₦airaland Forum

fagin1982: You are not right - If. I were you I ll quit looking for which is truth ,right and wrong and get busy by filling your forms online

Abeg Which kain wonderful proposal u get under 10m way FG wan thief ....

People sef ...

lol....don't say that. The lady has the right to be scared of idea thieves. The smallest element in ur proposal maybe the main thing. Remember, entries will be graded by humans and humans talk. If lecturers, government officials could dabble into businesses such as pure water biz...then I hv every reason to be careful how I share. Innovation is rare. That's why copy cats abound.

stagger: Go sit on your middle finger. Nonsense.

blink and stagger.....how old are u guys? Stagger I'm sorry to say this; your childishness takes the cake I swear. I mean, do you guys know each other outside nairaland? I will suggest one of u challenge the other to a gun duel. And finish each other instead of messing up a beautiful thread.

ManiCypher: Plastic surgery on ur Ass and Boobs..Y in da hell did u forget 2 get some for ur Face

to be candid....she is not as ugly as people tend to believe..she just has strrong features.

Eku! That girl can do no wrong ....I'm smitten

stagger: Your arrogance knows no bounds. Always taking panadol for another person's headache. Again, you were not the subject of my response but you had to stick your nose in my business. You should be praying for your proposal and not constituting a nuisance here.

both of u should get a room....

This may sound misogynistic...but its not. Most Nigerian women have too much to lose if they play it cool without putting up a fight. A lot of pressure to stay married_ parental, peer, cultural, financial pressure. The harsh economic realities no help matter too....plus its not easy to be single past a certain age here.

Kim....and I also like her hair more....bey's hair is a mess. I prefer the white version of the dress. The "little black dress" should take a rest.

kokoA: Lybia is not the most populous black nation in the world. Nigeria paying tribute to mandela is like the whole black race appreciating him for what he did for our brothers in SA. Its more of a symbolic gesture than a mere speech. The organisers got it all wrong.

so, being the most populous gives us rights and privileges that others don't deserve abi? Why do we think only along the lines of population and numbers and not merit in this country? their are other countries closer to south Africa historically than Nigeria....I'm sorry if that busts your ego.....seems the whole country is suffering from megalomania

"sexy" is an attitude. Just like charisma .

QueenR.A.W:
^^^^^^What she said.^^^^^^
Futhermore,
I think lack of communication, lack of trust, pride/egos, unwillingness to compromise, as well as UnEQUAL Desire and Effort to persevere, are causes to ending relationship.

and its also etched in the human DNA to always look for greener pastures. Dissatisfaction is a constant battle we all fight everyday of our lives. But I must confess men tend to lose that battle more.

j.tenna:
which one is nigbayen again? My brother my phone na wan old nokia wey nor they show well.

dont mind my yoruba jare. no worry levels go change

stagger: May I also add that this ECO-FRIENDLY stuff being pandered around is nothing but a load of BS.

In the early days of some of my businesses, there were times I paid salaries from my personal money when the businesses were struggling. I once took a bank loan that almost sunk me and when I paid, the interest I paid was almost 50% of the facility.

At such times when the cashflow is in trouble and your staff and their families have to eat, are you gonna tell them "HEY MAKE UNA NO WORRY. AT LEAST WE ARE SAVING THE PLANET..." Try am see whether one of them with big head no go nod all your teeth comot!

after the americans and europeans developed their economy by shittting on the ecosystem, them don belle full. Being overly eco friendly is a luxury we cant afford in África cos the business environment is harsh. We have to industrialize too now. There is no industrialization without burning fossil fuel like there's no tommorow. I cant wait to contribute to the butchery of planet earth.......joking

j.tenna:
my brother i did oh. Nothin came up And since i am using a quack phone i saw sometin like jan 24. But earlier on this thread i saw dec 27. Which one be truth? Abeg tell me.

dec 27 it is nigbayen. I wish the results will be announced that day....i need a chrismas/newyear gift from the Government. Wetin do ur fone?

