Evaluation of Business Opportunity in Nigeria

   

Evaluation of Business Opportunities      in Nigeria.

1. PREPARE YOURSELF
This approach is most appropriate when deciding on starting a business. When there are more than one possible business idea and one needs to decide which one to follow, you need to adequately prepare yourself. Running a business in Nigeria is tough but highly rewarding; so to survive, you have to be tougher. You must be able to answer the following questions;
Am I familiar with the operations of this type of business?
Does the business meet my income and investment goals?
Does the business generate sufficient profits?
Do you feel comfortable with the business?
You can also prepare yourself by accepting the reality that you can fail tomorrow and deciding if the risk factor is acceptable as well finding out if there good growth projected for the overall industry of the business? You must be able to get the work done and do it right, so you will have satisfied customers. If you are going into the fashion business, for example, you should know a lot about it and its trends, or you will not be in business in the long run.




2. HAVE A GOOD BUSINESS IDEA
Having a good business idea is important in starting any business in Nigeria. It should therefore be kept in mind, that the creation of ideas and their evaluation is necessary and should include goal setting.
“A business idea is just another idea. But an idea backed by a strong feasibility, a thorough business plan and a smart business team is no longer an idea. It’s now a solid business opportunity worth pursuing.”– Ajaero Tony Martins
It is important that you can succinctly and precisely describe your product or service in
terms that your client can comprehend and appreciate. You should be able to describe what you are selling and how it will be of advantage to your customers and be able to convince them on why they should buy from you.
You need not bother creating something new, just find a business line you are interested in and learn the basics. Nigeria has the required populace to take in any produce that is backed by a strong business sense.

3. DO A FEASIBILITY STUDY
The third step to starting a small business in Nigeria is to do a careful feasibility study. This is mostly where the collapse of most Nigerian entrepreneurs begins; you don’t go into business simply because a friend or a relative said it’s profitable. You must carry out a feasibility study.



4. UNDERSTAND YOUR MARKET
There are number of ways you can do this such as reading books by people from the industry, Google searches, speaking to people already in the business. You need to understand the market size, the people you are producing for, how often they need t and how urgent they need it. Getting students who will willingly conduct research at a reasonable price. Understand the market of the industry you are going into and you will increase your chances of success. The best way to begin such is by asking yourself the questions below:
Who are the customers and how much will it cost to acquire a customer?
How do they want to be served?
Who are your major competitors?
Who is the market leader?
Do you have a chance for survival?
Can you grab some market share in that proposed business industry of yours? These are the questions you must answer before starting a small business in any industry.

5. WRITE A SIMPLE BUSINESS PLAN
This is another point where most Nigerians miss it. The standard business plan should include company overview, target market, management team, sales plan and so on. There are many online resources on business plan. As your business expands, you can bring out the section as you damn please.

6.  FIND A GOOD LOCATION
In finding a good location for your business, you should answer the following questions:
Are you going to site your business within your area or are you going to site your company in an industrial area?
Can people find you easily?
Are you going to part yourself from the crowd by building your own brand name in a specifically preferred scene?
Will they see your promotions and offers?
Are you going to work from the centre of trade or commercial places in Nigeria?
Your business location will dictate the type of buyer you pull towards you, what type of promotions you can run, how long it will take to develop, people should be able to find you easily, ensure there are no limitations that will limit your business operation. If you intend dealing on farming then you can consider locating your business in places such as ibadan, ogun, benin etc.  Wherever you choose to locate, make sure you are well prepared to face the challenges of that environment.

7. OBTAIN THE NECESSARY LICENSES AND PERMIT
Registering your business is a very crucial step towards making it real. If you don’t want to have the government and its law enforcement agents on your neck; obtain the necessary licenses and permit needed to operate your line of business. Every industry has regulatory bodies governing it; so be sure to check their operational policy to make sure you are not going against the law. Also remember that you may need licenses and permits from both the local, state and federal government. So make sure you factor their costs in your budget. Also check forinsurance policy guiding the business.

8. REGISTER YOUR COMPANY
Types of business formations include sole proprietorship, corporation, partnership and limited liability company. Most businesses operate as sole proprietorships in Nigeria because it is easier to set up. You can choose between the sole proprietorship; limited liability or public liability form of entity. After choosing your business entity, you can get your business name registered at the Corporate Affairs Commission’s office. It is advisable to go through a lawyer to avoid needless mistakes.

9. RAISE CAPITAL
You can get finance from Personal savings, loans from banks, grants from relatives etc

10. START THE BUSINESS AND SURVIVE IN THE LONG RUN
After going through all the processes above; start the business. Most people make wonderful plans, do feasibility research and even raise the needed capital to start a business. But for reasons best known to them; they just fail to start. Are you willing to take the risk and start your own business here in Nigeria?
Actually, this is where your work as an entrepreneur gets tougher because statistics reveal that 75% of all new businesses started fail in their first five years. And of the 25% that survived; 80% of them will fail in the next five years. It means that about 90% of all businesses started will fail in their first ten years. This statistics may be harsh but it’s the truth in its entirety.

11. LOOK FOR LEVERAGE
The fastest way to grow in business is to influence the structure of well established businesses. You need a leverage to grow. Leverage can be in the form of getting a bank loan, getting credit line from suppliers; striking strategic alliance with a bigger player or getting a contract. No matter what leverage you decide to pursue; go for it.
All the best.
      Saefhenryosas