I've come across a number of people who seems to have money but no ideas of what to do with it. The question is often how do u get a good business idea? how do you know u wont throw away the money? how do u run the business? hire people u can trust? These are every entrepreneur's fears but the issue is not to allow the fear deter you from starting a business.

To develop a good business idea, you should do a couple of things:
1) Highlight your strengths, weakness, Likes and dislikes, Hobbies and interests. This will give you a picture of what you can do. Are you someone that can delay gratification and receive returns weekly, monthly or even yearly or u want something that gives returns daily?
2) survey your area or target location for the business, what is lacking? That may not be easy to answer but start by identifying the businesses in the area, salon, photo studio, club, fast food, supermarket, tailor, restaurant then you'll discover 'hey, there's no cold room, bread bakery, video club, chair rental, ice block rental, photocopy centre' etc.
3) what's the demography of the area? is the area populated by more of elderly people or young people, more of working class or schooling age or retired pensioners? this will determine what can sell?
4) Think affliation, are their halls that are used for occasions, you can develop businesses that provide services for such, generator rentals, chairs rentals, canopies. Supermarkets require suppliers, you can identify what they dont have and supply for them to display, if it moves you start supplying.

I'm sure there are more things one can do, anyone got more juice on this matter, please contribute, and let's solve each other's business interest issues, !

Nice post. Been thinking of a business that holds my passion. I love reading, learning and that sort of stuff and i have been thinking along the lines of starting a mobile library. People can access books by sending sms or the click of a mouse and we will have it delivered. Been working on the idea but the overwhelming majority of people whose idea i sample seem not to be enthusiastic about it. Many say it wont be profitable. How many people read? How can you get folks to read? and then part with a fee?
Sometimes i like to approach this issue of business from that angle of passion, interest. Your perspective is very pragmatic, well done. Will review it.

I also think your idea is very interesting. Just yesterday a friend who works with an investment company was asking for a library where he could get books on mergers and acquisition. And there are a whole bunch of other colleagues who would like such an idea. My advice to you is to try and get like 5 to 10 companies, preferably investment, consulting and training companies and tell them you have a library they can subscribe their staff too so they can grow. Charge the companies a nice small fee and you'll have unlocked a door of opportunity to yourself

Take advantage of opportunities that your area provides for you. Take for instance, a friend of mine who stays in somolu (Nigeria's printing village) decided to try his hands on printing. With no capital or business office, he went to a few schools and sold them the idea of developing their prospectus which could be funded by students fees when they are admitted. Two schools out of ten agreed and asked for a sample of his work and the idea. He got a sample from a private school and collected work samples from some printers around. Because he did his research well, he was able to give them prices and factor in his margin. He got the jobs and was asked to print some thousand copies of each. with a margin of N5 on each copy, you can imagine printing 30 to 50 thousand copies.

You only need to look around you atimes. The answer to your quest for an idea is always there around you. You might say there's no light in my area, a video club wont work, what about setting up a mini cinema with approval from the rite bodies, what about a viewing centre? what about just opening the video club, and adding a snack with drink bar and play films so that people stay to watch and buy snacks? The major key is to start looking around you and identifying what is available and what is not, !

A good business idea requires sharpening from listening to people's views about it. Think of any idea and ask people, and you 'll be surprised the amount of feedback u'll get. often the key to getting your winning idea is to even ask people what they think is missing in their area or that they think u could do. And they'll even tell you how they think you could go about it. Take for instance, while in my final year in school, the internet had just come out and i thot of going round teaching how to use it in secondary schools for a small fee. i spoke to a friend who said i could even borrow a laptop, then download some pages. another friend mentioned a projector, another said i could even form a club that will then regularly meet and teach people how to use it. soon i had the idea all beaten into shape. i wrote to six schools. only one replied and in that one alone i made a lot of money.
No matter how ridiculous ur idea is, talk to someone, they'll give you a perspective you're probably not thinking of which could make or mar the business. If a negative view, you'll be able to recognise problems you might have so that you think of the solution as well and if a positive view then it improves the idea more. So start thinking of ideas and start talking to people about it.

