@OP - about starting early... you started late, but better late than never - nice inspiring piece. my advice to young ones especially the ones who went to University to get a degree to find a job they dreamed of. - That is not the purpose of the University. A university is for preparing you for the outside world you will face ultimately - this is why there are no uniforms, you are expected to cater for yourself and meet/mix/network with the right persons.

The best time to start is in your very 1st year at the university - It is a leveler. I got my first influential associate in my first year. He was the son of an Igbo trader who made sure his children had no holidays but worked at his factory in Agbara. we were in the same study group and he got me a part-time job as a sales rep and store-keeper (store security) whenever there was a break/holiday. I learned patience, tact, communication skills, and prudence. After I graduated, I served in the company's head office on Lagos Island, then Apapa. Like most Igbo businessmen, I was relieved of my job suddenly - I felt bad but was giving my "Freedom" some money, contacts, and a distributor license to start on my own - I have never looked back

AltarBoy1:
99% of wealthy people are business men, you wont get to a greater height in wealth if you dedicate your entire life on a paid job. The average worker who is upright and doesn't involve in shady dealings ends up not been too wealthy or achieving much in life. Aside from multinational company's, most firms in Nigeria pay belwo 100k and when you factor in cost of leaving and daily expenses, how much can one save out of the salary in a month. Thats why I noted in the beginning of this write up that except you are working in a firm where your salary is above 100k and promotion/upward review of salary is certain within 3 years, then you are just wasting your youthful age when you work in such a place for long. If at the end of a year, you cant be able to save up to 1M, just try as much as you can to quit the job. Though its not easy, but its better you bear the heat and get out when you are strong and agile than wait when you get old.

My advice is that as early as possible, one should start looking for a business to start, irrespective of the nature of the business, as long as its legal and pays your bill just dedicate yourself to it and nurture it to growth/maturity. Business is easier to manage and nurture when your personal expense and responsibility is still very low, thats why its good to start when you are still under your parent, as a student or during NYSC. That way, even when the business fail, you have your family to fall back on until you gather the necessary resource to start again.

On a last note, when you have a striving business, by the time your kids grow up, one or two of them can you in the business and probably be on their own by having an offshoot of your business. That way they wont have to be looking for a job after school especially in this period of unavailability of jobs. But if you retire as a worker, you have nothing to pass to your kids to help them kick start their life. They will have to search for job or establish their own business.

I will also advice that if you have the opportunity of picking up a job as a sales rep of a company, please do not hesitate to accept it as this type of job gives you first hand experience of how businesses of buying and selling works. You will get to know how the market moves, the season when some certain goods are in high demand and with this experience, starting your own business in same line wont be difficult for you as you can even get some capital and purchase goods in the name of your customer and if you have a good relationship with him or with those around, selling the goods wont be much difficult through their help pending when you get your own shop/warehouse.

MODIFIED...
My own rule of thumb is... IF YOUR JOB IS YOUR ONLY SOURCE OF INCOME, DONT QUIT YOUR JOB FOR A SIDE BIZ UNTIL THE BIZ IS A "GOING CONCERN" AND IS GIVING YOU MORE THAN HALF OF YOUR MONTHLY SALARY.

you have said the truth op

CapodeCapouti:
Nice write-up, we need more of this on Nairaland. In life, always remember that they're two sides to a coin.

You keep talking about those who started a business and are doing well now.

You should also know that there are thousands out there who towed that line and got their fingers burnt.

If you were married, and you started a business, someone like your wife could be the person on the ground while you keep your job.

A family does well financially when one is an income earner while the other owns a business. OP if you were married trust me you will do twice as better. That's if you marry the right woman.

BiggyB242:


Family does well financially, when one is an income earner while the other owns a business. OP if you were married trust me you do twice better that's if you marry the right woman.

Hmm another wisdom. This thread is full of wise men/women.
AltarBoy1 thank you for this thread

AltarBoy1 Wey the light nau?

