The recent pandemic really got me thinking about how things in life change in the twinkle of an eye. One minute you are planning for big things and then one event just comes and destroys everything. It is so painful because I see a lot of Nigerians broke shaming poor Nigerians when those Nigerians could be just one bad situation away from the abject poverty they really despise.

This got me thinking about my present condition and the bad decisions I have made so far and looking back one of the worst decisions I feel I have made was starting a business straight out of the University.

I left school in 2017 with an uninteresting useless engineering degree. I had a brief experience with auto parts during one of my internships and I felt this was something I could make a mark on especially with the help of the internet in relation to the automotive space in Nigeria. I knew getting good auto parts in Nigeria was really hard and my goal was to connect Nigerians to good auto parts sounds easy right.

First few months were brutal as I relied on third party sellers and most parts had to be returned over and over again. It was so tiring and frustrating. I figured if I was to make a headway in this I needed to get my own parts. Parts I could trust but I had no capital. I did research on how African startups could get startup capitals and I saw a lot of grants which I applied to. I could only reach the interview stages of most of the grants I applied to. My business wasn't well defined enough to take me to the final stages. Tired and frustrated I sought a new means.


With my experience selling parts, I knew getting good mechanics was difficult in Nigeria and since the two were closely related, I figured this was something I could do to create more value and I could use the money from fixing cars to get parts. Don't blame me I was naive. I interned at an exclusive European car workshop where I learnt so much about how to fix cars. I loved it and I learnt so much and just as my internship was about coming to a close I got a job I applied for a year ago in the field I studied in. I took the job just to see if maybe I could like it and men I hated it. That one month was the worst experience of my life ever. I quit and came back to Nigeria and figured this was it. Business or death. This was the end of 2018 by the way.

2019 January swung into action. Started advertising my car fixing services, employed a mechanic. My first set of adverts were going around to distribute fliers to car owners. That brought in some clients. My mechanic quit after 5 days no problems. I got another and continued working fixing cars and saving up money for parts. The second mechanic quit too. Luckily for me I got a close friend from the garage I interned who was interested in working with me. I agreed and this dude was amazing. But it wasn't easy. Paying salaries was really hard. Once it gets to the third week of the month, my heart starts to beat and I start to feel uneasy. I made sure to pay him before a new month begins as I hate owing people and he's also a grown man with responsibilities. This made me desperate in getting more customers. Luckily for me, I was able to partner up with some big automotive OEMs. This was practically the money I made from the whole year and a small loan from my parents in addition. I was back to zero naira once I got my first set of inventory. Marketing them too was also difficult as the first set of parts gotten were extremely expensive to car owners in Nigeria(I still have the stock of parts a lot of them left).

My third mechanic later left. It was so painful when he told me he was quitting as he was like a part of me but then I couldn't Blame him he's a grown man with needs.

I still didn't want to give up on the business anyway till I met someone who snapped me back into reality. I guess mixing up daily with illiterates really destroyed and lowered my thinking faculty. He advised me to get a job. I looked at myself and the only skills I had were in digital marketing and automotive repair. I had to learn everything about marketing because I was desperate to get customers. I was quite good at it actually as my least ROAS was 3:1 but then I wasn't even making any money. I didn't want to work for a Nigerian company as the pay for digital marketers is really crappy and I also didn't want to work as a mechanic as the pay for mechanics too is shit in relation to the kind of work they do.

So I looked into freelancing and remote work. I got my first client 4 days after registering on a remote site and before the corona epidemic got out of hand I was interviewing for a 500 euro per month remote work with an ad agency in Spain. While this might be little to some people, my business was making 300k in monthly revenue. Profit most times after cost was around 20k. It was really brutal for me.

I am presently learning to code so I could get a much better remote job and having programming knowledge makes you a much killer digital marketr.

I write this here so other graduates could learn from me. For two years I struggled on a business that wasn't making me any money. I looked so tattered. Torn jeans and torn shirts. I was broke all the time. I didn't have any rest of mind. I had salaries and bills waiting at the end of the month and I wasn't making any money at all. Business is hard especially in a country like Nigeria where buying power is very limited. You could get a job with a salary of a million naira a month but it's extremely hard to make a revenue of a million naira a month from a business in Nigeria forget the buohaha it's no joke out there.

