Starting a business can be easy as riding a bike and as complex as flying an aircraft, it can be fun and scary, but can also be fulfilling and lonely. As we proceed we’ll be looking at 3 Profitable Businesses to start in Nigeria in 2023.
A lot of people dream of owning their own business because of the perceived freedom that comes with it. If you are reading this article you obviously looking to start a business come this new year.
The big question now is; what are some of the profitable businesses you should consider starting in Nigeria in 2023? Agreeably there are a lot of options out there promising to be quite profitable and less risky in terms of capital.
But what are the 3 businesses you should consider starting, in 2023?
Before picking a business to invest your time and money in, you should look at the demand of the business, and ask yourself if there is already a starving audience for your business – people who are looking to buy what you selling before you start selling it. Also, look at the longevity of that business – Is your business seasonal or all-season? will the demand (starving audience) fade soon or will your audience be so starving they can’t do without the service?
Please note that this question can not be answered by anyone but you, so be honest with your answers because it will determine the direction your business will take as we proceed.
To be fair, I don’t think anyone wants to start a seasoned business or start a business that it’s trending and immediately fades with time. If you are reading this article I want to believe you are one of the smart ones who is looking to invest in a long-term business that is highly profitable, a business that can stand the test of time, a business your kids and younger generations can inherit and fly with.
Assumingly, we are on the same page, so let’s look at niches that can be termed as long-term niches, after which we will identify some businesses in this niche and explain why you should consider investing in them.
Let’s start by looking at highly profitable niches
There are several business niches that are quite profitable but we will be looking at just 4. These four niches are considered “essential” to the lively hood of people living in an area,
The 4 essential business niches are:
- Food
- Transportation
- Real Estate
- Health
In my opinion, these are the 4 most essential niches to consider when looking to start a business. These niches are not seasonal and the profit margin is impressive. In this article we’ll be looking at businesses in the:
Food niche and the Transportation niche, then we will talk about some businesses you can start in this niche, explain some of the pros and cons of each of them and recommend the best 4 you should start today, I will even recommend where you can get help in setting this business up in no time.
Food Niche:
“Everyone must eat”, I’m sure you’ve heard that several times. The food space is a very big one (we don’t need data to prove this). In ancient times, the fastest way to win a war against your enemy is to cut short their food supply. So this means no food no life. Now that we silently agree on the importance of the food industry, let’s highlight some business opportunity that lies within this industry.
Food Delivery System: From experience, this business is very lucrative because you are mixing food and tech together (Food Tech). This model requires you to set up a system or platform for people to make orders from and it will be delivered to them, something like what Ubereat has going on.
Under the food delivery system, we have the raw food and cooked food delivery system. The food delivery system can be done locally or internationally (export), and both are quite profitable and have different challenges.
Food Delivery Business Setup
To start a food delivery business, you will, first of all, decide if you want to operate the business locally or internationally, after which you will have to decide if you will be delivering raw or cooked food
The next step is to identify the source of your food products, meaning if you are going into the cooked food delivery business, are you cooking the meal yourself or you will be contracting it out and to whom.
Step 3 is setup your social media accounts and possibly a website to increase visibility and simplify your operations – pay careful attention to this because this is the foundation of your business.
Step 4 is delivery, if you do not intend to deliver the food or foodstuffs to your customers in person, you need to signup dispatch riders with the sole responsibility of delivering the food items for you
Step 5, start marketing, always remember you can never be 100% ready before starting a business, all you need do is get the basics and start immediately, and every other thing will fall in place.
Another business in the food space is food preservation and Agro exportation: In as much as food has to be produced, it also has to be preserved and this is the business for you. Look into learning how to preserve agro-produce. After preservation comes Exportation.
Exportation is a very good business to start because of the high demand for Agro products all over the world. Companies and individuals are looking to regularly get supplies of agro products for consumption and manufacturing purposes. Positioning yourself as an authority In the space will do a lot of good for your business because it has an ever-growing demand of a “starving audience”.
