Hello young, smart and distinguished graduates.

How market?

Together we will weather the storm of this economy.I assure you that if we do not get a job we will at least get regular income.

That is my guarantee.

This thread is designed to proffer income solutions to the many graduates residing in Lagos who are yet to attract their dream jobs.

It is strictly for those who desire to make some income everyday no matter how small.

The effort at getting a good white collar job though easier and cheaper today than a few years ago is still a big challenge for many.

ok

If one were to keep a record of expenditure towards securing a job one would definitely be surprised at the gargantuan amounts spent.

Apart from the expenses made on acquiring a Smart phone in order to be up to date and make the job pursuit effort carried out in real time, one must contend with the ever rising costs of data. In reality no applicant should really ever be without data.

Beyond that one also needs to fund his/her transportation to the various interviews in the different parts of Lagos. And this is by no means a cheap expense.

My thoughts are that what would bring about a balance would be an attempt at attaining a balance between income and expenditure.

I assume that for the regular graduate from a somewhat humble backgrounds and without the required connections sometimes things could be so difficult that one he only able to access his email box after a while and this could be dangerous as he could have missed interview invites or even vacancy notifications.

It is in the full understanding of this that I advocate that every unemployed graduate should get involved in some little business that can provide some relative income that can in turn be used to take care of his basic daily needs including of course the job seeking related expenses.

I am going to attempt a guided analysis of the varied and many possibilities that exist for the graduate residing in different parts of Lagos. The characteristics of the highlighted opportunities will be easy to access and funding requirements will be very minimal.

I would also like to add that whatever I propose by way of a business opportunity will also be scalable such that the applicant who decides that it is worth his/her while can then venture into expanding the frontiers of the business with a view to converting it into a large scale operation that can be programmed to grow even bigger thereby transforming into a distribution behemoth.

In order to make it beneficial and at the same time worthwhile for all interested beneficiaries I will only highlight the businesses that can be started with very minimal capital.

All the businesses I will showcase here will be framed on pre-determined predicates as listed below;

1. I will only be limiting my expose to sales especially as it relates with FMCG goods.

This choice is anchored on my experience in this sector. I have considerable experience in FMCG having grown an unblemished career in that industry and I can tell you that this is one of the better industries one can consider investing in with very minimal risk exposure.

2.The FMCG segment is also an industry that is very flexible as regards the entry of new players. Just about anybody can play in this industry. You can enter at the level of a producer/manufacturer or importer.

You could also decide join the train at the level of a distributor and this could be either Key Account, Regional or Sub-Distributor.You could yet join as a retailer. This is the last mile operator in the distribution chain.

Entry requirements at this stage is quite minimal and just about any graduate that has done NYSC can raise the monies required to set up a small neighbourhood retail outlet.

It is imperative that I re-emphasize that my recommendations will be limited to physical and traditional line of trading as that is my forte.

I have no understanding of online trading, Forex, Drop shipping and other similar online ventures. This thread will also not promote Network marketing in its varied forms.

We are essentially going to be dealing with hard core trading of fast moving consumer gods that have an everyday appeal.

I would also crave your indulgence to bring before you the fact that this effort is targeted at those who have been unable to get themselves out of the unemployment rut and who do not have any means of consistent income no matter how small.

Please understand that the pedestrian nature of the adopted businesses in terms of really low initial capital outlay and marginal return on investment may not necessarily appeal to certain people but rest assured that there are definitely people who can benefit from this level of business.

Typically when we are in school we aspire to graduate with honors and then desire to be eligible for employment in a company we consider well paying. Incidentally, well paying here can be different from epoch to epoch. In the 1970's and early eighties the preferred employer was the government at different levels.

The late Eighties and the early Nineties heralded the banking sector immediately the sector was liberalized. You will recall the preponderance of banks then especially the very ubiquitous Merchant banks who made the old time banks look very archaic.

Then of course followed the expansion in the Oil and gas industry with significant investment which opened up the sector and attracted more applicants desiring to move into the middle class.