I know some people also go into business to solve problems for the society but most of the problems in the Nigerians society are due to poverty which only the government can solve by creating good economic inclusive reforms. Nigerians can't afford original car parts and that's why fake parts litter the market. If Nigerians could afford original car parts, we won't have a fake parts problem. There are no fake car parts In Europe or America because people are rich and can afford them. I would still like to continue this business in future when I have more money and more security and I would structure it in a way I would be catering for the elites only. From my experience, those are the only set of people who can afford the best. Until then, I want others to learn from my experiences. A new graduate, get a job. You can't find a job, dedicate six months and learn an indemand skill and apply to remote jobs. The remote job industry is just going to keep on growing and this pandemic has made sure of that.

Survive First. The greatest lie we have been told is the best time to start a business is when young and that first mover advantage is king lies. You can start a successful business at any age and first mover advantage is bullshit. Business Success is about who has the most money first to do things in a big way.

Preach sir!

When I see Nlders praise entrepreneurship so much, I laugh. This is not because being an entrepreneur is bad (providing value is good and rewarding) but OP is saying that young Nigerians who do not have something to fall on should focus on solving their immediate needs first before attempting to solving societal needs. You cannot give what you do not have. How can someone with no strong support base (parental support, an existing business waiting for you to take over or some rich relatives willing to help) attempt to provide value? You would most likely eat the earnings of the business instead of re-investing because you are at the survival stage. Maslow Hierarchy of Needs tells us so. It is until you have solved your basic needs that you can then think of solving people's needs. It is another reason I get amused when folks complain that banks refuse to lend them money when they had awesome business plans (to me, plans are useless. Things change quickly). Banks are profit oriented entities and would most preferable/likely fund someone with a track record (existing business or strong support base to act as collateral), not a recent grad. This post reminds me of lad who dumped his digital marketing agency he co-founded to look for a job in an investment bank. When inquired further why he is leaving his firm (I coached him for the interview), he complained of how business was not moving well and he had difficulties solving his daily needs. As a result, he needs a job. Interestingly, this dude studied in the UK for his two degrees (Bsc Eng and MSc Engr) and I reasoned that he has a strong base and was relying on that but cannot continue to do so going forward. Yet another, this time an ex-classmate, he left his digital marketing agency to get a job as an account executive. Apparently, because he had same problems - solving his daily needs and a new business cannot solve one's needs unless the business is not expected to grow.

So OP is right. No one is saying don't become an entrepreneur but do not so on an empty stomach. You would most likely eat your revenue not even profits as the latter take time to come. Someone would ask what about in the US. What people tend to forget that is the kind of profiles these straight-out-of-school entrepreneurs have. They most likely went to Ivy Leagues, got funded based on the idea not the bottomline of the business, have a strong base to fall on, live in country where interest rates are miserably low and the VC/angel investors' market is strong (literally got founded). So you see? Getting a reasonable job does not make you a slave like some cretins say or keeps your dream away like some mor0ns opine. What it does is: it provides you a support (financially and mentally) on living your life while you plan towards starting your business. What people rarely say about entrepreneurship without investors/parental support/existing history of credit lending is that you would be eating your revenue as they come because your personal problems (rent, feeding, clothing etc) need to be solved.

This is a timely advise. I have seen entrepreneurs who regretted not taking a paid job. Although if none is forth coming you can continue your biz.But taking a paid job if you have the opportunity will expose you to different priceless skills even if it is Govt job.

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Mods I would really love if this gets to the front page.

This needs to get to the front page. You're such a great one; tomorrow'd surely favour you bro_ I really love ya inspiration# stay blessed#

Kawata28:
This needs to get to the front page. You're such a great one; tomorrow'd surely favour you bro_ I really love ya inspiration# stay blessed#

Thanks I would really love for others to learn from my experience. I see a lot of threads glamourising entrepreneurship and I laugh inside me. Entrepreneurship is very hard in a country like Nigeria very hard.

tensazangetsu20:
Mods I would really love if this gets to the front page.

Bro you just described my life. Finished service in 2017 and started the business. Never been easy for me at all this three years. Too much thinking, how do I recover my debt from debtors, how to manage revenue to cover for my expenses. I hardly sleep well at night.

Sometimes I ask myself why me. I would have gone through the job route with my friends.
The only guys doing well in business are those that already came in and meet an already established business started by their parents.


@mynd44, seun, lalastical and the rest admins

schoolboi:


Bro you just described my life. Finished service in 2017 and started the business. Never been easy for me at all this three years. Too much thinking, how do I recover my debt from debtors, how to manage revenue to cover for my expenses. I hardly sleep well at night.