Transportation Niche
“Transportation is the heart of an economy” this another popular saying that lays a lot of emphasis on moving goods and people from one place to another. Imagine a country or company with amazing products and no means of moving them.
Remember Babylon was the centre of trade due to its prime location on the Euphrates river, it made the movement of goods easier and thereby improved their economy.
Lagos state is another example that proves transportation is the economic heart of any nation. Lagos as we know it is doing very well commercially because of its working ports and international airport situated in Ikeja, this means that it is easy for goods and services to easily move along its corridor.
Agreeably, business is established when goods and people can move from point A to point B.
Now that we have seen the benefits of transportation, let’s go ahead and see some businesses we can start in the Transportation niche
Logistics Business
A logistics business is one that stores and delivers the products of other businesses. They may specialise in the import and export of goods in and out of the country or may concentrate on ground transportation within the area. Owning a logistics business is very profitable as people and companies are always looking to move products on a regular basis
Logistics Business Setup
To start a logistics business, you need to, first of all, decide on what scale you want to operate, for example, do you want to operate locally or move products internationally, you also need to choose your mode of transportation – are you going to be using bikes, cars, or buses (if you operating locally). Or maybe you will use ships or planes if you decide to operate internationally.
Figuring out what scale you decide to operate will aid you in setting up and positioning your business right
Except you own a ship or plane you will obviously need to partner with shipping agents to help you move your client’s goods with ease across borders. If you decide to run this business locally, you need to get bikes, buses and trucks, or partner with people who have, so that all you do is get the customers and your partners to execute the business, or you can simply just buy the vehicles your business will be needing.
So putting everything in perspective, let’s outline all you need to do to set up and run a profitable logistics business
Step 1: Create your brand: You need to create a solid brand online because you want people to trust you with their goods and to build trust is to build impressions. To build a brand, all you need to do is get a logo and a colour that matches your preference, then you will have to create a business account on Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin, Twitter and Tiktok. Remember, you are trying to build trust and the more your prospect see you the more they will trust you
Step 2: You will need to build a website especially if you are focusing on moving goods outside of Nigeria, people need to see that you are an established business and not some startup. What better way to showcase your strength to your prospect if not through your professionally designed website?
Step 3: Make sure your business is registered with CAC. I know you will be amazed why isn’t this the first step, this is because I don’t want you to hold back from starting this business just because you are not yet registered. My advice is, you can operate your business while registration is on the way…No dulling!
Step 4: Partner acquisition. If you don’t own a plane, ship, truck, bus or even a bike, you will need to partner with companies who have the capacity to deliver, so that whenever you have there’s an order to deliver, you can use their service and share the proceeds.
PS: Make sure you partner with credible businesses so they don’t make you look bad in front of your clients.
Step 5: Client acquistion. Immediately your house is in order, you immediately start looking for clients, this is usually the fun part of any business. This is the time to tell everyone and anyone about your business, the time to run social media ads, time to market, market and market.
Flight booking business
If I ask you to book a flight to New Mexico right now, how would you start? where would you run to, you probably will call your friend or family to recommend someone or some company to help you book the flight. My point is, not a lot of people know how to book their flights (yea yea…maybe you do), meaning that they are companies or agencies who make money from booking flights and hotel accommodations for people travelling, you get where I’m going to?
Think about the number of people “Japa-ing” someone is making money from every ticket that is being booked, so the question is; why can’t that person be you?
So long as this life still exists people will always travel and travelling companies and agencies will always make money off tickets.
Flight booking business set up
All you need to get started with this business is
- Partner with flight booking companies
- Create your brand
- Market your business relentlessly
If you are really serious about creating a 6 figure flight and hotel booking business click here to get detailed information on how to begin and also have it set up for you.
In conclusion, there are several businesses you can start but not all are long-term, scalable or even profitable. So far, we have looked at 3 different businesses you can dedicate your time and money to set up and these businesses are the Food delivery system, Logistics or cargo business, Export business and Flight booking business