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Nairaland Forum / Nairaland / General / Business / Advice needed : How do I successfully manage my bakery In Nigeria from the UK?. (26105 Views)
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Re: Advice needed : How do I successfully manage my bakery In Nigeria from the UK?. by AVECDEO: 11:49am On Apr 04, 2013 |
Hello, Candidly ,if you want to guard against/invest in the future while you are abroad..why not simply invest your money in the capital market and buy shares. Get a reputable stokbroking firm t buy you blue chip company shares such as GTB,UBA,FIRST BANK,NESTLE,OKOMU OIL and other good stocks. Thank you. |
Re: Advice needed : How do I successfully manage my bakery In Nigeria from the UK?. by bebe2(f): 11:52am On Apr 04, 2013 |
bigheart2013: Yes you can! I asked a similar question before on Nairaland and got very useful tips. Here's the thing. thank u, am giving it 8mths to improve if it doesn't I will rent it out as stated in option 13. 2 Likes |
Re: Advice needed : How do I successfully manage my bakery In Nigeria from the UK?. by bebe2(f): 11:54am On Apr 04, 2013 |
strangest: We can set up cctv cameras in your bakery and route it through IP servers for you to be monitoring your bakery anywhere in the world. Lol... Only you that knows how hard to get the money to open a business can successfully control it, others will always see your business as a way to better themselves tell me more about this, sounds interesting 2 Likes |
Re: Advice needed : How do I successfully manage my bakery In Nigeria from the UK?. by MhizLee(f): 11:56am On Apr 04, 2013 |
Seconded by me! ![]() bigheart2013: Yes you can! I asked a similar question before on Nairaland and got very useful tips. Here's the thing. 1 Like |
Re: Advice needed : How do I successfully manage my bakery In Nigeria from the UK?. by Krucifax(m): 11:56am On Apr 04, 2013 |
bjdon: My dear, I am from Edo like you shall I address as you as my sister. Please take my words for what they are, the words of advice from a brother. Consider either going back to Nigeria to manage this business yourself, or cut your losses and stop now. I hate to tell you this but I've seen it so many time before and it just dose not work. Nobody can run your business like you. Even your blood relative may not have the motivation or drive to go the extra mile required to run a business and make good profits. When you consider that Nigeria can be a very tough place to do business you have to go the extra mile. I would advice you to focus on static business like real estate which requires minimal intervention. This is the best advice on here so far. A business has day to day matters of urgency that require the care and attention of the owner. Only you can act in your own best interest!! Distance small business management especially in Nigeria is normally a disaster waiting to happen! My advice is pick one of the three mentioned below; 1.Sell Up. 2.Close Down. 3.Go and run it yourself. |
Re: Advice needed : How do I successfully manage my bakery In Nigeria from the UK?. by Josegun(m): 11:57am On Apr 04, 2013 |
Rent it out to me, let share profit or which ever way u think is better and let strike a deal. I have worked in that environment as an auditor for years. |
Re: Advice needed : How do I successfully manage my bakery In Nigeria from the UK?. by bebe2(f): 12:03pm On Apr 04, 2013 |
PBundles: Join the (growing) list of those who have been there done that. Im very sorry to tell you that your business is being mismanaged. I wouldnt go as far as saying you are being ripped off as I dont know your family or those in involved. I did something similar a while back investing a little more than what you have, only to disciver that it was run into the ground. The problem is that you are seen as a financer, so if the money is finished we will simply ask for more. Its even possible that any profit being made are being used elsewhere. When they say its cost NGN 15k, be rest assured it cost NGN 10k but they have added lunch, transport, jarra etc etc etc etc. The reason why workers dont stay is most likley the person in charge is not coming to work on time and is not professional so why should the workers. I feel for you badly as I can imagine what you are going thru thinking I can achieve something and also help my family. This only suceeds in very rare cases. The few I know succeed because the person makes suprises visits a couple of times in the year and has a financil advisor who he has check up every now and then. The worst part is you better not complain. If you do you will hear what I heard... OK IF THEY HAVE EATEN THE MONEY IS IT NOT IN THE FAMILY. God bless u my dear, everything they will call me, so I thot, open a business and we can all benefit from it. But am still being asked for school fees and all sorts. I have 4 kids of my own. If I worry about just me and my nuclear family I will be very rich I will holiday all over the world but I have to worry about my nieces and nephews. I can't ignore them, they were born in my presence, cared for them, fed them bath them, I love them as my own but by the time I pay this pay dat, I start struggling to meet my own bills. I tire jare 3 Likes |
