I have a business idea that I previously intended to execute with 30 million naira. Some elderly friends of mine complained that that amount was just too big to start with. Somehow, I stumbled on another idea to make it a global business venture and to achieve that I need at least 65 million dollars. Now they think am crazy.

Everybody thinks am crazy. But looking at the history of all great men that achieved something great in this life, Thomas Edison, Issac Newton, The Wright Brothers, e.t.c., people taught they were crazy when they heard their idea. I know this idea of my mine is crazy but it would definitely produce a sure-fire success.

So am asking the house, is it really wrong to start small? Does that mean that if you start big, there is a 100% chance that that project would be a failure?

There's no business, no matter how confident or positive you are about it, that is devoid of risks. New businesses are in addition to those risks also exposed to the risk of 'just starting'.

There's no business that doesn't have its tricks or lessons to teach its practitioners. Invariably, business owners must learn from their mistakes. A mistake can make or mar a business. All things being equal, the bigger the size of a business, the more the impact a mistake (or a risk crystalizing) is likely to have.

This is why it is usually advised that you start small, make your mistakes, learn from them and move on to greatness.

I wish you well.

90% of businesses fail in d 1st yr, u might want to do your research 1st,

if you start big, you fall big and fail big time.
start small so that you can understand the entire rudiment of the business.
a word is enough for the wise

Check it out
www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-790008.0.html

My advice is that you should start on a scale that you can manage effectively, you can then grow it gradually, or let it grow naturaly on it's own to that size that you so desire. The most important thing is for you not to loose focus and dream. You got to know the learning curve. Good luck.

Otunbakay:

My advice is that you should start on a scale that you can manage effectively, you can then grow it gradually, or let it grow naturaly on it's own to that size that you so desire. The most important thing is for you not to loose focus and dream. You got to know the learning curve. Good luck.

This is just the truth.

OP, those looking at you like you're crazy are darn RIGHT. YOU ARE CRAZY!!!

N30million? Dude what the hell is wrong with you? Look, a lot of business fail during their first year of start-up, that is a known and established fact. Advice start out preferably and like someone said a standard size of operation, run the business for the next 2years and if you survive, then expand on the "global" level. Obviously you want to make sure that you have your long term strategy set in place and with financing (not dream financing). Starting out huge puts you a risk of pitfalls that you cannot overcome should you stumble on them. Besides, I don't mean to pry but what is this idea of yours?

Nothing wrong in starting big my brother. i started mine with 10 Billion Naira

i laugh- from the way you sound ,it seems like u are going to loose all that money if u lay your hands on it but before i conclude can you answer the following questions?

how much do you manage in your business at the mo?
trust me managing 300k and 30 million are two different things.

2) have you considered the reality that you just might loose this cash

3) are you sure you are not really crazy?(pls dont take dis as an insult)

every inventor / great business man might have been thought to be crazy at some point but very few crazy people build big businesses- excellent business men are CONSRUCTIVELY pessimistic contrary to what many think
note this does not mean that your vision is faulty just that ,

My advice is this, if that amount is all what you have in bank i will say is not a good idea.
But if is not then is good idea but depending on the kind of buss u wanna run
I have work with some of those Indians i no how much they do spend on Establishment that is why they always earn big.

You can start big if you have adequate information about what you want to go into. Information is power. The question you need to ask yourself if uve got this information.

Nothing wrong expect for money, information plus adequate research and experience

Mr Poster, it depends on the industry you want to get into. Usually it is better to start small and lean, especially if you don't have prior experience in the business. But, there are some industries that just won't let you start small like the steel making or cement making. If you start small in these businesses, you won't have efficiency and economies of scale and you'll most likely fail. It is up to you to determine which model will be help you become profitable or at least sustainable in the shortest period.

"Big" is relative. If the business you are going into is expected to be worth billions of dollars in say 10 years, then 30 million naira (less than 1 million dollars) is just a 'seed'.

I wanna thank you all for your responses, especially Mr. Efisher. You seem to be speaking my language.