So you want to do a business? but you have no idea what to do? You've just received a lump sum from the office and you feel u have enough shares. What do you do? Let's take this from the scratch.
1) Ask yourself what are the things i like to do? the obvious ones for me are watch movies, play games ('Agbaya" u might say), read novels, travel, write, cook, etc. The idea is try and list the things you can do and enjoy doing cos the enjoyment is a major incentive to starting and staying in business.
2) That settled, ask yourself, what are my greatest strengths? r u a people person? visionary, nitty-gritty, do-all-the-dirty-work kinda person? introvert who avoids meeting people. The idea is to really know what ur type of person can do.
3) where do u want to do the business? near ur office so u can monitor it or near your house? anywhere it can work and hire good people to run it or in a particular location? some other state apart from ur current base?
4) What are the opportunities in that area? Take Marina CMS for instance, i've been working there for a while, i see a lot of young ladies who work there quickly leave the office, go buy stuff from the market during lunch against dinner at night, a delivery system could be developed as an idea. You get some young girls that have a nice looking outfit, who take orders from these ladies, go to the market and buy these things. another idea i've always fancied here is the meat mart, a coldroom you could just pass by and get meat of all kinds, goat, cow, chicken, turkey, fish, whatever already packed in kilos like in Palms and you just buy it on ur way home with delivery system right here in Marina, ! so no need to worry about dinner, ! Anyway i'm a guy what do i know? To get an idea, u have to stroll around the area, identify what businesses there are, you'll notice which ones are not available. Even if u dont at first, u will eventually if u keep searching.
5) Supply creating demand: there are some goods that when they are available people start buying them whether they needed them or not. You can identify such and supply. like suits from dubai, shoes from dubai, phones from china, laptops from korea (cheaper), some times trinkets. These are what we call luxury goods at times. Sometimes it may just be small pack of semovita flour that u got at a bargain somewhere or motivational literature (Does anyone know where i can get "Rules of Life", "Rules of Work", "Rules of Wealth" and "Rules of Management" all by Richard Templar).

have a great day today.

Hi 2ceSharp,
Just reading through your post today,what a lovely post!,I will however be glad if you could advice on my business ideas:I have a passion for buying and selling cars and houses,though over the years i've concentrated on cars due to funds,i derive considerable energy in buying cars and people have commend my abilities in identifying good cars,the same thing applies to identifying good houses,i've had to recommend houses for friends,and the response have been overwhelming,all this i do part time,I've tried to raise funds for this businesses but all my efforts have not yielded good result,I know it's one step at a time but the beauty of the business is in volumes,do you have any ideas on how i can raise funds for this business?or any ideas that you may want to chip in for improvement in the biz.
Thanks!

thanks my guy,i really like ur post,its 4 people like me.i stay in abuja,i smell oppurtunities but i dnt catch 'em.tell me,wat do u think i cn get a hold on,i seem to like all the things u like too,basically having fun,wats in it 4 me?

Just reading through your post today,what a lovely post!,I will however be glad if you could advice on my business ideas:I have a passion for buying and selling cars and houses,though over the years i've concentrated on cars due to funds,i derive considerable energy in buying cars and people have commend my abilities in identifying good cars,the same thing applies to identifying good houses,i've had to recommend houses for friends,and the response have been overwhelming,all this i do part time,I've tried to raise funds for this businesses but all my efforts have not yielded good result,I know it's one step at a time but the beauty of the business is in volumes,do you have any ideas on how i can raise funds for this business?or any ideas that you may want to chip in for improvement in the biz

Hah, ! buying and selling my favourite passion too there Darren, ! Well i got a few ideas,
1) Try getting a sponsor, someone who's willing to tie some money down for a while in return of a % return on it in a specified period. The return must be money you're sure you can generate but also attractive to him and make the period as comfortable for you as possible cos with funds its better to have it before that date and give it later than you dont have it and start making plans to borrow again.
2) Microfinance Banks. wouldn't know how they work where u are but the idea is to support the growth of small businesses like yours. They have less stringent conditions for loans and generally give to you once there is a sellable idea that you've started.
3) Angel investors or friends. Well i usually say your network is your networth. Cos if i've got a 100 friends and on a day i need to raise money, i shd be able to get 100k at least. So see what your network can generate without much pressure on ur ties.
4) Spontaneous financing i've always liked the sound of that what i mean is try to see how much you can do without ur own money directly. Can u get someone to supply you cars on a buy and pay when you sell basis? or who can take just a little down payment? same for the houses? see how much you can do without direct funding and grow this segment of ur business as much as u can thru transparency and integrity. [tt]bankers like to see how others trust you with things before they borrow you[tt]
5) Get a personal loan from a bank and plow the money into your business. I've never been a fan of borrowing to consume, i strongly advocate a no-debt policy but if you must borrow, borrow to invest in stocks or business. So get a personal loan from any bank that'll give you and use it.

thanks my guy,i really like your post,its 4 people like me.i stay in abuja,i smell oppurtunities but i dnt catch 'em.tell me,what do u think i cn get a hold on,i seem to like all the things u like too,basically having fun,wats in it 4 me?