Na selling you dey do... What if you were into production?

I'm into repacking. No light to power nylon sealing machine. Wetin man go come do? I will sell and use sales money to buy fuel to run gen.. E dey wipe capital. Nigeria is frustrating county

If you say make i but inverter, I don't have 250k to buy robust one

Thanks for info

Thanks op for d info

AltarBoy1:
I will have to stop here for now. I welcome any form of question or criticism. But no insults plz.

This is a golden piece.

Nice one op

I waited till my salary was 10% of my profits. Then resigned without telling any family or friend, so no one discourages me. If I had more competent staff, I should have five locations by now, but presently on the look out for the third location.

despite how long it is, it's worth the read.

LikeAking:
Story,story.

U no go manage wetin u don see.

Keep dreaming.

Go into biz after retirement.

Best advice to any worker.

Don't listen to this one he has no clue. I mean it, he has no idea what time is it. The best time to build is now you might fail but you have your job to fall on. Keep on building still you get better at it , if the idea is not picking up restratergize . Btw it doesn't have to be a business, you can develop yourself by learning new skills . But start now! Ever wonder why businesses by retirees fail woefully? Because they only started as soon as they retire, they had no learning curve. Time is currency use it wisely.

oweniwe:
AltarBoy1 Wey the light nau?

Na selling you dey do... What if you were into production?

I'm into repacking. No light to power nylon sealing machine. Wetin man go come do? I will sell and use sales money to buy fuel to run gen.. E dey wipe capital. Nigeria is frustrating county

If you say make i but inverter, I don't have 250k to buy robust one

There are companies that offer pay as you use services

BiggyB242:


Family does well financially, when one is an income earner while the other owns a business. OP if you were married trust me you do twice better that's if you marry the right woman.

WHat you said is the truth. Though am not yet married, we are still searching but hopefully before Easter 2021, we will cross the stage

BennyDGreat:


Hmm another wisdom. This thread is full of wise men/women.
AltarBoy1 thank you for this thread

You welcome.

egopersonified:
I waited till my salary was 10% of my profits. Then resigned without telling any family or friend, so no one discourages me. If I had more competent staff, I should have five locations by now, but presently on the look out for the third location.

Wow... Thats inspiring. We will get there one day.

oweniwe:
AltarBoy1 Wey the light nau?

Na selling you dey do... What if you were into production?

I'm into repacking. No light to power nylon sealing machine. Wetin man go come do? I will sell and use sales money to buy fuel to run gen.. E dey wipe capital. Nigeria is frustrating county

If you say make i but inverter, I don't have 250k to buy robust one

All these are part of the information you needed to have before starting your biz. Knowing fully well that your biz requires electricity, you should have tried to site it in an area where the electricity supply is fairly constant. Now lets analyze this, if you spend roughly 1k per day on fuel, thats around 20k per month and approximately 200k per year which is g=high enough. And I know that with your gen, you might not be running at full capacity as you might want to manage fuel to save cost. WHy not just relocate to a place with constant supply of light even if its means increasing the amount of rent that you will be willing to pay.

.am still serving my boss as for nw... Had it been that i knew early i would have stop school at jss3 though itz not too late because i finished secondary school before going into nwa boy line. There is this my customer(very young guy) he should be around 19 and 21, he is on his own doing ok . He buy goods of 80k 90k 70k every 3 to 4 days. Business is so good when you know how to do it. By Gods grace my own time is not far . Am drawing my map on a good location within benue or north east .

TheManhattan:

Don't listen to this one he has no clue. I mean it, he has no idea what time is it. The best time to build is now you might fail but you have your job to fall on. Keep on building still you get better at it , if the idea is not picking up restratergize . Btw it doesn't have to be a business, you can develop yourself by learning new skills . But start now! Ever wonder why businesses by retirees fail woefully? Because they only started as soon as they retire, they had no learning curve. Time is currency use it wisely.

