Most Nigerians are of the opinion that Business is the answer to the ever raising number of unemployed youths. What most doesnt know is that business too has its own challenges and not for the faint hearted. I would be sharing some of my experiences trying to do business.

**First Experience**
Growing up I've always been a lover of business, I remember after my secondary education I was given two options of university education or business. I choose business without batting an eyelid. I think it was during the early days of Goodluck's tenure when ports were closed so most importations where from Cotonou Port and the goods smuggled into Nigeria.

I gathered small capital with the help of relatives and would go to Cotonou to get male jeans and resale in wholesale to my customers in Nigeria, I went on a trip at least once a week which gives me an average of 30k to 40k profit per week because my capital wasn't much. I started with 200k and within a little over a year I was counting in millions before my legendary village people gave me a call.

My logistics agent put my goods in a vehicle transporting second hand tyres, which was intercepted at Benin and everything got impounded. After spending so much for the release of the goods it was released several months later only for us to meet goods not up to 10% of what was originally seized. It was devastating and I came crashing down to square one. All attempts to gather another capital proved abortive.

** Second Experience**

After many months of suffering and doing menial jobs, I and my friend decided to go into nylon making. We gathered small money and got one small machine and was producing from his balcony since there was no money to rent a shop. There was a problem though, we needed customers.

I bumped into a classmate and we got talking, he told me that he stays in Mgbede in Egbema of Rivers State and business was going well because it was an oil rich town. I believed him since it was evident he was living well. He suggested I visited Omoku to look for customers as business was thriving there at that time. What he never told me was that there was serious cult clash going on in that area. I sold my phone so as to sponsor my trip to Omoku.

He connected me to someone that I could pass the night in his place at Mgbede before proceeding to Omoku. I got to Omoku market and started looking for people dealing in nylons. I approached a man and discussed business with him, he demanded for different types of nylon because he was a whole seller.

I went back to base and set off to producing the goods with my friend, about two weeks later we were done and I proceeded back to Omoku with goods worth around 120k. I got to his shop and met his absence, after some hours he returned and it was late in the evening. I had to return to Mgbede with a plan to come back to follow day so we can do our calculations.

I boarded a taxi to Mgbede and a couple of poles to my bus stop we were intercepted by SARS operatives and bundled into their vehicle without even explaining what our offense was. They went on a mass arrest that night and arrested over 70 persons. We were tied like sacrificial lambs and taken to their head quarters. I later learnt that some cultists killed a police man over a month ago, so they normally come for mass arrest from time to time. My experience in that facility is a story for another day.

I contacted my customer and he bailed me with 40k the following day which of course was deducted from my payment. He gave me 20k for part payment and I left. Several weeks later and be was complaining of inability to sell the goods. Anyone into nylon business knows that once you produce for a customer it would be hard reselling it to another customer since it is produced according to specifications. He called me one day that he was sending the goods back since he couldn't sell them. After trying to sell it off with little success my friend sold it as waste. I was now in debt since I needed to balance to man.

.**Third Experience **

After some months I traveled to PH to look for greener pastures. I worked in a restaurant for some months on a 8k salary. After saving aggressively I resigned and went into road side trading. I would go to Aba and buy third grade okirika cloths for as low as #100 and sale for #300 by the road side. I would visit Onitsha too since I knew the in and out of main market I already knew where to get stuffs very cheap.

I was making at least 5k profit everyday at rumuola in PH. Many of my fellow trader approached me so as to know my trade secret which I politely declined since they were competitors. They conspired against me and with the help of one notorious cultist called mami water I was sent out of Rumuola. I had plans of approaching their leader Amina who was actually a very good person but he was gruesomely murdered under the bridge by supposed rivals.

I relocated to Rumuokoro but business was very slow, I checked other locations like Choba , Rumuokwuta, Eliozu etc but they all couldn't match Rumuola. The business gradually fizzled out and I was broke again.

Sorry about your loss. Most successful business people did not succeed in their first or second enterprise.

