck after repairs at the mechanic's garage, Mark summoned a Lyft driver.

Now this was a Lyft ride that would change the course of history, or at least the next point in our story. Mark struck up a pleasant conversation with the young driver whose name was Dawah Jangbu Lama Sherpa. Dawah spoke fluent English, but with an accent Mark couldn't pinpoint. When Mark discovered Dawah was from Nepal, he asked if he knew anything about the Everest Base Camp trek. The trek was something Mark and Holly had put on their bucket list years ago.

Dawah grinned and answered, "I am an Everest Regent Sherpa. "I've guided that trip dozens of times. "I even own a small trekking company in Nepal." What was the chance that he would meet this man, an Everest Regent Sherpa, on a Lyft ride in Nashville, Tennessee? They exchanged information, and a few days later, Mark and Holly met with Dawah to learn more about making the Everest Base Camp trek in the spring of 2018. At the time they had no idea how they'd pay for it, or even how to manage the logistics with their three kids, but they committed to making it happen.

As Mark researched more about this trek, he began to notice that there were no regional companies that offered it. In fact, as far as he could tell, there were no companies with headquarters east of Colorado. Mark's next thought was, "Why not create their own trekking company?" At first, this idea seemed as crazy, as well as hiking in the Himalayan mountains. Mark and Holly had no experience with Nepal, and were only casual hikers. However, Mark could utilize his marketing and web development skills while Holly handled finances and organization.

Dawah had a large network of guides and porters back home, but no way to market his treks in the U.S. Thus, a partnership was formed. In January 2017, Mark and Holly launched Hobnell Trekking Co. After creating a website, the couple booked a local venue to hold an informational meeting about trekking in Nepal. By Mark's own admission, Dawah was the key to their success.

A huge difference in their business is that Dawah actually lives in Nashville part of the year. This means that potential trekkers get to meet and socialize with him at social events. This builds trust in the company before heading to the other side of the world. Over the next few months, they held numerous meetings in outdoor retail stores in the Southeastern U.S., and they were featured in several newspapers. By October 2017, they had booked a full trek, 15 people, including Mark and Holly, to depart in March 2018.

After returning from that first amazing trek, they booked another group for the fall season. They're now planning 2019 and expect even more business. Now, coordinating these treks can seem daunting. Mark starts by scheduling a set of dates for the upcoming season. He works with Dawah to ensure he has the manpower on his end.

They then post the trek dates to the website and start promoting them. Once someone books an adventure with Hobnail, they fill out a detailed registration and make a deposit. They then get a phone call within 48 hours of registering and are placed in a private Facebook group to foster friendships among the trekkers. This helps alleviate stress or anxiety about such a momentous trip. About six months prior to departure, group members are provided with documents each month with information on food, training, gear, et cetera.

Then upon arrival in Nepal, everything is taken care of by Dawah's staff. All that's left for the travelers is their epic hiking adventure. So how does one decide on pricing for such a huge experience? Mark starts with Dawah's pricing as a subcontractor. He pays him.

Mark and Holly then add their margins on top of that. They want to be known as a company that offers an incredible service with extra goodies and attention at a reasonable price. Gross annual income for Hobnail in year one was $54,000, with startup costs of almost that much. This was partly due to initially underpricing their treks and some steep costs associated with the custom gear they provide trekkers. However, Mark feels the custom gear is critical to inspire confidence and trust in the company.

The family has been able to start this business while he works as a freelance writer and Holly works as a nonprofit administrator. Expect next year to be more profitable with fewer startup costs, and they're looking forward to getting back to Nepal. Hobnail Trekking Co. is taking a bucket list item to new heights. [Music]

Well, you never know where your next business opportunity or your next side hustle idea will come from, perhaps even on your next lift ride.

Anything is possible. Before we wrap up, I just want to go back to that quick advice from Mark. He said the best lesson I could impart is to learn to recognize opportunities and act on them, even things that seem nearly impossible. And I want to encourage you today that sometimes the impossible just takes a little while. Doesn't mean it's really impossible.

So if you have a dream, if you have a goal, if you have a bucket list, whatever that thing is, ask yourself how you can go from list or dream to practical reality. And for all kinds of reasons and all kinds of benefits, I firmly believe that a side hustle can help you do that. Whether the side hustle itself is the bucket list dream, like in the case of being able to trek to Everest Base Camp, or as something that supports you on your other dreams, gives you resources and tools, security and wellbeing that allows you to proceed with confidence. Or even if you don't feel confident to proceed anyway, which I have not climbed Everest myself, but I imagine that's a big part of it, proceeding whether you feel confident or not. Take that with you for the rest of your day, wherever you're up to in the world.

As always, inspiration is good, but inspiration with action is so much better. If you'd like to see the show notes, maybe learn more about Hobnail Trekking Company, put down a deposit and go to Everest, just come to sidehustleschool.com/677. Like I said, anything is possible. Let me know if you do that. Thank you so much for listening.

You are a rockstar. I'll be back again tomorrow. My name is Chris Guillebeau. This is "Side Hustle School." [Music]