No mind the guy. Its like he doesn't reside in Nigeria so he doesnt knw that once one retire the person is now on his own, no govt support, nothing.

assinozick042:
.am still serving my boss as for nw... Had it been that i knew early i would have stop school at jss3 though itz not too late because i finished secondary school before going into nwa boy line. There is this my customer(very young guy) he should be around 19 and 21, he is on his own doing ok . He buy goods of 80k 90k 70k every 3 to 4 days. Business is so good when you know how to do it. By Gods grace my own time is not far . Am drawing my map on a good location within benue or north east .

EVery thing is step by step so its never too late. And just as you are serving now, but endeavor to be friend some of the customers that comes to your place. If you are starting your biz in same line of biznex, those your friends will likely be your first line of customers before you start getting news once. So be friendly to the customers coming around now.
But one thing I will advice is that choosing a good location is part of business planning, and the way Nigeria is, plz site your biz in an area that does not have security challenges. Dont site your biz in an area where after sometime you will be thinking of relocating it cos of insecurity.

MAy God see you through.

AltarBoy1:


EVery thing is step by step so its never too late. And just as you are serving now, but endeavor to be friend some of the customers that comes to your place. If you are starting your biz in same line of biznex, those your friends will likely be your first line of customers before you start getting news once. So be friendly to the customers coming around now.
But one thing I will advice is that choosing a good location is part of business planning, and the way Nigeria is, plz site your biz in an area that does not have security challenges. Dont site your biz in an area where after sometime you will be thinking of relocating it cos of insecurity.

MAy God see you through.

ameen... I really apriciate man. If to say i have a big phone i would have open a thread were i will ask how to control agberos without giving them much money lol. They are much over here no cap

Thanks for this.

Businessmen do not retire ooh, it is till death.

You grow business till the day you die or till the day one of your children take over but still you don't retire.

Lush100:



Sir,
I glanced through your write-up.
All I need is the name of the FMCG.
And the place where they do not have distributor and their pricing details.
Been trying to connect to an FMCG for distributorship since 2018.
I've called many companies.
Sought their pricing details but places are usually already saturated or shared
I want one that is thriving.
Thanks

I have forgotten the name of the company, but they deal on detergents and beverages. If you are looking for products that is thriving, it all depends on your area. I once went to another state for an assignment, I discovered that there is a particular detergent that move very well. I think the name is Viva. But back in my own state of residence, the detergent isnt moving well. SO loom around your area am sure you will be able to notice a product that moves faster. Also, if you capital is high, try teaming up with an already established distributor. Some will be willing to let you buy fro the compnay in their name as that will increase the amount of incemtive/rebate that they will get from the company.

Ajiswaggs:
Nice one op

Bro please no forget our arrangement for January ooo as we discussed via mail ...

TheManhattan:

Don't listen to this one he has no clue. I mean it, he has no idea what time is it. The best time to build is now you might fail but you have your job to fall on. Keep on building still you get better at it , if the idea is not picking up restratergize . Btw it doesn't have to be a business, you can develop yourself by learning new skills . But start now! Ever wonder why businesses by retirees fail woefully? Because they only started as soon as they retire, they had no learning curve. Time is currency use it wisely.

Workers should manage the one they have seen.

Thats my point.

Godsspeed:
Those pieces of advise in this writeup are what Facilitators gather people to tell them at a cost, but here we are getting them free of charge , that's why many don't value it. OP thank you so much.

I was about saying the same thing you just said. Op God bless you. Op just released valuable info that I have been chewing in my mind day in day out.

jagorinho:
lovely write up!!
I would love to add something, I have friends that run different businesses, but I am concerned about two, one makes snacks and he is big in the business now, he even has sales girls while the other is a barber with many apprentices.

