very inspiring story, how i wish many young boys of nowadays will toe this path of hardwork to success

I want to say a big thank you to all of you for following my business story. E no easy to read from page 1 to 8 true true.

September 18th (that's the day after tomorrow) will make it seven months since I opened my Agbani shop. Hmmm... If to sey I be pregnant woman, I go born by November, abi? Lol. Coincidentally, November 2nd is my birthday. (Make una start to prepare my birthday gift o! Lol)

Most importantly, October, November and December is supposed to be our peak season in this clothes business. In preparation, I've made a signboard/banner displaying my website and phone number. I wanted to do a standard signboard/banner but all the artists I visited here in Agbani charge from N1,000 to N3,500. So I decided to save cost by buying two cardboard papers (N80), a ruler (N50) and gum (N150) and doing it myself with the carton, scissors, razor blade and celotape that I already had. Thank God we were taught how to do it many years ago by our Fine Arts teacher in secondary school. Lol.

Guess what? I recorded a 28seconds video of my shop this morning. It's about 500kb. It's my own way of Instagraming. Lol. If you want to watch it, download it from this link: https://www.datafilehost.com/d/b5d40cad

Meanwhile, can someone help me beg Mark Zuckerberg to jettison this his plan of stopping my Nokia Asha210 from Whatsapping by December 31st? I wish he'd come to Enugu when he visited Nigeria, I for don warn am make him no put sand-sand for my garri o! Lol. Does he know how much Whatsapp is helping me in this business? Doesn't he know how expensive android phones are, especially in this Buhari economy? Mark Zuckerberg biko, na beg I dey beg you sir.

I just like that happiness in you doing the business. You will surely succeed

This is great ride on brother, you will surely get there!

I wish to be like you

I went to the village yesterday. Did I inform you people that I cut my egusi gourds open last time? Well, I was following the Eke-Agbani mama's instruction on how to process egusi manually. She said I should break the gourds, leave them for about a week to rot, wash and sieve the seeds out with a basket and then finally spread it to dry. Thank you Mama.

It's my first experience in egusi-processing. I've posted the pictures of the process. The egusi seeds are not much. But at least e go dey enough to prepare one pot of egusi soup. Lol.

Meanwhile, Papa has started dismantling the motorcycle o! He said it's better if he sells off the parts little by little so that he'll raise my N10,000. I can't wait to receive bank alert gbagam like Psquare. Lol.

Good morning o! I ventured into urban-farming today. I've started a small vegetable garden in the Agbani compound where I live and do business. The space is beside the toilet and bathroom. We also dump refuse near it. I'll upload a picture and video of it later. My free mb finished yesterday. Lol.

While clearing the weeds, I discovered that the ground is actually german-floored. You'd never know by merely looking at it. (I wish I remembered to take a picture of it before I started) So I arranged the soil in a u-shaped style around the german-flooring and planted 13 ugu seeds. I also transplanted some water-leaf and tomato plants growing all over the compound.

I haven't told my landlord yet. I want him to see it when it begins growing.
Then If he asks, "John, what is all this?"
I'll say, "Sir, I thought it's better we use this space instead of leaving it for weeds and mosquitoes."
If he replies, "But why didn't you ask me for permission as the landlord?"
I'll apologise saying, "I'm sorry sir. I wanted to surprise you. You and your family are always free to use the leaves for cooking."
I hope our conversation goes like that sha. Lol.

I advice all of you to plant ugu and water-leaf at your backyards o! Shebi Buhari said change begins with us? At least by having small vegetable gardens, we go get small change for pocket wey we fit use do another thing. Lol.

Updated (October 1st):
The video and the picture was on September 25th when I started the garden. Download and watch the short video here: https://www.datafilehost.com/d/85fb8c33

I finally paid the N2,200 (two thousand two hundred naira) to the Enugu State Waste Management Agency yesterday. This is actually the only levy/tax I'm happy to pay for. They come every Thursday to collect refuse. I think the N185 per month (N2,200 divided by 12) they charged me is a highly subsidized fee for the wonderful job they're doing. As for the local government levy (N1,600) and state government levy (N2,000) which I previously paid for, I no know wetin I dey gain from them sef. Lol.

Remember the ugu pods I harvested? I sold four of them last Thursday for N500 (five hundred naira) to an ugu seeds seller at Eke Agbani market. I was hoping to get at least N800 but I quickly took the money when I saw the gigantic ugu pods they had on display there. . She told me they even had much bigger ones before.