Re: Advice needed : How do I successfully manage my bakery In Nigeria from the UK?. by Ama28(f): 12:07pm On Apr 04, 2013 |
I have been reading responses here because I think I need such tips too. But they are not really forth coming. Am home here but I need to hand over a business to someone to face my career, its not easy! What I can say is, get an experienced manager and accountant to help her. This business can work I'd she has strong hands to help out! For mine I intend to poke workers with experience from similar business owners and get them into mine. This is going to cost me more because I will pay higher but they will bring their experience and customers! Do thorough book review and look for innovative strategies to sell. Hope I was helpful! Goodluck And I think its a little early to expect such income! Those who mention that they make millions in bakeries here didn't tell us how many years they have been in the business, their coverage and competitors! 1 Like |
Re: Advice needed : How do I successfully manage my bakery In Nigeria from the UK?. by Nobody: 12:14pm On Apr 04, 2013 |
I remember I bought a car sometimes past and gave out for transport business, the experience is not what u want to hear, horrible. The advise is well said your presence 100% matters. |
Re: Advice needed : How do I successfully manage my bakery In Nigeria from the UK?. by Nobody: 12:15pm On Apr 04, 2013 |
My honest advice would be to lock up shop till you are ready to come back and manage it yourself. While you are in the uk I'd also suggest you enrol in some proper culinary school or whatever it is called for baking. I know there are a couple. Can't remember names now. There's a huge market for bread in Nigeria. If you can offer something different from the likes of shoprite and underground (in yaba and apapa) your bank manager will be your best friend. |
Re: Advice needed : How do I successfully manage my bakery In Nigeria from the UK?. by Nobody: 12:27pm On Apr 04, 2013 |
bebe2:instead of you trying to convince her, you are making rubbish of her genuine concerns. Bini people when no de use juju play. I believe u even told a lie by saying you don't believe in juju. In the long run, you seem more like someone who wants to tell us she has a bakery than someone looking for feasible business solution. |
Re: Advice needed : How do I successfully manage my bakery In Nigeria from the UK?. by dnative(m): 12:28pm On Apr 04, 2013 |
'Running a business in Nigeria' and 'while living abroad' should never occur in the same sentence. It will require pure genuis or extraordinary luck to make it work. Do not try it! Many have been there (moi included) and always got burnt - it's usually the same ol' story - money down the drain. N4m is about £15k, look around you in the UK, there are things you could do with that amount that will bring you a decent margin and still secure your capital. Seriously people living abroad need to learn looking around their host environment more for biz opportunities than the usual first thoughts "I must go back home to invest". Even in UK with all the taxes, bills etc, people still run business ventures successfully and turn a tidy margin. We should take a cue from the Asians as they seem to be doing this quite well. Save yourself the headache and tears down the line. Unless you are ready to move to Naija and run your biz, simply don't bother and look elsewhere. 1 Like |
Re: Advice needed : How do I successfully manage my bakery In Nigeria from the UK?. by bjdon: 12:36pm On Apr 04, 2013 |
bebe2: At some point you need to put yourself first. It's not easy and you come across as a very kind and caring person, but in all honesty you need to think of your own kids first. We all know how hard the UK is becoming. Assuming they are going to do University in the UK then you need to think having a lot set aside for them, so they don't end up with large student debt. I know it sounds harsh but that is the reality. My own parents did the same in the old days when things were good. We had all kinds of relatives staying with us, My dad would sponsor their education and later pick up the tab for the Wedding. By the time we the kids were ready for Uni money don finish and we had to struggle. We all paid for our so that taught me a very harsh lesson. SELF FIRST. 8 Likes |
Re: Advice needed : How do I successfully manage my bakery In Nigeria from the UK?. by bjdon: 12:37pm On Apr 04, 2013 |
dnative: 'Running a business in Nigeria' and 'while living abroad' should never occur in the same sentence. It will require pure genuis or extraordinary luck to make it work. Do not try it! Many have been there (moi included) and always got burnt - it's usually the same ol' story - money down the drain.Very well said. 2 Likes |
Re: Advice needed : How do I successfully manage my bakery In Nigeria from the UK?. by Rossikk(m): 12:39pm On Apr 04, 2013 |
You could have used that 4 million to build one small house in your hometown, or the nearest big town to it, and simply rented out the rooms and be collecting your rent without stress. ![]() 2 Likes |
Re: Advice needed : How do I successfully manage my bakery In Nigeria from the UK?. by ocheejemb: 12:45pm On Apr 04, 2013 |
