"...and with all thy getting get understanding." - Proverbs 4:7

More than 90% of business ideas never become reality. Out of those that do, less than half of them scale through the first year of business successfully.

Less than 10% of all business startups remain successful after 10 years of existing. The major cause of this massive business "failure" is being able to access capital.

This post begins a new series that will focus on different ways of raising capital for your business. Every business, no matter the stage and size, needs capital to grow and fulfill its vision.

It is also very important that you understand what capital is. Capital is not only about money. Capital is the resources that you use for producing goods and services.

Resources can be equipment, office space, warehouse, vehicle, raw materials, money etc. You also need capabilities like knowledge, skill and experience.

Money is one of the last components you need when planning for your business. When many people think about business, the first thing that comes to their mind is how to get money. And they are immediately discouraged if they cannot find the money.

Money is very important for your business. You need it to run your day-to-day business operations smoothly. I will show you how to access this money. It is not as difficult as many people believe. I have done it so many times before.

The Bible says after getting wisdom, get understanding. Capital is the principal thing you need for your business, you also need to understand what it is, where and how to get it.

The Making Many Rich Series is designed for rich interaction with timeless principles that have brought success to many. Get the messages that would help you start your day on #MMRSeries.

This social media seminar will be beamed live on the satellite free to air station Solutions TV. More updates on how you can participate coming soon

Duration of Seminar:- 3 hours
Proposed Dates:- Saturday17th September 2016
Participation:- Strictly by invitation
Partners:- Partnership is open to interested persons or organizations

Training Content:-
1. CBT Solution Case Study- The Best Marketing Campaign Ever?
- Bringing the leads together under one roof
- Emphatic messaging
- Integrity in communicating
- Visual aids to aid communication
- Convenient payment
- Sharing through Nigeria's number 1 portal
2. Nigeria's Number 1 destination for Quality Sales Lead
- How we made it so
- Standing out from the crowd
3. High Trust Selling Through Social Influencer Marketing
- Building rewarding relationships
- Trust before transaction

Sales Lead Generation:- Refers to initiation of consumers (prospects based on demography � age, income, location) interest or inquiry into products or services of a business.
The emphasis is on generating Quality Sales Lead ie Qualified potential buyers who show some level of interest in purchasing your product or services.

Social Media Marketing:- Gaining awareness and traffic to your website through social media platforms.

Building Trust:- Over 80% of purchases made by consumers are influenced by peers, friends families and celebrities.

Trust comes before the power to influence.

Business Growth:- The ultimate goal of every business owner or manager. By Business, we are talking about profit and not-for-profit organizations, churches, NGOs, and government institutions.

Best Practice:- Refer to prevailing industry practices and standards that have been proven to be effective and efficient. Particularly in the areas of ITSM (IT Service Management and Project Management).

Participants will be equipped with knowledge, tools, techniques, practices and standards for Sales Lead Generation.

Theme: Quality Sales Lead Generation Through Social Media

Objective: to equip participants with best practice in Quality Sales Lead Generation through Social Media Marketing for Building Trust and Business Growth.

Details

Participants:- Participation would be online through webinar . it will be streamed live to mobile devices and computers through a designated platform with login details sent to participants just before the program commences.

It is strictly by invitation, and you must be duly registered before you can attend the program. Prospective participants are individuals, business owners, managers, professionals, reps from corporate organizations, churches, and NGOs, who desire to grow their businesses and organizations.

You're Reading This Because You're Qualified

A Quality Sales Lead is a person who is QUALIFIED to receive a message, usually an advert.

Qualified because the information, product, or service being presented is valuable to that person.

That's why it isn't presented to everyone.

Everyone reading this thread right now, including those who have read it earlier, qualify to make their presentation, be seen and heard by over 30 million people.

We're talking here about a global audience, and opportunity to reach out.

Some of the finest in the social media marketing sector will be participating, and a chance to show them what you have, and also to rep Nairaland.

Here are the rules:

1. Indicate your interest to participate by posting "I'm Interested". Starts now and ends in 48 hours - 6:30pm on Sunday

2. Those who indicated interest will write a sentence on why they think Nairaland is the number destination Quality Sales Lead. Starts after those who indicated interest have being collated. Runs for 1 day, ends by 6:30pm on Monday

3. Voting commences and runs for 3 days.

Like = 2 vote
Share = 1 vote

Let the game begin

So we have this Webinar on Quality Sales Lead Generation Through Social Media Coming Up.

What's so special about it?

Participants will learn best practice in social media marketing. That's as much as I can say here.

