(TEN) PROFITABLE SMALL SCALE BUSINESSES IN NIGERIA YOU CAN START WITH SMALL CAPITAL

There are so many business opportunities in Nigeria that one can do successfully. Many people are poor not because there are no opportunities but because of their inability to recognize the opportunities and utilize them. The meaning of poor is “passing over opportunity repeatedly” and that is the problem of most people. They pass over opportunities repeatedly without making use of them and that is the reason why they remain poor. In this article, I have packaged a lot of small scale businesses in Nigeria that you can do successfully with small amount of money. So if you have been looking for the right business opportunity in Nigeria you can ventured into, count yourself lucky to be reading this article, as I will be sharing some small scale business ideas with you that can give you the needed financial freedom, if properly utilized. This business ideas are meant for everyone whether employed, underemployed or unemployed, as most of the business opportunities can be started with as low as 20,000 naira. So without wasting your time, these are the 10 lucrative small scale business ideas in Nigeria you can start immediately:

1. Palm oil storage business: storing palm oil during peak season and reselling during off-peak season is a great business that can fetch you a lot of money depending on the amount of capital you have. This is an aspect of business I love so much; in fact I’ve been doing this business for the past eight years. I know a lot about this business because that is the business of my mother. The business is very lucrative as you can have up to 100% and above profit. The most important thing about this business is getting the right information on where to buy, when to buy, how to store and when to resell. There are two seasons for palm oil, first between February and April, this period is known as peak season, and the price of palm always drop drastically which gives room for smart entrepreneur to maximize the opportunity. The second season is between October and  December which is always characterize by scarcity and rising price of palm oil, during this period one can resell the stored palm oil and make a profit that can be as high as 100% or even 200%. There is technique that can be used to make more profit from this business. The technique is very simple and this is the technique: immediate after the peak season around July the price will go up and you can sell and make a profit of around 50-60%. The price will go down around September when most farmers will be selling their stored palm oil to cater for the school fees of their children starting new academic session. So as a smart entrepreneur, you can use the money again to buy at a cheaper price and sell all a high price during off-peak season. When you calculate your profit, it will be far higher than those that waited until the off-peak season alone. This is the method my mother and I have used and it has worked perfectly, but if you don’t know the right timing is better you stick with the normal method or you contact me for advice.

2. Soybean Storage: Storing soy bean during peak season and reselling during the off-peak season is another great and lucrative business that is yet to be tapped. Soy bean is leguminous crop with a lot of nutritional and health benefits and as a result of this it is being used by man as food and for making animal feeds such as poultry feed, fish feed etc. This farm produce is needed for fish farming and because of increase interest of people in fish farming, has made this produce a highly sort after one. This is a business that very few people know about and are getting a lot of money year in year out. For example, in 2012, a woman bought each measure (rubber) of soy bean for #120 during the peak season and sold it for #240 in just two month and the price kept on increasing. The peak season for soy bean is between November and December and the off-peak season start from February to September, imaging the amount of money you would make if you have money to store it and wait for the real off-peak season (any time from April upward) when the commodities will be so scarce and make up 250% profit.

3. Quail Bird Farming: If you are hearing about quail bird for the first time or you have heard about it before but you have not taken step to tap into this great business opportunity, you are forgiven. Quail bird popularly known as Aparo in Yoruba language (If you know the name in Hausa or Igbo you can write in the comment below) is one of the ancient bird which has a lot of health benefit. Quail bird farming is part of Poultry farming and they also lay eggs like chicks but it is not common in this part of the world. The meat and the egg of this bird has been reported to cure many diseases such as arthritis, tuberculosis and other 30 diseases. Quail bird rearing is five times better than chicken and turkey rearing, and I assure you that a person with 400 quail laying bird is better off than a person with 2000 laying chickens. That fact is due to the following reasons:

§  2000 quail bird will feed on the same amount of feed that will be taken by 400 chickens.

§  They have immunity against many diseases, this implies that you don’t need to spend money on vaccine and that the business has a low risk.

§  Quail bird mature earlier and start laying eggs after 7-8 weeks.

§  Quail farming requires less labour.

§  The space require for rearing Quail bird is small.

§  They lay a greater no of egg of between 250 and 280 per year.

With just 20,000 naira you are good to go with this business provided you have a space in your house where you can put the cage. With that 20,000 naira you will be getting a daily return of between #1500 and #2000 after the bird has started laying egg. If you have enough money, you can go into large scale production as this can turn you into millionaire within the limited possible time.