j.tenna:
thanks dear for taking time to respond. I think i wasnt vast in knwledge enough for them to approve my biz. I think another thing they look out for is if the biz is ecofriendly. Truth be said magazine is a luxury good n its competition is high. Anyway i hv decided to go for another which is small-scall sausage manufacturing but i dont have a clue about it. I just know it will have a ready market. I hope its a good idea or i shouldnt waste my time? Been surfing the net to gather more info and men there is a lot to know! Pls what is the deadline for submission? I really do need more time.

lol@ ecofriendly. This is África! The least of our immediate problems is being "friendly to the eco" .damnn! We r not even friendly to our fellow citizens. We never chop belle full , no employment no money, boys are not smiling. Lol. Seriously now, there are other good ideas that can win on account of being novel and ecofriendly too....recycling biz(plastic, rubber, can, paper, wood etc). I dont know much about these. But if u do, u can consider them. If u were serious about applying, u would have visited the youwin website to know the deadline or even googling it sef.

wazobia_for_u: I think major reason is when there is a particular hidden thing you are not very comfortable with and maybe its a lifetime thing, so you stick to any flimsy excueses to end it instead of settling it, though most ladies don't mean the word " am no more interested" but many guys let them go thinking they mean it and both finally get hurt.ee

if a lady says she is no longer interested then its goodbye o. Thats a bridge of no return. No means "no". I'd be proud enough to walk away; and humble enough to know i lost her(as painful as that might feel).

Tmany: Have any of you taken time to read those testimonies of past winners on the YOUWIN site i sincerely don't see anything innovative abt the biz there.

i read them too and i didnt get what i was looking for. Maybe they left out the important details of what made their ideas unique delibrately. Someone on this thread rubbished packaging of chin chin, but there you are! Someone on the site entered as a biz that produced chinchin and other confectionery. Never look down on any product as long as there is a demand for it. I even saw on the TV some months back tht an awardee entered with the i dea of producing kuli kuli....lol

vivaciouzz: pls guys advice me,am having issues wit my guy but though its my fault n a part of his fault..we hvnt been talking to each oda for days. wat should I do .I don't want to b d one to settle d problem.. he says I don't value n respect him..I nid advice

u just admitted thats its ur fault viva.....so apologize .....im very sure he will apologize for his fault too after u hv done that. Why dont u want to be the one to make peace if u love him. infact apologizing for being d first offender here is a form of respect(for his ego). Let me let u in on a lil secret although it only works when d guy is not an abuser; give a man respect(dont bruise his ego) and watch him love u to death.

@utimatedes....good to hv u back on this thread. Where u been? I saw on your site that u had fun at the presidential launch. Dont u think drawing money personally means the same thing as paying yourself salary? I think u dont include yourself in the staff list because u are not a staff but the proprietor even though u have to function as one. Yes you have to record it in your cashflow but not as salary. i think the confusion here is just a matter of semantics. Infact, u are expected to make a fixed monthly personal withdrawals to avoid indiscriminate spending.

Yes people tend to give up on relationships too easily but one must admit somethings are just unfixable

That chalk board Dε̲̣̣̣̥Ÿ̲̣̣̣̥ too high oh! Thats where ur high heels will come in handy. Seriously, that school looks like a war zone. Hang in there....its just for a year. Make the little difference u can and come back to civilization

mkmyers45: depends on the business....seems largely limiting, also the questions about potential customers should actually be about market and segmentation in market.

fifty words is ok. Considering the number of candidates. It forces you to be straight to the point without rambling on. Just state your concept succinctly with appropriate words.

newacca: You are expected to write the kind of people that will need ur product/services mostly. For instance,you produce biro n books, ur expected customers are Students,Schools,Corporate organizations,NGO ,Government etc Those dat mostly need ur product or service and those that will definetely patronize u.

