bigheart2013: Yes you can! I asked a similar question before on Nairaland and got very useful tips. Here's the thing.

1. Businesses are established not only for financial profits (cash) but also for economic profits (non-cash), which may be to provide employment ur sister, or to make name, etc. establish which one is more important to you.
2. If you live outside Nigeria never hire a family member or relative to run your business.
3. Don't hire anyone who come to you advertising him/herself or begging for jobs
4. Hire people through a thorough interview process like a real company does. They'll respect the job more.
5. Do not pay salaries. Share the risks by paying only commissions (usually 10% on sales, or about 40% on profits.
6. Commission on sales is more motivating for hard-working people
7. U can also pay a base + commission. Anyone who cannot live on commission is not business-minded. Afterall the owner lives on profit only
8. Have a Bank account with a Microfinance bank (they help small businesses more) not a commercial bank
9. Every dime made must be paid into the bank (and withdrawn if needed)to build cash-flows in case you need loan some day. they should take picturess of bank slips and receipts of purchases and BBM u immediately the transaction is done.
10. Use BBM to stay connected and on top of business. BBM can transmit instant pictures of events & real-time chats as if you are there.
11. Be ruthless, professional, and out rightly non-sense with Nigerians. A lot of fraudulent crappy people out there.
12. You may take a bank loan to share the risk with a local bank, and let part of the loan be management TA (technical assistance), so the bank can provide their own manager to run the bakery professionally as a partner.
13. Another option is to rent out the bakery to a baker who pays you a flat fee every month, just like you will rent out a house you built to a tenant.
14. Every receipt must have the seller's or buyer's phone number on it (not hand-written). make random calls each month to audit or confirm transactions. If they know you call sellers and buyers, they will shape up.
15. Be patient! A business setup in January is not supposed to be making profit by now o!. It usually takes about a year or more to make profits.
16. On marketing use established re-sellers who buy in bulk and pay cash- Supermarkets, bread sellers, restaurants, shops, etc. Don't sell directly to people yet.
17. Please, please, please, hire a lady as a manager, preferably an educated married lady with kids. That's the only thing that works in Nigeria. They may be slow, but at least they won't loot your funds.

18. Ok having said all this. Please fire your sister now if she's not performing. Give her N350k gift to start her life somewhere

All the luck.

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

bigheart2013: Yes you can! I asked a similar question before on Nairaland and got very useful tips. Here's the thing.

1. Businesses are established not only for financial profits (cash) but also for economic profits (non-cash), which may be to provide employment ur sister, or to make name, etc. establish which one is more important to you.
2. If you live outside Nigeria never hire a family member or relative to run your business.
3. Don't hire anyone who come to you advertising him/herself or begging for jobs
4. Hire people through a thorough interview process like a real company does. They'll respect the job more.
5. Do not pay salaries. Share the risks by paying only commissions (usually 10% on sales, or about 40% on profits.
6. Commission on sales is more motivating for hard-working people
7. U can also pay a base + commission. Anyone who cannot live on commission is not business-minded. Afterall the owner lives on profit only
8. Have a Bank account with a Microfinance bank (they help small businesses more) not a commercial bank
9. Every dime made must be paid into the bank (and withdrawn if needed)to build cash-flows in case you need loan some day. they should take picturess of bank slips and receipts of purchases and BBM u immediately the transaction is done.
10. Use BBM to stay connected and on top of business. BBM can transmit instant pictures of events & real-time chats as if you are there.
11. Be ruthless, professional, and out rightly non-sense with Nigerians. A lot of fraudulent crappy people out there.
12. You may take a bank loan to share the risk with a local bank, and let part of the loan be management TA (technical assistance), so the bank can provide their own manager to run the bakery professionally as a partner.
13. Another option is to rent out the bakery to a baker who pays you a flat fee every month, just like you will rent out a house you built to a tenant.
14. Every receipt must have the seller's or buyer's phone number on it (not hand-written). make random calls each month to audit or confirm transactions. If they know you call sellers and buyers, they will shape up.
15. Be patient! A business setup in January is not supposed to be making profit by now o!. It usually takes about a year or more to make profits.
16. On marketing use established re-sellers who buy in bulk and pay cash- Supermarkets, bread sellers, restaurants, shops, etc. Don't sell directly to people yet.
17. Please, please, please, hire a lady as a manager, preferably an educated married lady with kids. That's the only thing that works in Nigeria. They may be slow, but at least they won't loot your funds.

18. Ok having said all this. Please fire your sister now if she's not performing. Give her N350k gift to start her life somewhere

All the luck.

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.
I wish you all the best.

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.

bebe2: Hun, if u give me advice on wat wud will help my sister will do juju to kill u

Babes, dat one strong o

Tnks anyways

Btw I don't believe in juju

bebe2:

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

bigheart2013: Yes you can! I asked a similar question before on Nairaland and got very useful tips. Here's the thing.

