Let's talk about meeting people's needs and making money.

I know of people that sell Ewa Aganyin and have ended up
having their own buildings. I know people sell Akara and make
fortune from that business as well. I know someone selling
Moin Moin at a corner and has succeeded in funding the education
of her kids and buildings built from that business so many will
over look.

You need examples of those that started small right here in Nigeria?

Dr. Sunny Ojeagbase of Complete Football started Complete Football with
#2, 500 in 1984 and you all know the story now. Dr. S. I. Makinwa started
Techo Quip at the road side in 1989 with #650 and TQ is worth Hundreds of
Millions today.

There are so much to do in Nigeria and Money SHOULDN'T be our excuse.

oga admin nice topic!!! white collar job? hell no!!!! being independent of what i do means am minding my own business and am in freedom of being thinkin i might get fired anyday and also am a boss of myself so i wont look up 2 some1 2 tell me what 2 do coz i no wats best for mi and my business. my advice is dat b4 u get into a business dat interest you, RESEACH and LEARN!!! wat u will expect from the business dont just go into a business dat u dont no anytin abt. LEARN and set your PLANS and u just gatta 2 wit for the bucks 2 be in your account and u just kip smiling and as some1 said dat u can MERGE with some1 dat has d same business interest as you it pays on a long run 2 have a 10% in a multimillion naira business than being on your own wit just a 200,000 business but make sure that u watch out so dat u wont fail into 1 of them scammers. and if u dont trust any1 dats wants 2 join ur business remember to mind your own business!!!!!111

nice topic ,
but not to mix things up, the target market of every business venture differs by the nature and situation of the business. when the biz is into 'luxury goods' (WANTS) then, target those with High Disposable Income (i.e. THE RICH) is the right way to go. But when the biz is into 'Neccessities' then the target market would not neccessarily be segregated on the basis of disposable income (i.e. Rich or Poor).

Generally business is an adventure where twist and turns, ups and downs, boom and bursts, are common place, so the general advice from me is that, if you are not cut-out for[b] suprises[/b] then just stick to the certainty of a monthly pay cheque!

Don't forget to download the bootstrapper's guide: https://www.nairaland.com/img/bootstrap.pdf

Seun, Thanks for the tips. Some of us in the corporate world are tired of sacrificing a whole day for peanuts that could hardly take care of one's needs. One would really love to be on his own. But the financial constraints will always be there to contend with. Is there anywhere we can secure cheap funds to start a biz? I like to know pls.

Thanks Seun. Your link to the boothstapping piece was surely a must read. No wonder i find myself always on nairaland all day. Not a single second i have invested here that has not yielded wonderfull fruits. God bless Nairaland.

intresting seun ! Big ups

Here is my little gift to you (hope u don't have it already  )  ^{even if you do i gues someone else would can use it}

[s]http://www.mindjuicezine.com/resc.html#Free%20ebooks[/s] (link no longer valid, visit www.mindjuiceplus.com)

The same year I graduated from the University, I read Kiyosaki's Rich Dad Poor Dad.
A CLASSIC! One important lessons I learnt was: MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS!

A whole chapter was devoted to this advice and I took everything to heart. I am
minding my own business and I am enjoying all the opportunities and the freedom. 

McDoe:

Seun, Thanks for the tips. Some of us in the corporate world are tired of sacrificing a whole day for peanuts that could hardly take care of one's needs.

What are you going to do about this? Complaint won't solve anything my guy. If
you don't like what you are doing, then DO SOMETHING ELSE!

One would really love to be on his own. But the financial constraints will always be there to contend with. Is there anywhere we can secure cheap funds to start a biz? I like to know please.

What if you get the money and you lose it? I have always maintained that we actually
don't need all the fortress of this world to get something going. It will SURELY be TOUGH
but another lesson I learnt years back is: TOUGH TIMES DON'T LAST, BUT TOUGH
PEOPLE DO! If you want to be TOUGH, you need to pass through all the difficulties. 

Well for those who want to mind their business but don't know how, visit
the link below:

http://www.mindyourownbiz.org/default.shtml

I am sure it will help someone.

