Today, many people are looking to leave the daily “9-God-knows-when” grind for something that feeds their passion, or at best, something that supplements income from their regular jobs.
While working on your side business idea is without a doubt a risk, it also requires way more sacrifice. However, once you get it right, you will be making your way majestically into significantly more money for yourself. So, let’s examine a few of these lucrative businesses one can own as a side hustle.
Transportation Business
People must move from place to place every day. You can decide to set up your own intra-city or inter-city transportation company or you can enroll on either Uber, Taxify or the other available ride sharing platforms and earn money on nights and weekends, working only when you want.
An average Uber driver earns N75,000 – N100,000 a week. An average Toyota Corolla is good for this business because it is cost-effective and fuel-efficient. Also, the parts are very affordable in case of repairs. A Toyota Corolla costs approximately N1.3 million for a Nigerian-used one and the directly imported one cost about N2 million or less, depending on the dealer.
You also don’t need to drive it yourself as you can give it out for hire purchase to a driver. The driver would pay you an agreed sum of money until he pays up a total agreed cumulative amount. This method is usually preferred by many people, as it ensures that the driver takes good care of the vehicle and it motivates the driver to put in his best into the business since he knows that after completing the total agreed cumulative sum, the vehicle would be his.
If you don’t have the needed funds for a car, you can also consider getting a tricycle which costs below N1 million for a brand new one.
Poultry Farming
Everyday, people consume poultry products like chicken, turkey and eggs. This gives you an idea of how large the market for poultry products is. There are numerous business opportunities in poultry farming that anyone can venture into. They are as follows:
-Rearing of broilers for meat production –
With proper marketing plan, you don’t need to only rely on festive seasons’ sales. You can produce and under special agreement, supply to restaurants, hotels and even to the local market.
Rearing of layers for egg production
To start the layers poultry farms, you can buy layers day-old chicks from a reliable hatchery or buy already grown layers that have just started laying. It is better starting with day-old chicks, as it may be more economical and less capital-intensive.
Setting up a hatchery
Poultry hatcheries are set up to produce chicks of several breeds for sale by artificial means of incubation of eggs. Most broilers and layers farmers source their day-old chicks from hatcheries. A large hatchery can produce thousands of chicks daily.
Setting up a poultry feed milling plant
Experienced poultry farmers don’t compromise on the quality and quantity of feed that they give to their birds, as it has major impact on the growth and egg yield of the birds. Therefore, the market for poultry feeds is available.
- Setting up a cold room for storage & sales of frozen poultry meat.
- Veterinary services for poultry farms.
- Sales and distribution of poultry feeds.
Tools needed – Brooders – for providing heat for the birds; Crates – for collecting and storing eggs; Perch – used in deep litter system to provide resting places for the birds; Drinkers – Used to provide drinking water for the birds; Feeders – used to provide feeds for the birds and miscellaneous tools like wheel barrows, shovel, buckets, scoops, saws, hammers, rakes, etc.
Barbing salon
Most men go to a barbershop every week to cut their hair or shave their beard and they part with at least N300 on each of the visit as most services rendered at barbershops in Nigeria cost between N300 and N1000, depending on the kind of service rendered and location.
This business has a ready market and is relatively easy to set up with a moderate startup cost. With a capital of N300,000 to N500,000 you can set up a decent salon. You can set up a chain of barbershops at several locations across your city and employ people to run the business for you.
You are also guaranteed returns as you could be making up to N10,000 – N25,000 everyday and perhaps even more on weekends, depending on the location.
The major things to take into consideration are:
- Get a business office – this should be in a residential area where people can easily access.
- Furnish your office – install a good television, wall mirrors, standing fans, wall cabinet for keeping cosmetics and some equipment, sound system, rotating leather chairs, chairs for waiting customers, cover clothes, towels etc.
- Get all other necessary equipment & materials – The equipment you need for your barbershop include: combs, good clippers, hand gloves, brushes, dusters, and cosmetics like hair relaxers, hair sprays and dyes, aftershave, towel warmers, etc.
- Get a good source of power – If there is no reliable electricity in that area, then you would need an alternative source of power.
Additionally, you can sell some products in the barbershop – like aftershave, shampoo, hair and body creams, perfumes, shaving sticks and powders, DVD and VCDs.
Professional car wash
Just think of the number of cars in your city or locality. Think of dirty and dusty roads that vehicles in Nigeria ply daily. Think of the busy schedules of many car owners. All these factors make the services of a car wash expert always needed.
The cheapest car wash outlets cost about N1000 and even more depending on the locality, just to wash a car’s interior and exterior. If you want an extra service like steam washing your radiator, you would have to pay an extra fee for that.
If you wash about 10 cars at a cost of N1000 each, you would make a monthly gross income of about N300,000. You can recruit experienced personnel to run the business for you while you also go to the business premises on your days off work or weekends.
The basic equipment you need include hand brushes, sponges, towels, buckets, hoses, vacuum cleaners, polished, etc. You will also need steam and pressure washing machines.
Laundry and dry cleaning services
A medium scale laundry/dry cleaning shop will cost between N400,000 and N1,000,000 depending on the locality. Most of this cost would be for renting an office, buying a power generating set, washing machine and other accessories. If you really want to cut down costs, you can just use your home as the office.
Basic Materials:
- Washing machine – You can get a 14kg top or front loader washing machine which can take more clothes and save time and resources.
- Pressing iron and Iron board
- Buckets and water storage tank – you would need this to store up some water, so as to ensure uninterrupted operations in case of public water supply outages.
- Hangers, cloth pegs, chemicals, soaps and detergents for washing.
- Plastic or polythene bags – used for packaging your finished products and getting them ready for pick up by your customers. You can customize the bags to include your business logo and contact.
