My name is Ike Enuosa, I have an important message for you today. October 21 is my birthday ���but hey! that's not the message.

To commemorate my birthday this year, I want to do something special because my birthday is special. This year, I will be giving out for free powerful business skills I have acquired over the years.​
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The world we live in is changing @ a very fast pace. Its either you move with it or you are left behind, no two ways about it.​
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Over the next couple of weeks, I want to coach interested Nigerian youths on practical Ecommerce and Digital Marketing business in Nigeria. The training will be divided into 3 modules.​
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MODULE 1
✍️ Introduction to Ecommerce Business in Nigeria​
Mini Importation Business overview​
- Tools/Resources needed for successful importation business​
- Good Websites for Mini Importation​
- How to buy cheap from china websites even if you can't speak the Chinese language​
- What Makes a Good product and bad product?​
- A review of popular Shipping/Logistics Companies ​
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MODULE 2​
✍️ Digital Marketing Overview​
- How to create business page on Facebook, Instagram etc.​
- How to optimize your social media accounts, sales pages for bumper sales.
- How to create Facebook & Instagram Sponsored Ads (The right way)​
- Targeting, Targeting, Targeting ​
and many more.​

MODULE 3
✍️ Advanced Ecommerce Training - Dropshipping Business in Nigeria, Does it Work?
If yes, How? - How to build high quality Online Store without knowing how to Code
Many More..

cc: lalasticlala, mynd44

Ecommerce – What Does It Mean Exactly?


INTRODUCTION

In the beginning was the world and the world was with man and man has been involved in the business of buying and selling.

First was trade by barter; trading beans for egusi, bush meat for red oil, fish for grains, ogbono for fish and so on �. Since then, human beings have been buying and selling with others in their immediate environment. These activities can simply be described in just one word "Commerce".

With the advent of the internet saw Commerce moving to a new dimension called eCommerce which simply means buying and selling of goods and services on the internet

Do you remember the definition of commerce back in secondary school? Let me remind you in case you have forgotten. “Commerce is defined as the exchange of goods and services”.

E-commerce is the process of buying and selling products over the internet.

The internet has affected and is still affecting the way we do things, it has evolved from just a place where we can get information to where we live our lives especially with the social media.

The e-commerce industry is one of the fastest growing industries in the world. In 2017 alone, retail e-commerce sales worldwide amounted to about 2.3 trillion. Also, e-retail revenues are projected to hit $4.5 trillion in 2021. (Statista Global retail e-commerce sales 2014-2021).

What does this tell you?

The industry is growing geometrically and this growth is not expected to slow down soon, at least not now. In the US, and other growing economies of the world, e-commerce is a serious business that is why the oldest and also biggest e-commerce websites are located there.

In Africa and Nigeria in particular, e-commerce business is growing faster than you can ever imagine. Some Nigerians are already making millions of Naira importing goods from China and reselling to Nigerians. While some currently sell through their online stores, some sell on other established online marketplace like Jumia and Konga while others sell on Social Media like Facebook, Instagram etc.

Classified websites such as Jiji are still good places where you can list your products and sell to people within your locality. This business concept is what Nigerians referred to as Mini Importation.

However, as interesting as e-commerce business may sound, there are some imminent problems that one should consider before venturing into it.
Some of those problems are; a pile-up of unsold stocks, courier and delivery, payment issues, returned, abandoned orders, fraudulent orders, other more life threatening risks like the case of Jumia delivery guy that was killed some time ago.
However, all of these problems can be handled with proper research, professional management and mentoring.

I will be sharing tips and strategies on how to source for hot products cheaper, ship them to Nigeria within few days and how to sell them to people who have money waiting to buy from you. This is not rocket science, all of these come with time. Stay tuned!

What if I tell you that you can actually sell to anybody anywhere on earth without physically meeting them, or having to bother about payment and shipping?

This is a new dimension to this business known as dropshipping. The dropshipping concept allows you to run a semi-automated where you can sell products to people in other countries without having a physical contact with them.
This is more like an advanced part of this business and I hope to share actionable and practical articles on how to get started and make some cool money. Just stay tuned!



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cc: lalasticlala, mynd44 please help push this so more youths can benefit from it (its free)

Thanks boss. God bless you. I'd be waiting for you.

Requirements for a Successful Mini Importation

Mini Importation in the Nigerian context, is a branch of ecommerce which implies your ability to buy items abroad, ship to Nigeria for resell to people who have need of them. In this type of business, you don't have to physically travel to China, USA or Dubai before you can start buying abroad. In fact, you don't need a visa or international passport as everything will be conducted online.