Sometimes I ask myself why me. I would have gone through the job route with my friends.
The only guys doing well in business are those that already came in and meet an already established business started by their parents.


@mynd44, seun, lalastical and the rest admins

It's not too late bros. From 2017 to now is just 2 and a half years. You can still get a very good job. The good thing about business is it increases your self development as you gain lots of skills over the course of the business. You could apply this skills to add value to an organisation.

Gerrard59:
Preach sir!

When I see Nlders praise entrepreneurship so much, I laugh. This is not because being an entrepreneur is bad (providing value is good and rewarding) but OP is saying that young Nigerians who do not have something to fall on should focus on solving their immediate needs first before attempting to solving societal needs. You cannot give what you do not have. How can someone with no strong support base (parental support, an existing business waiting for you to take over or some rich relatives willing to help) attempt to provide value? You would most likely eat the earnings of the business instead of re-investing because you are at the survival stage. Maslow Hierarchy of Needs tells us so. It is until you have solved your basic needs that you can then think of solving people's needs. It is another reason I get amused when folks complain that banks refuse to lend them money when they had awesome business plans (to me, plans are useless. Things change quickly). Banks are profit oriented entities and would most preferable/likely fund someone with a track record (existing business or strong support base to act as collateral), not a recent grad. This post reminds me of lad who dumped his digital marketing agency he co-founded to look for a job in an investment bank. When inquired further why he is leaving his firm (I coached him for the interview), he complained of how business was not moving well and he had difficulties solving his daily needs. As a result, he needs a job. Interestingly, this dude studied in the UK for his two degrees (Bsc Eng and MSc Engr) and I reasoned that he has a strong base and was relying on that but cannot continue to do so going forward. Yet another, this time an ex-classmate, he left his digital marketing agency to get a job as an account executive. Apparently, because he had same problems - solving his daily needs and a new business cannot solve one's needs unless the business is not expected to grow.

So OP is right. No one is saying don't become an entrepreneur but do not so on an empty stomach. You would most likely eat your revenue not even profits as the latter take time to come. Someone would ask what about in the US. What people tend to forget that is the kind of profiles these straight-out-of-school entrepreneurs have. They most likely went to Ivy Leagues, got funded based on the idea not the bottomline of the business, have a strong base to fall on, live in country where interest rates are miserably low and the VC/angel investors' market is strong (literally got founded). So you see? Getting a reasonable job does not make you a slave like some cretins say or keeps your dream away like some mor0ns opine. What it does is: it provides you a support (financially and mentally) on living your life while you plan towards starting your business. What people rarely say about entrepreneurship without investors/parental support/existing history of credit lending is that you would be eating your revenue as they come because your personal problems (rent, feeding, clothing etc) need to be solved.

u got it wrong ...first sell what the market want not what u want or desire....u could have get a space in owode spare markets and start selling Toyota and honda parts with u alone managing the shop, once revenue start improving u start importing and distributing to other dealers, then u expand to other locations using same strategy....once u have like 3 shops and can ship a 20 ft container of accidented cars to cannibalize into side miror, engines, bumper etc then sale and distributed

Next step it to have u yard to repairs of accidented cars shipped into Nigeria in 1000s ....the mechanis would be on pay per jobs available not salary......u are not grounded in enterprenurship and strategy.....u can start by been an apprentice to a big time importer ....

Enterprenure live better lives more than empolyees.

ahiboilandgas:
Enterprenure live better lives more than empolyees.

There are levels to entrepreneurship and there are levels to jobs. Most entrepreneurs in Nigeria do not live better lives than those working in multinationals fact. I hate tokunbo parts as they are a big problem in the Nigerian automotive space and I couldn't find myself contributing to the problem but even then those selling it do not have it rosy now especially as purchasing power has shrinked. It's going to get much worse with the looming depression that hovers over Nigeria.

tensazangetsu20:

There are levels to entrepreneurship and there are levels to jobs. Most entrepreneurs in Nigeria do not live better lives than those working in multinationals fact. I hate tokunbo parts as they are a big problem in the Nigerian automotive space and I couldn't find myself contributing to the problem but even then those selling it do not have it rosy now especially as purchasing power has shrinked. It's going to get much worse with the looming depression that hovers over Nigeria.

