Business Essay Contest: Starting A Chain Of For-Profit Libraries In Nigeria

Hello,

Let's say you were given 1 million naira to set up a profitable chain of shops where the great books, especially non-fiction books, can be borrowed by paying customers.  I'd like you to write an essay on how you would start such a business with just 1 million naira, and make it grow to a predominant position in Nigeria with no additional funding.  And send it to [/b].

Your essay will be judged based on the soundness of your business strategy as described in the essay.  The winning essay will be the one which best demonstrates that the writer knows exactly what it will take to start and run a profitable book lending business in Nigeria.  The following elements might help: honesty, passion, rigor, research, profit-mindedness, pragmatism, accurate numbers, and other details.  But we'll be judging the plan/strategy in your essay as a whole.

The prizes are as follows: The writer of the the best essay as explained above will win [b]60,000 naira, the runner-up 30,000 naira, and the 3rd best 15,000 naira.  The contest starts now, but submissions will be accepted between the Monday the 10th and Friday the 14th of October, 2011.  The winners will be announced on Monday, the 17th of October, 2011 and awarded their prizes by direct deposit into their bank accounts.

I would strongly recommend that you try to understand the business models of Netflix and Blockbuster, even though they don't lend books and their business models probably won't work in Nigeria anyway.  If you're interested in running such a business, you should consider sending your CV with the essay. 

Any questions?  Good luck!

Regards,
Seun Osewa <[/b]>

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[b]October 7 UPDATE: I've decided to continue with the competition but expand its scope a little bit:
1) The contest is not limited to books anymore. You can pitch a business that lends DVDs, CDs, and any other types of media in addition to or instead of books.
2) The contest is not limited to physical media anymore. You can pitch a business that lets people 'borrow' ebooks, stream movies/tv/music, etc.
3) You don't necessarily have to setup a chain of stores. A single store might suffice, if it enjoys a lot of traffic.
4) The stores need not be physical. They can be online stores, etc.

Good luck!

Good job seun

Seun, no offense but are you (indirectly) looking for ideas  to start a business or you being genuine about this? Besides, good idea though, good business plan but N1million is stretching it.

Question

1. How many pages are we looking it?

2. Is this supposedly to be written as a business plan (executive summary) rather than an essay?

When I come up with other questions, I will ask.

How do you put something out of the reach of the average Nigerian (esp. the youths of today)?

Answer: you put it in a book.

Seun our people stopped reading a long time ago, maybe save for a few. recent abysmal performances  in WAEC/NECO, Civil service tests etc attest to that.

However, all hope is not lost. there is a silver lining in these dark clouds.

With the explosion of Smartphones, handhelds and next generation tablets (Ipad, playbook, kindle) maybe energies should be dissipated in finding a way to deliver the content of these books via these platforms.

After all these devices are a primary reason people don't read books no more. Most media is now consumed through them.
So seun as an e-entrepreneur, you might want to reassess this.

Besides bookshops are dying real fast in developed climes whilst the Amazons are on the ascendancy.


peace

ps* I've got plans at advanced stages of development and will definitely not sell out for a paltry N60,000.
So if you are interested in a partnership, hit me up.

diggler:



ps* I've got plans at advanced stages of development and will definitely not sell out for a paltry N60,000.
So if you are interested in a partnership, hit me up.

hehe, Seun isn't seeking "PARTNERSHIP", he wants NL members to join in the competition. I think he's trying to extract ideas (my thoughts) from people, Oh well good luck to those who wants to start a competition. I once had a similar idea like the one you're saying, actual books "for rent" won't cut it. Netflix model is dying out, why do u think Netflix split?

Seun, Only a library of audio books will succeed in Nigeria, because that will appeal to our oral culture. Africans prefer talking to reading. Even audio books on academic subjects should be introduced to schools, because they will do more to improve the knowledge of both pupils and students. And including access to the internet for customers will help.

manny4life:
Seun, no offense but are you (indirectly) looking for ideas  to start a business or you being genuine about this?