Suffice to say that Mini Importation is a profitable business, you may not make enough money if you do not have the proper knowledge/mentoring needed. Today, I will be to sharing with you the necessary things you need to be able to successfully kick start your mini importation business in Nigeria and as I did say before, I want to give to you only practical ideas that work, no beating around the bush. So lets get down!

Tools/Resources You Need to Start
The following are prerequisites for starting your own mini importation business here in Nigeria;

- Internet Connection:
The first thing you need is internet. As I did say, everything will from procurement, to shipping to Nigeria will be done online. Therefore, you need to have internet connection either on mobile phone, computer or any other internet enabled device that you can use to browse the internet.

- Language Translator:
Once you have your internet enabled device ready, the next thing you will need is a language translator. This is useful especially when you source products from non-English websites. Apart from the generic websites most people know such as Amazon, Alibaba and co, there are native China websites primarily in Chinese language and because they are designed in Chinese, you either need to understand "chin chon" or you make use of a language translator to convert the website language from China to English so you can be able to find your way and search for any product you want.

There are two ways to achieve this but the easiest is to install the latest version of Google Chrome. Once installed, any website in another language will be automatically translated to English.

- Shipping/Logistics Provider:
Another very important factor to consider is the shipping company or logistics provider that will handle your product shipment from the country of purchase to Nigeria. There are many logistic companies that Nigerians currently use to ship their goods from China, USA, Honkong etc. Example of such some prominent names in the logistic space includes, Chrisvicmall, Nonikings, NBC Skye Logistics etc.

PS: This is not a recommendation of any of the logistics companies listed above and so I advise that you do your findings very well before parting with money.

While some of these logistic companies are trying, many others are nothing to write home about. Personally, I have had very bitter experiences with some and I will advise that you make a proper research and inquiry into any logistic partner you want to hand your shipment to. Some of the common issues with these logistic companies includes; delayed shipment of orders, loss/misplacement of customer's goods, inexperience in handling goods leading to destruction of customer's items, outright theft etc.

Currently, I make use of two (2) different logistics companies for my shipment, one for USA and the second one for goods coming from China. So far, they have been meeting my expectations.

As a way of emphasis, I need to reiterate that a bad logistic company can send you back to your village. Therefore, do your findings very well before choosing anyone and if for any reason you don't get what you want, feel free to make a switch. One way to vet a logistics partner/company is to ask here on Nairaland and experienced people will be willing to share their views. Also, you can search on Google for customer's reviews/complaints. That was what I did when I wanted to ship through one company called Chibyke Global. When I checked their customer's review on Google, it was terribly bad with bitter complaints here and there and so, I 'jejely waka comot' LOL .

- Local Delivery:
In the last few years, I have interacted with newbies in Mini Importation who think that once they get their product in Nigeria, then local delivery is not an issue. In their words, "once there's an order I will find a way to deliver it". It is important you have a local shipping arrangement in place, this will help you to be prepared even before the orders start coming. Best bet is to partner with courier companies that will help you deliver your prepaid orders or Pay on Delivery orders. Alternatively, you can also deliver via transport lines such as Agofure Parcel, GIG Logistics etc.

Start-up Capital
Just like every other business in Nigeria, you also need money to start this. A minimum of N20,000 startup fund will be needed to pay for your order and settle shipping fees when your goods arrive. However, the 20k stated above is like starting at a small level so if you can afford more, the better for you as you may also incur other charges such as advert, local delivery and others.

Let me stop here for now as I intended this to be very short. I will be making a video to explain this concept in details. Follow me on Instagram @afiablog

In my next post, I will be sharing with you reliable and cheap websites to search for products. Stay tuned!

Thanks boss for your update. Which procurement agent are you using by the way?

Popular E-commerce Websites

There are thousands of e-commerce websites in the world that no single person will be able to mention. However, I will be sharing some popular ones I have personally used or I am familiar with. As time progresses, I will be writing individually on these websites for the sake of those who haven’t used them but may be willing to try them in the future. Listed below are some popular ecommerce websites I have personally used.

Amazon
eBay
Walmart
Aliexpress
mininthebox
lightinthebox
Alibaba
Taobao
1688
Dhgate
Flipkart
Newegg and so many others....

Let me tell you a bit about my story.