u are wrong .how many multinational firms do u have in NIgeria and total number of employees vs number of succeful enterprise in NIgeria....we have less that 30 real mnc in Nigeria vs million of successful supermarkets ,pharmacy, hotels , airlines,night clubs ,fuel stations ,betting shops ,big time traders ,private university,hospitals

ahiboilandgas:
u are wrong .how many multinational firms do u have in NIgeria and total number of employees vs number of succeful enterprise in NIgeria....we have less that 30 real mnc in Nigeria vs million of successful supermarkets ,pharmacy, hotels , airlines,night clubs ,fuel stations ,betting shops ,big time traders ,private university,hospitals

Must you work in Nigeria? That is the problem with many graduates. It's not a must to work in Nigeria. My first real job out of the university was with a company in Australia. Tech talents in Nigeria are getting amazing remote jobs with foreign companies with less stress.

House as a show of capacity most good houses in Nigeria are owned by entrepreneurs....the changing land scape in Lagos is powered by entrepreneurs from ago place to ajah ibo enterprenure are buiding while mnc workers are renting

ahiboilandgas:
House as a show of capacity most good houses in Nigeria are owned by entrepreneurs....the changing land scape in Lagos is powered by entrepreneurs from ago place to ajah ibo enterprenure are buiding while mnc workers are renting

Is there any data to prove this?

tensazangetsu20:

Must you work in Nigeria? That is the problem with many graduates. It's not a must to work in Nigeria. My first real job out of the university was with a company in Australia. Tech talents in Nigeria are getting amazing remote jobs with foreign companies with less stress.

that different topic entirely....those firm u dream to work with are set up by entrepreneurs the like of dangote , glo ,abnd those Australia firms .....u cant rich working for salary unless u live far below u income and invest for years ...

tensazangetsu20:

Is there any data to prove this?

if u have a banker friend ask him for bank balances of successful enterprenures..vs employee....how many employees are on forbe list ...non and never

tensazangetsu20:

Is there any data to prove this?

the ibos , didnt become the group with least ppverty index by working for multinational but by runing successful enterprise and apprentice scheme ....

ahiboilandgas:
if u have a banker friend ask him for bank balances of successful enterprenures..vs employee....how many employees are on forbe list ...non and never

Sheryl Sandberg of Facebook is an employee on Forbes list. Anyways I have made my point to new graduates. Entrepreneurship is not bad but you need a support base to succeed as businesses take time to scale and you have to feed and take care of yourself during that period of growth.

tensazangetsu20:

There are levels to entrepreneurship and there are levels to jobs. Most entrepreneurs in Nigeria do not live better lives than those working in multinationals fact. I hate tokunbo parts as they are a big problem in the Nigerian automotive space and I couldn't find myself contributing to the problem but even then those selling it do not have it rosy now especially as purchasing power has shrinked. It's going to get much worse with the looming depression that hovers over Nigeria.

u are not yet ready to be a bussiness man ....u are driven by emotions and not logic...u think the Chinese that produces low cost low quality item for africa sell same in America.....sell what the market want not what u want....or go submit cv without discouraging any one

tensazangetsu20:

Sheryl Sandberg of Facebook is an employee on Forbes list. Anyways I have made my point to new graduates. Entrepreneurship is not bad but you need a support base to succeed as businesses take time to scale and you have to feed and take care of yourself during that period of growth.

each of my oil tanker truck net 500k monthly some even net 700 k in dry season......risk and reward.....if my truck go from lagos to kano it generates 885,000 naira gross profits with 5 days

And I'm here thinking of entrepreneurship after my graduation this year.
All is well.

ahiboilandgas:
u are not yet ready to be a bussiness man ....u are driven by emotions and not logic...u think the Chinese that produces low cost low quality item for africa sell same in America.....sell what the market want not what u want....or go submit cv without discouraging any one

What you forgot is that the Chinese who you eulogize work first through which they first raise capital and move to Africa. Before you mention the Lebanese or Indians, they've a strong network which is ready to assist where necessary. Now, how many fresh graduates in the Nigeria posses same?

Read the book: The Next Factory of the world: How Chinese investment is reshaping Africa.

Funny enough, if one digs through the data of the the richest people/most successful entrepreneurs in China, one would discover that the vast majority of them worked in a company or companies - government or privately owned before venturing into entrepreneurship. Very few started on their own and those who did had the CCP support, parents who had money or got loans at miserably low interest rates. Even in Nigeria, the most successful entrepreneurs (without some sort of government support to be on the fair side) either took over their parents' businesses or worked with various companies before starting theirs. In the tech industry, the most successful worked with different firms, attended top institutions abroad, had financially supportive parents and an incredibly strong network to support their ventures. Very few started out immediately after school, I reiterate, very very few.