I must confess that question left me a little stumped too. Say I sell to retailers and also retail my products myself, who then do I list as my top 5 customers....my retailers or end users?

blink182: Let me derail a bit, I just finished a bowl of eba and ogbolo soup with dried fish, okporoko, I don forget the others name. Going home with peppered fried fish so I can smoke it later with a bowl of soaked limited edition ijebu garri aka garium sulphate.

If you no dey there, there is no way I mean no waaaaay you will understand.

u didn't just "derail a bit". U derailed enter bush ni o! U just made me feel like taking garri.....I got some plantain I can fry to go along with my garri. This slight harmatan is making me thirsty......

blink182: lol, I have nothing to say and I don't want to tongue lash anyone. When people are done submitting, some are still asking if their business is viable and how to write. Let me add that for once I agree with stagger-if you are too lazy to research and write a business plan, how do you hope to run the business?

Being an entrepreneur is the hardest thing ever, I can't even start to explain.

I just wish everyone the best.

I agree too.....that most pple want to be spoon fed. I've noticed pple like that get swindled easily. Being an entreprenuer isn't easy like you said especially when you're starting out.

newacca: @blink182,
Bad guy,you just dey enta dey commot.

oga blink na sharp guy. As the thing be competition, him no wan talk to much. Every man for himself ni o. Lol.

@newacca, i dont understand your last paragraph. Pls expatiate. You mean the start up cash as in the initial one million( first tranche)?

fagin1982: Lol ..Bro you are funny, its alright - Na ideas we dey share
About the poultry you said ..YES you can set up - breed and sell both broiler , turkey under 6months

Have you heard of. English Turkey ...In 90days they are double the size of the normal turkey u see along the road ...You can decide to sell or slaughter and run a cold room selling in parts ....

For Broilers 3months is enough to raise giant birds ---
It must not be pullets/layers everytime

Well it depends on what you choose to do


Best of luck

I just took layers as an example...there are others like arable farming etc...na ideas we dey share o (that's the spirit) . thanks Fagin ...best of luck to u too.

fagin1982: ..let's leave theory aside .....You have a staff of 5 people who you must pay monthly , you have a business running everyday with expenses. And you feel after 6months you can't break even ..Its simply says your business is struggling and might go down with time

I think you are wrong here also. Why do you think they put a cap of 40% on capital expenses...with d larger bulk of the grant money meant for working capital. They see through most people's blind optimism. They know in the first few months of a start up ; the fixed cost(salaries, rent, utilities etc) is constant and unforgiving...while sales start from zero and rises with time. I'm a go getter and I'm as optimistic as the next fellow but I'm also a realist.
This is the major cause of why most startups fail. They don't plan for the slow period when the business is taking off. they tie down all their capital in machinery...and struggle to pay bills when they become cash strapped.

fagin1982: @ TAYENI. I forgot to mention , Did you watch the documentary on YouWin few days ago ...Did you see the guy that is into RADCO radiator coolant ...That's manufacturing ....He stormed the Market , broke even before 6mnths ....He came with a great INNOVATION , He has conquered the market. ,RADCO is a house hold name for every motorist .....When FG came up with the program , they attached INNOVATIVE to it ...not just because they like using the word but because. Of it market domineering qualities ...Not when you go and fry chin-chin and package it in a nylon and u expect it to fly after 6months

Think outside the box ...If @dis level you are given 10m either as a starter or u wana expand and you want the whole time in the world to hit the roof ...Then you are not and Entrepreneur

Entrepreneurs are resilient , creative , go-getters , flexible. And record breakers , In a country of over 170million , you still think that its rare to break even in 6mnths - My dear better take up a paid job or rather stick to buying and selling...


