blizard44:
Uniben sits at the top of this pile.

They killed my quest for University Education.

kode12:
I won't be surprised if its University of Ilorin he has been applying to. Honestly I don't understand how that university does its course swapping. Tell him to apply to Uniben, if he doesn't get into Mechanical Engineering, atleast he'll be given something very close.

1. Personal Savings: The best way to fund your business is from your personal savings. Personal savings can be defined as, “The money an individual keeps in a bank or other financial institution for future use.” It is not only the best, but the fastest and easiest means of funding a business, as one does not need consultations or seek approvals to access the fund. Also, unlike loans, there’s no interest attached to this method of funding. As an aspiring entrepreneur, you can grow your personal savings by setting aside a little amount from your monthly take-home, say 10%. That way, you will not have funding issues when you decide it’s time to tow the entrepreneurial path.

2. Family: The second best means of getting funds for your business is from members of your family (parents, brothers, sisters, uncles, aunt and cousins). Business Administrators like myself call this method of funding Love Capital. It is so called because, family members are our loved ones. Like a friend will say, “family is everything.” These category of people can provide you with the money you need to start your business, without having to pay back or at zero interest rate.

3. Friends: Number 3 on my list of the 5 best ways to fund your business is Friends. When I say friends, I mean real friends who desire your progress. There’s a popular maxim where I come from, “a good friend is better than a bad brother.” Another saying goes, “A good friend is the god of a pauper.” The true value of friendship is invaluable. If you’re privileged to have good friends like my humble self, then funding your business will not be a problem. Just ask, and you shall receive the funding you need. But note, to enjoy this, you must be a good friend yourself and you must be trustworthy. Funding from friends can come in the form of a gift or as a zero-interest loan.

4. Grants: One of the best means of funding a business is grants. Unfortunately, a lot of us are not aware of these grant opportunities. What are grants? They are non-repayable funds or products disbursed or given by one party, often a government department, corporation, foundation or trust, to a recipient, often a nonprofit entity, educational institution, business or an individual, as defined by Wikipedia. Tony Elumelu Foundation offers $5,000 (Approximately ₦2,000,000) grant to 1000 African entrepreneurs yearly. Learn more about TEF Foundation on their website, www.tonyelumelufoundation.org

5. Presales: The last on my list is presales, which simply is, receiving money for a product before producing or delivering it. Let me show you an illustration. Mr. P, a retired Naval personnel wants to venture into the business of supplying military hardware to the Nigerian Navy. He does not have the capital to procure and make these products available to the Navy. He writes and submits a proposal to the Chief of Naval Staff. Based on his clean service record, the CNS buys the idea and instructs the Chief of Accounts and Budget to pays him 75% of the contract amount upfront. Mr. P takes this money and orders for the products from a manufacturer in China, with a promise of balancing up at a future date. The Chinese manufacturer produces and ships the hardware directly to the Navy. The Navy pays Mr. P his balance, Mr. P settles the manufacturer and keeps the profit. In summary, Mr. P has succeeded in funding his business through presales.

PalmOilDealer:
Thanks OP, this is really helpful.

chinavs9ja:
It is not as easy as you think...you have a good point though

I am very lazy, and so are millions of others out there. Disregard all you’ve been hearing about hard work and others, business is meant to be fun. Just try to quote Bill Gates, he said: “if I have hard work to do, I find a lazy staff and ask him to do it”. The reason is very simple, he will find a faster way to accomplish the task.

Do you want some business ideas? Let me show you how to generate some for yourself, instead of always asking people for ideas. This guide will show you how to generate ideas and identify profitable business opportunities.

If you accept that you are lazy, you will have the advantage of thinking just like many other lazy people out there. That way, you can easily create ideas that will solve problems for people out there.

A profitable business is a business that can solve problems – which makes people always wanting to patronize your business. Let me show you some steps on how to get business ideas for yourself.

For the avoidance of doubt, I have two businesses that generate more than 4 million Naira annually. So everything I write here is from a practical point of view.

How to generate a profitable business idea on your bed

Right on my bed, I was able to generate a business that would go on to give me the money I needed to kick start my life. Let me show you how I conceived the idea.

Think of problems you wish that others can solve for you

That is exactly how it starts from; if you want to start a business that would later become profitable. You will need to solve problems for people whether in the form of selling them products or services.