Dude, you really haven't given me any clue regarding the opportunities u're seeing? but Abuja is a fertile place for ideas i tell you. its so fertile that people make money there then travel all the way to lagos to come and spend it cos there are no ideas/businesses attractive enough to get these funds out of their hands, !
On a more serious note, what do u like? can u get an idea of how many people are out there like you looking for ways to engage in that activity? where are they located? will they be willing to come looking for you if u provide it cheaper or will they prefer u bring it to them with a slightly higher margin? is it a seasonal activity or a frequent thing?

Ur post is really interesting, got a lot from it!

Hi 2cesharp,would u mind passing across ur contact? seems to me that I can get a lot frm u! I'm an 18yr old,who dreams of having my business idea form into reality, just how to go about it, maybe ur phone no would,

Wonderful Posting, great IQ,

Thinking about going into dry season, ICE BLOCK Baking Machine in the North or Lagos where there is a lot of Owambe i.e party,

Party rentals

etc

Hi 2cesharp,would u mind passing across your contact? seems to me that I can get a lot frm u! I'm an 18yr old,who dreams of having my business idea form into reality, just how to go about it, maybe your phone no would

Hmmm, truthfully i've had issue giving it out so that might not be feasible but you can email me at dolazworld@yahoo.com

Thinking about going into dry season, ICE BLOCK Baking Machine in the North or Lagos where there is a lot of Owambe i.e party,

Party rentals

Sounds nice but you gotta have a good location and publicity. Payback period is longer but it pays because all you need is a one time heavy investment of N250k to 500k, after which all u need is diesel for gen and water for the block moulds. Your product doesn't get spoilt so until u sell it no wahala it can be there kampe, ! But good location and publicity matters. Cheers.

@ darren 20

You can get a loan from the bank if you have a good collateral like a landed property or good insurance policy.


@ poster

Definitely, before you wrote this , you must be having a good business in the north west corner of your mind which you dont want to actualise yet. What I am trying to say is that for every human being, there is this strong potential to make it in life. So if you listen very hard to your heart, you must discover your own potential and the approach to actualise it.

Other wise, you can take time and observe all the business around you,I am sure you must see who will help you out if you are sure of what you want.

Remember this quote '' You cannot get less of what you have strongly in mind which is achievable''

nice thread, one of the best in nairaland.

Thanks alot for your ideas they are really fantastic! It has helped me in answering some questions that I have been poudring on for a long time.
I want to start a printing business, some thing geared towards children but the problems that I am facing now is how to source for my materials i.e machines and stuff like that. I have done alot of research in some fields like location, target market and I think I have reasonable capital for a start.
What I need now is if some one can direct me to a site where I can purchase my "branding machines" and advice me on how to go about my publishing business. These are the major chalenges standing on my way at present.

What I need now is if some one can direct me to a site where I can purchase my "branding machines" and advice me on how to go about my publishing business. These are the major chalenges standing on my way at present.

Printing is one good business that can however, be very demanding of your time but it rewards your attention with great returns if u invest ur attention. You still need to pay some visit to some publishing houses. You wont get much info by just asking questions so try taking a job there instead and see what they do, how they do it and ways you could improve on what they do.

Take for instance, i recently went to a barbing salon and the guy just cut my hair, dusted my head with a powder brush and gave me back my clipper. I paid N120 but i wondered about another barbing salon where i barbed in Abuja. The barber not only cut my hair, he steamed a towel and cleaned the surface he barbed, rubbed shampoo into it and cleaned it, then brushed it with powder and gave me back my clipper and i paid N150.

You have to start by seeing how the actual publisher do it, then improve on it.

On developing ideas (continued):

How did the idea for a TV come, how did the idea for the first car come?

IMPROVEMENTS, !

You often can't just jump to a winning business idea by yourself. Sometimes you only have to improve on what someone else has done. You may not need to start doing what someone else is doing but simply pick something available and improve on it. On a lighter note, take for instance, pounded yam. Someone thot of the pounding machine for pounded yam, someone thot of pounded yam powder which could just be mixed and made into pounded yam. You could just pick a simple object, improved on how its used or cooked or played and you have a winning business idea.

Hi 2cesharp.

Nice posts. Maybe you should consider creating a blog on this topic. You can use these free blog services: www.hubpages.com, www.freewebs.com, or www.blogger.com. You can update regularly and refer to it from naraland.

Hope tou find this useful.

Ciao.

kunlef
www.lekkilinks.com

2ce,

I applaud your post and the intelligent and congent ideas you put forth. It is important for any one seriously looking to start a business to adhere to the advice being given. For as James Allen wrote "until thought is linked with purpose, there can be no intelligent accomplishment".