I tend to observe that the one making snacks usually complain about inflation a lot, the price of his inputs (baking products) are always on the high side because of the unstable naira , most times his selling price doesn't really correspond with the percentage increase in inflation because he fears total boycott from his customers but the barber is doing extremely well, on weekends he makes 15-20k daily and 10k on weekdays, and fortunately for him, he does not need to buy or change any of his inputs/barbing materials every time, they are fixed except buying of fuel to generator.

My point is I would really love a business venture that would not be sapping my materials everyday, I won't mind buying everything I need once, so far they will serve me for long before considering replacements for them instead of all these business you have to buy your materials needed every other day, it can be very stressful.

......summary is a baker would need to buy flour, vegetable oil, etc almost every other week but a barber might not change his clipper for six months and the when there is low patronage many snacks are wasted which usually affects the guy's mood but a barber does not really have much to loose on days of low patronage.

Good observation. Nice one

Op I want to say a Big thank you for this write-up. If people create businesses in this country instead of looking for Job, the issue of Unemployment would have been minimal. I bleed on the inside when I see family members and friends laid off from their jobs without any fall back options. If anyone wants to be wealthy and financially free, it is not in paid job----- maybe NNPC, CBN or Multinationals--------- can give a semblance of wealth but one will have to wait till month end to get paid and its not transferable to ones children as the Op said. It is for this reason I set out to be on my own from the onset and there is no looking back.

Even though, I don't have a physical business location,
I have 3 sources of income.
I'm looking for a 4th one.

That's why I'm looking for a fmcg deal if u check my last post on this thread.
Other options are transport biz
or massage centre for now.

AsapKen:
To be honest, this is a very informative right up. Take your time and read it

I did and I'm impressed, kudos to the OP.

Dat2jo:
OP what kind of business will you advise someone leaving in the northeast, Bauchi to be precise, to start with a capital of N1m?

Edit: I have no prior business experience whatsoever

Brother, opportunity plenty every where, na if you bend down well you go see am. Things plenty for Bauchi there wey people for Lagos dey find.

And NL provides you opportunity to interact with people wey dey different zones. Exchange ideas with folks on this platform. See what they are looking for. See if you can provide that.

Best to start small ... Small small... Dey gauge the runs as e dey go. Don't be greedy or in a hurry to do big and hammer, e fit burn you. if the runs dey enter, dey add small fuel.

AltarBoy1:
What am about to explain is based on my own personal experience and that of those around me. What worked or didn't work for me doesn't mean its applicable to others. You might try and succeed. But am only here to give my own experience. Sorry, this post is gonna be long.

The lesson I want us to learn here is for us to know that working in a firm (esp banks or offices where you stay indoor from 8am-5pm) that pays you less than #120k-#150k per month with little or no assurance that after 2-3 years, you will be promoted or salary increased is a waste of your youthful age, better you start nurturing any form of legal business that you can start and manage. In view of this, I will be making some detailed Analysis and CALCULATION as I put down my experience. The analysis and calculation is to show you how "small small" business that we neglect and take not to be profitable is actually better than having a monthly paid job.
I started working in the bank around first quarter of 2016. I was excited that I got a job, hoping to start contributing financially to my family. But before I proceed, let me take us back a little for a better understanding.

Bro, this opportunity for foreign supermarket goods now dey wella for Ojo. Importers dey bring them from London.
Raisin
Sardine
Shortbread
Canned tomato
Tesco Bleach
Canola oil
Bar soap for sensitive skin
Tooth paste
Milo ( from Singapore)
Mouthwash
Spaghetti
Basmati rice

Those sellers at Trade fair dey come Ojo Alaba to pack them at low price.
There are importers at UPA, GBO and St. Peter.

Last time I bough Raisin cereal for 1250naira. Shoprite dey sell 2000+

USED CLOTHINGS
Warehouses dey for Ilufe at the back of St. Peter church were they sell London Okirika bail. Nice clothings. But them dey so am coded because custom dey raid that area to carry their Okirika bails

Opportunity plenty, but na if you bend down well you go see am.