@ Bolani
intresting analysis. :|



anyway learning never ends and yeah Mcdoe
Do something about the job disatisfaction.Like Seun religiously preachs Money to start is not the most important issue.

Make up your mind and get you butt and brain working!


Stop enslav'g yourself get started ASAP please -you got one life!

Ope,

I am sure you know you still owe me something

You know what? I have come to understand that when people see
reasons why they can't do anything, it is not just the excuses that
they see, the MAJOR factor is FEAR.

There is what we call fear of the unknown. Somebody told me that
when I want to do anything worthwhile, instead of asking what it,
so so and so didn't happen, I should be asking myself what if things
work out in my favour.

Whenever I want to do anything, I don't look at what I don't have, I
focus more on what I have at my disposal to make things happen.

The GREATEST fear there is, is FEAR of FAILURE and you know a lesson
I learnt so many years back that helped me conquer my fear? I want to
share it with all and I am sure it will help so many if you can see it from
my own point of view:

"WHOEVER HAS CONQUERED FEAR, HAS CONQUERED FAILURE!"

That has being my watchword for years and failure has NEVER being an
option for me. We can all be liberated from our fears if we choose to.
Instead of allowing fear run us down, why can't we allow FAITH be our
watchword? The antidote for all FEARS is FAITH!

There is ASTOUNDING POWER in having faith. Check the article below
to check the power out:

http://naijamotivation.com/?p=19

my guy i totally agree with u that it pays better to be self employed than having a pay job most of the time. But it all boils down to the training one gets inn the course of growing up. take our ibo brothers ans sisters for example, they thrive better owning buisnesses because their paerents have trained them in that line through owing a biz or too. so the crux of the matter here is that in the course of getting a formal educetion our young peolple should be trained on enterprenurship skills to help them to be self employed if they wont to. cheers all

I agree with the setiments shared by so many people about the topic and it is true to say that it is easier said than done. There is a word that best ecapsulates the requirement for one benturing out and it is called 'guts' I have had friends who,trying to ape my partners and I, dumbe their jobs and started out on buisness with all the enthusiasm in the world.months later, they are writing application for empployment. One of them is a very classic case cos he was always telling us what decision to take before he decided to start his own business. Within a few months, he had gone back to  apid employment with the intention to 'return back soon'. Needless to say his text book advices have become non existent.

Staring one's business comes with the initial sacrifice that any great thing requires. I know days when we (the three of us partners) will go home and be wondering where money will come from the next day to run the office but we were faithful to our dream and we have always had great faith in God, that He will do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think.


We are not there yet but the experiences of the last few years have expanded our minds and the activities of people like Jimoh Ibrahim and the likes have shown that we can get there too.


Bottomline:  IT is all left to you. It may not be smooth but you need guts to hang in there with your dream. you probably will realize that the probelms you will face may not be adequately provided for in those management textbooks. When people who have taken the plunge speak to each other, there are isues not adequately commmunicated in any language that they are saying. It is the cry of the Hman Spirit which can only be interpreted as " I can do it!'

@nna,

Yes you are right, but I believe charting a course for one's life is a personal thing.
You may have various reasons why you don't want to do somethings, but it is
important for you to know that at the end of the day, you will bear the brunt of the
whole matter.

I have seen parents force their children do things their own way, but at the end of
the day, the boy-is-good will always end up facing the music all alone when the
parents are long gone. So it is not about what our parents want or the environment
we were brought up, it is ALL ABOUT US!

Seun, please were you brought up by Igbos? bCoz I wasn't and I am running my own
show

These are excellent tips for anyone thinking of starting their own business.

Entrepreneurship is the way forward

visit www.jobvacanciesnigeria.com and look out for the empowerment model icon

Some of us might benefit from it

Cheers

Great guys. All it takes is Idea. have you heard of 22usd.com? well if you haven't pls
do and you will see am earning BIG TIME and it's for real.

