I hardly venture into the biz section even though in theory this should be my most visited section . . .it is well

@chioma, someone mentioned something very important.

Rule number one . . dont go into biz for the money. Go into biz for the passion and becasue you love what you are doing. If you love what you do, then you wont mind going the extra mile even in the beginning when you are not making it and trust me, many businessses dont thrive in the beginning. It takes time.

Dont also be scared of failure. We all make mistakes but we brush ourselves up and get on with it. The problem is if you dont learn from your mistakes and you keep on doing the same thing.

Dont also do something becasuse someone else seems successful at it. You dont know the zeal and the passion and the sleeepless nights that that person has for that particular thing.

Pick something that you love and be the best at whatever it is. Yes when they see that you are successful, they will want to copy your theme and even undercut you, but you will always stand out becasue you are the best at what you do and you dont cut corners

Wonderful thread, keep it up guys!

Chioma...I may help you to clear out certain fundamentals, if you are keen.
I have been in business since 1984, failed and also successful. But I will not be able to type much here...
You can consult me ...not to worry its pro bono.(a one hour talk if you are based in Lagos)
Check my profile and send me a mail or write me briefly at:
ourstomruby@yahoo.com

All the best.

Nice one..keep up the work.thanks all

Thanks,everyone for your helpful tips. I want to clear up some issues here; I didn't go into business solely for the money, but the need for money gave me the necessary push I needed. As I explained earlier, I have always been interested in business.
I have been able to stock up on a good number of goods during the weekend. Progress is slow however,as sales are increasing marginally. I have a salesgirl who shows some level of passion for business growth, and I try to motivate her financially to prevent her being tempted to steal money. So far, she's doing well. Most people have been helpful generally, offering advice when needed. However, the advice can be conflicting at times,and I have decided to stick with what I know for now and gradually build up with time and experience to avoid wasting money unnecessarily. For instance, an owner of a similar shop advised that I buy a particular machine which she also had, but when I bought it today,she said she would have advised me to buy another type, that the type I bought which was the type she had was not good enough.

mgolo:
Chioma...I may help you to clear out certain fundamentals, if you are keen.
I have been in business since 1984, failed and also successful. But I will not be able to type much here...
You can consult me ...not to worry its pro bono.(a one hour talk if you are based in Lagos)
Check my profile and send me a mail or write me briefly at:
ourstomruby@yahoo.com

All the best.

Much respect Sir!

Gboliwe:


Much respect Sir!

This na our papa o....

2sexi:
This na our papa o....

I tell you!

So I carefully read through your posts and peoples comments and I realised only a few where able to tell you the truth.

Going into business is a huge decision,thereby you must be ready for all the risk involved. That is why you should choose something you are passionate about,do not go into something for the sole purpose of making money. That way,you wouldn't last long because once your expectations don't come thru,you would quit.

It takes passion to follow a business thru. I'd you don't have passion for what you are doing,you wouldn't make it far. You must love it,know whatnot is about and know how to follow it thru not minding if you make good sales that day or not. In business,not all days are rosy,some come with ups and down and some come with fulfilment but what keeps you in it is your determination to be successful..

So ask yourself these question,is this what I want to do? Is this where I really want to be? Business is time consuming so I'd you are going to go into IT,you need a sales person. How would you combine your office hours and business hours? Get a book and take note of every stock you purchase everyday,take stock of what was sold and xhexk the money available for that day. Then compare what you have left ,what was sold and the money at hand.. That way,you wouldn't miss it if you were been stolen from.

@qutemichelle, thanks for the tips. I will open a stockbook today. Initially,I felt it would be too time con-suming, but I'll start trying now.

Opening a shop is not what guarantees sales, u need customers more than you need a shop. Before you start any business you have to be sure it is something you are ready to do everything to make it work,it may be discouraging when you start but you don't stop.u should know the kind of person you are,when some people tell me they're going to Dubai to buy stuffs I ask them if they have a ready market(people that can buy it) don't follow the crowd to do business, plan well and be sure whatever business you want to do is what you like and u have the skill to pull it off.the money u want to use for shop rent, u can use it to market ur goods and expand ur customer base(dat depends on the kind of business anyway)

i am loving this thread, great advice coming from different folks. Though i already owned a 5 years old business that is paying me alot. But the inspirational words here are really priceless i must say.

where is the op

chioma134:
Hello,everyone.
I love nairaland for one thing; I can share my experiences frankly without fear of being judged by loved ones. I recently started a business,less than a week now. I want to share my experiences as time goes on.
I've tried my hands at a few businesses in the past,but failed. I first imported ladies' shoes and bags from the US some years ago, but I didn't recover about half of my seed money. This was as a result of the poor quality of the bags,but the shoes were of high quality. However I couldn't sell about 1/3 of the shoes, and almost all the bags. I didn't have a shop then,and was selling from my car.
My 2nd attempt was at network marketing which failed woefully. I invested a lot of money,but ended up with so many products I couldn't use, and none of the promises of riches materialized.

Hello Chioma!

I'm really hoping you followed through with this business venture. I'm considering it i.e selling tailoring materials as an alternative source of income and looking for tips and advise before i launch.

Hope to hear from you as to how things turned out.

Please do update and share!!

This is a good thread with good business advice for everyone, let's contribute and help each other. @chioma134, did you continue?

I love this thread. Chioma, please tell us more about your new business conquest. I hope you're successfully thriving in your start up business?