The real sector and the F.M.C.G also blossomed as a result of the improved GDP which by extension brought about a higher purchasing power among buyers. So we had companies in the real sector also paying improved wages and even some of them began to headhunt and were successful too in attracting experienced staff from already established industries like oil/gas and banking.

The birth of mobile telephony also further expanded available employment opportunities. More people were employed directly and indirectly.
The most important consequences here for the government and the economy was the increase in GDP and by extension increase in purchasing power. This was a boom for manufacturers in their different segments. The positive implications here were that the F.M.C.G companies flourished. There were multi-million dollar Foreign Direct Investments with new smaller/medium sized indigenous companies setting up shop.

In all of this one cannot but identify a common corollary running through the desire of our graduates irrespective of the epoch; the desire to live the dream; get a good job? But if one looks beyond the facade what is obvious is the fact that what we seek is security. This security is expressed in terms of reasonable and consistent income. Ultimately whether it comes through a 9-10 job or through our activity in commerce and industry or agriculture is immaterial. The key fact here is to attain a measure of security through a consistent flow of reasonable income.

With the apparently paltry sum of 50,000 or even less one can actually lay a foundation for a consistent income stream.

Truth be told; the returns will also be very marginal. In addition, such a small amount will definitely require a lot of physical exertion to make up for the little rather small capital outlay. In other words where you do not have money top run errands for you then you have to exert yourself to run the errands yourself.

One of the first businesses we will highlight here is a business that attracts very significant patronage across all Socio-economic strata.
Recharge cards vending. This is one of the fastest moving consumer products you can imagine. Surprisingly, it also does not requires so much capital to start with. The profit margin is rather small but very consistent nonetheless. The entire capital can be recouped every 24 hours depending on the volume of customers and the are covered.

In my next post we will attempt an analysis of the pros and cons of the business.

Kindly forgive this delay. I have been completely swarmed.

I do however promise to update before the weekend runs through.

Thanks for your understanding.

Interesting!

"Recharge card vending?

A whole graduate

That is simply preposterous".



Well it may sound and even appear preposterous but it doesn't have to be.

Truthfully, recharge card vending is a lowly venture especially at the last mile of the distribution chain.

As in all other fast moving consumer goods sales, recharge card vending thrives on volume.

Rather than sell the recharge card directly to the end user I am advising that you consider supplying resellers/retailers in bulk.

I have seen a few people do this around Lagos but the one that intrigues me most is the case of a particular young lady who goes around Lagos distributing the cards amongst sellers and then returns to pick her monie and provide a fresh supply later in the evening. Essentially she makes two rounds per day in her neighbourhood. According to her she has quite a number of customers and what she does is that she ensures that they are all supplied the value they project to sell within 24 hours. This business according to her she started in 2016 February with the sum of 100,000 but today she does about 500k turnover every day. That is what she said and I really dont have the need to doubt her after she told me that she has a customer that does MTN 100 range to a value of 10,000 per day. Incidentally the 100.00 is the most sought after band in the recharge card distribution milieu.

Other forms of selling recharge cards abound. Data for instance is sold from online platforms for a discounted rate. I have been buying MTN data for a while now for the wonderful price of 650.00 per GB as against what MTN official offer of 1200 for 1.5GB. I have been buying data like this for over two years. As a matter of fact the person who was selling the data to me relocated to Australia and the brother took over and is still doing a great job.

Indeed, recharge card vending (both voice and data)may be at the bottom rung of the telecoms earning ladder but it is a very viable business with huge potential for consistent and regular profits. Consider it and should you have any further ideas/comments and observations feel free to put them up here.

THE WINDOW SHOP IN YOUR NEIGHBOURHOOD

The window shop connotes a typical neighborhood shop. Here in Lagos, it manifests as the typical Aboki shop right in front of gate, some mini-provision shops in the area housed by containers and the corner shops dotting the entire megacity. These shops are reminiscent of the typical Indian corner shops which are visible in many parts of the United Kingdom.