- Tagging gun, pin and papers and as the business grows and expands, you would need a delivery van for home delivery services.
Sports viewing centres
Nigerians love football and most football matches take place during the weekends or evenings, so this is a perfect business for people in employment to make money.
You basically need a space of N200,000 to N800,000, depending on location, and 2- 5 television sets that are big enough to see. You will also need a generator, chairs and a Premium DSTV subscription.
Sports viewing centres typically charge between N150 and N300 depending on the location and importance of the match. If you have a space that comfortably takes 200 people, you will be making from N30,000 to N40,000 every time there is a football match.
Also, there are other good businesses you can blend with this, like sports betting which is a natural fit for sports lovers and a side-bar where people can have drinks while they enjoy their football. In any case, it’s a winning affair for you.
Phones, laptops and accessories shop
Phones are among the fastest selling products in the market. Mobile and electronic accessories such as pouches, chargers, USB cables, HDMI cables, earphones and more, can be sourced on Alibaba, Ali Express, etc. The more you buy, the lower the price. And they are light so shipping won’t be a burden.
Many chargers and phone cases sold for N1,500 to N2,000 online are bought on international e-commerce sites for less than N500. You can sell them physically, via social media channels, or through e-commerce websites.
Restaurant/Buka
Well established and properly set up restaurants attract more people and make more proceeds for the business owners. If you open a restaurant business, ensure good quality and high standard of the meals produced, by employing experienced cooks. Also ensure well set up and clean environment.
To get started, capital can vary according to your scope of business and target customers. If your potential customers would be high-income level customers in highbrow areas, you can open an eatery, but if you wish to serve low and medium income customers, then you could simply set up a small roadside “buka”.
Get the basic materials:
The basic materials needed in this business include: cooking pots, plates, spoons, trays, bowls, knives, catering trays and food boxes, coolers, chopping boards, oven, serving utensils, catering plates and glass racks, table decorations, table top accessories, linens and table coverings, uniforms for cooks and waitresses, hand gloves, refrigerator, garbage bags for dirty linen, micro wave, deep freezers, mixers, delivery van, blenders, cooling vans, rolling carts, dispensers, foil etc.
Other ideas include providing catering services at ceremonies, mobile catering services, home delivery services, etc.
POS Payments
If you live in a place where banks aren’t many or the ATM rarely works, you can handle e-payments for people and make some money. You can charge between N200 and N500 per transaction and you will gradually be making a lot of money from the teeming population.
Makeup artist
If you love makeup but aren’t an expert, consider investing in a class or certificate program. Talk to professionals to find what they recommend. Makeup artists earn between N5,000 naira and N200,000 or more, depending on the occasion. You don’t necessarily need to have a shop in the early stages as you can make use of social media to showcase your skills and gradually build your following. You will also need to invest in a good camera phone or a small digital camera so you can post great pictures of your work online.
Additionally, you can combine this with sale of basic and medicated cosmetics like creams, make-up items and beauty products.
Online Advertising Agency
Thousands of businesses in Nigeria are taking their businesses online to leverage the massive community of Nigerian internet users and market their products. This influx has created another business opportunity in Nigeria for savvy digital marketing experts. You too can setup your own online advertising agency in Nigeria today and make millions.
Build up a following on any of the social media platforms and you could quickly be approached by major brands that sell products or services related to the type of content you share. If you have hundreds of thousands of followers, you can easily charge anywhere from N15,000 – N100,000 per post or more. Lasisi Elenu and Maraji are reportedly said to charge within the region of N500,000 and N2m per post.
Freelance Writing
Freelance writing is one of the best low cost business ideas to venture into because it literally requires an investment of almost N0, but great writing skills and enough time to spend on the internet looking for writing gigs.
Some freelance writers who write for international clients get paid as high as $150 to $2000 per article, while some others could make as high as $50,000 from ghost writing books. The most exciting part of this side business idea is that you can offer your writing, proofreading, and editing services from the comfort of your home, working only after work and leveraging the power of the internet.
Plantain Chips Making
Move around the street and you will see different brands of plantain chips on sale, selling at a fast pace. So, if you can engage in the business of producing and supplying it to retailers and hawkers, you will be making good money on daily basis.
What you need: big frying pan (N3,000) small sealing machine (N15,000), nylons and labels (N2,000), other utensils (N5, 000). The rest N30,000 goes into buying of plantains and logistics. Supply to the shops and to hawkers and make money on a regular basis.
Photography
Photography is big in Nigeria. Look around you, there is an event every other day and this tells you how often the services of a photographer is needed. You can become a mobile photographer by selling your services at weddings, birthdays, photo-shoots, and other events without owning a studio or having expensive equipment. Simply expand gradually!
Photographers charge N200 – N500 to take pictures at events and charge even more if it is a photoshoot session or they are providing you with a framed or photo book version.
What you need: A good camera (Which typically costs N50,000 – N750,000), a camera bag, lenses, memory card, photo printer, photo editing software, etc.
Tutoring
If there’s any business that you can get into and be sure of almost not spending a dime, it has to be tutoring. All you need to get you started is to be knowledgeable in any subject and show a mastery of that subject and you’re good to go.
You can use the outside of your home and teach kids around your locality or offer private home lessons. As a tutor, you can earn as much as ₦40,000 in a month by teaching a single student in the comfort of his home. Imagine the possibilities when you have 3 or 4 students to teach.
Knowledge without action won’t do you any good. Start now. You can start small and expand with time.
Before starting your own business, ask yourself:
- Are you cut out to be an entrepreneur or small business owner?
- What is your passion or expertise?
- Do you have the capital to start the business?
- Who is going to be on your team?
- Do you have a strong business plan?
Answering the above questions won’t determine your fate, but they will guide you in determining your business idea and whether or not it should be pursued.
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