The founder and CEO of the High Quality Group, Pema Tshering’s journey epitomizes the essence of entrepreneurship – the ability to transform dreams into reality against all odds. Born from humble beginnings, he faced numerous challenges and uncertainties. However, fueled by an unwavering entrepreneurial spirit, he charted his own course, venturing into uncharted territory.
His story serves as a beacon of hope and inspiration for aspiring youth entrepreneurs in the country. In a landscape often dominated by tales of rags-to-riches, Pema Tshering’s narrative stands out as a testament to the power of determination and vision. Despite facing formidable obstacles, he refused to succumb to the status quo, choosing instead to forge ahead on his entrepreneurial journey.
His triumph underscores the transformative potential of seizing opportunities and making the right decisions at critical junctures. By daring to defy conventional wisdom and embracing uncertainty, Pema Tshering not only realized his own dreams but also illuminated a path of possibility for countless others.
Aspiring entrepreneurs can draw invaluable lessons from his story – lessons of resilience, perseverance, and the unwavering belief in one’s vision. His journey serves as a reminder that success knows no bounds when driven by passion and purpose. Indeed, Pema Tshering’s case study stands as a timeless testament to the boundless potential that lies within each of us, waiting to be unleashed with courage and conviction.
Pema Tshering is an unassuming man who is driving around in a flashy Mercedes that costs as much as a
building of a decent size. You would never imagine his life of going hungry more often than most children while growing up in a family of five siblings with a mother who was loving but an alcohol addict. His father was a humble factory worker, and he recollects that they never had enough to eat or wear while growing up.
However, he fondly remembers the family’s efforts and especially his mother’s sacrifices to provide for the
family and to ensure that her children were able to attend schools to secure a better future than her own. Today, Pema Tshering did not disappoint his mother and She would certainly be very proud to see her son own a chain of handicraft shops, Tools stores, a tour company, and a premium car rental company, employing more than 80 staffs.
His story is one of life’s paradoxes, a tragedy that resulted in the most defining decision in his life. He recollects that in the year 1998 when he was only years old and studying in class VIII, his mother passed away in her sleep. Pema Tshering and his siblings were left with nothing much as their mother was only a babysitter for a Swiss expat family and she never saved anything due to her alcoholic addiction. While the funeral rites and after-death rituals were performed with the support of the family members, the children’s future remained uncertain as the main breadwinner as his mother was the main breadwinner of
the family.
He could not continue his formal education and with the help of his maternal uncle who was himself being supported by a small job in Thimphu, managed to get admission in the Zorig-Chusum Institute at Kawajangsa.
After six years he graduated from the institute with a specialization in traditional arts and paintings in 2006 and worked as an intern in the King’s Coronation project team for the traditional painting team in 2007. His particular interest was in traditional Buddhist Thangkas and by any standard he was a very accomplished painter.
Pema Tshering’s intuitive sense of opportunity and sound entrepreneurial judgment kicked in when the
most memorable inflection moment took place in Bhutan in 2008 with the crowning of a young King
who emphatically announced the youth’s future in the country. He was inspired by the moment, and he saw the opportunity right when he was in a state of a dilemma of whether to accept a regular job in a painting studio like most of his classmates.
However, Pema Tshering did something that most of us would never dare considering the hardships
he grew up with and without any savings or family members in a position to support him in the pursuit
of his entrepreneurial dream. He decided to become an entrepreneur and started his High-Quality Thangka Painting studio with Nu. 20,000/- he borrowed for the purpose from a close friend who was his senior at the painting school.
He decided to launch his business in 2008 after observing so many important guests expected to visit the country during the coronation and the general buzz created by the historical events unfolding in the country that promoted Bhutan as a must-visit place in the tourism circuits around the world.
He established his High-Quality Thangka studio near the traditional paper manufacturing unit as he considered it a strategic location because of the tourists visiting the paper factory. He was able to source “thirteen paintings” for the opening of his handicraft shop as he had hardly any money to fill up his studio.
The 13 paintings were sold out in less than a week and he instantly knew the potential of his business. His painting studio did very well and in a few years, he expanded his Thangka painting shops in Paro, Chimi Lhakhang, Gangtey, and Bumthang.
He also started his Happiness Bhutan tour company to further consolidate his presence in the tourism sector. He also started a High-Quality Car rental company that operates a fleet of high-end SUVs and luxury coaster buses. He caters to high-end guests in tourism and international agencies’ guests including
UN offices in Bhutan. He is already planning to expand this company with the expected government commitment to bring in 300,000 tourists this year.
While his business in the sale of traditional paintings was doing extremely well, the earthquake in Nepal and political unrest in Thailand impacted the tourism inflow into Bhutan and he considered other business opportunities insulated from the happenings outside Bhutan.
He identified a karaoke business and established “Hitokara” karaoke to ensure a steady source of income during times of such disruptions in the tourism sector. Similarly, in 2019 when the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world tourism and travel industry, Pema Tshering had to think fast as he didn’t want to retrench any of his staff, and he wanted an alternative source of income. The pandemic literally wiped-out tourism in Bhutan and the karaoke business which he planned as insurance for such eventualities in the tourism industry was also severely impacted by the lockdowns and other covid-19 control measures put in place by the government.
Therefore, using technology and online resources, he got the idea of importing and selling power tools to the construction workers and the farmers in the country. He started the High-Quality Enterprise store that was simultaneously established in all the High-Quality Thangka stores in the country. He managed to negotiate dealership contracts with world well-known brands such as Bosch from India, Kesebi from China, and Yato from Poland. Today the tools business is also a great success and credit to his instinctive response to the market situation to adopt and be agile. He proudly states that he did not fire a single staff during the pandemic, and they are still with him today working for the various companies he established.
As a social responsibility and with a great sense of wanting to give back to society through youth engagements, he started the High-Quality Football Club which competed in Bhutan’s premier Club football league. He was able to employ and promote youth talents in sports through the funding of his football club.
Today, Pema Tshering is the owner and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of a group of innovative companies that has encompassed various strategic portfolios from Tourism to the tools and entertainment industry. He employs 85 people, and he is a happy family man to whom balancing time for his businesses and family has become a priority for success in both. When asked if he has the plan to establish any more companies, he smiles and says, “You will come to know when I start one”.
Pema Tshering is a close relative. When I complain about the life of an entrepreneur, he always reminds me that he started his business with an empty pocket and without any business degree like me. I am someone who is not so easily inspired by other people’s performances and someone with a very good amount of ego boosted by my many degrees from recognized international universities abroad obtained on scholarship programs.
However, Mr. Pema’s story honestly humbles me as a person. It reconfirms the fact that entrepreneurship is for anyone with or without any formal degree and that the success of an entrepreneur is ensured by one’s ability to recognize the opportunity, dare to take risks be determined to work hard, and always be original in how you conduct your business.
As a final part of this article, I asked him for his advice and one secret that would make me rich like him. He smiled and whispered “Acho, you are an intelligent man, I am never going to spill my secret to you about my business” jokingly quoting the age-old saying that “if you share your knowledge with others,
they will take all the credit and you will have languished licking your wound to heal for your stupidity.
On a serious note, his sincere advice to every entrepreneur is to “be smart and use your brain always for without thinking brain you will always end up being a robot and working for others”. This is classic Mr. Pema Tshering the entrepreneur and the owner of High-Quality Group of businesses.
Contributed by
Entrepreneur Ugyen Dendrup
Co-founder of Serka Cheese Plant