Did I tell you that my Agbani landlord saw the garden I constructed in his compound that same day? Lol. I was in my room when I overheard him asking my neighbour,

Landlord: Who did this?

Neighbour: John

Landlord: What is he doing?

Neighbour: He said he wants to plant ugu there.

Landlord: Ok

Few minutes later, I went to his house and gave him one ugu pod, some grapes and oranges.

Me: Good afternoon sir. See what I brought for you from the village.

Landlord: Thank you.

I was relieved that he didn't bring up the garden issue. The gift was supposed to serve as a bribe and silencer anyway. Lol. The surprise came about two days later when he called me.

Landlord: The Johnny, what will you use to fertilize the ugu you planted?

Me: I'm planning to use those weeds I uprooted.

Landlord: Won't it be better if you use the waste from our poultry?

Me: Yes, yes! That'll will be much better sir.

Landlord: Ok, don't worry. We'll give it to you when next we clear the poultry.

Me: Thank you sir.

Wow! What a pleasant surprise. He kept his word and gave me a cement-bag almost filled with the poultry waste few days later. I guess he's happy that my garden makes his compound neater and of course he knows he'll benefit from the ugu too. Afterall, I must operate this my small government on a you-chop-I-chop PDP system if I no want wahala. Lol.

GOOD NEWS:
The Eke Agbani mama sold the three ugu pods I gave her. She said she sold them N1,300. So I took N1,000 and told her to keep N300.

Still on the ugu matter, I've expanded the Agbani garden. I planted the ugu in four cement bags inside the uncompleted building in the compound. Can you believe I caught a tiny snake while I was clearing the soil there. I no know whether na baby snake o! But I'm 100% sure it's not an earthworm. Lol.

BAD NEWS:
I've sold my village container. I sold it N68,000 (sixty eight thousand naira). It's a big loss for me and a huge gain for the buyer. (He would've spent about N120,000 if he chose to construct, floor, roof and pay rent for a new container now that things are more Buharized. All he needs to do now is call a welder to repair the damage and pay the rent to the land-owners). I gave my cousin N3,000 for bringing the buyer. Eye wey see go chop na. Lol.

The only good thing about the sale is that I now have the N50,000 (fifty thousand naira) I'll use to pay my shop rent (N30,000) and house rent (N20,000) next year. I can also use the remaining N15,000 to venture into another small business here in Agbani.

^ this thing looks like an earthworm na. How are you sure it's not?

Well done bros, I like your spirit.... But I thought Chimaroke did all the roads in Agbani and its environs

I started the small business today. I've been thinking about it long before now. I would've started it in August but I decided to wait until students return from their long holiday. They're returning now. Agbani is no longer as dull as it was last month and two months ago.

What is this small business I'm talking about? It's a business that deals with stomach infrastructure (as Fayose go talk. Lol). I mean FOOD BUSINESS. As in, beans and plantain. Believe it or not, I've improved drastically and exponentially in my beans-cooking skills. Lol. Thanks to the internet. Thanks also to my cousin and neighbours who tasted my beans and scored it high.

I initially wanted to be cooking rice which I noticed students love eating. However, I gave up on rice after scoring my rice-cooking F9 over and over again. Lol. Besides, I don't enjoy rice that much. Doesn't it make more sense for me to cater to fellow beans-lovers? Isn't it better I cook what I'll gladly download into my stomach even if people refuse to buy it? Lol.

From my observation of Agbani, every thing food moves here. Jollof rice, fried rice, rice and stew, garri/fufu and soup, okpa, moimoi, just name it. Students eat a lot and are lazy to cook by themselves. Even if them manage cook sef, na indomie. Lol.

I initially planned to be selling my beans and plantain every evening but after launching it today, I think I'll take a break this week and do it again next Sunday. Though my neighbours are advising me to sell it every morning. They say people prefer eating beans in the morning to eating it in the afternoon/evening.

I'm still contemplating if I should leave this clothes business totally after this year. I've sat down in my shop without selling a single item for two long weeks now. I come dey wonder if na bad-market juju person do me sef. Lol. Honestly, it's not encouraging at all.

John, please you need to keep the mauscript of this thread to write a book of your grass to grace story, someday, to inspire this generation of Nigerian youth that have the proclivity for quick money. kudos brother. please, just keep up the momentum, you are only passing through a process that will take you to your finacial eldorado.

JohnNgene:
I started the small business today. I've been thinking about it long before now. I would've started it in August but I decided to wait until students return from their long holiday. They're returning now. Agbani is no longer as dull as it was last month and two months ago.