Actually, I intend to go into the entertainment business. Am working on making a movie next year. Its going to be an action movie, something Nollywood has never seen before, and I need a minimum of N30 million to make it a huge success. I was discussing this with a more elderly friend of mine and he said since it's going to be my debut film, I should be looking at N5 million.

Funny enough, there is nothing that can be achieved with with N5 million, except you want to do an Alaba movie. I want to shoot with celluloid and market it beyond the Africa cinemas into Europe and beyond. What can I do with N5 million, since I to make it Hollywood standard? He said it would be easier to get sponsors for a N5 million project than a N30 million. But am not looking for sponsors, am looking for investors cos I know it will yield at least 200% turnover.

99% of Nollywood movies are junk; and that's majorly because of insufficient funds and poor brains. I've got the brains, now I need the funds. What's wrong with that?
James Cameron made $2 billion from Avatar movie within a year, and Avatar was shot with over $237 million. Do you guys now see how it works? In the movie world, when you have a great blockbuster idea, 99% of the time, you need a lot of funds to make it a reality. Except you want to just dwell in mediocrity like my Alaba brothers.

So guys, what do you think about this movie venture of mine?

Do you have experience with turning profit from only a little?
30 million Naira is serious gbese if you fuk up. So young bravado aside, be sure you've got a hang on turning coal into diamond with the smaller amounts before jumping onto bigger games.

Dude let me paint you a scenario.


If your James Cameron or Spielberg even walks up to me, and says "I have this idea, blah blah blah, I need $200m to make it work can you invest?"
Omo, I'll use my family for blood money and sell my village to boot just to get in on that action.

what am trying to say is, these folks have made a name for themselves and have what it takes to push any project.

another eg. Hancock; that Will Smith flick was a critical failure (hated it myself) but still scored big at the box office (saw it twice with two different chicks @ Genesis and na me been dey pay, pop corn, big coke et al)

Why: cos Will Smith is bankable (sure those two chics wanted to scream his name whilst i was shafting em) and has the track record.


so make i ask

who sabi you?
how many Aki & paw paw movies have you done?

Guy, I'll give Teco Benson my annual salary before I can even give you N5k and thats a fraction of what i spend on TGIF.

BTW: i work in finance and i'm about closing a N500m financing deal  for a new Cinema chain about to hit y'all in the months ahead.

why would i do that? cos the promoters have a track record in cinema (over 50yrs combined) and know whats up and are known in enertainment circles (globally and locally),

again i ask WHO SABI YOU?

WETIN U DON DO BEFORE?

OP never you go in to any business without a proper understanding and experience weather big or small.however it is more wiser to start small when you dont have the much needed experience. Imagine a month old baby sitting on top of a ladder,Na him bi say he wan break both legs and arms,

You must be kidding to say you are investing 30mil in to movie that you have no single experience for,I suggest you start with your village film first,then you can graduate to alaba film before nollywood,

big money, big risk and either big lost or big gain. so which can u manage well?

@op, how old are you. You sound like some movie freak. Anyway, i hope u know there is no such thing as sure sucess. For every sucessful avatar, there are tens of avatars that have failed, but no one hears these stories of failure. You might want to take a break from mind-floating in space, come down to earth, i am sure you will say to yourself: GOOD LORD, WHAT WAS I THINKING !!

fried-rice:

Nothing wrong in starting big my brother. i started mine with 10 Billion Naira

hehehe, talking of sarcarsm,

Now I see where u are coming from. The entertainment business in Nigeria is a very tricky one. I don't think the industry is matured enough to handle you raw and fresh so what I will advise in this case is for u to get yourself hooked up to a big player in the industry. Until u get the buy-in of people who know the ropes like Genevieve, Olu Jacobs, or one of the mega producers, I will not ask u to go ahead. The movie industry in Nigeria is full of "Golaiths" so if you must go in, u must be ready to face them. Arm yourself to the teeth cos u are in for a long ride. Also do some research on the movies that have come out successfully and see what they did. Cheers

the risk is much more high,
it will cloud your brain because you will  be fighting a lot of challenges
you will lack experience,so that when you crash down you wont be able to raise up
the way to top is from down

best regard,

[url=http://[/url]www.gebuka..com[url][/url]

diggler:

Dude let me paint you a scenario.


