₦airaland Forum

Good afternoon friends. The thread remains the number one choice for business ideas for the returning Nigerian abroad.Don't forget that we are on publications that can provide data for policy makers, researchers and investors.

Today, we will be looking into an untapped market for publication; the mining industry. Have you ever walked the commercial nerve centers of Nigeria and sighted a publication solely on solid minerals? I doubt it.However, you see small columns of it in some business newspapers.

The Nigeria extractive industry is divided into three:
Oil
Gas
Solid minerals.

To start with anything on solid mineral, I suggest you go through the Nigerian solid mineral ministry website.
Here is the url: www.mmsdn.gov.ng

Thanks.

Good morning friends.

We said for a goal to be acceptable, it must be S.M.A.R.T.

The 'S' stands for specific. It simply means you go straight to the point of what you intend to achieve.
E.g. I want to have a shop each in 3 major markets.

Discover a groundbreaking way to to create work idea based on your ability - send a blank email with the subject 'comfort zone idea' to comfortzoneidea@gmail.com.
You need a service/product/work idea to benefit from the business plan module.

What does 'M' stand for? Let us meet tomorrow. Thanks.

Good evening friends. This is to inform you we will be looking at another industry worth information gathering from tomorrow.

See you tomorrow.

Thanks.

Good morning friends. @rukem thanks.

Today, we will start with business goal. It is important we understand what a goal is first? A goal is simply an aim or a target you intend to achieve. Can you imagine a football game with no goal post to aim at? The same goes for a business without a goal - it becomes doing business for doing sake.

Business goals are drawn from your service/business/product/work idea - depending on what you choose to call it. For information on how to create a product/service idea that will stack the odds of success in your favour, send a blank e-mail with subject 'comfort zone idea' to comfortzoneidea@gmail.com.

For a goal to be acceptable, it must be S.M.A.R.T. What does this stand for? Let us meet tomorrow.

Thanks.

@ chimsky, here are some useful sources to get you started.

National Broadcasting Commission - application fee, license fee, requirements for license and others.
URL: www.nbc.gov.ng

I would suggest you go to FATE foundation for help on feasibility study and business plan. You may be required to pay, so prepare for it. This business is capital intensive , I advice you make use of professionals.
URL: www.fatefoundation.com

The nta television college, Jos would have been a good place for the technical-know-how, but it might not be feasible. The next option is to acquaint yourself with a television station engineer for technical and instrument knowledge.

It is important you take time to have a working knowledge of the business, both online and offline.

I hope this helps. Goodluck.

Hello friends. It important to know that we need not limit our data collection to only cassava.
Priced information can also be provided for other cash crops, especially those often exported.
You may look into ginger, sesame seed, kolanut, bitter kola and even medicinal plants.

Thanks.

Hi friends. In continuation of the business overview, we will anwser these questions:
1. What need does your product or service idea intend to meet?
2. What specific people or industry will need your service or product?
3. How will the need be met? i.e business model to use.

The business overview and goal is so crucial because it sets the tone of what will happen in the course of planning - so it is imperative we take it serious.

Till tomorrow. Thanks.

Good day friends. Another information source to reckon with in getting data for cassava and cassava product is the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics.
You may ask how? A compilation, though still in the draft stage, of all businesses in Nigeria - micro, small and medium, is being done by the bureau in collaboration with UN.
The survey is expected to give each business product or service.

This data will help with number of industries involved in cassava and cassava product in Nigeria.
Here is the url: www.nigeriastat.gov.ng

Thanks.

Good morning friends. Take your pen and paper as we start this remarkable journey.

Company overview and goal.
It is peculiar to start a business in Nigeria without registration - whether you see your venture as an ordinary business or company depends on you. However, it is advisable you register as soon as you can afford it.
In this theory of business plan, I will be addressing a one-man unregistered business.

In your business overview, this questions must be anwsered in all honesty;
1. What is the motivational force
behind this venture? Is it money, to be your own boss, success on your own terms, work at home mum or dad, to pursue a passion or interest e.t.c. It is motivation that will make you stick to the venture when all the chips are down.
2. What is your product or service
or service idea?

I leave you to ponder and anwser these questions till tomorrow.
Thanks.

Hello friends. Don't forget we are still on data provision for cassava and cassava products.

Another valid export information source is the Nigeria export import bank (NEXIM). It provides credit facility and insurance coverage, among others, for export from Nigeria.
With this duty, tracking of exports is easily done.

Here is the url: www.neximbank.com.ng
In addition, the site has links to other useful sites to collate data from e.g export group of MAN - Manufacturing Association of Nigeria and others.

