A feasibility study is a fundamental document for starting and implementing a new or existing business enterprise. It is an important aid in project formulation and implementation. The study helps the promoters and other investors to generate, crystallise and focus their ideas, to set objectives and monitor performance against them. The feasibility study is used as a proposal to outside potential investors such as development, merchant and commercial banks,  venture capital companies, bilateral and multilateral lending institutions and others for external funding either in form of loan, lease or equity participation.  It is therefore important that the document must be persuasive enough to convince potential investors of the need for funding. Some researchers also refer to a feasibility study as a proposal, a business plan, a prospectus or a game plan. [Read more…]

SWOT ANALYSIS AND HOW TO DO IT

[Read more…]

How To Start A Home Based Business

Starting a home based business – Everyone wants to know what it requires to start a business from the convenience of there home, at least that was going through my mind initially before i started. [Read more…]

STARTING A FOOD CART BUSINESS

How to Start A Food Cart Business – Food is an important aspect of human life. We cannot do without food – in fact, it is a basic necessity. As long as we are alive, we must eat. From the white collar worker who has been at his desk working his socks off for hours and is hungry, to the young student who has been sitting in the classroom attending his lectures and needs to take a break to eat, or the hungry bricklayer who is taking a break or has finished his shift for the day, or the house wife who’s bored from her daily routine and decides to take a walk on the streets and in the process gets hungry, we all as humans need food to keep us going. [Read more…]

The Farce of Making Money Online by Tony Ogunlowo

In my line of work I come across a lot of people who have lost lots of money trying to make money online, when in reality it should be the other way round.

Internet marketing or making money online has become the 21st century’s Gold Rush with everybody trying to become the next Mark Zuckerberg or Bill Gates.

So why do people keep on losing money online trying to make money?

It’s very simple.

First of all there are those who jump on the bandwagon. We all like to play ‘follow,follow’ and the minute we all find out Mr X has made a fortune selling iced-water sachets online we all try to copy him. With everybody trying to do the same thing the market becomes overcrowded and saturated and nobody makes any money. Remember there is only one Coca-Cola and hundreds of imitators who struggle to compete. Try and be original.

Internet marketing has brought out a new breed of motivational speakers who call themselves ‘gurus’. They’ve made millions of naira (-or dollars!) online and they can’t wait to teach you how to do the same – for a price! They hold seminars, webinars, sell books and downloads, have glitzy websites and blogs all offering advice which will cost you something.

Now, while their rag-to-riches story might be unique it does not necessarily mean it’s going to work for you. Another man’s meat is another man’s poison. You have to write your own success story which, just like them, often requires a lot of hard work, trial and error and failure before you hit the big time. You can’t expect to walk in their footsteps, step-by-step, and make the fantastic wealth they’ve made without putting in the effort.

Another thing letting people down is education and I don’t mean formal education. You can have a Ph.D. in computing and not have a clue about internet marketing and ecommerce and a mere 16 year old geek can dazzle you with things like DDoS, viral banners, Alexa ratings, Google ranking apps or flash mob marketing. If you put a website up and don’t know how to market it, it will just sit there costing you money to run without bringing in any revenue. Learn, learn, learn – the internet is awash with marketing courses and eBooks that are free (-on most occasions) to download. Learn all you need to learn and network with the right people before going ahead with your ventures because internet marketing is a whole different ball game to running a traditional business.

The most important reason people fail online and I’ve deliberately left this to last is the lack of a USP.

USP is the acronyms for Unique Selling Proposition which in layman’s terms means what makes your product stand out better than your competitor; what makes the loaf of bread you’re selling better than Mama-Jacobs from around the corner? This is what business is all about; being better than your competitor? Better USP means more sales and equals more profit.

You have to learn how to stand out from the crowd or you won’t sell anything. Facebook wasn’t the first social media platform in the world, Zuckerberg’s’ USP  was to make his more interactive and user-friendly ; Linda Ikeji is not the only blogger in Nigeria but she’s more well-known because her USP is writing a blog that appeals to a wide range of people. Likewise Apple’s USP is to create the best innovative consumer items in the world, items we can’t do without.

Whilst internet businesses are not as capital intensive as traditional ones are you still stand to lose a lot of money if you don’t get your sums right. Draw up a traditional business plan before you start.

