Tough business environment has forced many Nigerians into believing that N50, 000 is worth absolutely nothing. Many Nigerians look at inflation and weakness of the naira against other currencies, and then conclude that there is nothing that amount of money can achieve.
But the good news is that there are some businesses you can set up with N50, 000. Today, we intend to let you into some of the businesses you can easily establish with that amount of money and what you need to start them.
Fashion & Design
Even though fashion & design seems common in the today’s Nigeria, opportunities in the industry are not yet exhausted.
According to Nigeria’s Textile Manufacturers Association, about 85 percent of the $1.4 billion worth of textiles that flood the country’s market is smuggled, mainly from neighbouring countries. This shows that local demand is huge, with the country having a population of almost 200 million people, growing at 2.6 percent annually.
To start a fashion & design business, you need a sewing machine, which costs less than N50, 000. You also need a measuring tape and a pair of scissors.
You can stay at home to work, as you do not necessarily need to have a shop as a start-up. The easiest way to grow in this business is to patiently learn it for six months to two years. The longer you learn, the smarter you become. The key word here is ‘patience’. After your fashion school, try your skills on the people around you, even if it is for free. If you do good jobs, you will get referrals even if you work at home.
Laundry
Laundry requires soaps, iron, laundry basket, starch, regular water supply and electricity. All is needed is to ensure you use the iron any moment there is electricity supply. What matters most in this business is your ability to handle clothes or dresses carefully. There is a huge market yet to be exploited in this industry. A number of motels, guest houses and hotels do not have laundries so there are still opportunities for anybody who liaises with them to take care of guests’ dresses or clothes.
Cleaning and environment
Nigerian graduates do not need to walk the streets of Lagos, Abuja, Kano, Enugu, Onitsha and Port Harcourt in search of phantom jobs. There is a great opportunity in cleaning of schools, public places and event centres. You can also render post-construction cleaning services. The demand here is overwhelming because many young Nigerians are not looking this way.
Keji Olufemi Ogunjobi, chief executive officer of Easiclean Top Managers, which focuses on general cleaning and fumigation services, told Start-Up Digest that this is a big business.
“In this business, money is not a problem. It is your ability to get people’s approval. Social media can also contribute, but, initially when I started, I had to approach people and convince them. I later had to narrow it down to post-construction cleaning and then I went to sites to hand out my flyers and I followed up,” she said.
“It is a wide spectrum business with so many horizons and if you channel your energy right, it is a profitable business,” she added. It is also important to understand that you do not need an office to start this business. In fact, you do not need money to. Your client will mobilise you, from which you will buy cleaning materials such as detergents. Most people in this business do it informally. This is why their success is limited. If it is done carefully and formally, demand will overshoot supply.
Event Planning
Event planning, like other businesses mentioned, requires a lot of money. You need to have items at home permanently. However, start-ups do not necessarily need to have these things as it is easy to hire them. There are weddings, burials, political gatherings and other social events every week. These require efficient planners that can satisfy guests with minimal resources.
Mosunmola Olalekan-Otun, chief executive officer of Minds and Brains Limited, an experienced hand in event planning, decoration and catering services, said the business of event planning requires tact and creativity.
“Let’s assume that it’s a corporate event. You must try to find out what the company is trying to achieve. If the company wants to change its logo, you now ask, ‘Since you are changing your logo, do you have any corporate colour in mind or are you changing your colour?”
“Another question to ask is, ‘where do you want the event to take place?’ Some companies can say they want a five-star treatment. If they want something for the masses in places like Mushin or Ajegunle, the planning will be different. You can also ask them of their target market. You must find out if the programme appeals to the youths, the elderly, the middle income or to the super rich. With this, you will be able to plan. If it has to do with the youths, you can come up with music and fashion,” she said.
Online marketing
The social media has become a good advertising avenue for start-ups. It is cheaper and gets immediate responses. If you wish to try, put a nice piece of dress on your Twitter handle and you may have 10 to 15 people asking who your tailor is.
All is needed is to take time to grow your followership. If you have a high number of followership and your followers consider you credible or a source of hope, companies can hire you to market products for them.
Apart from the social media, you can market products on different online platforms for firms and earn a lot of money from doing so.
ODINAKA ANUDU