Men de Hammer steady ....

lol@ chin chin packaging.if u call me Mr know it all, Na u sabi. Call me all the names you can think of. Its my opinion. You have yours too. State it...I have no qualms admitting if I'm wrong. You sound like breakeven period is the only indicator of how viable a business is. I'm sorry if I don't follow your school of thought. No be fight.
It seems your idea is an agro allied one so you should know one or two things about agric biz. Let's take a sector u are familiar with. So tell me, please how possible is it for a poultry farm for example to breakeven in 6 months. Before u build it pen, stock it, feed them from day old to point of lay(6 months!!! gone already before revenue starts trickling in). However, this doesn't mean agric biz is not profitable...the agricultural sector has one of the longest breakeven periods yet youwin! gave it a place of priority..... the lull doesn't mean your agric idea won't be picked. Stop equating "innovative" with short breakeven period like you seem to have done in your post.
There is a question there asking you to estimate your lead time for manufacture, setup or breeding. I believe there is no right or wrong answer.....it all depends on the peculiarity of your chosen business.
But then, these are my opinions, there is a chance I'm wrong.

newacca: ... and what makes you believe you are the only one who understand that Break-even point has mathematical factors? I maintain,what applies to your concept does not necessarily apply to other person's. what of those who have existing business? what of those who have been in another business before and have practical knowledge of the business world.

So,what happen to the question from Youwin site: what is the minimum equipment cost needed to start your business or expand it?

one needs time to make orders, purchases, registrations recruitment and all the initial set up wahala

so,what if all required equipment are available in your locality and you already have relevant information,fact and figures before even submitting application to Youwin?

what if you already have some issues fixed even before application,and you have already prepared your mind,in case you win?

what if you are already making some moves,doing some research,orders,request before you heard of Youwin grant at all?

what if you already know what it takes to launch your idea,and you have already contributed to launching ideas in similar areas,and you are seeking fund to launch your own,when opportunity knocks? Then will "initial set-up wahala take 6 months" ?

Brother, impossible is not! I maintain, if you cannot make breakeven point in 6 months does not mean other people can't.

It is not necessary for me to share my concept. It's a service business and I have practical experience in the field. Furthermore, I study the field everyday. I follow the boys' scout motto: BE PREPARED!
I have been doing my workings on the concept even before the Youwin opportunity comes. Youwin or no Youwin grant, be always prepared with your ideas, Investors/opportunities may come anytime.

It is very possible to breakeven within 6mths and 6mth is even too long for some.

ciao!

Oga sir! Na fight? I'm not claiming to be the only one that knows it. Infact I don't even know as much as I should, that's why I'm here to learn and to share my thoughts. Like I also said, (read my lips); its not impossible to beat your "6months breakeven point". However, it would be a rare feat.
While your "what ifs" maybe right, given the contexts you sighted, you should have noticed I was particular about startups and not existing businesses.
In most industries and markets, a new product may not start off selling in droves on the first day you open business. Publicity, advertising to build up your clientele and Customer base will take sometime off the 6 months. I know you know this cos you sound like a business savvy person. So no need to go back and forth with me. We r both right depending on the context. But I am "righter" than you are because the case you sighted is rare and an exception to the norm.

newacca: so what is laughable about it? Do you think it's impossible? Rather, you made a laughable comment. If your proposal can't reach breakeven point within 6mths doesn't mean it applies to other people's.
What works better for Mr.A may work as the best for Mr.B

well, its my opinion and u dont have to share it. Its not impossible. But highly rare for a manufacturing, agric, ICT or services business to breakeven within 6months after winning the grant(10 million o).
First off, one needs time to make orders, purchases, registrations recruitment and all the initial set up wahala. Then, it takes time for sales or revenue to gear up to expected levels. Besides, all the money wont even be given to you at once to start with.
Breakeven Point has a mathematical expression(no be just by mouth or a figure you just pull from the air. Go check it out and calculate yours then come back and tell me if u still believe deep within your heart if 6months is enough to breakeven. If its enough, then i think u need to share that biz concept of urs with me o.

Someone on one other thread said to put 6 months as the breakeven period. How laughable! Even to my naive ears 6months sound so unbelievable.