Till tomorrow. Thanks.

Hi friends.
The summary will be your document to show people that you are serious about your venture; and that you've got what it takes to succeed.
Though the summary is the first page, it is written last because it gets it's input from the body of the plan.

If we are to follow the details in a comprehensive business plan, I bet you some of us will stop halfway. We are not a forbes 500 company so we do not need a forbes 500 business plan. The rule is to let your plan increase as your business increase.

We are a small consign, so will our plan be small to get off the ground. The main topics on plan shall be;
1. Business overview and goal.
2. Financial analysis.
3. Market analysis.
4. Marketing and sales strategy.
5. SWOT analysis.

Let us begin tomorrow with No 1. Thanks.

Hello friends. Before I forget again, this is the url for IITA: www.iita.org. You may require signing up to access.

For export information on cassava: the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) should be your first point of call to know how many registered cassava exporter they have in their domain. It is important every commodity exporter register with it.
Here is the url: www.nepc.gov.ng.

Until I come your way tomorrow for more info, thanks.

Good morning friends. I hope you had a nice weekend. I look forward to a pleasant week with you on business planning.

To the business of the day - we will start with the elements contained in a standard business plan. This simply means the things your plan must contain.

The elements are:
1. Executive summary of your business plan.
This a brief and concise description of your company, product or service, company outlook and goal, managment structure, market analysis, marketing and sales strategy, financial analysis - capital, operational and other financial projections.
Other elements such as SWOT analysis(will explain later), though in the body of the plan, may not be in the summary.

What does this summary help you achieve? Let us meet tomorrow.
Thanks.

Hello friends. Sorry for being off thread yesterday, a meeting pre-occupied me.

Friends, this business calls for spending money to find out what reports to put in place for your target market. A solid business
plan is non-negotiable - I advice you contract it out for a thorough job. If jittery of the idea, a feasibility study can put your mind to rest.

For some information, you will have to go to the field yourself, and some you can source from reliable sources.
For information on cassava, let the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture(IITA) be your starting point. IITA is a member of the consultative group on international agriculture - a program funded by the World bank. The head office is in Moniya, on the Ibadan - Oyo rd.

Get to know other routes of information on cassava on Monday.
Have a nice weekend and thanks.

Good morning friends. Sorry for being 'off thread' yesterday, a meeting took my hours from morning till late in the evening.

Another thing a business plan will help you do is: how to set 'realistic' financial targets and expectations.
The media is awash with hype businesses promising 100% ROI(returns on investment). If it were so, we would have seen castles in the air.

Profit forecast for business in Nigeria is put at an average of 20% - World Bank. If Dangote expects such returns on his investment, why should you expect more?
Profit margins also differs from one market to the other too.

In the business plan, you will get to know how to get reasonable financial data for the journey ahead.

Come Monday by His Grace, we shall begin with the elements contained in a standard business plan.
Thanks and have a nice weekend.

Hello friends.
Simply put, Nigeria is the largest producer of cassava in the world. It is processed to give local food and industrial raw materials - hence a cash earner in the international market.
The product is big enough to give information on it for policy makers, investors and research.
However, it is pertinent we look at the business side to address some issues.

The publication has to be of International standard and synonmous with trust - so corners cannot be cut. I therefore advice you get editions of foreign magazines of traded agricultural commodities to see how it is being done. Better still, a business alliance or partnership with a foreign magazine well known in the area of commodity publication
can be sought.

Profit is not what will come in droves at inception because it is not a regular guy's paper. However, I can bet that once your credibility is established, your readers are those who would be ready to shed off any amount to get the right information.

Get to know other things to look out for tomorrow, including some information sources to guide you. Thanks.

Good morning friends. Thanks for hanging in on the thread. I hope you took up the challenge that was given yesterday. I await your responses.

In continuation of our brief yesterday - the business plan helps you to anticipate 'some' of the likely problems of the business. Once these problems are highlighted, ways to go around them are sought for or else you forget the business.

You intend to run a haulage business and all you see is the large amount you are paid per trip - you forget the fact that the amount does not even represent profit because you are yet to remove your operating cost for the trip. You refuse to anticipate the problems of vehicle breakdown, 'wetin u carry' factor, drivers removing parts from trucks to sell and others. These problems eat deep into your capital and alas the haulage story ends. An old witch takes the blame.

Learn to think of risk first before reward. Risk or problems are inevitable in business.
Knowing and addressing them will definitely give you an edge.

Thanks.

Good morning friends.

International magazines on sugar, ethanol, wheat and other commodities traded on the commodities board abound. For God sake Nigeria is the largest producer of cassava and has no cassava magazine on the newstand on broad street!