OP isn't saying don't be entrepreneur but don't do do so on an empty stomach. The Igbos he mentioned have a strong apprenticeship system where future business men work with their masters for years and are supported after they finish. Now, would you compare such a person who has been an apprentice for say five years and has been rewarded to a recent graduate on starting out as entrepreneurs in the same field?

tensazangetsu20:
A new graduate, get a job. You can't find a job, dedicate six months and learn an in demand skill and apply to remote jobs. The remote job industry is just going to keep on growing and this pandemic has made sure of that.

Thank you very much for this wonderful advice. I'm in my finals now, please what are these "in demand skill" let me start now.

Spacewalk:
Thank you very much for this wonderful advice. I'm in my finals now, please what are these "in demand skill" let me start now.

Start with programming. You could go into web development or app development or writing big computer applications. Whichever field you choose, research the programming languages that apply to that field but programming is really hard and not everyone is cut out for it. If it gets too hard for you and you don't think you can cope with it then go into digital marketing. Learn absolutely everything you can about digital marketing. If you are learning digital marketing combine graphics design and video editing to it. There are also other fields you could explore like data science and machine learning. Just do your research.

tensazangetsu20:

Start with programming. You could go into web development or app development or writing big computer applications. Whichever field you choose, research the programming languages that apply to that field but programming is really hard and not everyone is cut out for it. If it gets too hard for you and you don't think you can cope with it then go into digital marketing. Learn absolutely everything you can about digital marketing. If you are learning digital marketing combine graphics design and video editing to it. There are also other fields you could explore like data science and machine learning. Just do your research.

Thank you very much. I appreciate.

This thread is very interesting. I love the kind of debate going on here. Please guys, keep the ideas flowing. Very informative.

You will ask yourself in Nigeria now how many people get a job that even pay upto 40k monthly after school. What move in Nigeria is business take it or leave it. no matter how small ur capital is, keep struggling, be consistent nd focus, non stop to it, u will see ur self getting higher. Just look at Nigeria now with dis corona lockdown business owners are contributing money to FG nd there communities. Do u think most of them start with million in d time of there beginning No. so started like (ndi osu afia) like they don't have shops or even goods but bringing buyer to those who have goods nd they will settle them from there they save up nd start his own nd be managing until his business bsoot. And some will serve someone after some years d boss will settle him, he start up his own that how we igbos do. Those private sectors u want to look for a job they are owned by a single person. Why not for u to be focus on ur own business grow it so in d nearest future u will employ people. Unless you have a connection who can give u job dat pays well but still business is still 100% better. U will be ur own boss nobody to command or threat ur work. I talk from an experience. If u have a business idea nd u think is what d society needs better develop ur idea because u aren't d one that put d idea in you but d God who created you. .in Nigeria now business owner build houses anyhow nd salary collectors rent them . 80% of igbos don't do salary work but business dat is why they are very rich because dey don't depend on monthly payments .

Gerrard59:
Funny enough, if one digs through the data of the the richest people/most successful entrepreneurs in China, one would discover that the vast majority of them worked in a company or companies - government or privately owned before venturing into entrepreneurship. Very few started on their own and those who did had the CCP support, parents who had money or got loans at miserably low interest rates. Even in Nigeria, the most successful entrepreneurs (without some sort of government support to be on the fair side) either took over their parents' businesses or worked with various companies before starting theirs. In the tech industry, the most successful worked with different firms, attended top institutions abroad, had financially supportive parents and an incredibly strong network to support their ventures. Very few started out immediately after school, I reiterate, very very few.

OP isn't saying don't be entrepreneur but don't do do so on an empty stomach. The Igbos he mentioned have a strong apprenticeship system where future business men work with their masters for years and are supported after they finish. Now, would you compare such a person who has been an apprentice for say five years and has been rewarded to a recent graduate on starting out as entrepreneurs in the same field?

True but remember no job in Nigeria unless u have connections. About 10 years ago a friend of mine started like dis (ndi oso shia) no money no shop every morning he dress up nd go to main market onitsha helping people to buy things they want from his friend's shop. the shop owner will settle him because he bring buyers for them from there he learn d business nd save up some money start his own. Now he has a shop nd goods worths 10 million inside nd finish his own build house last Christmas and planning to get a car before d lockdown. Business is really good if u have d idea most especially