Nice work seun.
For a start one must be an apprentice b4 becoming a Master.
The process time of learening a trade or understudying a person must be timed so you don't work all your life serving somebody.
If you must work for yourself you must have saved while working for others so you can start up something.
You can check abook called Rich Dad and Poor Dad for a classical example of self employment tips.
Profits will make you a fortune while a wage will only make you a living.
So what do you think, it is still better to be self employed

Does any body have an idea when the nim results for 2006 will be out?

For a start one must be an apprentice before becoming a Master.

"Must"? How can this be so when I have never worked for any webmaster, and I'm running my show on my own?

Well, amayo, I'm interested in running the sort of company you want to work for, but trust is the problem.

Great Thread Sen

I think some of these pit falls should be avoided by aspiring and wanna be entrepreneurs:

Not having a business plan

Many entrepreneurs carry their business idea and the critical planning elements in their heads. They get excited and very wrapped up in their business venture without enough thoughtful consideration, and without evaluating the potential and the pitfalls. Exploration of the product market is critical. A feasibility study is
often the first step.
A business plan should be used as a management
guide to develop and to manage a business. If the
business is a micro business, the plan can be relatively short. It should, however, be factual and capture the essence and direction of the business.


Selling to the wrong people
it’s a waste of time to try selling to people who simply don’t need what you’re offering.
Selling to the wrong people includes trying to sell to everyone.

Spending too much money
Until you have a steady cashflow coming in, don’t spend your precious start-up cash unless it’s absolutely necessary.

Spending too little money
It’s also a mistake to be too stingy with your cash. Don’t let frugality get in the way of efficiency. Take advantage of skilled contractors who can do certain tasks more efficiently than you can.


Putting on a fake front
If you’re a newly self-employed person, don’t pretend you’re anything else. Price your products and services fairly for your level of skills and talents. Some newly self-employed people think they must become actors. The business they promote to the world is pure fantasy. Trying to fool your customers in this manner will only backfire.

Going against your intuition
Intuition is just as important in business as it is in other settings. You’d be amazed at how many gigantic corporate deals are green-lighted or red-lighted because of some CEO’s gut feeling.

Being too formal


Failing to focus on value creation

Poor management and investment skill

To truly understand entrepreneurship, you should read these articles: http://www.paulgraham.com/articles.html

Common Self Employment Mistakes:

1. Selling to the wrong people.

2. Spending too much money.

3. Spending too little money.

4. Putting on a fake front.

5. Assuming a signed contract will be honored.

6. Going against your intuition.

7. Being too formal.

8. Sacrificing your personality quirks.

9. Failing to focus on value creation.

10. Failing to optimize.

http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2006/04/10-stupid-mistakes-made-by-the-newly-self-employed/

Self employment means you control your financial future. Your income is not limited to what the boss is willing to pay you, which is usually not your worth (you're only making money for him). Work the hours you want when you want and forget about setting your alarm clock unless you want to. Enjoy a lifestyle of your choice.  My business is network marketing and my income is not limited to my zip code. My company has expanded to Nigeria where we are adding 100's of new business partners each day who have made the decision to take control of their financial future. We help people save on telecommunication products.


wilsherteam@gmail.com

i luv d contributions made by all and sundry, i think i ve gathered some wealth of knowledge. keep the ball rolling, am playin along.
Cheers!!

Okay,


I just stumbled into this thread and I think this is very important at times like this.

History has shown that great businesses have been formed and ideas generated in times of recession.

I can only encourage everyone to tow the same line.

I recently read a NYT article and came to a conclusion to constantly ask myself each day,

What would I say were my achievement(s) when I am eighty years old if the Lord tarries and if I tarry?

To the bankers who lost their jobs, If u can raise 100MM annual target for the banks, why can't u raise 2-5 MM to start that business idea,

This post thrend is a learning ground for any serious minded entrepreneur to be.

Wow,
It's really nice to have this kind of stuff here, The tips you provided are not only helpful for those who are looking for self employment,but also helpful for those who are going with any kind of  Business,

Thanks again,

export control training

14 years later, this tread is still useful.

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