People with an entrepreneur mindset always hope to start their own business someday, either in the area of selling goods or delivering services. Starting a business is a very demanding task and only a few businesses survive in the end. It is important to know a lot about the business you may want to venture into, the demand for it, the location where such business strives, profits, losses, and so on.
In this article, we will be sharing with you business tips on starting a business in Nigeria, its challenges, and how much you need to start a small business in Nigeria.
Before you start a business, no matter how small it is, there are processes you need to follow that will guide you to achieving success in your venture.
1. Evaluate Yourself:
If you have decided on what business you want to start, it is important to ask yourself a few questions before you begin to know if you are on the right track. It is not all businesses that one can start and expect success. The questions below will help you through this process; Do I have the skills needed in this business? Do I have what it takes to lead or manage a team? Do I have the capital for the business? Do I have the passion to make this a success? You should move on to the next step if most of your answers are yes to the above questions.
2. Find Your Unique Pattern:
By now you should know that whatever business you choose, there is a 90% chance that it has already been existing. Here what you need to do is to find a unique business pattern that is different from what others are doing and will also make your business better and cheaper. To achieve this, you will need to do research on your business idea, know what others are doing and what they are not doing, what problems are they not solving yet, and look for a way to create a unique pattern for your own business.
3. Feedback:
After conducting your research and deciding on what pattern you would like to use, you should also ask questions from people, entrepreneurs, and especially consumers of your product or services and utilize their feedback for your use.
4. Create a business plan:
Your business plan should contain your business goals and how you plan to achieve them. This helps you to stay focused and organized when you begin running your business.
5. Get funding for your business:
In starting any business, funding is required. This funding is the startup capital to begin your business. If you do not have the capital to begin, there are ways you can get funding, either bank loans, grants, or help from family. Most business startups do not survive due to lack of funding, you can learn how to start and run a business on a tight budget.
6. Grow your business:
For every business to survive, growth is important. As a business owner, you must ensure the constant growth of your business. The one thing that keeps business growing is mostly money, however, there are low-cost ways to grow your business. If you do not have enough funds yet you can learn how to grow your business for little to no cost.
Challenges in doing business in Nigeria
In every business, there are challenges, big or small that one might face. These challenges can lead to the failure of your business if not handled properly. Some of the challenges businesses can experience in Nigeria are;
- Unstable power supply.
- Lack of adequate security.
- Bad transport system and poor road network.
- Lack of proper capital or funding.
- Marketing problems.
- High rate of taxes.
How much do you need to start a small business in Nigeria?
When it comes to capital for starting a business, the amount varies depending on the type of business and the location. There is no fixed capital for any kind of business. There are various types of small-scale businesses ideas one can start with little capital in Nigeria and with time grow bigger.
Here are examples of businesses one can start with 10,000 to 100,000 depending on the business you choose;
- Businesses you can start with 10,000: popcorn, hairdressing, bead making.
- Businesses you can start with 20,000: perfume oil sale, food business, baking services
- Businesses you can start with 50,000: Sharwama stand, soap production, small scale farming
- Businesses you can start with 100,000: Thrift shop, importation business, graphics design, poultry farm, tailoring.
These are just examples of small businesses you can try out for these amounts. The goal is to let you know that you can start a business for as low as ten thousand Naira. There are also several ways you can start a business on a tight budget.
Every business has its different challenges. However, with hard work, consistency, and following the right business guides, you will be profitable with time. SmartSMSSolutions provides business tips for small business owners like how small businesses can use bulk SMS to grow their business and how to effectively grow your business at a low cost. For more small business tips click here.
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