If your James Cameron or Spielberg even walks up to me, and says "I have this idea, blah blah blah, I need $200m to make it work can you invest?"
Omo, I'll use my family for blood money and sell my village to boot just to get in on that action.

what am trying to say is, these folks have made a name for themselves and have what it takes to push any project.

another eg. Hancock; that Will Smith flick was a critical failure (hated it myself) but still scored big at the box office (saw it twice with two different chicks @ Genesis and na me been dey pay, pop corn, big coke et al)

Why: cos Will Smith is bankable (sure those two chics wanted to scream his name whilst i was shafting em) and has the track record.


so make i ask

who sabi you?
how many Aki & paw paw movies have you done?

Guy, I'll give Teco Benson my annual salary before I can even give you N5k and thats a fraction of what i spend on TGIF.

BTW: i work in finance and i'm about closing a N500m financing deal  for a new Cinema chain about to hit y'all in the months ahead.

why would i do that? cos the promoters have a track record in cinema (over 50yrs combined) and know whats up and are known in enertainment circles (globally and locally),

again i ask WHO SABI YOU?

WETIN U DON DO BEFORE?

u have said it all!!! @OP, must u like an advice because it is favourable to you? The choice is yours.

diggler:

Dude let me paint you a scenario.


If your James Cameron or Spielberg even walks up to me, and says "I have this idea, blah blah blah, I need $200m to make it work can you invest?"
Omo, I'll use my family for blood money and sell my village to boot just to get in on that action.

what am trying to say is, these folks have made a name for themselves and have what it takes to push any project.

another eg. Hancock; that Will Smith flick was a critical failure (hated it myself) but still scored big at the box office (saw it twice with two different chicks @ Genesis and na me been dey pay, pop corn, big coke et al)

Why: cos Will Smith is bankable (sure those two chics wanted to scream his name whilst i was shafting em) and has the track record.


so make i ask

who sabi you?
how many Aki & paw paw movies have you done?

Guy, I'll give Teco Benson my annual salary before I can even give you N5k and thats a fraction of what i spend on TGIF.

BTW: i work in finance and i'm about closing a N500m financing deal  for a new Cinema chain about to hit y'all in the months ahead.

why would i do that? cos the promoters have a track record in cinema (over 50yrs combined) and know whats up and are known in enertainment circles (globally and locally),

again i ask WHO SABI YOU?

WETIN U DON DO BEFORE?

u have said it all!!! @OP, must u like an advice because it is favourable to you? The choice is yours.

brother speak with a big time consultant

obongproff:

I have a business idea that I previously intended to execute with 30 million naira. Some elderly friends of mine complained that that amount was just too big to start with. Somehow, I stumbled on another idea to make it a global business venture and to achieve that I need at least 65 million dollars. Now they think am crazy.

Everybody thinks am crazy. But looking at the history of all great men that achieved something great in this life, Thomas Edison, Issac Newton, The Wright Brothers, e.t.c., people taught they were crazy when they heard their idea. I know this idea of my mine is crazy but it would definitely produce a sure-fire success.

So am asking the house, is it really wrong to start small? Does that mean that if you start big, there is a 100% chance that that project would be a failure?

I am pleased with some of the responses given so far.My guy,there are so many things wrong starting big.But amongst all other things I will like to let you know that God our creator started small ie one man and one woman it is not that he could not create the world as it is today or what the world will be like tomorrow but it is a design for u and I to replicate.

There's nothing with you starting big except that where will you get finance for your business.and after a year it doesn't pick up what do you do then?

Really there is nothing bad about starting big, but you know somehow our environment matters and have an influence on the way we think and act;

and most of our thoughts becomes our words and our words becomes our action.

Everything can be hanged on our Predispositions and conceptional dispositions.

Most of us grow in an environment where our family and friends preach little beginning,

meanwhile many people experience such growth condition too,

so when you dream big and say it out, you get discouraged.

Even many are psychically alienated, so watch who you discuss your dreams with