Launching and growing a business in Nigeria can be troublesome when there is no money to start. Individuals are loaded up with good ideas, but most times lack the required skill and capital to start up.
It is the dream of many to start up and run their own successful business. This is understandably so as we all yearn to be independent and have more control of our time. As cool as it sounds, starting a new business in Nigeria that will stand the test of time and be successful is easier said than done.
More than 50% of businesses fail in the first year of starting up and even more fail within 5 years of starting up. What could be the cause? This is what we not only intend to analyze but also show you 9 basic steps you shouldn’t miss when considering starting a new business in Nigeria. Following these steps will form a good foundation for establishing a strong business that will stand the test of time.
9 Basic Steps In Starting A New Business In Nigeria
1. Assess yourself.
Our people say that he who does not know when the rain started beating him on the road will definitely not know when the rain stopped beating him. There are pertinent questions you need to ask yourself first before taking any serious decisions like starting a business. This is why inward retrospection is very important and that is why I count it as the first step you should take before moving forward.
Ask yourself serious questions and also be truthful to yourself in answering them.
- What is motivating me to start this business? I’m I doing it to compete with my friends, as a show off, as a way to just make money, or because I want to create value for people?
- Do I have the right brains and resources to run this business?
- Do I have the skills to manage a team?
- Can I raise enough capital to launch and grow this business?
- Do I have the enthusiasm and inspiration to make this business work?
- What is this business doesn’t do well in the first 2 years of starting, can I endure it, and do I have the resources to keep moving?
Remember to answer these questions truthfully.
2. Get a good business idea.
How good is your business idea?
You should take your time to figure out what you need to do, and make sure you can devote the necessary energy to accomplish it.
Make sure that your business idea addresses an issue individuals face, that it includes a skill you can undoubtedly sharpen or something you already excel at, and that it is something individuals will pay for.
When it comes to opening a business, not all ideas are worth starting. Exceptional business ideas are reasonable, market-driven, and easy to grow. Start by being aware of what problems exist in your current circumstances, and then try to provide an answer to them and make money out of them.
Additionally, if your business idea is brand new, think about what your business can offer and figure out how to make it better and cheaper. Alternatively, you could ask people for advice, conduct your own research, and seek the guidance of other established business people.
3. Start market survey.
Prior to beginning a business, be certain you have a decent comprehension of such business. Take a stand at directing a statistical surveying by posing your potential clients few inquiries about the issue you will get a kick out of the chance to address for them.
Likewise survey on existing immediate competitions that right now exist on the lookout. Attempt to be familiar with their items and administrations and how you figure your business can bear outing among them.
4. Survey results and feedback.
It is one thing to direct a statistical surveying when you want to begin a business, it’s something else to appropriately use the criticisms and feedback gotten from your examination. The entire embodiment of this is to assist you with finding out about the business you want to begin and assist with shaping a solid establishment for the business.
You would have no desire to begin a business today and it begins disintegrating tomorrow or rather than watching your business develop, it begins to crumble.
5. Write business plans and strategies.
The following thing is to compose a plan and strategy. Your strategy will assist you with figuring out what key issue your business will settle, how it increases the value of your objective client, the business life expectancy, how you plan to produce income for the time being and hence benefit on the long haul, how you mean to accomplish market infiltration and development, how you will raise funds to start the business, and significantly more. An exhaustive marketable strategy and plan will keep you zeroed in on the objective and guide you towards accomplishing what your business has decided to turn into.
6. Raise start up capital
Before you begin your business, you should have a plainly characterized method for how to monetarily run your everyday activities, get stock, advance your brand, and much more. These things expect cashflow to be properly done.
There are different approaches to fund-raising for your startup capital, these could be done through individual budget, companions and family bank loans, and significantly more. When you have a reasonable means to raise your business startup capital and have procured a piece of it, you can continue on to deciding the sort of legitimate business structure you need to build.
7. Setup a team.
In the event that you are intending to be the one maintaining your business, you don’t have to begin fabricating a group. In any case, if you are certainly going to utilize individuals, you will really want to assemble a solid group.
You are building a solid group for your business on the grounds that these individuals are intended to add to the development of your business however in the event that the group isn’t very much fabricated, they can also assist with cutting down your business.
8. Register your business with Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).
Enrolling your business with the Corporate Affairs Commission is very important. Assuming that you will enroll an organization, you’d have to get an article of affiliation. This generally contains a ton of data regarding your business. To enroll a small-scale startup, you can basically enlist it as a business.
9. Grow and boost the business.
After you’ve launched your business and have effectively fulfilled your first arrangement of clients in your underlying test market, the following stage is to reach a more extensive crowd. This will require a great deal of outreach or marketing. You can do this both offline or online marketing or a combination of both. Learn how you can grow your business online with Google.
Conclusion
By following all the steps listed above, you can easily launch your business. This may seem a little too hectic for you but I encourage you to at least take that bold step today, you are actually on the right track to actualizing your dreams.