1. Businesses are established not only for financial profits (cash) but also for economic profits (non-cash), which may be to provide employment ur sister, or to make name, etc. establish which one is more important to you.
2. If you live outside Nigeria never hire a family member or relative to run your business.
3. Don't hire anyone who come to you advertising him/herself or begging for jobs
4. Hire people through a thorough interview process like a real company does. They'll respect the job more.
5. Do not pay salaries. Share the risks by paying only commissions (usually 10% on sales, or about 40% on profits.
6. Commission on sales is more motivating for hard-working people
7. U can also pay a base + commission. Anyone who cannot live on commission is not business-minded. Afterall the owner lives on profit only
8. Have a Bank account with a Microfinance bank (they help small businesses more) not a commercial bank
9. Every dime made must be paid into the bank (and withdrawn if needed)to build cash-flows in case you need loan some day. they should take picturess of bank slips and receipts of purchases and BBM u immediately the transaction is done.
10. Use BBM to stay connected and on top of business. BBM can transmit instant pictures of events & real-time chats as if you are there.
11. Be ruthless, professional, and out rightly non-sense with Nigerians. A lot of fraudulent crappy people out there.
12. You may take a bank loan to share the risk with a local bank, and let part of the loan be management TA (technical assistance), so the bank can provide their own manager to run the bakery professionally as a partner.
13. Another option is to rent out the bakery to a baker who pays you a flat fee every month, just like you will rent out a house you built to a tenant.
14. Every receipt must have the seller's or buyer's phone number on it (not hand-written). make random calls each month to audit or confirm transactions. If they know you call sellers and buyers, they will shape up.
15. Be patient! A business setup in January is not supposed to be making profit by now o!. It usually takes about a year or more to make profits.
16. On marketing use established re-sellers who buy in bulk and pay cash- Supermarkets, bread sellers, restaurants, shops, etc. Don't sell directly to people yet.
17. Please, please, please, hire a lady as a manager, preferably an educated married lady with kids. That's the only thing that works in Nigeria. They may be slow, but at least they won't loot your funds.

18. Ok having said all this. Please fire your sister now if she's not performing. Give her N350k gift to start her life somewhere

All the luck.

bebe2:

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

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.
I wish you all the best.

bigheart2013: Yes you can! I asked a similar question before on Nairaland and got very useful tips. Here's the thing.

1. Businesses are established not only for financial profits (cash) but also for economic profits (non-cash), which may be to provide employment ur sister, or to make name, etc. establish which one is more important to you.
2. If you live outside Nigeria never hire a family member or relative to run your business.
3. Don't hire anyone who come to you advertising him/herself or begging for jobs
4. Hire people through a thorough interview process like a real company does. They'll respect the job more.
5. Do not pay salaries. Share the risks by paying only commissions (usually 10% on sales, or about 40% on profits.
6. Commission on sales is more motivating for hard-working people
7. U can also pay a base + commission. Anyone who cannot live on commission is not business-minded. Afterall the owner lives on profit only
8. Have a Bank account with a Microfinance bank (they help small businesses more) not a commercial bank
9. Every dime made must be paid into the bank (and withdrawn if needed)to build cash-flows in case you need loan some day. they should take picturess of bank slips and receipts of purchases and BBM u immediately the transaction is done.
10. Use BBM to stay connected and on top of business. BBM can transmit instant pictures of events & real-time chats as if you are there.
11. Be ruthless, professional, and out rightly non-sense with Nigerians. A lot of fraudulent crappy people out there.
12. You may take a bank loan to share the risk with a local bank, and let part of the loan be management TA (technical assistance), so the bank can provide their own manager to run the bakery professionally as a partner.
13. Another option is to rent out the bakery to a baker who pays you a flat fee every month, just like you will rent out a house you built to a tenant.
14. Every receipt must have the seller's or buyer's phone number on it (not hand-written). make random calls each month to audit or confirm transactions. If they know you call sellers and buyers, they will shape up.
15. Be patient! A business setup in January is not supposed to be making profit by now o!. It usually takes about a year or more to make profits.
16. On marketing use established re-sellers who buy in bulk and pay cash- Supermarkets, bread sellers, restaurants, shops, etc. Don't sell directly to people yet.
17. Please, please, please, hire a lady as a manager, preferably an educated married lady with kids. That's the only thing that works in Nigeria. They may be slow, but at least they won't loot your funds.

18. Ok having said all this. Please fire your sister now if she's not performing. Give her N350k gift to start her life somewhere

All the luck.

amdman: 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.

naijacutee: One question: Does your sister officially receive a salary?

I've been advised by several people that only very few businesses can thrive in nigeria without the owner being present, but I'm sure there's a way.

pictures: 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.