What is this small business I'm talking about? It's a business that deals with stomach infrastructure (as Fayose go talk. Lol). I mean FOOD BUSINESS. As in, beans and plantain. Believe it or not, I've improved drastically and exponentially in my beans-cooking skills. Lol. Thanks to the internet. Thanks also to my cousin and neighbours who tasted my beans and scored it high.

I initially wanted to be cooking rice which I noticed students love eating. However, I gave up on rice after scoring my rice-cooking F9 over and over again. Lol. Besides, I don't enjoy rice that much. Doesn't it make more sense for me to cater to fellow beans-lovers? Isn't it better I cook what I'll gladly download into my stomach even if people refuse to buy it? Lol.

From my observation of Agbani, every thing food moves here. Jollof rice, fried rice, rice and stew, garri/fufu and soup, okpa, moimoi, just name it. Students eat a lot and are lazy to cook by themselves. Even if them manage cook sef, na indomie. Lol.

I initially planned to be selling my beans and plantain every evening but after launching it today, I think I'll take a break this week and do it again next Sunday. Though my neighbours are advising me to sell it every morning. They say people prefer eating beans in the morning to eating it in the afternoon/evening.

I'm still contemplating if I should leave this clothes business totally after this year. I've sat down in my shop without selling a single item for two long weeks now. I come dey wonder if na bad-market juju person do me sef. Lol. Honestly, it's not encouraging at all.

Wow, you are a good story teller. As for business, you need to stop experimenting too much, stick to one or two businesses for now and do them well. When funds are low, the best business you do is agriculture. When you have enough funds then you can trade. You said that you haven't sold anything in two weeks? That's a long time, do you take records of things your customers request for most? Apart from the spiritual aspect, do you have any other reason you can attribute to the low sales?

Wow! Wow! Wow! This is so awesome. I am inspired.. V bin stuck with a job and afraid to make bold step. But John, u v truly inspired me. I read the part 1 till date.. . I thank God I found this thread. I pray God will continue to b with u throughout ur journey. U r truly a bona fide hustler. God bless ur hustle, it will end in praise for u. But pls, stop experimenting and focusing. I love that agricultural thing u r into. Pls, don't relent. Continue with the efforts u r putting it. As for the clothing biz that is low, see person wey chop, na e go wan wear cloth oooo. So it is d economy. But don't lose hope. Festive periods will soon be here, the biz will boost more then. Also, put more efforts into focusing oo o..u can try the beans biz, thou . And see ow it goes.. Plus u sef go dey eat part of it nah... Lol...

This is a huge inspiration to all other guys out there that are looking for "just any Job" in Lagos..

Front desk officer of 30,000 naira as salary... which is an average of 1k per day and they claim working class...

God gave us skills and energy as young people.. the question is what are you using it to do??

A common keke guy that is a graduate makes 5,000 everyday and still has enough to flex...

Congrats bro... make sure you plan well and read up well... You will get there..

JohnNgene:


My brother, I agree with you. The way women price things eh. Chai! My cousin who runs a ladies' boutique here in Agbani has recently added men's clothing. His shop is located upstairs. He wanted me to take the shop when I was still searching for a shop but I rejected his offer because I believed it'll be difficult for some lazy girls to climb up. Lol. But since he added men's clothing, guys have been climbing up to buy from him without over-bargaining like women. Lol.

I might just take your advice. Thanks.

This is informative. Thanks.

How is ur okrika business fairing? I intend starting one next month, I've secured a shop already. Do u buy in bales?

I was a bit angry with you on thread 7 when you felt like nobody reads this anymore.... You've got our hearts already man!....There is no error in trying a new venture you brainstormed on and your intuition gives you a go ahead. I am in on the food thing....people must eat! I suggest you do a lil advertisement around your area....including the description of your menu, location and time..... You can write with marker on the other side of used A4 paper and paste it around your area. You can do same for your clothing business and add your number for whatsapp........
..


I want to say again.... It is a crime against oneself to feel like you are too big to start small.... people must talk but that alone can't take away your profit from your pocket. When people says where is the capital, i just say go and do a labour work on a site for a week, month or something like that and gather some money. Labour work pays 1500 a day.... approach a bricklayer or site Engineer and tell him you need his help in securing labour work for a month to raise capital... that can even lead to something more prosperous... ...get off your high horses... .. It just makes me feel bad when I see people around me refusing to overcome the mental challenge of starting small. I wish I can say more..........

i suggest you stick on food business such as restaurant. you will make cool cash provided it is cheap and test fine. students like cheap food.

hello Mr John. Send me an email @ steve4real78@yahoo.com. or better still, send me your number,here. I want to discuss with you.