Cassava is a multi-product with multi-earning capacity, both in the local and international market. Investor who wants to depend on Nigeria for cassava starch to power their ethanol production plants want information on the tonnage of cassava starch produced in Nigeria, where do they get it? Where can government get authentic information on which it can base its cassava policy on or foreign government whose intention is bring in FDI for cassava? What about research students who want to have information on cassava export by locality, by year, by metric tonnage and by country of destination?

This and many more questions needs to be anwsered through an authoritative source. Most documents we get to see on cassava are often in-house, and the results are often at variance

Let us get to know these sources, they should be your starting point for information gathering.
Thanks.

Good morning friends. The question for today is, in what way can a business plan help you?

A business plan is of vital help because it tells you where you are going and how to get there. It is a living document in that what is written in it is not cast in iron, but can be altered as the need arises.

A written business plan serves as a motivational tool to start a venture. It makes you feel in-charge - because it let you see the end of a thing without even starting it.
Let me give you a feel of this. Tonight, before you go bed, write a minimum of five things you wish to accomplish tomorrow. Wake up tomorrow, look through your list and strive to accomplish it. Please send me the different feelings you get after accomplising your task.

We shall see another important issue the business plan help us with tomorrow.
Thanks.

Good day friends. This remains your thread for business ideas for Nigerians coming home from abroad.

While searching for data to support a business idea for my kindle book 'SME BUSINESS IDEAS FOR THE WORLD LAST BUSINESS DESTINATION; AFRICA' on Amazon.com - I got different figures which were at much variance. The data sources were all foreign, despite the fact that
I needed information on Nigeria.

This week we shall be looking at authoritative business information. Authoritative in the sense that you become the reference point for core markets when it comes to information required by investors, foreigners, research and government. This data. If Bloomberg or Forbes can package this high powered information and sell, why not you?

Let us meet here tomorrow to see some hot markets we can dabble in to. Thanks.

Hello friends, I hope your weekend was splendid.
Why the need for a business plan before you start off your venture?
Anwser this question! What will be the outcome of a country that goes to war without a plan of how to fight the war?

Ever heard this saying before? If you fail to plan that means you 've plan to fail then.
Without a business plan, your business becomes a guess game.
Most businesses fail because of lack of this roadmap document.

In what way can a business plan help you? Make it a date with the
thread tomorrow.
I will keep you posted on offer I wrote about last Friday. I am still working on it.
Thanks.

Hello friends.
What if you come from a riverine area, what agricultural PPP can you undertake? Provision of modern methods in fish farming such as fish cages for 'in-water' rearing would be welcomed. This fish cages often made of copper-zinc alloy are quite pricey, depending on the size can be hired out on natural waters to the farmers. You can recoup your investment through a monthly payment from the government if it wants to subsidize it or through direct payment by the farmers.

Having an extensive water way can also provide a ready PPP in water transportation. Ferries purchased jointly with the government, run and maintained by you with comphrensive insurance to minimize loss from any unforseen circumstance.
This business is better for the son of the soil from the riverine area - you know and can handle your people better.

Till next week when we start a new series, have a pleasant weekend.
Thanks.

Hi friends.
Another way to let fear go off you is by taking a step of faith and start the journey of becoming a multi million naira brand.
Remember that a body will continue to be at rest until a force is applied to it. That initial step or force could be all you need to diffuse the fear that is hampering you - why not take that first step now!
How have been able to dispel your own fear? Share it with us.

By God's grace we shall begin the business plan module next week. It would be an in-depth and very practical study.
To make this module a worthwhile one for you, I will recommend you have a work idea at hand - however if this seems hard, an alternative to provide you a work idea, in no time, is in the offing. More details on this by Monday.

Someone sent me a nairaland pm, but my yahoo mail box has become inaccessible. I will work around it this weekend and provide another e-mail address.

Have a nice weekend. Thanks.

Hello friends.
I must remind you that you have human factor to contend with in the farm tractor hire if done on PPP basis. Another issue is that farming is seasonal, however during off season a carriage can be attached for haulage within the communities.

Let the PPP arrangement be such that you handle the service to the farmer on behalf of the government. I will advise you make an agreement for the total cost of operation to be paid by the farmers. From reports, some states are nearing bankruptcy, so cannot meet their financial obligations.
'Though the government often subsidizes it, but most don't get the service. So in such a situation, as long as they can get the service they wouldn't care that much about the subsidy.

Your state agricultural development agencies(ADP) and agriculture departments in local government offices should be your starting point for information.

Thanks.

Good morning friends. What can you do to diffuse fear that is strangulating you to the point of inaction?