My honest advice would be for you to go home at least for 3 months and see how things are happening yourself. Set everything in proper motion, and let everything be documented and accountable. |
Re: Advice needed : How do I successfully manage my bakery In Nigeria from the UK?. by ocheejemb: 12:47pm On Apr 04, 2013 |
dnative: 'Running a business in Nigeria' and 'while living abroad' should never occur in the same sentence. It will require pure genuis or extraordinary luck to make it work. Do not try it! Many have been there (moi included) and always got burnt - it's usually the same ol' story - money down the drain. It can work but its not easy. The UK and the 'abroad' in general are already very well developed. Why not try to develop home, if run properly this will not only create a few jobs but also give some tidy profit. 1 Like |
Re: Advice needed : How do I successfully manage my bakery In Nigeria from the UK?. by ocheejemb: 12:50pm On Apr 04, 2013 |
bigheart2013: Yes you can! I asked a similar question before on Nairaland and got very useful tips. Here's the thing. This is arguably the best post Ive ever ever read on Nairaland. Well done! 4 Likes |
Re: Advice needed : How do I successfully manage my bakery In Nigeria from the UK?. by amdman: 1:02pm On Apr 04, 2013 |
I think we need to take into cognizance the profit margin in bakery business generally, as profitability is based on volume. Due to stiff competition, profit margins are generally slim… about N2000 to N3000 per bag (after production expenses). Cost of N11,000+ per bag of flour is not that unreasonable depending on the quality of bread you are making. What you now need to do is increase your volume of sales. If you keep doing one bag daily, you will never make a profit. You need to grow the business to start doing 5 bags daily, and to do that, you need to re-jig your marketing strategy. Where in Benin is the bakery located and how do you sell presently (do you supply retailers or they come to buy from you?) On the other hand, you may want to lease the bakery to someone that will pay you a fixed/relative rate monthly. 1 Like |
Re: Advice needed : How do I successfully manage my bakery In Nigeria from the UK?. by Gooogle(m): 1:05pm On Apr 04, 2013 |
bebe2: I like this statement of yours, its obvious one of the reasons for this investment is to help your family.May be proceeds from this business would help them in their day to day issues. I would want to suggest, you hand over the business to everyone of them.Let them understand the size of investment, breakdown how proceeds should be shared and how much is yours at the end of the month. I tell you, every hand would be on deck to make the business work. They would be the directors themselves and make them understand if it fails, then nobody should ever disturb you. 2 Likes |
Re: Advice needed : How do I successfully manage my bakery In Nigeria from the UK?. by Nobody: 1:14pm On Apr 04, 2013 |
You are lucky it's a Bakery. My advice is always consider the amount of risk you are taking before taking on a business. If you do not have direct control, do only business with smaller risk and smaller profits too, better than nothing. My guess is that either your bakery is not competitive or someone one is stealing. either way, correcting it will involve more funds. Owning the Bakery from London will not work. So if it is still new, my advice is two options. 1. Sell the bakery outright and invest your money in Real Estate. of course with adequate care so not to be duped. 2. Set up a buy out arrangement with your Sister. She operates the Bakery with her funds and time, and pay you say a total of 6 Million over an investment time, say two three years and takes over ownership while you invest your money Real Estate. Why Real Estate? no need for Day to Day Management. |
Re: Advice needed : How do I successfully manage my bakery In Nigeria from the UK?. by jidewin(m): 1:47pm On Apr 04, 2013 |
bjdon: My dear, I am from Edo like you shall I address as you as my sister. Please take my words for what they are, the words of advice from a brother. Consider either going back to Nigeria to manage this business yourself, or cut your losses and stop now. I hate to tell you this but I've seen it so many time before and it just dose not work. Nobody can run your business like you. Even your blood relative may not have the motivation or drive to go the extra mile required to run a business and make good profits. When you consider that Nigeria can be a very tough place to do business you have to go the extra mile. I would advice you to focus on static business like real estate which requires minimal intervention.Very correct.Just what i was gonna say but you said it all. |
Re: Advice needed : How do I successfully manage my bakery In Nigeria from the UK?. by djsmoothy: 1:57pm On Apr 04, 2013 |
bigheart2013: Yes you can! I asked a similar question before on Nairaland and got very useful tips. Here's the thing.This is the best answer ever wow thanks for showing me the light God bless 2 Likes |
Re: Advice needed : How do I successfully manage my bakery In Nigeria from the UK?. by bebe2(f): 1:59pm On Apr 04, 2013 |