May I add a couple of more ideas,

First of all, you are a unique individual and you are special regardless of your personality, your education or lack or, or business experience. You have a gift. A talent that has been deposited within you that you need to bring out. It will only remain dormant until you do something about it.

Start with this process every day,

- Always get in the habit of thinking good thoughts everyday
- Filter out unproductive thoughts that may distract you
- Find a place where you may generate ideas
- Always carry a notebook of ideas with you and write them down
- Listen more to people in conversations as opposed to talking - an idea in their conversation might spring up in your mind which may be totally oblivious to the people having the discourse.
- Once you have an idea of what you want to do, make a plan of how you want to turn your ideas into reality
- Be passionate about what you want to do
- Surround yourself with "Eagles" and not "chickens". Assuming you are a potential
"eagle" and you are associating with "chickens" then you will be stuck to the ground and not realise that you were distined to soar to greater heights in life.
- Discuss your idea/s with your thinktank group to elicit more ideas of how to move it forward
- Because you are passionate about what you intend to do, you need to be “deaf” to the negative outpourings of certain people I refer to as dreamkillers.
- Next is to do an indepth research on your idea/product
- Your product does not have to be an existing product.
- It is isn’t an existing product, you need to get a patent to protect the rights of the product.
- Once you have a patent, you are a stronger position to get an sponsor to invest in your project with a return on their invested stated in your projected business costs. It’s called using other people’s money.
- Even if the product is in the market, you can re-adapt the product by including new features to it. This is the trick Microsoft has always be using against Sony and of recent against Apple, by coming out with X-Box and their own unique Ipod version after their competitors have hit the market with theirs.
- Read books. Quality ones on business and self development. If you can’t be bordered with books, listen to the CD version instead. I recommend a few.
   
(Think and Grow Rich – Napoleon Hill, Richest man in Babylon – George Clason, One Minute Millionaire – Victor Hansen and Robert Allen, Thinking for a change – John Maxwell, The spiritual laws of success – Deepak Chopra, Notes to a friend – Anthony Robbins, How to be Rich – John P. Getty, The Secret – Rhonda Bryne, The Art of War – Sun Tzu, The Science of Getting Rich – Wallace Wattles and As a Man Thinketh – James Allen)

- Now go out there, launch out and finally “Arrive”. Of course it takes hard work to make it a reality, but action and continuous sustained belief is the key to achieving success. Don’t give up. If you want to, remember people like Thomas Edison who invented the light bulb and finally made it work at the 10,000th attempt. And Captain Harland Saunders who founded KFC whose recipe was turned down by several restaurants almost 2000 times. Then there was the Beetles who were turned down by Decca for a recording contract – they said they couldn’t sing and that guitar music was already going out of fashion. For more success stories, read Anthony Robins book (Notes from a Friend).

Finally, my best wishes in your pursuit. Remember two rules. Once you are at the top, give God all the glory and continue to honour him. And don’t forget the people around you, especially the ones who helped you to rise from where you are to where you want to be.


SB

Good Thread Indeed. Kp It Up. But, i want to advise anyone going into any kind of business to always make it a realistic one, cos alot av tall-order, white elephant dreams as businesses that only take 4 eva to actualise. So, b4 u implement, do what analysts call feasibility study of business process. That helps.
bye.

2ce sharp ur post is 2ce as nice as the best post i had seen on nairaland.nice one plus i got a lot frm ur post.Am proud to be a member of this elitist forum.one luv.

good work guy.think of what u have a passion for then develop it that is give it your own definition,style and try as much as possible to make it thick

Nice post.

Those strategies work for sure,

Hi everyone, !

i have this lady this very stingy.i have always dated ladies that love with everything they have.i have taking somuch time to talk about it with her but no change at all

Hmmm, i think this was an error in posting by julieto, ?

Engaging your subconscious mind for idea generation:

when you sleep, images fly thru your mind cos ur brain is still at work, processing images that were indelibly impressed, digging up some fantasies, wiping off some bad memories, working while u sleep. its the reason why you often wake up tired cos there's so much to process. But if you want to generate a good idea, you might try to do a few things.
1) De-clutter your mind. Free up space by relaxing your mind. Set yourself apart from where you'll have so much to process. Maybe stay at home one day, no TV, play slow, soft and low-sounding music.
2) Pick materials related to various ideas that you're thinking of. You're just reading thru these materials to give your brain something to process.
3) Spend quality time thinking, thinkiing about yourself, your priorities, your plans, your goals, what you wish to achieve with the business, etc.
4) Sleep. sounds funny? You have to sleep to give your brain time to process the info u've given it.
5) Write down whatever you saw during ur sleep.

