₦airaland Forum

Update

https://www.nairaland.com/6760776/canada-hustle-how-go-dey#105956428

What is working for me

Faith – I believe in God. I am a Christian. Non-negotiable. That is where I get the confident assurance that whatever I do will succeed. And those times where everything is hanging on the edge, that’s what keeps me grounded.

Hardwork – I work HARD! As in, you have to work twice as hard and all the time to make a startup succeed. If I say I will deliver, come snow, rain or shine, I have to deliver. However, seeing the fruit of your labour makes hardwork easier.

Courage and resilience – To succeed in business, the courage to take risks and the resilience to stay in there when things are not going your way, are critical. Thankfully, the ability to competently assess risks and forecast outcomes has proved very useful.

The company I keep – Like I said, to succeed at anything, you have to be deliberate about the people in your circle. Stay humble so you can learn.

Being resourceful – I am solution-minded. I believe every problem can be solved, so I am constantly thinking up solutions to anticipated challenges; so I am hardly caught unawares. I read, read, read.

Looking at the above, what is working for me will work regardless of the location. In retrospect, I think Canada has not made me successful. It has only given me more opportunities to be the person that I am and want to be.

Real Estate

2020. Covid-19. Property prices surprisingly started appreciating as demand was high and supply low. Demand is still so high and prices ever higher. Strategized with some of my guys and opinions varied as to whether it was the best time to go in. I sha took the leap and signed across those lines that meant the keys to this nice house were mine. Though a mortgage, I still had to put down some serious money… about N25m in Naira terms. Good thing is the house has a separate unit, that I rent out and it gives me good rental income. The best part is that between when I bought it and now, the value of the house has appreciated by about $130k. I have also been able to get into some real estate deals in Nigeria.

Starting a Business

The company you keep when you move to a new location is very important. You definitely have to be very deliberate about the people you surround yourself with. If you want professional jobs, seek out and surround yourself with such people. If you are entrepreneurial-minded as I am, you have to do likewise. If you just want to flex, you know what to do.

My next move was to incorporate a company (now several) to take advantage of some opportunities that I discovered. My business has a low barrier to entry and does not need too many competitors (so forgive me if I don’t disclose what it is) and is extremely profitable depending on how much time and resources you can commit to it. Looking back now, the day I opened my first office was such a significant milestone, particularly as I now employ people on a need basis. When I tell people how long I have been in Canada, they are always surprised, as it is not the usual.

Most Nigerians that travel abroad focus on getting jobs. While this is a good strategy at the beginning in order to understand the environment and culture, one should at some point take steps to start his/her own business, particularly if the country of sojourn is a part of the capitalist West. This is because capitalist societies are built to reward the employer, not the employee. As an employee, the more you earn, the higher your tax rate, while the tax rate for companies are usually constant. As an employer, the company handles most of your expenses before tax. Thus, an employer spends his money before it is taxed, and whatever is left (if any) is taxed, while an employee’s total income is taxed before it gets to him/her. This is why you hear that folks like Donald Trump, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, etc pay little or no taxes.

I have been meaning to provide an update to my waka, but never got around to it as there are so many irons in the fire. The fact that Nairaland threads can be very easily derailed did not help matters. However, I have seen a number of posts regarding my welfare and I thank those persons, and think it appropriate to give a quick update.

I AM DOING WELL!

Canada has turned out to be a complete blessing, and for that I am grateful to God.

If you remember, one of my last updates was the conclusion that doing 2 full time jobs was not exactly practicable abi na suicide mission. Nevertheless, I knew that if I am to achieve my goals within the set timeframe, depending on one salary would not cut it. So change in strategy?

queengift:
you are back, am happy, please always update this thread

Thank you

Bracha:
Thank you. But which railway?

Yaba Market

Tominiola:
Canada is another level. We don't have these at the banks that I go to in the UK.

I don't think it applies to every bank or RBC branch here.

Bracha:
Hello, can you please point me to the direction of where you got those gloves. Name and phone number of the seller would be be highly appreciated.

Thank you.

Amarachi - +234 803 623 8196

Yaba Market. Green building by the railway

nahinbdis:
Based on the realities that money no too plenty for this side, one of the options is to work 2 jobs, afterall Nigerians brag they can hustle. So na so I dey look this second job thing that has been offered to me:

Leave home by 8am for Job 1 that starts by 9.30am and ends by 5.30pm Monday to Friday. Then one hour bus home and arrive home by 7pm max.

Leave home 8pm for Job 2 that starts by 10pm and ends by 6am Sunday Night to Thursday morning. One hour bus home and arrive home by 7am.

Sleep time - 1hour at break time at night and anything that can be snatched during the day.

Is this feasible?

As the consensus is NOT FEASIBLE, make I face front look for another thing

RIP

Based on the realities that money no too plenty for this side, one of the options is to work 2 jobs, afterall Nigerians brag they can hustle. So na so I dey look this second job thing that has been offered to me:

Leave home by 8am for Job 1 that starts by 9.30am and ends by 5.30pm Monday to Friday. Then one hour bus home and arrive home by 7pm max.

Leave home 8pm for Job 2 that starts by 10pm and ends by 6am Sunday Night to Thursday morning. One hour bus home and arrive home by 7am.

Sleep time - 1hour at break time at night and anything that can be snatched during the day.

Is this feasible?

Beautyaddy:
How are those tall buildings packaging

They spend a lot of money to bring out the beauty in buildings and spaces, rather than just building for functionality.

This is just a train stop

Oyinbo get packaging

In Nigerian banks, we tie rope to Pens so that customers will not 'thief' it. In Canada, a Bank like RBC leaves umbrellas at corners for customers' use.

We need attitudinal change.

Dmpaul:
Oga welcum bck. It's bin long

Thank you...story be don change for the thread... and I no fit argue because things plenty for hand

Fresh Pepper from Jamaica

Yam from Jamaica

Plantain from somewhere in South America

When will Nigeria grow up and start properly exporting finished products?

Okro from the US

Pear wey we dey play with for Naija...come chop

Though the worst of the winter is past, days like this were fairly common in January and February

Gerrard59:
Welcome back.

Did my suggestion of recruitment agencies (Hays, Adecco, Randstad etc.) work (assuming you opted for it)?

Agencies are an option, but generally, it should be last option because most of them give contract jobs. From my research, very few recruit directly for organizations.

If you think contract jobs have taken over Nigeria, co.e to Canada. Monkey dey work, baboon dey chop.

Got recruited directly by an airline cargo handling company a month ago

I hope I can assume that the Naija/Canny banter is over so that I can continue what I started.

Please o... This thread is not for Nigeria vs Canada, or to debate the propriety of a move to Canada. That one has been done and dusted, and no looking back. The moment you hear 'Welcome to Canada' as a PR and step out of the airport, the only thing you will be asking yourself is why you didn't do this sooner. It's not something that can be explained in a few words.

Having said that, the goal of this thread is to document my move to Canada and be frank with the challenges that I face and my daily hustle to grow my space.

Banks in Nigeria still have a long way to go in terms of customer service. The way a Scotia Bank staff focused on serving me, you would think I was carrying wads of dollars. Plenty freebies and credit card offers.

So end of day one... bank account, phone number and other petty stuff settled. Job hustle starts from Monday.

Signs like these are fairly common for unskilled labour. You will also find signs for help wanted at various outlets.

People wey don belleful

This is typical of the orderliness observed everywhere. Space for the physically challenged... live and let live