You must never deceive yourself that these shops do not make money. They actually make more money than you can imagine. How does this concern us you may ask? It does. As a young graduate you could examine the nature of what the Mallam sells and then based on your findings, you could then decide to supply him with something that you consider would be demanded for on a consistent basis in that environment. If you are able to achieve this you can be sure that you can replicate this model among all the Mallams in that neighbourhood and beyond.

I actually can speak about this with a measure of conviction having been involved directly in this business. I have in the course of seeking multiple streams of income designed and implemented a sales framework that sold several things to Mallams and I was a ble to make profits as much as 1000 per Mallam per week. And just to show you how effective this has been, I have had over 300 Mallams in a certain part of Lagos constituting my clientele.

In Many neighbourhoods in Lagos, there abound Mallam kiosks that sell a number of conveniences from households to consumables. Not many people know that these Mallams could be harnessed into money making funnels for the young unemployed graduate.
I will give you very specific examples here since this is a turf that I have conquered. I have sold a wonderful product (name withheld) that did creditably well. As a matter of fact my profit margin was 10% gross and about 5% net.

Eventually, the net increased to about 7.5%.This is how it went;

I discovered this wonderful product that was a major hit for Children and also quite enjoyed by the majority of adults. It was a phenomenal product and it still is. Quite frankly, it has no competition and I still sell it till this day. My typical sales come to about 1 Million Naira weekly turnover with a 6 hours daily manpower input and of course a lot of driving (Yes, I am only able to get such revenue because I have a car and drive a lot to service my customers). With due respect to modesty I do have a cumulative of 40,000 - 70,000 profit after all expenses. I will in subsequent posts highlight how this was attained. I must say that it was hard work all the way and no dulling at any point.

The most beautiful thing about this trading model is that this is one investment that rewards you directly according to your input.
There is no hide and seek in the matter and absolutely no one to blame for your failure but yourself.

Open your eyes wide and behold the opportunities littered in our country lest the Asians take-over completely.

Dear HIRING Manager, when you INTERVIEW a candidate - Remember these 5 things:

1. Respect is a two-way street. Please respect candidates time and don’t keep them waiting.
2. If you know a candidate is not what you want, stop wasting their time with multiple interviews and tests.
3. Candidates invest so much time & effort, and even finances into preparing for interviews. At least read their resume and come to the interview prepared.
4. Once a candidate gives of their time to be interviewed. They deserve feedback. Stop leaving candidates hanging. Grant them closure.
5. Treat candidates as you would like to be treated. Don't judge a book by its cover. Life is unpredictable. The person you reject today, you may need their help tomorrow.

It annoys me at the lack of respect and empathy, some recruiters and hiring managers show to jobseekers. It's time we make the recruiting process more humane!

#HumanResources #Management

Great post... following

mayorA:
Great post... following

Thanks.

In the course of my selling experience I have met a few people that stood reason on its head and yet were able to make the kind of money some of us can only dream about.Ad when i am talking about money I mean real money.

One of the most remarkable of cases deserves mention here.

I met this guy in 2016 somewhere around Anthony Village. He was driving a blue Mazda 323 Station Wagon(the one popular as a taxi in Abuja).

He came to supply the Aboki who was also my patron.

The most remarkable thing about this guy was his appearance. Clad in a simple attire of a pair of Jeans and T.Shirt with matching sneakers this clean looking and well-spoken boy from Afikpo in Ebonyi state was distributing ……..Guess what?

Bitter kola!

Suf20:
Dear HIRING Manager, when you INTERVIEW a candidate - Remember these 5 things:

1. Respect is a two-way street. Please respect candidates time and don’t keep them waiting.
2. If you know a candidate is not what you want, stop wasting their time with multiple interviews and tests.
3. Candidates invest so much time & effort, and even finances into preparing for interviews. At least read their resume and come to the interview prepared.
4. Once a candidate gives of their time to be interviewed. They deserve feedback. Stop leaving candidates hanging. Grant them closure.
5. Treat candidates as you would like to be treated. Don't judge a book by its cover. Life is unpredictable. The person you reject today, you may need their help tomorrow.