I have lots of ideas about this business, but I don't want to run it myself. I'm looking for innovative minds.

good idea though, good business plan but N1million is stretching it.

That's correct, but business is so unpredictable.  If you have 2 million, it's better to plan to spend 1 million.  That gives you a margin of safety, so you'll have cash on hand for unanticipated expenses (which are guaranteed, by the way).

1. How many pages are we looking it?

I won't provide a guideline on that.  In the world of the entrepreneur, there are few rules.  It's up to you to figure out how long the essay should be to adequately portray the message you want to pass across.  I will gladly read an essay as long as novel if it's rich with useful information.  It should be as long as it needs to be to convince the reader that your plan is sound, but not a sentence longer.

Is this supposedly to be written as a business plan (executive summary) rather than an essay?

I would like an essay, because I think unstructured prose reveals a lot about how a person thinks, which is key for me.  I don't want you to waste any time thinking about how to write a "good business plan".  I want that time to be spent thinking about how to build a profitable chain of commercial libraries.

diggler:
Seun our people stopped reading a long time ago, maybe save for a few. recent abysmal performances  in WAEC/NECO, Civil service tests etc attest to that.

That's partly true, but not entirely. Nigerians read textbooks (if they can afford them) in school, religious books, motivational books, affordable romance novels, popular authors, etc. I believe they will read even more books if it's convenient and affordable to do so.

However, all hope is not lost. there is a silver lining in these dark clouds.

With the explosion of Smartphones, handhelds and next generation tablets (Ipad, playbook, kindle) maybe energies should be dissipated in finding a way to deliver the content of these books via these platforms.

This is also partly true. The iPad, for example, is a great device for reading. But books have certain advantages. For example, you can take or put a book anywhere - taxi, molue bus, market, village, luggage, lecture hall - and not have to worry about robbers or PHCN. You don't need to have Internet access, power, or a credit card. I believe a very many Nigerians will be better served by physical books for a very long time, but it's a good idea to keep fixed costs low so the business can remain profitable as the market gradually disappears. One can move to areas where books are still needed.

A gradual transition to e-book production could be a way forward, but I think only publishers and device manufacturers (Apple, Amazon) and Google can make money from that.

Orikinla:

Seun, Only a library of audio books will succeed in Nigeria, because that will appeal to our oral culture. Africans prefer talking to reading. Even audio books on academic subjects should be introduced to schools, because they will do more to improve the knowledge of both pupils and students. And including access to the internet for customers will help.   

Educational materials in other formats are nice to have in libraries, but we'll still need physical books.

manny4life:
I once had a similar idea like the one you're saying, actual books "for rent" won't cut it. Netflix model is dying out, why do u think Netflix split?

I think Netflix made a wrong decision.  You don't kill a business just because you believe it's going to die someday.  That would be like Microsoft killing Windows because they think the Web is the future.  It's good to be prepared for the future, but you should also live and make money in the present.

diggler:

With the explosion of Smartphones, handhelds and next generation tablets (Ipad, playbook, kindle) maybe energies should be dissipated in finding a way to deliver the content of these books via these platforms.

After all these devices are a primary reason people don't read books no more. Most media is now consumed through them.

it may be true our youths don't read much, as evidenced from failure rates, but to say they stopped reading because of smart-phones & tablets is blatant conjecture. iphone which started the era of smart phones was only launched in 2007 in US & Europe, so how long has smart phones & tablets been common in nigeria for you to summarily attribute them to lack of reading in our youths? it simply makes to sense at all.

secondly, we know the category of people who use smart phones, either you are gainfully employed, or you are into yahoo-yahoo runs, or you are part-time\full-time prostitute(in case of our women), so were do our youth\students fall in? if most of them are struggling to afford textbooks for now, how do you expect them to afford smart phones & tablets then?