From my experience: I 've been able to put fear at bay by always thinking of my dreams - I had always wanted success on my own terms - and also to have some good things of life.
So when Mr fear wants to put me in a state of inaction or fill me with the mind of impossibilty, I think of the future I will have to forfeit because of fear - I immediately thank Mr fear for the company and show it the way out.
The ability to visualize the end rather than the present have been of help to me.

What are your own dreams? Think of them to dispel your fear now! The future belongs to those who can overcome their fears.

Thanks.

Thanks @ lucabrasi. Good day friends.

Another PPP idea in agriculture worth your notice is tractor plus planting implement hire. Prior to the farming season, local governments through the state make available tractor to till the soil for the planting seaon.

The maximum number of tractor available to a local government is one in most cases - from my studies in the south-west.The large scale and in some cases, medium scale farmers are the beneficiaries of the subsidized
facility - often leaving the small scale farmers whose land, though side by side, when joined together can constitute a medium scale farmland.

How can I come in as an investor? By partnering to provide tractors and implements for use for the farmers via the local government.

How should the arrangement be? Let us meet tomorrow.
Thanks.

Good morning friends. What if fear is what is holding you back from becoming a multi million naira brand?

Fear, which is an inkling for caution, is very necessary. The fear of the unknown is a valid one. But when do we draw a line between positive fear and negative fear?
A mother who sees her toddler wanting to jump off a height would be filled with fear - it is the fear that would propel her to take action to save her child - a positive fear.

What about the fear that stops us from taking a life-fulfilling action? Such is a negative fear. With such fear, we give a thousand and one reason why the venture will fail, despite the fact that we have a detailed business plan. The risk is what we see and not the benefit - we forget the fact that, profit is the reward for the risk you take as an entrepreneur.
We over-analyse situations and plans to a point of indecision - a term called analysis paralysis, a forex parlance.

How do I overcome this fear? Make it a date tomorrow.
Thanks.

Hello friends. This is a bit of diversion from PPP, but it still centers around the abundant rocky phosphate in some states.

If you are interested in mining the rocky phosphate for other uses, the raw material research and development council (RMRDC) will be of immense help here.
Companies of note like Dangote, clover paints, bendel feeds e.t.c; all use the indigenous raw materials and technologies .

The contact page on their website have contact person, phone number and address in all the state capital. Here is the website
rmrdc.gov.ng. Thanks

Thanks Hye-bit. Good day friends.

In continuation with how to relate to ourself - we have to learn how to motivate ourself when the chips are all down.
The journey to being a multimillion naira brand can become so lonely when you don't have people that believe in your ability to succeed, most especially your close family member.

Let it be known that it is only you that can stop yourself from being a worthwhile brand. If no man believes in you, you still have hope, but if you don't believe in yourself that you can build an empire - nothing can ever make it happen.

So learn to take large doses of motivation by reading other people's rise from grass to grace; how people braved all oddity to build business empires and how people filled their thoughts with possibilities.

Get motivated, you owe yourself the duty.
Thanks.

Good afternoon friends. Hope your weekend was cool? Thanks for tuning into the thread.

In continuation of the fertilizer talk - some people do not like the political clout surrounding it and would therefore keep an arm length. Could there be another alternative?

Yes! An enviromental friendly fertilizer in the way of organic has often been touted by the Institute of Agriculture and Research Training, Moor Plantation, Ibadan. According to the fertilizer body, FESPAN, a company in Ibadan (Pacesetter organic) is into the use of organic waste to produce agricultural fertilizer.
A visit to the place would shed more light on the prospect and problem of the idea. Online communication rarely work with government organisations.

Let us look into another way out tomorrow. Thanks.

Hello friends, hope you all had a nice weekend.

Now that we have gotten some tips on how to service and relate to customers, I think we need to learn to relate our own self. Suprised?

It is important we know how to handle our emotions and attitude during the many problems that will accost us during the course of running a venture. Believe me, there would be plenty of such days ahead.

How do you feel when you don't make sales for weeks? What would be your attitude when you can't meet your financial obligations for some time? How will you react when these problems want to overwhelm you? What stance would you take when your family member become a source of discouragement rather encouragement? How do you anwser the question of whether you can make it or not when you ask yourself?

These are some of the scenario that would stare you in the face. You 've got to prepare yourself to handle them or they will throw you off the path.

How do I prepare myself? Let us meet tomorrow.
Thanks.

Good evening friends. Please permit me to leave you with the fertilizer supplier association of Nigeria(FESPAN) website for today.
Do a google search on the association to get the site.
We will continue further discussion on Monday. Thanks.