This is no iron clad way to a winning idea but it helps you form the driving force of your idea - Vision. Some would call it a dream. Call it what you may. But get your subconscious mind to work for you.

2ceSharp that's a nice post you have got there.
Im working at the moment in a private company which does not afford me the time needed to do a business and really I would like to have one of my own. Now this is my question. Minimum of how much do you think I would need to start something reasonable. Sorry I dont have any business in mind for now but i think if i can put the capital together i should know what to do. Remember to put time constraints into consideration.

Now this is my question. Minimum of how much do you think I would need to start something reasonable. Sorry I don't have any business in mind for now but i think if i can put the capital together i should know what to do. Remember to put time constraints into consideration.

I once had the opportunity while working for a magazine in Lagos to interview the owner of Soulmate products, makers of soulmate hair care products. And one striking thing i'll never forget him saying is "Money is never the first thing, its the fourth, fifth or even sixth thing".

Really weebee, its difficult to say you need to raise this amount of money or that without an idea first. The order is as follows:

IDEAS ---> RESEARCH ---> FINETUNE IDEA ---> PILOT LAUNCH OF IDEA IN SMALL SCALE ---> FEEDBACK ---> RESEARCH ---> FULL LAUNCH INTO IDEA.

My advice will be, first go think of something you could do. What do you like? What could move among your colleagues? its doesn't have to be a big item, small items you could dispose of like u're doing someone a favour telling your colleagues about, u know? or maybe in ur area of residence.

2cesharp thumbs up for u. really appreciate ur posts

ave got this idea in my mind for a long time

Publishing of children magazine and also getting printing jobs from school ave got everything in written form ave send proposals to schools i want to feature in my magazine BUT the problem i ave is fund ave not been able to gather fund to start

But i hoping to start nextyear God willing.

Publishing of children magazine and also getting printing jobs from school ave got everything in written form ave send proposals to schools i want to feature in my magazine BUT the problem i ave is fund ave not been able to gather fund to start

Hi mip, you could get some info from my answer to darren20 above and more specifically, use this:
1) Look for adverts
2) Start a smaller print like a 1/2 page leaflet that you can distribute freely to build your rep and thus gain market credibility.

Funds will come once you start something.

hi pls i need help urgently, i'm trying to start a professional digital photography business. i'm thinking of wedding photography, portraiture etc but i'm stuck in a rut now. any ideas anyone?

hi pls i need help urgently, i'm trying to start a professional digital photography business. i'm thinking of wedding photography, portraiture etc but i'm stuck in a rut  now. any ideas anyone?

hi please i need help urgently, i'm trying to start a professional digital photography business. i'm thinking of wedding photography, portraiture etc but i'm stuck in a rut  now. any ideas anyone?

Ok, the good thing is that you have developed an idea that you are passionate about. The next part is the belief that you will excel in your chosen field.

What you really need to do is to research into your market and specifically check out the competition. What are they doing or are not doing that you could do better? Who are their clientele? How often do they get projects? What digital equipment and modern technology are they using to produce quality photographs?

Once you have done your research based on your target audience, you need to think about quality (in terms of output as well as presentation) as everyone seems obsessed by it. For example, do you think producing an album/DVD's with an appropriate background music will suffice? Or can you think of something else to add to the mix?

You then need to attend parties (whether you are invited or you just "heard and you decided to branch" and watch the professionals at work. Talk to them, befriend them and find out everything there is to know about the profession. Ask to see their work. Pretend as if you are a potential client. Visit them at their studio and see the layout and presentation of the place. Bear in mind, location is very important if you intend to pitch to rich clienteles.

Once you are sold on the idea of moving into action, invest in quality digital cameras and start taking photograghs at weddings, general parties/personal/nature (i.e. sun setting). Before you know it, you would have collated enough materials to make several albums. This is what you need to show future prospective clients.

Word of advice: When you are pitching a client, remember to sound confident and speak with authority on your subject matter. If you start saying eh, er, or Yoruba Yoruba to a direct question, then you are beginning to lose the plot and won't be taken seriously.

Dress smartly (I recommend a suit)and borrow or buy a nice car. Arrive on time for appointments. And all I can say is wish you the best. The world is your oyster, buddy. Remember the only person who can stop you is YOU.

I recommend you check out a sample of Ross Oscar Knights work and website to see what you are up against.

http://www.photosbyknight.com/gray/
http://www.rossoscarknight.com/index2.php
 

SB