The unique thing about this event is that there is a segment reserved for a speaker on the topic "Nigeria’s Number 1 destination for Quality Sales Lead". It concerns the online platform where you can get the best sales lead when running an advertising campaign. I've being able to achieve so much through Nairaland, and quite frankly, the topic "CBT Solution Case Study- The Best Marketing Campaign Ever?" will show how I used this platform to achieve exceptional results in one of my campaigns.

As an appreciation to Nairaland, I would like make it open for a Nairalander to present the topic "Nigeria’s Number 1 destination for Quality Sales Lead" on the webinar. The participants are 2,000 and a number of them will be from outside the country. After the program has held, it will be aired at least twice on a Nigerian TV station. As well as other online platforms.

So the exposure is massive. 1 Nairalander gets the opportunity to present himself/herself to over 30 million people.

There are no major rules and everything will be done according to the rules of the platform so we don't abuse any of the rules.

I'll detail the rules on next post. Just 3 steps.

Everyone is qualified to contest. Seun and Lalasticlala as well

Not too long ago, it was reported in the news media that Nigeria is now poor. This is not news, it's being the situation a long time ago.

If the country wasn't poor, we would have realized the massive job opportunities available in the value chain of agricultural production process.

Beautiful write up, well worth keeping in the archive for future reference.

Qristien:

Where is the venue? What state?

8 Towobola Jaiyesmi Street, Ebute, Ikorodu, Lagos State.

The event will also be streamed live. How to participate online will be updated on this thread.

For the unemployed or those seeking jobs, or planning on changing jobs due to one reason or the other,

1. Learn about relevant skills and expertise required to start a venture online
2. Become gainfully employed, or enhance your position in your career with information that gives you competitive advantage
3. Improve your knowledge on how E-commerce affects your industry

For Students,

With the present economic realities, it's very difficult to depend solely from money from parents. Even for those with well-to-do parents, there will be times when the need for money will be urgent and might not be forthcoming.

The goal is to look at online opportunities that students can get involved in that:

- Require little or no start up capital to begin
- Require no specialized skill or knowledge to start
- Can be run using mobile phones
- Will not interfere with their academic activities

Online Business Outreach designed for those who are looking at leveraging on the online opportunities. This is actually by a group in church and as such no payment is required.

New date for the Outreach is Saturday 24th September, registration is still on and you can book your seats

Fundamental Drivers of E-commerce

Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba.com, insists that Alibaba is not an online store, but a service provider that helps others to do e-commerce. In differentiating his platform, he likened Alibaba to an e-commerce infrastructure that facilitates other online businesses. A service provider that has consistently grown since inception, and as of 2014 handled about 80% of China’s e-commerce sales.

Nigeria, and in general Africa, has being playing catch up with the rest of the world. After overcoming a late start, the continent has shown that it is ready for e-commerce business for building enterprise in its budding markets. With the support of the right infrastructure and technologies, we could see e-commerce sales exceeding traditional sales volume before 2025.

Infrastructure refers to the fundamental drivers of economic activities. For e-commerce, infrastructure are the support technologies that have made online business transactions possible. All around the world, this infrastructure has being built and maintained by business organizations. With government playing regulatory roles in certain aspects of the sector.

Key infrastructure needed to drive e-commerce in Nigeria, and position her rightly as an attractive hub are online payment, logistics and internet access.

Online Payment

Internet security remains the major reason for late mass adoption of online business transactions in the country. Skeptical that payments made online will expose their financial information, most preferred to pay with cash for products bought. That’s why Cash on Delivery (CoD) is a preferred option, and widely accepted. However, this fear has reduced considerably, due to advancement in internet security, and increased awareness among shoppers.
Logistics

Traditional method of supply chain meant products flowed from suppliers, to manufacturers, and then to wholesalers to retailers, and finally to the consumer. It usually took months to get to the consumer after production. But with e-commerce, logistics has evolved with fast and efficient delivery to match consumers growing demand 24 hour, next day delivery, and real time order tracking has become industry best practice.
Internet Access

Nigeria is currently ranked 7th in the number of internet users globally. With over 92.6 million of its population having internet access (about 51.1% of its over 182 million population). This largely fueled by the increased penetration of mobile internet provided by the GSM networks in the country. More people are increasingly involved in electronic commerce as a means of convenient shopping. In the near future, this figure will increase considerable, creating more opportunities for e-commerce players.

Infrastructure precedes profitability and growth. And it’s an accurate indicator of the direction that economic activities will take. With e-commerce, there is increasing participation in every sector of the economy, a clear indication that we are yet to tap into its full potentials.

Wingerman:
Nice one Op.

Tx

The Right Business Model For You

Understanding the different types of business models applicable will help in deciding which works best for you.

