Nigerians in Diaspora, this thread is for you. Many of you left Nigeria for various reasons - education, career enhancement, business etc. But the most common reason is the proverbial 'Golden Fleece'.

If you were to attach a target of monetary value to this Golden Fleece, how much will make you return to Nigeria?

How much money must you make before returning to Nigeria?

Enough money to enable you own a house when u return there. ENough money to enable to own your own business, and enough money to help your family.

But i think it'll be wise to be here n be building ur house there, also a business, so that when you go permanently, it won't be stressful. You'll already have these things done.

I don't care how much money I make before returning. I just intend to finish up my studies and return.

when am done with my studies you cant make a certain amount of money and say you want to go back because the money can still finish back home.

there's not enough money to build me a research lab, lab equipments and provide constant research grants to work with!

I dont care how much i make becasue money is just a liquidty value. With a masters degree which is another kind of money and a gpa over 3.0 I can command some respect in any nigerian company back home and make even more money while serviing the nation.

Why not just aim to start a company and create jobs instead?

That's what I think too. I don't like working for people.

If you decide to build something before returning home, beware.  There have been cases of people returning home to find nothing, after having sent substantial amounts home for friends/family to build something for them.  My advice is that you wait and purchase or build a house/biz yourself.

As for how much is enough, you have to factor in:

1. Cost of building a house. Whatever estimates you come up with, double/triple it.

2. Same for building a business.  Think of exorbitant govt licencing costs.

3. Bribery money.  You can't escape it.

4. Be prepared for a pack of vultures who invariably are going to be crawling out of the woodwork, claiming to be relatives.  You're going to need to fork over cash, or make enemies real fast.

5. Be prepared that your business wouldn't start making money for the first 3 years.

6. You need to go home with at least a car.  Possibly another car to sell at a profit.

7. Be prepared for the cost of shipping your belongings home, as well as clearing them from the ports.  Clearing your goods could cost you a pretty penny.  Ask people who have gone though it recently.

8. Be prepared for the cost of healthcare.

So, the amount of money you need, would depend on where you choose  to settle in.  Places like Lagos/Abuja will eat you alive.

oasis:


5. Be prepared that your business wouldn't start making money for the first 3 years.

that is so wrong, and am sure alot of people would agree with me on that. What kind of business do you wanna do that you'll have to wait 3 yr for profit!! Nigeria is a very profitable market. . . if you have a nice idea, and capital, am sure you'll start making profit way faster, say in the first couple of months. . . it might take 2 to 3 years for you to be a multinational though!

i dey wait for the day wey i go win spanish lottery and na so me i go land for naija gbaaaaaa, come build one lab for this our american scientists wey full this forum, naija go better or do i say biafra go better, any way for the main time naija

Lotteries? I haven't seen anyone who explicitly set out to win the lottery actually do so.

Seun:

Why not just aim to start a company and create jobs instead?

Wont you start from somewhere, I mean from school straight to owning a company in nigeria , ur degree or Masters is not cash n connections in nigeria

And Start-up Loans

Work in the US and save your money and use it to create solutions jobs in Nigeria later.

that is so wrong, and am sure alot of people would agree with me on that. What kind of business do you want to do that you'll have to wait 3 yr for profit!! Nigeria is a very profitable market. . . if you have a nice idea, and capital, am sure you'll start making profit way faster, say in the first couple of months. . . it might take 2 to 3 years for you to be a multinational though!

Nothing wrong with succeeding that quickly. But there's nothing wrong with having a 3 year cushion, in case things don't go as planned.

The truth is, some business ventures do take a very long time to begin yeilding results.

This is one of the reasons why most things fail in Nigeria. You people don't have vision to put safeguards in place for unexpected situations. Call me paranoid, but I'm right, and you're wrong on this.

Oasis, sorry buddy, you sound so negative!

There is nothing like the "right" moment. Planning with plenty of safe-guards means you won't start at all. Start with what you have -- if you wait for a break then you're going to wait forever.