Where do Nigerians come up with these lame businesses? A for-profit library? How will you ensure that your patrons return the books in good condition, if at all? Given the accelerating specialization and splintering of knowledge, how many books would you need in one library to attract a large enough customer-base? How many people, besides students looking for textbooks, will be clamoring to rent books given that the wealth of free information on the internet these days? What kind of library can you build with 1 million naira? My personal library of books probably cost more than 1 million naira to build over many years and these books are DEFINITELY not enough to start a public for-profit library.

I can't wait to read and ridicule all the money-miss-road business plans this competition will generate!

okeyxyz:

it may be true our youths don't read much, as evidenced from failure rates, but to say they stopped reading because of smart-phones & tablets is blatant conjecture. iphone which started the era of smart phones was only launched in 2007 in US & Europe, so how long has smart phones & tablets been common in nigeria for you to summarily attribute them to lack of reading in our youths? it simply makes to sense at all.

lol 
you can read with tablets and electronic devices. 
even I use a tablet to read books nowadays. I just download them to my amazon kindle app.
paper books is rapidly declining as the main mode of reading. eventually they will become dirt cheap. even many bookstores are losing business and closing up ex. borders
don't know about in Nigeria though.

@seun,
sounds like a good idea. hope you get good responses. but I suggest u target your business to academics. (ex university students or professors) and find a way to connect your business to universities and colleges. maybe set up a corporate bookstore/library at schools. and charge monthly fee. per book fee should go to premium books/resources.

nigerians dont read books. End of article. Oya My N60 000

nigerians dont read books. End of article. Oya My N60 000

When people borrow your books and disappear with them for ages, how will you guard against that? Make people sign undertaken or drop collateral? Lol. This will be your biggest problem as we Nigerians so love to act with Impunity and disregard for other people's property. If in doubt just go look at any University Library today.

Seun:

That's partly true, but not entirely.  Nigerians read textbooks (if they can afford them) in school, religious books, motivational books, affordable romance novels, popular authors, etc.  I believe they will read even more books if it's convenient and affordable to do so.

This is also partly true.  The iPad, for example, is a great device for reading.  But books have certain advantages.  For example, you can take or put a book anywhere - taxi, molue bus, market, village, luggage, lecture hall -  and not have to worry about robbers or PHCN.  You don't need to have Internet access, power, or a credit card.  I believe a very many Nigerians will be better served by physical books for a very long time, but it's a good idea to keep fixed costs low so the business can remain profitable as the market gradually disappears.  One can move to areas where books are still needed.

A gradual transition to e-book production could be a way forward, but I think only publishers and device manufacturers (Apple, Amazon) and Google can make money from that.

C'mon Seun, unless you are doing it (for-profit-library) as a community service or it's located within or around a university somewhere, it's
not really worth it.

If it's profit you're really looking for, you'll make more opening a bar where the youths can get wasted and do anything except read. reading
non-fictional books is hard enough, even worse when they have to pay for it.

I bought 4 books recently and you need some kindof super powers to carry 4 of them at the same time. with a modern e-reader, I can carry around
2500 of similar books and use the reader for up to 1 month on a single charge. And since you're talking of non-fictional books, then you mean
books that you have to own to really make the best use of.

Although this is based on my Initial thoughts, with the right formula, I guess you could make a library profitable.

Some interesting statements so far (take note!)

@Maxmip:
- "I bought 4 books recently"
- "or it's located within or around a university somewhere,"

@TCD:
- "Make people sign undertaken or drop collateral? Lol"

@Jenifa_:
- "but I suggest u target your business to academics. (ex university students or professors) and find a way to connect your business to universities and colleges. maybe set up a corporate bookstore/library at schools. and charge monthly fee. per book fee should go to premium books/resources."

@okeyxyz:
- "if most of them are struggling to afford textbooks for now"

@moremi2008:
- "How will you ensure that your patrons return the books in good condition, if at all?"
- "besides students looking for textbooks,"

All this nay sayers, is Seun asking for your money ?