Defining what value to create, for whom, how to deliver it, and revenue stream, will give you a lot of clarity. It will always define the most effective and efficient business model for you. There are currently 4 main E-commerce business models available, any of which is suitable giving your business needs – B2B, B2C, C2C and C2B.

Business-to-Business (B2B)

As the name implies, B2B is a platform where businesses (producers, manufacturers, wholesalers) sell to other businesses (wholesalers and retailers). The volume of transactions are usually large, and each party can further negotiate prices.

Products that are resold in smaller units, products that are used as input for production of finished products, and professional services are sold using this business model. Best known example of B2B is Alibaba.com.

Business-to-Consumer (B2C)

Using this business model, businesses sell their products and services to consumers in retail units. Prices are already fixed, and consumers have the option of either paying online while making orders, or Cash on Delivery (CoD) when the orders are received.

B2C stores are the most common among the others. Examples of these are Konga, Jumia, Kaymu and Dealdey.

Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C)

C2C is an online business model that allows consumers to sell their items (products, services, information) to other consumers. New and used items are sold here, with guarantee that they are in good working condition.

There are lots of examples of C2C sites, and new ones springing up daily. Classified and Auction based websites fall into this model. Examples are OLX and eBay.

Consumer-to-Business (C2B)

It’s the E-commerce business model where consumers can offer goods and services to businesses, and get paid. This is a reversal of the traditional B2C business model.

Consumers provide services that businesses need, and receive payment based on pre-agreed terms. Freelance websites, affiliate, blogs, internet forums, work with this model. Examples of these are elance, guru, nairaland etc.

Your choice of business model will determine the kind of products you sell, how you market, sell and distribute them. None is better than the other, you just need to find one that perfectly aligns with your business objective.

Let's look at the first decision you have to make while setting up your E-commerce Business

New Platform or Expand Existing Business?

At the early stages, businesses that fail are more than those that succeed. The primary cause of this is insufficient and inaccurate information before starting out. Not capital, capacity, or skill, but the right information. That’s why some businesses that rushed into E-commerce found themselves rushed out of it.

Bola is in his 40’s, owns a thriving clothing business. He produces customized dresses for ladies, complete with designs of the best embroidery and beads. His clients are rich, and willing to pay premium prices for his designs.

Kalu is a student in one of the universities in the South West. In order to make up what he receives from parents, he engages in buying and selling of clothes to his schoolmates. His customers are not wealthy, so he has to source for his clothes at the best price, to make reasonable profit. The major threat to his business is credit sales.

Bola and Kalu are both in the same industry- fashion. Yet cater to different classes of the market. Taking their business online could lead to more sales, profits, and growth. But, getting the best results means they both approach it differently.
The 2 Modes of Operations Available for Your Business

There are 2 modes of operations to choose from when taking your business online.

1. Extension of your business through e-commerce. Desired option for a well established business. Brick and mortar is a phrase used to refer to businesses with only physical operations. You had to visit them physically before businesses could be transacted. With the advent of online business, a business with both online and offline operations is now referred to as ‘Click and mortar’.

This is the preferred option for Bola. Since he boasts of a considerable customer base. He will need to set up his online store, or sell on any online marketplace. Then integrate his inventory for both operations. That way he can service existing clients and still grow his customer base by reaching out to those who are geographically dispersed, yet desire his kind of services.

2. Migrate full operations online. Kalu doesn’t have an established business, he runs his business from his hostel. Moving the operations of his business online would provide him with the best leverage. He can ship on order, display as many different products, doesn’t need to hold inventory. And best of all, items bought are all paid for. No credit sales.

Before you make the choice of expanding your business through E-commerce. You’ll need to decide if it’s best to extend your business, or simply move every aspect of your business online. Both options have businesses that have being successful in operating them, you could too.

We grew up shopping from abokis, 'chemists', kiosks, shops, supermarkets, and other 'brick and mortar' stores around us. Within the past 2 decades, all that is changing with the likes of Alibaba.com, Amazon, eBay, and other global brands. We are not left behind, with online stores like Jumia, Konga, Kaymu, Dealdey, and Dealfinder.

Access to the internet has increased considerably, especially with the number of smartphones owned by individuals. The popular GSM Networks like MTN, Glo, Airtel, and Etisalat, have introduced affordable data plan, with easy activation codes. Statistics shows that there are over 96 million internet subscribers on these mobile networks.

Internet subscribers are increasingly getting news much faster these days. It's not surprising to hear gists about celebrities like Wizkid, Davido, Tonto Dike, PSquare while it breaks. Or is it our ever entertaining political gladiators like Dino Melaye, Bukola Saraki, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Abdulmumin Jibrin etc. The internet has 'fueled' whatever it touches, not just in business, but also every area of our existence.