As for not knowing things -- how you're going to run your business will come from hands-on experience. No business-man hasn't lost money or had a little number played on him when he was still green. As a business owner you must be willing to take risks -- that's what scares people off from starting up on their own.

Most people lose almost all they have when they start -- what'll keep you going on is determination.

to me, it's more like how much money I have in the bank. Based on calculations, for me, it would be at least $200,000

For the sake of argument, I will say this though - how much money I must make is kind of like asking how much a human life is worth, priceless. But if I were asked at gunpoint, anything less than N20,000,000 wouldn't even tickle my fancy. I need to be at least half as comfortable as I am here.

, and that's my 2 cents

Oasis, sorry buddy, you sound so negative!

What is negative about making sure you're prepared for eventualities?

The way I see it, if you're already working abroad, and you're bent on going against the tide to return to Nigeria, you might as well load up as much as possible. If things turn out bad, you have a boat load of dough to fall back on. On the other hand, if your plan falls through, and your cash reserve is only good for 6 months, what are you going to do then? Pack your bags and head abroad again?

What I've written earlier is exactly how I'd proceed. I won't pull any dumb stunts where none is required.

oasis:

What is negative about making sure you're prepared for eventualities?

Well making sure you are prepared for eventualities is different from trying to be viewing it from the pessisimists point of view and losing hope in the whole system. Well like i can be entitled to my opnion and same thing applies to you!, Thats the way I see it.

When you spend all your time planning for eventualities you have little time to actually start up. Face it -- the more you plan, the more imaginative you become and the more you plan. . .

Zahymaka:

When you spend all your time planning for eventualities you have little time to actually start up. Face it -- the more you plan, the more imaginative you become and the more you plan. . .

In addition, when you try to over-analyze what the eventualities might bring, thats the beginning of losing confidence and interest in whatsoever you want to do. Get into it but making sure you are well prepared for whatever might want to pose as an obstacle

That's the spirit man!

In addition, when you try to over-analyze what the eventualities might bring, thats the beginning of losing confidence and interest in whatsoever you want to do. Get into it but making sure you are well prepared for whatever might want to pose as an obstacle

First you say it's wrong to consider eventualities too deeply. Then you say making sure you are well prepared for whatever might want to pose as an obstacle. How are you supposed to make sure you're well prepared, if you don't spend a lot of time working out the details?

I've done work for a few different people over the years. And I'm astounded at the details they present to me. In one case, the guy had been studying the market he was in for 6+ years. By the time I got done building his business for him, he came out as the best of the best, way ahead of his competitors. He has held the top position ever since.

You do have to spend a lot of time studying your market. By so doing, you increase your chances of success dramatically.

Or course I can understand the mentality of someone who's going into a business venture as a means of getting out of poverty, as opposed to another fella who's doing it to catapult himself into higher class status. The latter guy is likely to want to be better than the best, where the first just wants to rush in asap.

10 million Pounds will do.

10 million Pounds will do.

He's got jokes.
Comedian in the house everybody.

Oasis:  Melancholic .Always detailed,meticulous and planning and never getting in until all the facts add up.But once begun will go all the way

Zahymaka and gentleaura : Cholerics . Rush in and get the job done.Blast out of the way anything standing in the way.Solve the problems as they come.

We need both kinds of people to get things going but they do fight alot if in the same team 

oasis:


I've done work for a few different people over the years. And I'm astounded at the details they present to me. In one case, the guy had been studying the market he was in for 6+ years. By the time I got done building his business for him, he came out as the best of the best, way ahead of his competitors. He has held the top position ever since.

6 yrs to study the market (which is quite too much) is so so different from 3 yrs in the business making loss (. . .when not making profits . . . )

How about enough to but a ticket?

can you ever save enough to return, make no mistakes things can run you here, oooo
but just have enought to build you a home and another building to serve as revenue generation, forget business, governance is the only successful business in town, or being related to someone in government

I dont belive that, you are so myopic in this posting. Many people are making it without having anyone in govt. I guess follow Nairalanders can attest to this.

If you're not coming with capital - and experience - to start a business, please don't come to Nigeria!