**Fourth Experience**

After the collapse of my cloths business I had to get a job as a security man with a 15k salary. It was a one week on one week off shifting work so I looked to something to argument my salary. A friend introduced me to selling if singlets and boxers in traffic. I can't recall the cost price but I know each boxers sold returns a profit of #50, depending on the customers bargaining power, and #100 to #200 for singlets.

It was a whole new experience for me this time chasing after vehicles soliciting for patronage. At times I'm meet with stares from customers looking at me like I was wearing back of cloths. I later realized that I didn't blend with other traders, I looked a bit fresh and wore good clothes too. Not to worry, I would soon blend sooner than later.

Two weeks later and I was a shadow of myself, I had gotten so skinny that by belt was threatening to round my waist, I became confused in complexion, I wasn't dark nor fair more like grey complexion. To make matters worst I wasn't seeing any progress in the businesses. I struggled to make even #1k profit a day aside expenses. I wondered how others were surviving because the business was more like an exchange of money. I had to quite because the stress involved was inversely proportional to the income, I was just trekking round PH like a nomad for little or nothing at all.

** Fifth Experience**

By now I was legit scared of business that I had to abandon it and seek for admission into the university. If at that I didn't stop trying

I was home for a break in school so I looked for something to do to earn money for the main time. A friend of my mom was selling bar soaps then and according to my mom she was swimming in money though she didn't look it o. I met her and she told me how she was making millions by taking the soaps to other States to sell, she advised I went to pH since they had high purchasing power.
I used to hustle street trading in pH so I was familiar with the environs which was an advantage or so I thought. I did my calculations and was in high spirits as I was going to hammer this time.
I borrowed 100k from my dad, bought about cartoons of bar soap and set off to pH on a faithful Wednesday because I targeted oil mill Thursday market . I first dropped at obigbo junction and set my cartons of soap by a corner that the owner was absent and started screaming on top of my voice soliciting for customers...buy your original soap here, only 100 100 naira, e don dey finish oooo, eleme dey look bayelsa dey buy oo, after today no more ooo....I kept shouting....
I got some occasional glances by passerby's as they proceeded to their destinations, one hour turned to two hours yet no one has asked me whether na sample I sample abi na sell I dey sell. I got exhausted from my fruitless shouting and sat down, I realized it was getting dark so I called the number of the person I would pass the night in her place at mile 1....ghen ghen number no dey no reachable .... I shaa packaged my cartoons of soap and set off to mile 1, after all I came for oil mill so I'm sure I would sell all the next day.
Getting to mile 1 around past 8, every where was dark and deserted. I was scared so I had to proceed to mile 3 that was livelier. I packed my goods in one park and started looking for a place to pass the night, I went to a police station but they were questioning me like a criminal even after narrating my ordeal to them. I left and went the a church and the security turned me back that they only allow people to sleep in the church during vigils. I ended up sleeping in an uncompleted building in the state university.
The following morning I set off to oil mill market, I remember when I dropped a barrow pusher came to carry the goods to a place I would keep them but since I was running low on cash I asked him to help me place it on my head....haa oga this thing heavy o e go break your neck o, just give me 3h make I carry am for you.....he exclaimed, don't worry I'm fine I replied.
Five minutes later I was sweating like a Christmas goat with my neck now at 180 degrees, it was remaining just two poles to my destination when I gave up and dropped the bag. I called another barrow pusher and he quoted 250 naira.....chai see penny wise pound foolish, I barely had any strength left to haggle price so I agreed.
I found a corner outside the market and set my cartons of soap, I took one carton and went inside the market screaming on top of my voice as usual, three hours later and I had just sold only 5 bars of soap to make matters worst it started raining and my cartons of soap was in the open.
I ran like a mentally deranged man to where I kept my wares trying to save it from the rain, while I tried to carry the cartons to a shed some gave way throwing some of the soaps on the road with tricycles running over them. A barrow pusher came to my rescue and helped me save the rest.
After the rain subsided I went back into the market and started selling the soap at a 50% loss yet I was unable to finish one carton, while I was struggling to sell my kaya those agberos came with their wahalla and collected #300 from me, I went to a different section of the market to try my luck and 4 different agberos surrounded me with different tickets each not less than #200 . Oga abeg I never sell anything I tried to explain to them, come on give me my money joor one of them roared.
By now I was close to tears as they made away with my goods, heiya its unfair o, you people should pity this poor boy naa, see he's even crying, some market women pleaded on my behalf. They finally collected #500 from me.
I managed to sell two cartons just enough to get my transport back home and set off to the park. I was looking very dirty and unkept, at the park I bumped into a girl I was wooing when I was in ph, she kept staring at me probably trying to deduce if I was actually the person she was seeing. I kept a straight face and went to sit at the back of the bus away from other passengers glare.
At home I took the remaining goods to the woman I bought it from and sold it to her at over 60% loss and gave my dad the balance, though he complained but I carest not.

