northbird:
Op. Pay heed to davidhobo's post. The guy nailed it.

Lagos is light-years ahead of Abuja.

Forget it, no real biz in Abj. Glorified territory.
On weekends, maitama, wuse2, the entire Cbd is almost a ghost town.

Only a minute fraction of Abuja's populace are financially buoyant. A lot of people, I mean hundreds of thousands are financially broke in Abuja.


Any foreign investor coming to Nigeria for biz heads to Lagos. That shd tell you something.

iamadonis2:
Thank you so much guys. You all really took time out to explain things to me. I’m in Abuja now for an on-ground assessment

onuwaje:


Please give us (me) update o
Very much interested

Thanks

iamadonis2:


I’m starting to think I should maintain the my previous location and treat Abuja like a startup Branch whilst building my customer base. Only thing is I may have to shuttle both Cities alot

MrigweC:




It depends on the kind of business you are doing,
Accommodation is the top priority here because the house here is kinda expensive and still depends on the area you are in Abuja.
You need luck my brother
The right set of friends
Then package wella
Which area do you intend staying? ?
I stay in kubwa

Krucifax:
At OP .

Abuja is one of the fastest growing cities on the planet currently in terms of organic growth and population growth.

Hundreds of thousands of Nigerians fleeing insecurity in the north and congestion in the south are moving or planning to move to Abuja.

Abuja is also one of the top five states in Nigeria per GDP and economic activity.

From a business perspective Abuja presents unique opportunities due to the daily population growth and attendant demands that will need to be met for the population.

However there are serious factors to consider. Regulation and enforcement is high in Abuja. Unlike many states in Nigeria where you can just sit or stand by the road and sell anything for money Abuja is much stricter.

Contrary to popular opinion that Abuja is the most expensive state it is not. However there are certain things that come with an above average price tag in Abuja compared to other states.
Transportation in Abuja is generally cheaper than Lagos as is some services and goods especially those sourced from nearby northern states. However domestic and commercial property costs are generally prohibitive this is true for rental or purchase. This is also true for goods that have been routed via Lagos.

On average it's true that its easier to survive in Lagos or Delta or PH. Primarily because of the higher entry barriers to Abuja. But even this can be an unfair generalization. Abuja has sectors and regions dependent upon your financial buoyancy where you can comfortably slot in.

When people refer to scary expenses Abuja they're generally referring to core Abuja. By this I mean areas like, Asokoro,Maitama,Utako,Wuse,Garki etc. There are still many area in Abuja that the average earner could live. Like Kubwa,Lugbe,Gwarimpa etc.

Finally remember every new thing has a gestation period, where you'll be sorting out teething problems( getting customers, suppliers,raw material,funds,documentation etc.) If you do make the leap don't confuse this stage with a presumption of lack of viability.

Good luck and God speed

iamadonis2:
Cc: Davidhorbo

Is anyone still here?

It’s been 4 months and I’ve gathered enough info from my Survey like a lot of you advised me. Abuja, May afterall not be a promised land some of us tout it to be.

Sales have been poor.
Spending power of residents seem to have dwindled.
Almost seems like Residents here are now constrained to buying only needs for now and not wants.
Cost of overhead and transportation have made a major dent on revenue.

Thanks a lot for the insights and comments guys. I really do appreciate!

onuwaje:

So back to base? Or what's next

iamadonis2:


Oh not yet, Sir. I’ll ride Abuja out till the year ends and still continue with marketing and publicity for the business. Just that.

But, the decision is to consolidate more at our previous location.

davidhobo:


Dont mind the foolish child called sweetcunt97 coming to argue with me, and give some one else false hope. Going by her/his moniker, she/he was born in 1997...a 23yr old trying to shit on time tested wisdom.

Just to explain to the OP again- you relocate or come to abuja if you have nothing to lose. You are on ground zero in your previous location, so if you come to abuja and remain on ground zero, you have lost nothing- you were grounded before anyway. Same level.

If however, you hit luck and move to level 40, or even 20, you have done well. But if you were on level 20, in your previous place and come.to abuja tp drop to level 10 or 0? Regret will be your name

Its like playing kalo kalo or Betnaija..if you feel you can chance the odds, by all means come. But like BeNaija, 99.9% of the gamblers always lose.Whatsoever you tell the OP, he/she is going to come anyway, he has already made up his mind.

But know this:

No one is gon' buy luxury items from you off the bat. Thats a niche market, its not volume driven, you need just few customers who sustain you- problem is getting the few customers.

You sell luxury goods, so you must get a shop in a highbrow area- if you manage to get a shop in any of those average looking plazas like Habib, or any such, rent is 5mill a year.

Can you afford that? Even if you can afford it, they still wont come cos they dont know you. The very next shop, you will see another Hajia selling gold, the same gold you are selling and she is making money and you are wondering why she is having plenty customers while no one is coming to your shop.

Know why, they are patronizing her, even in that sleazy, dirty plaza? Network, connect- contacts. They can vouch for her and her authenticity.

All the people coming there, schooled with her or her husband at uniMaid, Fed Poly Birnin Kebbi, college of education, Dass or ABU Zaria Or her father was one of the early allottees in Abuja in 1991 who housed many of the movers and shakers of the city now for free then, so now they patronize her business.

Or they belong to same lesbian club or homsexual society or one large family in the north.or will you put luxury items in the booth of your car and start driving around offices, begging people to buy?

Sorry go be your name.

Somebody must hold you by the hand and introduce to people or clique who will push your hustle. Or you think you will just stand up from Calabar, enter night bus or flight and come to Abuja and start seling gold or trinkets to women?

You can anway, just give yourself 10yrs- a 10yr gestation period to network and not just know people, but get people to accept you, and perhaps, just maybe, your business can get some traction. 10yrs isnt too long na, abi?

Better think of a mass market business- a business where, whether you knkw anybody or not, you will sell- food stuff, cement, phone, etc

If you insist on the luxury niche, on a no name basis, come with good money and rent a shop in the highbrow malls- like Silverbird, Jabi LakeMall, Ceddi etc. They charge by the square meter. 100,000naira per square meter. A square meter is the space you can place a chair- one plastic chair.8 or 9mill shop rent per year. Wetin you dey sell?

So go figure.

And anyway, those who have shops in those malls, you think they make profit? They just have those places for address purposes. They dont make any profit, but profit was never the purpose anyway. Every four years, conciding with every electoral cycle, those shops become empty and new tenants arrive.

So, luxury items from Calabar? Hmmm...think well o. If you go and get a shop in Kubwa..or Maraba..well, its no longer luxury items you are selling and you can get some business..but inside town? Hehhehe

Come to abuja and sell female clothes- you may succeed, locate yourself in Maraba, Kubwa, Dei Dei- have a shop, support with online sales and you will be good. Or a small corner shop in Gwarinpa.Or go rent a shop in Wuse Market(1.3m a year) or Utako Market and sell provisions or FMCG's or food stuff, or crayfish- you will see enough money to be comfortable, not rich. Or try selling building materials in Nyanyan or Madalla.

Forget this luxury item business wey u dey talk. I sure say u never even hold real saudi abi white gold for hand for that calabar wey u dey so.

My 2kobo. Listen to these children like Sweetcunt at your own peril.