Happy new year to me. I'm 28 today. No be football age o! Lol.

I went to a photo-studio yesterday and literally jumped for joy. You can see the moment captured in the picture. Lol.

Please bear with me. I'll update you all on business as well as reply your questions and comments as soon as I can. Many thoughts and ideas are battling like Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton in my mind right now.

Work in progress

I know all eyes are on Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump today but please I also need votes to win Etisalat's pounds o! Lol. Remember I entered for their flash fiction competition. Voting ends by November 30th. You can read my entry and vote for it here: https://prize.etisalat.com.ng/flash-fiction/voteall.php?id=367

Thanks in advance.

Bugatie, Chimaruoke Nnamani transformed Agbani but he didn't build any road into Amurri. The road stopped at ESUT back gate. That's why we're angry with him and my people refused to support him when he ran for senate last year. The most painful part of the story is that Amurri people lost their lands to ESUT without being adequately compensated. My uncle lost about ten plots of his land.

Pidggin, I think this recession is a big reason. Plus maybe the saturation of clothes-sellers here in Agbani.

Cutiesoglam, amen o!

LKO, I don't buy in bales o! Have you finally started yours? I'm thinking of focusing on underwears, corsets, girdles, waist-trainers, body-magic, paded pants and intimacy gadgets. I'll advice you to give it a try as well.

Egbon mi CoolDipo, no vex abeg. I love it when you people comment. I definitely agree with you that starting small is the key to growing big.

Chief Bobug28, thank you my brother.

Uncle Renegade09, I really really really appreciate your phone call. Thank you sir.

LKO, I don't buy in bales o! Have you finally started yours? I'm thinking of focusing on underwears, corsets, girdles, waist-trainers, body-magic, paded pants and intimacy gadgets. I'll advice you to give it a try as well.


From this comments you made, I'm wondering what informed your decision to go into this aspect of trading.

Merry Christmas to everyone o!

I know sey una go dey wonder wetin dey worry me, abi? Lol. Well, I've decided to start XMAS BONANZA this November for all my customers. I've slashed the prices on all my clothes. It's like a clearance sales because I'm planning to stop selling clothes. I'll either be focusing on underwears, corsets, girdles, waist-trainers, body-magic and intimacy gadgets or I might just sell off my Agbani container for at least N70,000 (seventy thousand naira) and relocate to Onitsha to continue business there.

Whirlwind7, this clothes business is too too slow here in Agbani. And the worst thing be sey expenses pass profit. The bitter truth is that the business is not bringing in the capital needed to sustain it. Sighs. The underwears, corsets, girdle etc branch of the business is not yet saturated here and gives higher profit for now.

I'll really be sad to leave my home state Enugu but my only consolation is that Onitsha is still Igboland and is a more populated and international business city. I'm not abandoning Enugu forever sha. John who fights and runs away will live to fight another day. Lol. I'll come back to my village with a bang when I raise enough capital to establish the agricultural and business empire of my dreams.

As for now, I'm preoccupied with thoughts of how to clear my debt. Though my loving friend is not putting any pressure on me. Thank God for that. But God knows I'll never be at rest until I pay him back his money with a carton of wine and other gifts to thank him for investing in me.

Moving forward, if I eventually sell the container and relocate, I might open another thread probably titled "My Enugu to Onitsha Business Move". Thank you all for following my story. Thank you for your financial contributions and gifts. Aunty Naijacutie, I'm now wearing that watch you gave me o! I couldn't sell it since that time so I decided to keep it as a birthday gift. Lol. Thank you ma.

God bless you all.

Hi John,
Is palm kernel available in large quantity in ur villa? If yes, we have biz to do. Holla me on 070.38382584(whatsapp)

Impressive reading and efforts from the OP.

In terms of a business, think of a problem that requires a solution. I believe business is basically like this,
If you sort out a $200 problem for example, you will get paid $200. If you can sort a $1000 problem, you;ll get $1000.

The issue mostly is raising the capital, without money or capital easier said than done. In most cases, I think offering a service based business at the beginning may be the answer to raising a capital that you can then use to start another bigger business.

You can for example think of more modern ways to solve local problems.

Also in terms of a business, think long term. A business that people would have to repurchase every time is a good one to have.