Even though I'm beginning to feel that business is not for me. I still want to try more.
I'm still broke and I've got more ideas though no capital but something keeps telling me I will get a breakthrough I business one day. I will still come back to testify here.

Feel free to share your own experiences doing business both the positive and negative ones.
Mods please push to front page so we can get wider views and contributions.

Na good location and goodluck every businessman need oh

You have gone through a lot , you be strong hustling guy, one day , your time too shall come

Onahi95:
** Fifth Experience**

By now I was legit scared of business that I had to abandon it and seek for admission into the university. If at that I didn't stop trying

I was home for a break in school so I looked for something to do to earn money for the main time. A friend of my mom was selling bar soaps then and according to my mom she was swimming in money though she didn't look it o. I met her and she told me how she was making millions by taking the soaps to other States to sell, she advised I went to pH since they had high purchasing power.
I used to hustle street trading in pH so I was familiar with the environs which was an advantage or so I thought. I did my calculations and was in high spirits as I was going to hammer this time.
I borrowed 100k from my dad, bought about cartoons of bar soap and set off to pH on a faithful Wednesday because I targeted oil mill Thursday market . I first dropped at obigbo junction and set my cartons of soap by a corner that the owner was absent and started screaming on top of my voice soliciting for customers...buy your original soap here, only 100 100 naira, e don dey finish oooo, eleme dey look bayelsa dey buy oo, after today no more ooo....I kept shouting....
I got some occasional glances by passerby's as they proceeded to their destinations, one hour turned to two hours yet no one has asked me whether na sample I sample abi na sell I dey sell. I got exhausted from my fruitless shouting and sat down, I realized it was getting dark so I called the number of the person I would pass the night in her place at mile 1....ghen ghen number no dey no reachable .... I shaa packaged my cartoons of soap and set off to mile 1, after all I came for oil mill so I'm sure I would sell all the next day.
Getting to mile 1 around past 8, every where was dark and deserted. I was scared so I had to proceed to mile 3 that was livelier. I packed my goods in one park and started looking for a place to pass the night, I went to a police station but they were questioning me like a criminal even after narrating my ordeal to them. I left and went the a church and the security turned me back that they only allow people to sleep in the church during vigils. I ended up sleeping in an uncompleted building in the state university.
The following morning I set off to oil mill market, I remember when I dropped a barrow pusher came to carry the goods to a place I would keep them but since I was running low on cash I asked him to help me place it on my head....haa oga this thing heavy o e go break your neck o, just give me 3h make I carry am for you.....he exclaimed, don't worry I'm fine I replied.
Five minutes later I was sweating like a Christmas goat with my neck now at 180 degrees, it was remaining just two poles to my destination when I gave up and dropped the bag. I called another barrow pusher and he quoted 250 naira.....chai see penny wise pound foolish, I barely had any strength left to haggle price so I agreed.
I found a corner outside the market and set my cartons of soap, I took one carton and went inside the market screaming on top of my voice as usual, three hours later and I had just sold only 5 bars of soap to make matters worst it started raining and my cartons of soap was in the open.
I ran like a mentally deranged man to where I kept my wares trying to save it from the rain, while I tried to carry the cartons to a shed some gave way throwing some of the soaps on the road with tricycles running over them. A barrow pusher came to my rescue and helped me save the rest.
After the rain subsided I went back into the market and started selling the soap at a 50% loss yet I was unable to finish one carton, while I was struggling to sell my kaya those agberos came with their wahalla and collected #300 from me, I went to a different section of the market to try my luck and 4 different agberos surrounded me with different tickets each not less than #200 . Oga abeg I never sell anything I tried to explain to them, come on give me my money joor one of them roared.
By now I was close to tears as they made away with my goods, heiya its unfair o, you people should pity this poor boy naa, see he's even crying, some market women pleaded on my behalf. They finally collected #500 from me.
I managed to sell two cartons just enough to get my transport back home and set off to the park. I was looking very dirty and unkept, at the park I bumped into a girl I was wooing when I was in ph, she kept staring at me probably trying to deduce if I was actually the person she was seeing. I kept a straight face and went to sit at the back of the bus away from other passengers glare.
At home I took the remaining goods to the woman I bought it from and sold it to her at over 60% loss and gave my dad the balance, though he complained but I carest not.

