Here You are in Africas largest economy oabout to start your business in lagos, you are so full of zeal, passion and very expectant, you’ve done all research that needs to be done in other to start your business, but yet you have limited funds to spend in other to make great profits.
Ultimate Question! Why do most startups seize to exist most after 2 years of starting up their business or why do they end up struggling? As a business developer and successful Chief Executive my self starting Digi Sale Solution business in lagos with a laptop in a sitting room to having several staffs in about three continents of the world offering cutting edge irresistible services. Here are the 5 mistakes most start ups make or made, or secrets they didn’t know and this is how to avoid those mistakes and maximize your capital to make so much profit from the start of your business in lagos.
Choose Affordable Business Registration Options
Many startups, young CEOs,or even intending ones make huge mistakes in the start of their business in lagos to make good money, they want to go for the highest registration options with little capital, there’s absolutely nothing wrong in doing this if you can afford it, but my target audience in this article are startups, who started a business with little or nothing or want to start a business in lagos with little or nothing. The greatest mistake you don’t want to make in your Business is starting off with way too high registration beyond your budget all because you didn’t know that with as low as 15 thousand Naira you can have your business registered and start getting jobs and access to certain loans in Nigeria and if you live in the U.S with as low as 250$ you could get your business started and then when you start making the money, you can update your registration to any level or standard or even choose to add more board of directors as you wish to existing ones as policies in business registrations in Nigeria have changed and suited for start ups like you. For easy guide on how to register your business with as low as 15k read post till end.
Start With Work Stations
Another mistake most startups doing business in lagos or about to do business in lagos with little capital make is going to pay for ground rent of up to a year for a company or business that is just starting and yet to make profit. Then they start struggling to pay salaries or overhead cost and eventually not been able to renew their rent and eventually die.
Maybe you are even about starting one and thinking about how you are going to pay for an office space to complete your business registration or to have an operational space, well , here is the goodnews. If you live in Lagos, abuja Or Portharcourt and wish to do business in these states, there are works stations that charge as low as one month and 25k per month giving you board rooms to attend to your guest and a receptionist to assist you with receiving of clients and some even offer virtual offices for freelancers to use address on platforms where it’s needed for as low as 2,500 per month. YES! so the problem of office space is solved. just move straight to point three. To know about how to get a work station to do business in lagos, see end of this post.
Have Steady monthly visibility budget
A german business specialist once said, “doing business without advertizing, is like winking at a lady in the dark”. How true.
One of the mistakes many startups doing business in lagos make is saying “my own people will come” or let me get some prophet to prophesy on my business. Hmm.
In as much as prayer is good, prayer without work is dead. Why do you think brands like coca-cola, big banks, already popular brands still pay people like artistes and musician to be the face of their brand. It’s because , people buy from who they know or trust. For your goods or services to be out there, you need to shout it out, there is a potential client among the 20million people who live in lagos or your state who need your products, but they can’t see you. They don’t know you! even if they see you once, they need to keep seeing you to remember you and build trust for you and your product. where are most people this days? on social media, with their phones and electronic gadgets. As a start up, all the money you have saved from cutting costs as explained above, if you put it into advertising your products, you will never struggle in business. get a social media plan or training for yourself to use to give your business visbility according to your budget, but be consistent with it and watch your money pile up in your new business in lagos.
To get social media advertising packages for your business in lagos of as low as 4 to 5k for your products per week, see end of post.
Render Multiple services. Get into Patnerships.
Having followed the steps above concerning your new business in lagos, you definitely will start getting calls and inquiries into what you do. The mistake you don’t want to make is telling your leads that you only do one thing and have no clue of the other. Why do you think soft drinks company have apple, orange, cola flavor or detoxifiers? it is to enable you choose from varieties and see them as a solution house. Dangote gives you sugar, cement and the rest. Even countries like Nigeria that only trade in one commodity, you see the impact on the economy during low demand of that commodity. Sell complementary products to your product or sevices, add belts to shoe selling, add raw food stuffs to cooked food stuff, add directing or producing to just singing alone. Your income will increase by 70% according to research if you offer complementary products. so if they don’t buy one, you can upsell to buy the other or even cross sell. The good news is you don’t have to be the one who manufactures or deal in the other product, just patner with someone who does and in close proximity to your business in lagos, and have an availabilty agreement during demand with them, so it looks like your product to your client. Hope you know Asus produces Apple panels, ibm does produces panels for microsoft, same with car radios and upholsteries, Gps systems in cars and many more, they are done by separate companies from the manufacturer. To know about which complementary services to add to your business, see end of post.
Never start with full time employees. Outsource!
I can’t explain this enough. don’t forget i’m talking to startups with little capital ,not talking to big pocket guys doing business in lagos.
one of the mistake start ups make in trying to set up a structure for their business in lagos is the headache of paying salaries. With upwork, fiver available, you can request for professionals who want to work as freelance to show up and get your job done depending on what you do. You can advertise for partime staffs to come for interview who want to work twice or thrice per week, you will be surpised at how many people are willing for partime jobs because of the stress of fatigue everyday. you will get mums who live in lagos amongs this people too who want to have a sense of leaving home and doing something, rather than just stay at home, or new school leavers or folks seeking for admission, people that can be available on call, fresh graduates and ‘Call Staff’; and as your business in lagos grows, you can train them to taste and finally decide who works with you. it will also save you of hire and fire stress, because you have worked with them and know who is who. Need assistance with this too?