Good morning everyone. I have good news. My Agbani garden has produced its first three ripe tomatoes. A rat or something bit into one so I've kept it so I can plant the seeds. While I ate the other two raw. Lol.

As for the ugu, the first set of seeds I planted, rotted because I wasn't watering them. I had to plant a new set of seeds on my birthday and have been watering them diligently since then. Five have sprouted so far out of the about twenty seeds I planted. I suspect that the soil doesn't suit the ugu so well.

John more update, we are loving this, e just be like say make i come join you

John, I'm impressed by your efforts. I pray that the Lord will bless your striving. Success in life requires effort .

It would be ungenerous on my part to have read your work from beginning to end, noting some essential principles like your flair for account keeping down to the little details and not give my own inputs in the flaws you made and some unwise decisions you have taken
1) bro you should have before starting this your business adventure, done a business survey of Agbani area and noting the viable ones that will pay off faster, if you had done this, surely you wouldn't have made this mistake.
2) I knew you were only chasing shadows and will regret your decision to experiment opening retail businesses of different kinds of goods at different locations at the same time, Haba na! You didn't act clever in that one. It would have been understandable assuming you were already established in your first business and you now wanted to expand. You were too hasty to do everything at the same time even in your farming work, if they leave you, you are ready to farm all crops in a small piece of land. You acquired the containers at the same time. Business expansion happens progressively over a set time period, it doesn't happen immediately one starts business.Bro learn to give time to goals, it will help you to arrive at a better decision.
When i read the part where you spent additional 23k to roof something you are not sure what to do with it, you were already planning to sell it off as you stated, I was completely dissatisfied. Oga to me, your decisions were very appalling, you paid 10k for motorcycle that you have not even tested to know if it starts, when starting that Agbani business, didn't you think of your costs of transportation? Your Agbani business was not booming and you went and paid 20k to secure a room in the compound. You were really extravagant with your business capital and is even ironic that you have wasted funds and yet keeps account of little things like pure water.
Aside the fact that you are very industrious, down to earth and then admirable in your writing style, there's nothing more special with your business epistles. I mean no offense sir, i like you as a person, you are very very good, but your business decisions are grossly unsound.
Do you think is easy to come by with someone to give you a loan of 300k combined with donations from Nairaland good heart donors and your jnr sister contribution as you stated. There contributions were close to 70k from my rough calculation. So with 350k, after 9 months, all you can boast of is 60k from your proposed sale of your Agbani container and then your left over goods that you want to do Xmas bonanza with, is awful. Had it been you secured this money from the bank or some stringent conditions were attached, i bet you, you would have been more prudent and shrewd.
Now, the main thing is that i decided to give you my appraisal because i sincerely believe in you and am sure you can do better than this, please take note of some of your mistakes and tried to avoid re-doing them. The truth is that no-one especially in the business world can avoid making a mistake except one is not ready to take a leap of faith by launching into the deep of financial waters, but that should be a well calculated and circumspect leap o. You don't just act impulsive as you exhibited and expect not to loose heavily. Bro so please double up your "akonuche", you are 28 and behind schedule already but God will restore and help you, Amen.
For your proposal to move over to Onitsha, i will advise you seek God’s face for that o, you can go to Onitsha now and it will be worser or could be better too. You need not to be told that many people are making it big time in the same Lagos that you left. But if you later decide to stay back in the villa, i will advise you forget the Agbani venture and concentrate on that your villa. Like many have suggested, if you can raise money from the sales of your left over goods, consider doing more of Agric business like cropping and animal husbandry, it will be a big business opportunity for you if you play by their rules diligently and not planting today, tomorrow you will come and tell us you traveled for one thing one thing, you need to be diligent. Secondly, like you had earlier plan, if you really think that selling those your electrical goods will really work, you can consider transporting your Agbani container to the villa. My instinct tells me that it will work better this way, I believe for some divine reasons, God led you to the villa to establish you there. That conviction to go to the villa must be a divine one, ordinarily, you wouldn't have cos is weird. So look more into agriculture and then the villa business to keep your self busy in the day and as well help you out with some change for your daily feeding since agriculture is kind of seasonal and at such, you might not be seeing money everyday.

This is my bosom advice to you, think over it and pray about it. I wish that next time i will hear about you, that you are already doing great and established and even have workers in the long run. I just followed you and will save your number later, take care.

Ps: I didn't mean to insult you earlier in my write up, was really moved to be raw with the truth to you. Thanks for your understanding and God bless your hustles.