Try and not jump on the bandwagon. Come up with something that’s unique and you’re very passionate about. It could be writing and creating study eBooks that will appeal to students or an online houseboy or housegirl referral service. Keep it simple, keep it unique and you’ll win. Avoid the ‘fast-cash-today’ mentality( unless you’re a scammer!) and concentrate on something that will grow steadily creating a residual income overtime ; who would have thought a very simple business idea like Twitter or Snapchat would grow into a multi-billion dollar concern?

Stay away from so-called motivational speakers or ‘gurus’ who charge you money to listen to their ‘stories’ (sic – I could charge you money to listen to my ‘success’ story but you’ll probably be bored after half an hour!) – You can download better motivational talks or books for free! A good book which is free to download is ‘The Science of Getting Rich’ or better still get a copy of Richard Branson’s ‘Losing my Virginity’ or Rhonda Bryne’s ‘The Secret’. If you want to listen to a good story buy yourself a novel!

Learn as much as you can. Ecommerce is a new thing and lots of institutions and organisations offer lots of online courses – most of them are free.

Good luck in all your endeavours and I hope you become the next dot com billionaire! 

HOW TO START A HAIR SALON BUSINESS IN NIGERIA
There is one thing certain in this life, everyone wants to look good. When people look in the mirror, it is because they want to check out how they look and of course, they’d want the image in the mirror to be attractive. Women are ready to go the extra miles just to look attractive in the eyes of men and even to compete with their fellow women and make them envious.
The hair is one of the major parts of the body that can either bring out ones beauty or hide it; hence a lot of women are very particular about what hairstyle they make and how well it is made. This is where the hair salon business comes in.
When you want to list out businesses that yield instant revenue on a daily basis, you’d have to mention hairdressing salon business. This business sees customers trooping in morning, afternoon and even night depending on how good the hairdresser is.
A hair salon business could be a very lucrative business because fashion is an ongoing process but that is if you know how to work your onions. It is one business that brings in money on a daily basis. The major advantage of this business over most other businesses is that it can be started anywhere, be it in your living room, at the corner of your compound or a small rented space.
Hair salon is quite easy to start but it’s very vital that you make some research just to help you in making sure the hair salon doesn’t fail in a couple of years.
Breakdown of how much you could be making as a hair dresser.
This will be in two parts; those who started with a small space in front of their houses and those who started with a rent space.
Those who started with small space: for these people, they must have started this business with very little capital as most of the equipment bought is usually smaller and of lesser standards than those in salons. The capital they invest is usually between 15-20 thousand naira. In a day, if you make
Two braids – N1500X2
Three retouching- N300X3
Two weavon fixing- N1200
So, in a day you would be making a total of approximately N5000, depending on how good you are and how good you are will determine how much you charge.
Those with a rented space: for these people, the business is started with much more capital than those that use the front of their houses. Chairs, sofas, mirrors, fans, generator and a lot of standard equipment would need to be purchased and this would require much capital between 100-150 thousand naira, excluding rent.
It seems like a lot of money, yea, but when you consider how much you could be making daily, you’d realize it’s worth spending the capital on.
Let’s say you make:
Three braids- N2000X3 (of course a hairdresser with a shop is more expensive)
Five retouching- N450X5
Three weavon fixing- N800X3
So at the end of the day, you’d be making as much as over N10000 and if you add that up, you’d be happy with what you’d be making at the end of the month. And then when you expand and start having apprentices, you can be making double or triple that amount, depending on how many apprentices you have.