Seun i don't wanna sound mean, but what if someone takes the ideas on here and works on it faster?

just saying, you need ur own mastermind, getting one through NL is freaking risky

vladimiros:

Seun i don't wanna sound mean, but what if someone takes the ideas on here and works on it faster?

just saying, you need your own mastermind, getting one through NL is freaking risky

Dude, you sounding really funny, though I want to laugh but I understand your concerns. Do u know how many thousands of Nigerians that has thought about the same concept? When I was in college I use to be a member of this elite organization; Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization. I had this wonderful ideas and wouldn't want to let it go, even to give elevator pitch, I wouldn't do for the fear of copy cats. The point is I always thought exactly as you thought till I was part of the group. It's not about someone copying your idea, it's about your applying your own idea to a particular niche.

Business requires that you serve a particular niche else you headed for failure; and grabbing random idea without like this without further research, development and strategy is doomed for failure. Why do you think Seun is asking for essays? People have thought about it a million times, but only a handful of same amount of people haven't actually done the critical research involved in it. It's one thing to think; it's another to actualize it. Difference between an idea and reality is funding.

Dude, you sounding really funny, though I want to laugh but I understand your concerns. Do u know how many thousands of Nigerians that has thought about the same concept? When I was in college I use to be a member of this elite organization; Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization. I had this wonderful ideas and wouldn't want to let it go, even to give elevator pitch, I wouldn't do for the fear of copy cats. The point is I always thought exactly as you thought till I was part of the group. It's not about someone copying your idea, it's about your applying your own idea to a particular niche.

Business requires that you serve a particular niche else you headed for failure; and grabbing random idea without like this without further research, development and strategy is doomed for failure. Why do you think Seun is asking for essays? People have thought about it a million times, but only a handful of same amount of people haven't actually done the critical research involved in it. It's one thing to think; it's another to actualize it. Difference between an idea and reality is funding.

thanks alot. to add to ur quote, one of twitter's founders one said " don't worry about ur ideas, people won't still them" he also said that " a good idea would always get good investors",

but , i still keep my fear, some of the people sniffing on this idea ccould still hack into seun's email and get all these ideas, people especially Nigerians, won't stop @ anything to get some info

Nice idea Seun but aside from the 60k, what if the idea is that good and you decide to run with it, does the person go into partnership with you or get paid royalty money?

I have dreamt about this idea soooo many times.

"In the great works of others we recognise our own rejected thoughts, as they come back to us with a certain alienated majesty" - Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Nice idea Seun but aside from the 60k, what if the idea is that good and you decide to run with it, does the person go into partnership with you or get paid royalty money?

seems like it

or maybe the 60k is too "payoff"

Idea:
Set registration fee @ average cost of books you have.
Get more customers than the number of books you have.
Charge them dirt cheap fees.
Have deeply persistent follow-up staff.

@Seun, you know where to get me

This is a dead buz but in darkness country like naija might be good one! lot of books even professional books free online to download (torrent it). why paying if you can get one for free.

All these dream killers.
Let those who are interested write the essays.

I'm sure OP already thougt of all the setbacks the biz will encounter.

Seun, dont be discouraged - which i know u wont, anyway! In due time, u will surely hear from me, though 1million is a bit tight nevertheless something can be done. Till then, keep it real.Seun, dont be discouraged - which i know u wont, anyway! In due time, u will surely hear from me, though 1million is a bit tight nevertheless something can be done. Till then, keep it real.

"There will never be a civilized country until we expend more money for books than we do for chewing gum" Elbert Hubbard. Something must be done to help the majority of students that always performed below average in WASSCE every year. I believe when there is a will,there will be a way. An awareness need to be created in this regard. Start small in Lagos, a little drop of water make a mighty ocean. As the business improves,you move to other states,gradually, you are achieving your goal. Never,Never,Never,give up on your dream,it is possible. God bless you. God2man.your goal. Never,Never,Never,give up on your dream,it is possible. God bless you. God2man.

Good initiative, Seun and I see some useful suggestions already.
I hope you work on it until it becomes real.
Best.