Becoming a player in E-commerce doesn't mean jumping into any opportunity that promises mouth-watery returns. I have learnt my lessons from past experience trading online forex. I'm still paying back my debts from this misadventure. I can't say much about online betting cause I've never ever taken part in it. Though I'm in support of the ban of its promotion on Nairaland by Seun, cause I'm yet to see any value it adds to those involved (strictly my views).

I can however say much about e-commerce cause of the many benefits it offers to everyone. Those involved in charity, services, goods and whatever form their value is delivered. That is the purpose of this thread.

I started selling on the 4 major online stores- Jumia, Konga, Dealdey and Kaymu, from January 2015. That’s not so long ago, if you consider how long they’ve being in existence. The reason for this was for me to be certain these platforms had sustainable business models. And so I participated from the sidelines for a while.

Now to substantiate on my topic, why I’m called the king of e-commerce. Going into online selling, I had about N100,000 as start up capital. The first products I purchased were 2 cartons of FIL power banks, somewhere around N78,000. I sold them all on Dealdey within 7 days, raking in 40% profit in the process. Certainly very encouraging.

From then till December of 2015, I never had any month that I made less than 30% returns on my sales. As a research inclined person, I studied the modus operandi of the stores, their customer preferences, popular categories and products, buying patterns, continually sourcing for new innovative and profitable products, while focusing on reputable brands.

There was a particular month I made more than 200% on Dealdey in 1 month. Though this is still achievable, the system that enabled me to achieve this feat has being removed. Probably why a lot of merchants weren’t too happy with changes introduced late last year.

I have being involved in extending some businesses online for clients. Got some more people involved online through training and mentorship. And now working on an initiative that will provide 1 million jobs in the E-commerce sector in Nigeria. There are presently less than 100,000 jobs directly created from E-commerce, even though there’s capacity for much more.

From the E-commerce value chain, we see that web designers, developers, logistics, photography, warehousing, social media drivers, affiliate marketing, and more can create jobs for our teeming population. I was at the venue of Tech Plus conference on Thursday 21st July, even though it didn’t hold that day. I saw lots of young guys and ladies who were able and willing to drive E-commerce into the next phase. The time has come to start preparing them for the task.

It came from an old friend, himself a guru in the information marketing space, who always called me that when we talked on the phone. At first I tried to be modest and declined the ‘title’, but on further consideration I thought, “who the crown fits let him wear it”.

Back then when we had E-gold and Liberty Reserve, with businesses like Getaway (never tried it), bulk sms, forex, freelance (never got a job from it, even till date). Forex is actually a bitter pill as I have lost about 1 million naira trading it. Most of which belonged to people I traded for.

Part of me believes that online forex is a scam, and I’ve got my proof. It is a negative sum game designed to enrich the market makers. Statistically, the more trades you make on online forex, the more you lose money, and the more the market makers make money. That’s why they’re always looking out for people to register on their platforms, some even give you free money once you register. Well, this is a story for another day.

One important lesson of online business, or E-commerce, as lots of people know it, is that there is no one-size-fits-all solution. You need to work with what works best for you. Information marketers are fast to sell you a quick-fix solution, or a system that guarantees overnight success. There is no free lunch anywhere.

If you consider the trend of online users, shopping, and especially the amount of people who do not shop online yet, you will find that the opportunities are great. But you must be ready to work the talk. Like it is popularly said, there is no overnight success in life, you have to take it one step at a time.

youngest85:
So u sell card online?

Not yet. Never really considered it cause during my early days in online business, I had this group of friends that worked on that project. Guess it didn't work out so well, they would have being household names today

My first foray into the world of online business began close to 10 years ago. Caused by 2 unrelated incidences I experienced within that period.

The first of which was repeated confrontation I had with local government officials within my locality. People say that Ajeromi/Ifelodun local government area exerts more levies on inhabitants than any other local government in Nigeria. Though I don’t have facts to back this assertion, I quite believe it to be true.

Lock up permit, trade permit, advert permit, radio and TV license, business center & cyber cafe permit, and the list goes on and on. On several occasions, these officials had my shop (actually belonged to my mum) locked because I was found wanting in one of these levies.

It is good to pay your taxes and levies, however, I feel these should be business-friendly so we can be encouraged to get involved in entrepreneurship.

The second incident was a result of an article I read in one of the early publications on internet business (not sure if it was in Success Digest). The article gave reasons why people surfed the internet- fun/entertainment, study/research, information, business. It then highlighted some individuals who were successful from doing business on the internet.

Prior to reading the article, my primary purpose of surfing the net was studying and research. After reading the article, I made up my mind to use the internet as a platform for my business. I wouldn’t be harassed by landlord, NEPA, or local government officials cause my business operations would be on the internet.