You will agree with me that a major step in any entrepreneurial journey is to discover business opportunities.
The truth is that opportunities abide around us, it takes discovering them to maximize them or our financial benefit.
I want to promise you that you can easily discover a business opportunity in Nigeria and that is exactly what am about to show you how.
I want you to take your time and explore this subject with me because I know it will definitely benefit you.
You have to understand that a business could emerge through founding and formation of a new venture or by significant improvement of an already existing business idea.
So any of them you can do, is very nice. But I will like to show you how on this article because am an entrepreneur in Nigeria. I discovered an opportunity and today am making use of it to my own profiting.
So, Let’s Go…!
There are various ways you can discover venture ideas and they are as follows:
- Through Your Social Network
Social networks encompass all the people you know; family members, friends, and business associates. It can also comprise people on your social media circle like your Facebook friends, Instagram followers, Twitter followers, connections on LinkedIn and others.
These people present you ample of opportunities especially if you have a reasonable degree of influence on them.
For example, if your friends on Facebook like Fashion or like taking pictures, you can leverage this to make a business opportunity out of it. I mean, you can start selling fashion items to them on the social media or offer to snap them reasonable pictures at a subsidized price.
Also, if your friends or followers like reading books, then start selling and distributing books to them as possible as you can.
As well, when you see your friends create new business idea, then you can also improve on theirs and create a unique business from it. Because if is working for them, it will definitely work for you.
In fact, your social circle has a lot of business opportunities within it.
You only need to discover them and make it a real business.
Generally speaking, people within your social network can help expand the boundary of your rationality by expanding your knowledge and information level, and this generally will lead to identification off more opportunities.
- Your Prior Experience
You can actually use your experience in previous occupations, environments or peers as a source to discover a business opportunity.
Take for instance, if you have lived in an environment where a particular business exist, when you get into a new environment and you discover that such business does not exist there, thus it presents you an opportunity to start that particular business in your new environment.
A graduate from eastern part of Nigeria who did NYSC at the western part of Nigeria could discover businesses in the West that does not exist in the east and knows full well the services are needed in the east, after his service year could decide to start up that business when his is back in the east.
I remember when street POS services started newly in some cities in Nigeria, some people have to take the idea to other areas with few ATM where such services does not exist. It will interest you to know that it paid off definitely.
That’s a pure example of business opportunity discovery.
Thus, think back on your previous experiences and see if there’s a business you know about but it does not exist in your present locality, then believe me is an opportunity.
I will also advice, before you start up the business, do a minor feasibility study to make sure the business is viable.
- Study Some Already Existing Businesses
If you stay in a place where successful businesses are been done, I will advice you study these business, know something about them and think of how you can leverage on them to create your own business.
For instance, if in your locality you have businesses that deal in mobile phone sales, then you can start thinking of starting a mobile accessories business. This will generate more sales definitely. You can also include some services like uploading of files (music, movies, pictures, etc) to mobile phone users and many other services you can render.
This will definitely create wealth for you.
I was passing a particular street in Port Harcourt and I saw a business that deals on roasted fish. What marveled me was how they improved the idea of roasting fish from the normal traditional method to a modernized one. And believe their shop was well packaged that I was forced to call it a Fish supermarket.
Thus, this makes it convenient for me to drive with my car and purchase roasted fish responsibly and zoom off. So I don’t need to hang on the main road and people will see me buying roasted fish…hahahahaha..!!!
This definitely attracted many customers to the owner of the business.
So, check your vicinity. There’s a business you can improve on and they will definitely fetch you wealth.
- Your Hobby/Personal Interest
On several occasions, I’ve heard people say things like; “let your passion pay you” or “make your hobby your business”.
These statements around are more than true. If you enjoy doing a particular thing and that does not put money into your account, then you have to ‘look back’.
I must tell you that this is the era where personal interests pay more than ever in the history of mankind. We have people today who make money simply because they like pressing mobile phones. Also, some are making it big because they can read novels.
These are people’s hobby that has turned out to become business opportunities. I see people pay a lot of money to watch someone make them laugh. But there is someone out there who like making people laugh yet he’s dying of poverty in his village.
So, what is it that you like doing, there is a business opportunity in it. You mustn’t go to university to have your hobby pay you. If you can read this post, then you have what it takes to make business out of your hobby.
Am writing this because I love writing and this pays me.
I saw the business opportunity in my writing skill and I decided to maximize it.
So, I want to ask you, what is it that you enjoy doing that you can do it without asking for payment or without feeling hungry, then it is an opportunity. Leverage on it. Make your hobby your business and you will definitely enjoy it because nothing gives you fulfillment and joy than doing what you love doing.
- You Can Conduct a Market Research
A deliberate search of the demand and supply levels of particular products or services may spin information on the unexploited niches in terms of supply or demand gap to be filled.
Thus, you may decide to go on market research and you will be overwhelmed that you will discover new opportunities.
I hope you’re getting me…?
Your research definitely will reveal to you gaps that need to be filled and these gaps are business opportunities.
The gap may be the need to provide goods or services for markets that are under-served, customers’ changing tastes and preferences that ate unfulfilled, customers’ needs unidentified and the need for to serve a segment of the market in terms of pricing, packaging, etc.
I have an example to give on this. A friend of mine recently started a foodstuff business. When I asked him, he told me that it was as a result the research he made.
He said, I discovered people in this area go a far distance to purchase foodstuff. The also said that many business in the area are supermarkets and provision stores, so he chose to go different and fill the gap for the people.
Hope that’s interesting…?
Now let me give you the good news, after 4 months, he expanded his business from just one shop to three shops.
What did you see, he made a research and saw a need and chose to fill this need. Today he’s benefiting from it.
Thus, this is another advice to you. Make a little research and your area and think of a gap you will fill for them.
If your area is filled with bachelors, then a fast food will be a nice idea.
Just go round and check. Believe me you will make it out there.
- Electronic and Print Media
Some surveys are often given wide publicity in both print and electronic media. Information on business feasibility studies, business prospects and challenges are made known to the public.
You can also leverage on that to discover business opportunities.
I want to believe this is of a help to you.
Why not think of how to take actions towards the subject that I just discussed and see how you can discover business opportunities.
You may also check out my article on Opportunity Identification.
Leave a comment for me if you find this interesting, or maybe you have a contribution to make.
Written by: Chukwuma Gordian. A Nigerian SEO expert and Digital Marketing strategist. He is the founder of Visible Online Marketing Intelligence. He has helped businesses across Africa to achieve quality online visibility. You can contact him on +2347034708233, nwokejichukwuma@gmail.com.