When I first ventured into mini importation, that would be between 2013 and 2014, I only just wanted to explore new things but somehow along the line, it was getting interesting more and more to me. First, I started buying personal stuffs from Aliexpress; wristwatchs necklaces etc. One of the discouraging factor on Aliexpress then (and now still) was long shipping time. Some of the stuffs I bought took over 1 month before I could get them in Nigeria. By the way, when you order products on Aliexpress, exept you have money to pay for their exhorbitant courier charges, it will be shipped via the Post Office and you have to personally go there to pick it. Due to the delayed shipment I encountered on Aliexpress, I started searching for other ways. Luckily for me, I discovered Miniinthebox.com and their sister website lightinthebox.com. Wow, I became relieved! Though their prices were a bit higher than Aliexpress, I was enjoying free shipping on all orders above $75.

Also, I have bought many things on Amazon.com. I have bought books, clothes, jewelry, phones and laptops for items that were available to be shipped to Nigeria. For those that could not be shipped to Nigeria, I used MyUs.com. Recently Drone Camera device that I shipped via mayoral, I basically use them for all my USA bulk orders and they have not disappointed me.

In summary, I will recommend the following websites to start your mini importation business;

1688.com (China)
Alibaba.com (English)
Taobao.com (China)

These are currently the cheapest wholesale websites where you can order for items at ridiculously cheap prices and make cool profits

In my next post, I will show you how to source from these China websites as if you can speak "chin chon" or like if you a Chinese self.

Videos will be posted on my Instagram profile.

smado:
Thanks boss for your update. Which procurement agent are you using by the way?

I use mayoral for USA orders and NBC for China

OK thanks

Enddystar:

pls, which of local delivery service is best for now ?

1stbest:
pls, which of local delivery service is best for now ?

Honestly, this is one major issue with mini importation business in Nigeria. So it is very difficult to say if there's anything like "best local delivery company in Nigeria". Currently, I use Courierplus. they have their flaws too but manageable. One of my partner uses GIG Logistics, he sometimes have issues with them too but he is still using them


Cc Lalasticlala
Cc MissyB3
Cc Fynestboi
Cc Seun
Cc Mynd44

Interesting

Enddystar:
Popular E-commerce Websites

There are thousands of e-commerce websites in the world that no single person will be able to mention. However, I will be sharing some popular ones I have personally used or I am familiar with. As time progresses, I will be writing individually on these websites for the sake of those who haven’t used them but may be willing to try them in the future. Listed below are some popular ecommerce websites I have personally used.

Amazon
eBay
Walmart
Aliexpress
mininthebox
lightinthebox
Alibaba
Taobao
1688
Dhgate
Flipkart
Newegg and so many others....

Let me tell you a bit about my story.

When I first ventured into mini importation, that would be between 2013 and 2014, I only just wanted to explore new things but somehow along the line, it was getting interesting more and more to me. First, I started buying personal stuffs from Aliexpress; wristwatchs necklaces etc. One of the discouraging factor on Aliexpress then (and now still) was long shipping time. Some of the stuffs I bought took over 1 month before I could get them in Nigeria. By the way, when you order products on Aliexpress, exept you have money to pay for their exhorbitant courier charges, it will be shipped via the Post Office and you have to personally go there to pick it. Due to the delayed shipment I encountered on Aliexpress, I started searching for other ways. Luckily for me, I discovered Miniinthebox.com and their sister website lightinthebox.com. Wow, I became relieved! Though their prices were a bit higher than Aliexpress, I was enjoying free shipping on all orders above $75.

Also, I have bought many things on Amazon.com. I have bought books, clothes, jewelry, phones and laptops for items that were available to be shipped to Nigeria. For those that could not be shipped to Nigeria, I used MyUs.com. Recently Drone Camera device that I shipped via mayoral, I basically use them for all my USA bulk orders and they have not disappointed me.

In summary, I will recommend the following websites to start your mini importation business;

1688.com (China)
Alibaba.com (English)
Taobao.com (China)

These are currently the cheapest wholesale websites where you can order for items at ridiculously cheap prices and make cool profits

In my next post, I will show you how to source from these China websites as if you can speak "chin chon" or like if you a Chinese self.

Videos will be posted on my Instagram profile.

So, one way I want to mark my birthday this month is to conduct a FREE training on Online and Social Media Marketing. Do you want to make more sales on Facebook, Instagram etc?

Join me live on Instagram @ [url]instagram.com/ik_enuosa[/url] to learn how. Do you know anyone who might benefit from this training? Share this with them and they will thank you later. Check flier for details. Don't worry! It's � free