Even though I'm beginning to feel that business is not for me. I still want to try more.
I'm still broke and I've got more ideas though no capital but something keeps telling me I will get a breakthrough I business one day. I will still come back to testify here.

Feel free to share your own experiences doing business both the positive and negative ones.
Mods please push to front page so we can get wider views and contributions.

Good days ahead bro. Don't give up. BTW, how about your education? You didn't update us on that.

Me that begged my mom to help me borrow 200k from Grooming ,to support my phone accessories business, back in 2012. I failed woefully, mom was actually the one that paid those people back. How I failed is a very long epistle. But I'm still in that field hoping to succeed one day. We, entrepreneurs should learn from the like of Jack Ma, Elon Musk and the rest. Rome wasn't built in a day. The more you failed, the more your experience. I don't want to believe that there's a set of people that can't do business.

olamoses75:
Good days ahead bro. Don't give up. BTW, how about your education? You didn't update us on that.

I'm done now, no job yet though

hungryboy:
Na good location and goodluck every businessman need oh

You have gone through a lot , you be strong hustling guy, one day , your time too shall come

Thanks bro

olamoses75:
Me that begged my mom to help me borrow 200k from Grooming ,to support my phone accessories business, back in 2012. I failed woefully, mom was actually the one that paid those people back. How I failed is a very long epistle. But I'm still in that field hoping to succeed one day. We, entrepreneurs should learn from the like of Jack Ma, Elon Musk and the rest. Rome wasn't built in a day. The more you failed, the more your experience. I don't want to believe that there's a set of people that can't do business.

Omo its not easy to borrow money and fail, we go make am one day shaa

Onahi95:

Omo its not easy to borrow money and fail, we go make am one day shaa

sure bro!

I am sorry about your experiences bro. I strongly believe that success in business awaits you pretty soon.

You see, failure, especially in business, is something we work hard to avoid. However, you hardly achieve success in business without failing a couple of times. This is because each time you fail at something, you've learned something new.

If you read the histories of successful business men, you will find out that most of them didn't achieve success in the first instance. They tried and failed many times before success embraces them.

My advice to you is Never Give Up!! Don't let your failure discourage you from following your dreams.

Robert F. Kennedy ones said; “Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.”
And Gena Showalter ones said; “Giving up is the only sure way to fail.”

Finally, failure should be your teacher, not your undertaker. Failure is delay, not defeat. It is a temporary detour, not a dead end.


I wish you all the best in your future endeavors.

PS: When you've decided to go back to business, I will advice to do something you've tried and have some experience on. For example, the Nylon production business you tried. It's a good business, and something you can start on a small scale with little funds. This I'm sure you know by now.

Do not try the mistake of producing to some customers specifications except if they are paying for it beforehand. Instead, produce what is used and in demand by the majority.
There are thousands of customers, mostly traders that use and will always need your product.

