₦airaland Forum

Obasy09...on point. What are you registering..business name enterprise? What are the salient points in your MOU...are the members virtual members too....board issues...what are the numbers over the next three years...what's the business model. These questions need answers.

If I asked you now that I need a dog as companion and guard dog. But live in an appartment with other 9 neighbours...leave home at 7 and don't return till seven. Have busy weekends with occassional relatives visiting and staying a couple of days which includes my nosy but favourite 59 year old aunt. Which breed, age will you reccomend and why.
If you can't answer that question easily the you aint ready.

I laughed when you said you love dogs but don't own one. In my younger days I bred and sold dogs. Its a niche market and don't be fooled that its less time demanding.
Get trained or understudy. Get a job as cleaner or whatever at kennel. That way you learn the ropes and avoid costly mistakes. Build your network. Then you can start.

There is also a business principle that you must take care of all stakeholders. How to work through that principle ethically is a daily challenge. I must confess that I don't have all the answers yet. But ill let you in on a strategy being used. The deal is that you are only carrying out the contract on behalf of you know who with your firm....then you split profits. How does that sound texanomaly.

@texanomaly. The issue you raised is real.....as in real. The way out is that you should prepare yourself for low margins as you have to use differentiation strategy most times to create a niche. Secondly build a vast business network. I have seen it many times over and agree that the nigerian business environment is filled with deal cutting. The norm now is they wait for you at payment point to frustrate you. Even when you get the job or business on merit. I've just gotten a start up running and I'm bent on running it ethically. So far my clients where gotten cos they know ill deliver. I'm also familiar with the CEOs.......so nobody messes with me when my invoice arrives on their table.

I may add we did not start out as a competent team....I think the most important ingredient was a resolve to succeed and we also had a mentor or coach. Lastly I will add .....put a spiritual dimention to your business...is it all about you and the profit? Add the dimention of humanity...corporate social responsibility....you only put yourself and the business in the wheel of life. Humanity must be provided for, so become a channel.

Your service partners are very important in your service delivery plan. Never tie down your plans to one. Develop alternatives. Make valid contracts and contractual documentations. Start building credit lines with your service partners..this could be a way to build a relationship where they have a stake. Importantly like said develop alternatives.

The greatest challenge or I dare say challenges include having the capacity to cope with the growth being experienced. Basically the processes that could go by word of mouth had to be spelt out....human resource mgt, health and safety, customer relationship management policies etc. Cash flow management budgeting and innovation. These we had started out to bring in a consultant but we stopped before engaging the firm and rather identified individual strenghts within created task forces within and increased our training budget to acquire the knowledge.
We also had regular retreats to make tactical and strategic plans. They all cost a lot of money and the change requirements painful but its still paying off.

Great thread spicy V. I intend to stay glued. I'm enjoying the best of both worlds. I'm at the top end of the organisation I've been with for the past almost 15 years where we started from zero but have 100s of staff currently across the country and I'm going through same motions with my own start up.
I'd share that I've owned the knowledge that the service we deliver is an experience. So we determine the taste we leave on our customer's taste buds. If its sweet they will come back.
Then there is the daggers drawn end where you meticulously plan to beat the competition to increase market share. That's my specialty. That's why I'm called the executioner at work.

Its not funny but I laugh. Directing or delegating that the neefful be done does not mean abdiating responcibility. Can we now also say thst her directions on aviation safety for the needful to be done might also mean she does not know if they are done or not.

I am not an estate surveyor by training but my business is related to the proffesion very much. The professionals have abandoned the competence they should display and are struggling with quacks. I have been involved in deals and I know the difference. Anyone can claim to be an agent but not everyone can bring the class on.
On another note Nigerians willingly opt to see a patent medcine store attendant than go to a hospital.

If I read you well you said you were diagnoseed with dementia. So trying to get by the formal educational system might be a challenge. So its obvious you are a business guru already if you could breed and sell...at least dogs. Train to be the best in the segment you have discovered. Train and develop yourself in business ethics..develop your network...build yourself. You may not need a formal degree to succeed.

If I understand your post it says life insurance...meaning you'd have to be dead first and your next of kin can make claims. The one you get paid on maturity is an anuity. I'm not an insurance expert so I'm open to corrections.

Why don't you just sue them....and get it in the papers. Banks don't like anything that could make their customers jittery to cause a cash run.