It annoys me at the lack of respect and empathy, some recruiters and hiring managers show to jobseekers. It's time we make the recruiting process more humane!

#HumanResources #Management

Good advice! TRhe government should make it mandatory for potential employers to pay a specific amount for transport farew to shortlisted applicants as this may discourage some of the 'wicked' attitude of shortlisting 1000 persons for 10 vacant positions.

xpresseeve:


Bitter kola!

Yes! What he was selling was Bitter Kola.

Funny but true.

This young man was supplying Aboki/Mallams with Bitter Kola.

There was however a noticeable difference between the regular bitter kola and what he was supplying.

The major difference was that his product were carefully selected such that all of them appeared to have the same characteristics in terms of size, colour, and general finish.

Simply put they all appeared the same like they were all produced under the same exact and clinically precise manufacturing/engineering process. I am hoping some of you readers are beginning to get a picture I am painting.

I must confess that when I first met this guy and he revealed what he was doing I was sort of nonplussed until reality dawned on me.

I then watched as the Mallam displayed the Bitter cola and found out that unlike the regular ones which he put in some flat basket this one was given special treatment as they were put in a transparent jar and they displayed on his counter.

While the regular bitter Kola sold for 20/30 Naira this one was sold at 50Naira and your guess is as good as mine; the 50.00 one sold faster than the cheaper ones.

I then started calculating how much this guy would/could be making from the supply of this product to Mallam shops alone in the whole of Lagos.

There are probably 100,000 Mallam Shops in Lagos and if he should be able to sell to just 1000 of those Mallams every month then multiply his sale of 1,500 per sale by the number of outlets (1000 Shops x 1500 Naira per sale = 1,500,000.00).

If we set his profit margin at just 20% net he will be making at least 300,000 for all his trouble and if you ask me I consider that a lot of money for the fresh graduate.

Of course it will take a lot of work to get 1000 outlets but let us say it takes 1 year; do the returns ultimately justify the hard work invested?

I am also aware that there will be many obstacles and difficulties that one will encounter in starting this basic FMCG trade but then I challenge you to show me business that presents zero obstacles and I will show you an unprofitable and dying concern.

Quite naturally, if you would like to consider this business you must understudy the model and it isn’t really difficult.

All you need to do is study the market (the buyer) the source, the pricing mechanism and the logistics of carting into Lagos and of course the attendant distribution framework.

Summarily, there will always be more than meets the eye in every business but your place is not to wait and understand everything before you start. Just try and understand the fundamentals and then make a start.

As you progress you will learn the other essentials.

I will however insist that you start small with whatever you have and then grow big while appropriating the necessary lessons required to sustain and grow the business.

Could you please send me your email address? I would like to reach you. Thanks

There have been several useful threads on reasonable and practicable start-up ideas in the business section of Nairaland.

One of the few I can recommend is the one on eggs distribution. This was a prolific thread and it was comprehensive in its analysis of that business.

Typical of me, I did a little survey on the business and found out that it was even more rewarding that many people can fathom.
Most importantly, just about anybody can start wherever he is and with whatever he/she has at that moment. For instance the OP who apparently resides in Surulere combed the entire area looking for off-takers and he recounts his experience in full detail.

It makes for a very interesting read and it is a script that lays out everything required for succeeding in the eggs business.

During the course of my survey I realized that more eggs are consumed than what is available in the market this the ever increasing prices. There are several offtakers for eggs; Mallam shops (again), provision shops, Tea merchants (Mai tea), Noodles vendors and mobile bread sellers. The fascinating thing is that all are selling and making profits. Please the emphasis here is that it is a really fast moving consumer good. My survey revealed that eggs were coming into Lagos from as far as Kaiama in kwara State, Oyo, Ogbomosho, Shaki and even as close as Ijebu-Ode, Sagamu, Ogere and Ilaro.
How many of us also know that eggs are also brought into the country in large quantities from the neighbouring countries of Ghana, Togo and Benin Republic.