Steps to be taken before starting a hair salon:
Acquire the necessary skills required: This is actually for people that intend to work on the hair themselves and not necessarily those who seek to employ workers while they oversee the running of the salon. Even though you do not have to have a degree to start a hair dressing, it is very vital to spend a few months to a year (depending on how fast a learner you are). This is to help you learn different hairdos such as fixing of weavons, braiding of hair, Ghana weaving, retouching and washing and a whole range of other hairstyles. This is for the women hairdos and for the men cuts, you also have to learn how to cut different hair styles such as punk, gallas, afro, stone cold etc. do not go into the business without being properly trained as no customer will come back to your shop if he or she isn’t comfortable with your work. Learning hair dressing or barbing doesn’t cost that much and so there is no excuse for not learning.
Write a business plan: This is necessary as this gives you a clearer view of what you are about to venture into. It will show you how much capital you need to start, man power needed etc.
Start saving up for it: After writing your business plan and seeing how much would be needed to start the business, the next thing to do is to start getting the capital for it. This can be done even while you are still undergoing training. You don’t have to wait till you are done with the training to start running around for money. you can start during daily contributions, seeking loans from lending institutions, friends and families etc. please bear in mind that you do not necessarily have to break the bank to start a hair salon. You can actually start small; maybe in a small corner in front of your house and from the works of your hand which you must have acquired during the training, you can now graduate into getting your own shop.
Location: This is for those that have enough startup capital to rent a shop space or those that have made enough money from doing the business in a small corner in their compound. For your hair salon to excel in a country like Nigeria, the location you site your shop space is very important. You would need to take enough time to get a suitable location. The location has to be easily accessible. If you go and get a space in a corner or in a hidden location, you may not succeed.
Decorations and neatness: This is for when you’ve successfully opened your salon. if you want people to come to your shop and keep coming back, you should ensure a high level of cleanliness, both personal and environmental, your equipment should be neatly arranged, and modern equipment should be used in preference to ‘old school’ equipment. Germicides, anti-dandruff shampoos, after shave etc should also be readily available.
Personal character: A hair stylist should be of very good behavior when attending to his or her customers as a bad behavior will only chase away your customers and give your business a bad name. You should learn to live the saying ‘the customer is always right.
Create awareness: You need to make sure you find a way to advertise your business, either by making signboards or by words of mouth; you have to make people aware of your business. You can also ask friends and families to inform their friends. Another means of creating is by the work of your hands. If your work is really good, it would advertise for you as people seeing such nice hairdo would want to inquire about where it was made and also get theirs made there.

Equipment required for a hair salon
Hair salon equipment are getting cheaper by the day and one should make sure all the necessary equipment and maybe more are gotten before venturing into the business. Some of this equipment are listed below;
Beauty salon:
Combs and brushes
Electronic grooming equipment: trimming scissors, curling iron, hair straightener, curling comb hair dryer.
Hair styling tools: hair straightener, blow dryers, hair curlers, rollers etc
Standing dryer
Wash hair basin
Mirrors
Table with drawers.
Towels
Rubber and plastic gloves
Steamers
Shampoos and conditioners
Comfortable chairs
Carts and trolleys.
Tonging equipment.
Generator.
Fan or air conditioner.
Etc.
It is important to note that you do not necessary need to limit your shop space to only be used as a hair salon, other forms of businesses can be run concurrently thereby maximizing profits.
Some of these businesses are briefly described below:
Pedicure and manicure: a cosmetic beauty treatment for the finger nails and hands when it relates to manicure and called pedicure when these same treatments are carried out on the toes. This includes filing and shaping of the nails, pushing and clipping of any non-living tissue on the cuticles, treatments, massage of hand, nail polish application etc.
You can also buy a deep freezer and sell items like soft drinks, pure water, snacks etc, that most customers are likely to buy.
You can also display wears, cosmetics, shoes, bags etc.

In conclusion, you shouldn’t forget that Rome wasn’t built in a day and you will face challenges, it is important not to give up until you’ve tried everything possible to make it work. Most successful businesses today didn’t get to the level they are without facing one obstacle or the other.

How To Start A Home Based Business

STARTING A HOME DAYCARE CENTER IN NIGERIA

A daycare is a place where working/non-working parents drop their toddlers, babies or young children while their parents are busy with work and other important things. It is a place where these children can hang out, play and also learn with other children. These children are usually taken care of by professional handlers during the daytime while their parents then come to pick them up after work. [Read more…]

How To Make Money Online / On The Internet – Start Online Business In Nigeria

CAN NIGERIANS MAKE MONEY ONLINE?

A lot of Nigerians (some people I know) wonder and even argue with me. They don‟t really believe Nigerians
can make money online. “There are too many negatives working against us” they say.

But you, yes you reading this post now. What do you believe?

What People Think

Some foreigners may think we only scam people (when I mention that I am a Nigerian on yahoo chat, people
scram like I’m some demon not knowing if I have something that may change their lives forever). They are
scared of being scammed (not knowing that Nigeria is just 3rd after the US and UK on the scam list). [Read more…]

FINANCING INVESTMENT FOR GROWTH – THE NIGERIA EXPERIENCE

Introduction

One of the cardinal economic objectives of the developing countries, including Nigeria is to achieve high economic growth that will lead to rapid economic development and reduce poverty. From whatever theoretical angle that one may look at it, economic growth indicates the ability of an economy to increase production of goods and services with the stock of capital and other factors of accumulation, with the right combination of other factors of production will bring about their higher output growth. [Read more…]