4. Tutoring Services: These services can take various forms, it could be home based where the person will need to be visiting and he or she will be paid based on the agreement between the two parties. He can have more than a place depending on his ability. But the second form is the most preferable for entrepreneur like us who wants to rake in a lot of money. In this case, you will get a tutorial centre at a good location and employ some people that will join you in the work. Getting a good centre may be a challenge but if you do your search diligently you will surely get a good one. You can start from your home if you have enough space or consult various school principal to allow you use their school. I assure you that if you market it very well and bring in some innovations that will make you own unique, you will be surprise at the amount of money you will be getting from this business.

5. Training Center: This is another wonderful business idea you can start with small money. This could be a professional training center r skill acquisition training center  If you are the type with special talent or have some professional skills, you can go ahead and establish a training center  register it and adopts various marketing strategies to get people and in no time at all you will be bringing in a lot of cash. This business has a lot of potentials to succeed because people of this country are now shifting their attention to skill acquisition because of lack of job, so that they can stand on their own.

6. Sales of Phones and Accessories: you might want to look than on this business with the excuse that a lot of people are doing it but I tell you people are really making it in this business and this business potential has not been fully tapped. A lot of people in this country have passion for technology and they are ready to spend money particularly on phones. What you need to succeed in this business is correct information on where to quality phones and at cheaper prices. It advisable you consult a person you trust, who has been in the business to guide you. If he is honest with you he will tell you where you can get these products at cheaper prices and most of this product can be bought from computer village in Lagos and other big market across the country but you must have the right information before you go into these markets to buy. I have good news for you as regard where to buy the product; the good news is that most of these phones can even be imported from abroad without leaving the comfort of your home. You can buy from site like aliexpress, ipmart.com etc at very ridiculous prices and the products will be sent to your address through courier service get more than 100% profit. You can start with capital of #20,000 if you want to start on a small scale.

7. Outdoor Catering Service: The demand for food will continue to be on increase in this country due to our large population which keeps on increasing day in day out. This business has a lot of potentials to be successful because no matter the condition of a man’s pocket, he must eat. Food business varies widely but I’m limiting it to outdoor catering service. If you have the necessary experience in this aspect of business, I will encourage you to start and make sure you make your own as unique as possible and the sky will be the limit.

8. Seminar: this is similar to training services but quite different because in this case you don’t need a training center Not all people like to sit down and read, even if they like some do not have the time, and yet they need to be furnished with the right information that will solve their day today problems. This is where a smart entrepreneur should come in and take advantage of these categories of people by organizing seminar. It may not necessarily be you that will give the seminar talk, you can invite a resource person to do that but if you can anchor it yourself you can go ahead. When doing this ensure you charge moderate amount of money and add value to the lives of the attendees that they will want to come when next you organize such a seminar. In other word deliver what you promise. Create enough awareness before the program and you will be surprised at the amount of money you will make from just a seminar. I have attended such a seminar before where the organizer went home with more than 300,000 naira in just four hours seminar. Note: To succeed in this business you must add value to the life of people and deliver what you promise.

9. Rental services: This is another evergreen opportunity that can be used by interested entrepreneur. This business is always evergreen because there will always be ceremony to do especially in this country where we like ceremony and entertainment. The business is highly lucrative, if you want to prove this fact, you can contact those who are already in the business and ask them some questions, if they will be honest with you, because they might not want to reveal their secret, they will tell you that it is very lucrative. The only challenge here is that this business involves relatively large amount of money but you can start small by starting from plastic chairs and tables and hire a vehicle that will help you transport them from your place to the venue of the party.

10. Show room: I must confess to you that this is one of the most lucrative and evergreen business in Nigeria and the world all over. This is due to the interest of so many people in the entertainment and sport especially football. One particular thing that makes this business unique is because many people love watching these matches at show room where they will have fun and discuss with their friends. Another thing is that this business can never die as more and more people, men, women, students, young and odd are becoming fans of most popular foreign league clubs. Any interested entrepreneur can tap into this huge business idea, introduce some things that will make your own unique and before you know it, you will be going home with lots of cash. You can start this business with a small capital of around 100,000 naira and expand as you get more money. Those are the small scale business in Nigeria that are very lucrative and evergreen and that can be utilized at any point in time. Please if you know any other lucrative business ideas in Nigeria that people can start with small capital or you have any question, kindly write in the comment below.

(www.biznesswatch.com)