amdman: I think we need to take into cognizance the profit margin in bakery business generally, as profitability is based on volume. The bakery is in ikpoba hill, aduwawa. Our sales is not great, we just bought a van to help wit distribution. Bakers are not staying for long we ve been looking for bakery helper for sometime wit no luck. Once we register the van am hoping sales will increase. |
Re: Advice needed : How do I successfully manage my bakery In Nigeria from the UK?. by VirginFinder: 1:59pm On Apr 04, 2013 |
Nigerians are extremely ruinous people, most of them. They can't be trusted, not even your family members. By the time you return home to inspect your business, your sister would've built a house, bought 2 cars and opened her own bakery off your sweat. Who is a fool? How can you stay over and expect someone to do all the hard work for you just like that. Nigerians are not that human o. Even under your very watchful eyes, you'll find them trying to defraud you not to talk about when you are miles away. Madam, you are on a long thing! 4 Likes |
Re: Advice needed : How do I successfully manage my bakery In Nigeria from the UK?. by Fhemmmy: 2:02pm On Apr 04, 2013 |
naijacutee: One question: Does your sister officially receive a salary? That is very true and from my experience, businesses with family is never the best way to go - Not because they wanna ruin the business oh but just cos of the nature of how we handle money . . . No family will be in-charge of money and then, they need ordinary 1000 Naira to take care of some immediate needs and wont touch the business money, and you will agree that in business, you dont touch the business money anyhow. 1 Like |
Re: Advice needed : How do I successfully manage my bakery In Nigeria from the UK?. by Tonyking: 2:15pm On Apr 04, 2013 |
From my own experience, advice yourself on what you want in ur bizness because it is not easy to quit ur sister from the bizness, i think you should engage her with a salary and employ a manager 4rm aside to oversee the business for you and set up a proper accounting system that will report everything regarding the income, expenditure then you can workout on how to get a good baker with creativity in respect of the style they should employed to attract the open market. |
Re: Advice needed : How do I successfully manage my bakery In Nigeria from the UK?. by omonnakoda: 2:19pm On Apr 04, 2013 |
That bakery that you have or the money you spent setting it up is not an investment and it is not business.You cannot make money from it.Instead think of that money as tuition payment for a very expensive education. Going into business with family is not wise.At all. At any rate a business like a bakery requires close management by the owner. Who is the owner of this bakery? What is your sister's role? She probably sees herself as the owner. My thinking is if you are in a position to do so give your sister the bakery if not liquidate it and accept your losses as "school fees" some lessons are costly. Never send money to Nigeria for business Never invest in a business you do not understand If you have savings and are not sure what to do with it invest in the stockmarket. If you are not sure how to go about it it is not so hard ; Ask your Bank or you can register online with a broker like TD http://www.tddirectinvesting.co.uk/ go to choosing an account and then choose Trading account. I will gladly give you advice on how to invest in the stockmarket for free though I will not recommend what you should buy. There are schemes where you can invest the same amount monthly instead of just leaving it in the bank. however like I said above if you do not understand a business don't put your money there and I advice people before you start buying shares educate yourself Alternatively if you go to Nigeria you can make arrangements to keep your money in a fixed deposit account where interest rates are good. Goodluck! |
Re: Advice needed : How do I successfully manage my bakery In Nigeria from the UK?. by pictures: 2:30pm On Apr 04, 2013 |
I left my business for a close person, in six months he rented a flat, got married. My advice is , go there when next on leave and work for a month. This will give you an idea of your profit margin or if no profit , then rent it out. 1 Like |
Re: Advice needed : How do I successfully manage my bakery In Nigeria from the UK?. by Profkenny1(m): 2:34pm On Apr 04, 2013 |
close down the business as long as you still want to stay in UK...I'm talking from my past experience of managing a pure water business...good luck! |
Re: Advice needed : How do I successfully manage my bakery In Nigeria from the UK?. by Fhemmmy: 2:34pm On Apr 04, 2013 |
pictures: I left my business for a close person, in six months he rented a flat, Very true and well said . . . Invested into Fish farming, the so called Manager married and got a nice apartment in an upscale area and yet i made nothing, infact lost all my money . . . I closed down the business and will wait to do it again when i am opportuned to be on ground myself. Dont get me wrong, there are reliable people in Nigeria to take care of business oh, but till you find one, take it easy. 2 Likes |
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