- Banks help you with financial transactions
- Your mechanic helps you by fixing your car
- Uber gives you a faster way to move around without stress and when you don’t have a car
- The caterer gives you the choice to get food in your house without the stress of cooking and eating outside
- MMM allowed you to make money without working for money

Do you think that the business ideas have already been all taken up? The answer is NO. Once you’ve identified a problem that you wish someone can solve for you, there are others who are also in your shoes.

It shows that others can also pay others to help them solve that problem. So write down all the ideas down on a piece of paper.

Choose variables and eliminate

Take your time and generate up to fifty ideas. If it isn’t up to fifty, then don’t stop generating. This exercise can take you up to a week to complete, but the deeper you go, the more wonderful ideas you can generate.

After you’ve generated up to fifty ideas, then it is time to start eliminating some of them.

Here are some factors to consider to eliminate non-important ones;

- Too much capital to start
- Excessive competition
- Good location to start
- Low target audience
- Complex distribution chain
- Little profit margin

I don’t think any business can be perfect when it comes to the criteria I listed above. But you have to make sure that the downside of your business idea won’t affect the business that much.

If I choose a business that requires a large number of rich people, I can decide to relocate for the sake of the business. So in reality, it doesn’t really affect my business that much.

But if you choose a business with the excessive competition just like the Uber and Taxify business, it will take me so much just to break into the market.

Know the bad side of the business and check if you can deal with it.

Anyone doing the business? Identify a gap and fill it

Most likely – unless you want to run a transport company to another planet, there is someone doing that business. But on a lighter note, there are businesses that are not being operated already that needs to be started.

I started one of them and I am reaping the benefits immensely. But if there is someone doing the business already, here are some ways to modify it and know if it will be profitable.

- Can you reduce the price and still make a profit?
- Are they everywhere or just targeted?
- Can you reach more people than your competitor?
- Are they marketing aggressively?
- How good are their product and service?
- Is their customer service delivery okay?

If you notice any lapses in the way your competitor runs their business – alongside other factors I listed in point number two, then that business looks promising.

“Indriver is allowing customers to determine how much they can pay when choosing a ride. A good way to fight the Uber and Taxify competition. How long can they survive?”

Listen to People’s demand

Monitor the customers in that business sector and listen to their demands. Just like Glo users keep complaining about their poor network, MTN users complain about the expensive data tariff. Also, 9mobile users complain about the data value gotten from 9mobile, and Airtel users wish they had better network coverage around Nigeria.

Likewise in other sectors, there are gaps that need to be filled without excess investment capital. Listen to the demands of customers in that sector, complains, and proffer a solution.

Chrisvicmall started importation from China after those in mini-importation business complained about the stress of importing from China. People are still complaining about the prices, which means that there is still a gap to be filled in that sector.

Run a prototype test and business launch

Before you finally go into the business, create a demo business product, advertise it, and check if anyone would pay you for that service/product.

This is a cost-effective way to start a business without much risk. Before I started my travel agency to Canada, I ran an advert on social media, asking people to process their Canadian visa through my agency.

The results I found were extremely awesome, so I opened up an office and started the business. That was how I knew that this business was a profitable one and people would pay to secure my services.

Before you start that business idea you’ve conceived, stylish introduce it to people and see their reaction. That would show you if it is actually a great one to start.

P.S. Helping people with visa to Australia is a booming business with less competition. You can start it ASAP.

greenmouse:
We designed this logos for a client, pls help the client decide on a choice among this logo samples.

BiafranBushBoy:


I have responded

BiafranBushBoy:
I really want to type something nasty, but I am scared my GF will see it and blast me

So I will just play a nice guy and say...

"Nawa ooo"

Kay512:


OP, you may want to check the source again. That URL is invalid.

Charlynega:
Is it still available?

Kaymercury:
President buhari fall my hand big time wish our current president is gen obj,ibb or general sani Apache. How can you feel comfortable watching your citizens getting killed in foreign land.let this thing escalate into full war
Whatever happened to the general buhari of the 83s(In 1983, when Chadian forces invaded Nigeria in the Borno State, Buhari used the forces under his command to chase them out of the country, crossing into Chadian territory in spite of an order given by President Shagari to withdraw. [37] This 1983 Chadian military affair led to more than 100 victims and "prisoners of war". [37])since AU and UN refused to condemn the action let's go into full war. Am a volunteer already send me to South Africa let's kill them all seeing my brothers getting killed bruised my heart

Anifowose1009:
Thanks i was in a hurry when i typed that, i will inbox you asap.