Make sure your product is of good quality. Get a bike and use it for distributing to these customers. They will most likely buy from you since as a producer, you can afford to sell to them at a discounted price. Most will buy on credit and you get paid the next day/time you bring more products.

Avoid those large nylon dealers until they come to you on their own. Most of them are killers of small businesses.

Do not be in a hurry to expand. Let genuine demand from your customers dictate your rate of expansion.

Food production business is another business that thrives on Nigeria. However, most require you have some significant startup capital. We wrote about some viable food production businesses here. I believe it's a valuable resource for anyone thinking of a food production business to do.

Op I really appreciate your efforts, you will break even very soon.

Making Money is not every one too..

On the specific special orientation protocol on the island of cognitive arrangements of conniving in the spare of all conservation malachite, thus very versatile in pragmatic and linguistical avenue of marauding




Oh! this dope again

PlanBizNg:
I am sorry about your experiences bro. I strongly believe that success in business awaits you pretty soon.

You see, failure, especially in business, is something we work hard to avoid. However, you hardly achieve success in business without failing a couple of times. This is because each time you fail at something, you've learned something new.

If you read the histories of successful business men, you will find out that most of them didn't achieve success in the first instance. They tried and failed many times before success embraces them.

My advice to you is Never Give Up!! Don't let your failure discourage you from following your dreams.

Robert F. Kennedy ones said; “Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.”
And Gena Showalter ones said; “Giving up is the only sure way to fail.”

Finally, failure should be your teacher, not your undertaker. Failure is delay, not defeat. It is a temporary detour, not a dead end.


I wish you all the best in your future endeavors.

PS: When you've decided to go back to business, I will advice to do something you've tried and have some experience on. For example, the Nylon production business you tried. It's a good business, and something you can start on a small scale with little funds. This I'm sure you know by now.

Do not try the mistake of producing to some customers specifications except if they are paying for it beforehand. Instead, produce what is used and in demand by the majority.
There are thousands of customers, mostly traders that use and will always need your product.

Make sure your product is of good quality. Get a bike and use it for distributing to these customers. They will most likely buy from you since as a producer, you can afford to sell to them at a discounted price. Most will buy on credit and you get paid the next day/time you bring more products.

Avoid those large nylon dealers until they come to you on their own. Most of them are killers of small businesses.

Do not be in a hurry to expand. Let genuine demand from your customers dictate your rate of expansion.

Food production business is another business that thrives on Nigeria. However, most require you have some significant startup capital.

You are wise!

Over 80% of new businesses in Nigeria don’t survive second year.

at Op,that is life for you. To become a man is not a day job. A baby born rise/fall.That doesn’t mean the baby will never walk again.Learn from the baby,God will enlarge your coast.Never give UP

N
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V
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R


G
I
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E


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P

Business isn't for everyone and isn't for the faint hearted either.
There will be many fails before success. With God and hardwork without relenting, trust me success is sure.

In business you must be willing to take risks and bear in mind that not all your shots will yield as you postulated.

R

Most Nigerians feel business is the way forward
Business is not for the faint hearted, if debt doesn't frustrate u, poor sales would.

But perseverance is the best

All is well

Maybe business is not for you right now!!

Learn a hiGH paying skill... To build your finances and set into business much later

Just as Marriage isn't for everyone...

There's a bitter truth that must be told to everyone, business is not for everyone.
And we must begin to teach people that buying and selling is not a business,it's called trading.
Everybody in the world is a trader, That's a talent God gave everyone in the world,there's no special skill needed to survive as a trader.
Back to the story,the only time my good friend in the story tried his hand on entrepreneurship was when he tried to actually produce nylon,and that's where I believed he failed as an entrepreneur,he should have started trading whatever he produced,but he failed and he gave up.
Nigerians are quick to quote motivational jargons but the truth is if all you do is add value to another person business you are nothing but a trader.
We are where we are today as a country because all we do is buy and sell and turn around to spin traders as entrepreneurs.
May God open the eyes of the next generation in this country.
God bless Nigeria.