Interesting discussion. Ill give an insight as a business leader
1. Every employee in a firm of 5 or more employees must join the contributory scheem.
2. Some firms that default complying can be reported to pencom abuja or through their zonal offices. They act even with their limited capacity. Better still do a formal complaint through public complaints commission.
3. You can't Swittch PFAs now. This possibility was to be effective 2013 but is on hold. Reason is that when you swicth your contributions so far will hit your new pfa in 5 years so your current pfa gets to give your new one a bond to that effect. Unfortunately many agencies eepecially govt ones have backlog of remittances and no pfa is willing to give a bond on what is not in their poccession.
4. The sovereign investment authority may soon start using the funds as investment instruments....though I have it on record that they have rigorous risk assessment styles.
5. Every one is advised to have a plan B. Also write a will. Writing a will is not palatable but you're saving your loved ones the hastle. I've been on it for a month.

As for brand names...a simple technique is to get a word that is spelt or pronoused exactly same way backwards. Since its an hygein product you could go with something sprity squicky.....the words in my head right now are...drax, plax, frex, brex, prax.
They may not obey my num 1 rule but those are what came up. Hope I'm helpful.

Is it the name of the company or the name of the tissue paper brand. Better to keep the name of the company seperate. That way you may be able to push out various brands of tissue paper. You may need to compete in the various segments of the market to grab a chunk of that particular segment. Example.....WAMCO...peak milk (premium brand)..three crowns (lower segment). All milk but different market segments.

Hi.

Current yearly rental value multiplied by 10 years is a more realistic selling price.

Both.

What are the business KPIs.....what factors are critical to the business success. What alternatives came up while developing your strategies...why did you settle with the ones you chose. By the time you go through this incubation/ business plan development process you'd be better prepared to set out than you ever thought.
Hope I was helpful.

To add on.....what are the benefits you asked. You may simply look at it as a ship captain about to set sail. Your destination is defined, your crew, even the type of ship you'd start out with as the journey might be so long with boisterous winds you might need to dock at some points for supplies, a bigger ship more or new crew. What are the dos and donts for this trip. Your mission vission and core values had just been nailed. where are you? What are determinant factors that this ship would undertake a succesful voyage.....your SWOT analysis.
What are your budgets...your cashflows...your strategy/ tactics to deploy for this voyage/ business to succeed.

The so called blooming businesses, some, may have not started out with s business plan but I can assure you that they had to as the business grew.
You need to have a business plan not as academic excersice but if you go through the process properly doing your reviews and replans in a dedicated way you'd be glad you did. It may not be a bad idea if you had an experienced mentor for guidance. Not to point you away from your passion but to polish you and your plans to lustre.

So using buckets to collect dripping water from AC units is acceptable bah? I give up.

I shiver when I read comments insinuating that the minister and I dare say her boss should not be held responcible. If the job is not being done according to global standards they should have enough balls or otherwise to fire, train, develop and hire to deliver. Are we so of little minds not to be objective enough devoid of the sentiments of tribal witch hunting, if there is any, to be unable to do the RIGHT THING . The buck stops at her table. If things get done right she has my kudos but if on the contrary no one should shield her from the stick.

Negro1 question seconded..

so tell me how this works.....buy the contract for 15%...broker 3%....vat and tax 10%.....pr for payment about 2% by my estimation then you're left with 70% to deliver a shoddy job and make a reasonable margin. Oooo I forgot cost of funds, inflation factor for delayed payment.
I pass.

This is intersting...I'm not sure how it pans out but is it a pressure group...it looks transient since employment status isn't permanent and therefore members drop off when they gain employment. On another note guys look for a need to provide a benefit and you get paid for it. Being unemployed can be a state of the mind..you can choose to shake off that tag by sitting down to think..look for a need...

@poster...I'm not sure that's his photo you posted..If its ever his pic that pic must be over 25 years old. I sat with him over a couple of drinks in gwarimpa some years ago...besides he has a round face with a distinctive hair line he's been known with over the years.that is if its the uncle Emma that was married to evi Edna the old time songstress.

Give details... make...fuel type..price...location.

Actually I called customer care complained that the downtime made me get mail notifications late which affected my ability to respond as fast as I needed to. The customer service girl told me she won't be able to confirm if I'd get compensated when I asked but I told her to tell her supervisor to tell the supervisor that will tell tellthe supervisor that will take action and insisted on a responce. Minuites later I got a text that my complaint had Been logged and that ill get a responce. 2 hours later I was notified of a three day extention on my bb as compensation.

I don't know if its general or specific.....I just got a 3 day extention for my bb due to the recent down time. I complained and asked to be compensated.