One of the most beneficial lessons I drew from this experience is that those who really desire to succeed in whatever they embark on will go full steam ahead and will not be deterred by obstacles and other impediments found on the way. This position was personified by a young and very astute Nairalander I met who started the eggs business as a side hustle and grew it into something worthwhile and profitable enough for him to resign from his day job and concentrate on it fully.

Finally I want you to understand one dynamic that seems to cut across all sectors of the FMCG trade especially as it relates to food. This was also very evident in the eggs business;

Eggs move faster when schools are in session much more than when they are on recess. We will discuss this at length in due course.

Waiting......

While I admit that the recommendations I make here are not particularly easy to grow into profitability, I wish to bring your attention to the fact that nothing good is easy at the beginning. It would be foolhardy for you to think that in any particular business you embark on the results are going to be an overwhelming success overnight.

Life simply doesn’t work that way. In a truly legitimate business the graph cannot be steep in the beginning for majority of cases more especially when you consider the fact that you are starting with minimal capital and also very limited experience.

Just imagine one of the examples given above, the one with Bitter cola. It sounds simplistic when you read about it but in all honesty it isn’t that easy. Sourcing for the right Bitter Cola couldn’t have been easy for the guy. Then there must have been a lot of leg work and effort equally expended in trying to convince the customers in why they should change the existing model to a new one.

The guy in the eggs example will have recorded a lot of breakages and eggs going bad on account of poor sales. In his account the Op describes the things he learnt first hand as he developed this business in his Surulere neighbourhood.

One of the most intriguing things in that thread was the fact that those in the eggs business have a very unique way of arranging eggs in the crates (technically called sorting).
This makes the eggs appear more attractive while at the same time giving them a little extra leverage profit-wise.

One thing that is however very clear is that when you start your business journey and generate enough traction by staying in action you will overcome all the obstacles bit by bit and eventually the obstacles will simply disappear one after the other.

Do not be deceived by the temporary relief though because more complex ones will come your way as the business grows and stabilizes. Your strength will nonetheless be drawn from the fact that you have overcome this previously and nothing is therefore insurmountable.

In the final analysis you will however be adequately rewarded in direct proportion to your input and persistence.

There is a very silent market segment that is generally ignored by many business seeking residents of Lagos. The student population.

When I was just starting out in Sales many years ago our company had a product that required selling directly to children.
My employers designed many strategies that would enable us sell these products but they all failed.

Some of the platforms we adopted to sell the products were birthday parties and children hospitals and we couldn’t sell enough to meet the projections as set by the company. Management decided to abandon the product and cut of the importation.

One night thanks to restlessness occasioned by heat which was not helped by the lack of public power supply, it just hit me like a bolt out of the blue; Schools.

The very next morning I was out and just took some samples of the product to a few schools in my neighbourhood and requested that they sell the product to students. During break time they sold everything and all the schools called for replenishment.

Sadly, our company could not continue the sales of that very profitable product because they had cancelled the orders and the franchise was ceded to another company. Very sad but then I had learnt of a model that would eventually lead me into Millions of Naira in profits over the years.

As at 2006 there were 700 public secondary schools (both junior and senior) in Lagos State with Surulere having the greatest number.
I am sure that the number would have increased now significantly.

The total number of private schools are not accessible and this is quite understandable. And the number of new schools opening increases phenomenally every school year.

The Lagos public school system is quite organized. Every school falls within an education district supervised by a permanent secretary. In all schools there is a sales point with vendors displaying/selling different wares.

There are Food vendors, Stationery, Snacks/Drinks, Ice cream, Bread vendors etc. Most of these vendors buy only what is available in the general market. Just imagine that you had a revolutionary product that was appealing to students both in terms of taste, size/quantity and pricing and you were able to supply to these vendors in like 100 schools per week I can assure you that you would be seeing consistent inflows of cash on a weekly basis.

This is tested and trusted. I am willing to share this strategy in detail and maybe guide those interested into starting and operating this business model. I am committed to take on the first 10 people that indicate interest and will remotely guide them via email exchanges into starting and earning from this untapped strategy.


Please note that this offer is completely free of charge but limited to the first 10 people only.

Thanks for this wonderful piece, God bless