Start a Digital Photography Business in Nigeria

A digital photography business is one which involves the commercial taking of pictures and photo shots for different people. Such shots could include passport photos, full length photos and portraits among others.
This business as an SME business is especially suitable for people seeking part time income such as students, workers who do not earn much or small scale businessmen looking to spread their tentacles.

For as little as N 15,000 one can start a digital photography business taking shots of people at social events such as weddings, parties, conferences among other social gatherings or in very busy places such as universities and other institutions of higher learning or in commercial areas like business districts of the Lagos metropolis (Yaba especially Tejuosho, CMS, Ikeja among others).

Equipments needed for a digital photography business include;

1. A digital Camera or maybe two or more possibly
2. A printer
3. A photo studio
4. One or two computers
5. Lighting sets
6. Other studio equipments

Note that you do not need all these to start except the digital camera which must be of good quality. You could be flexible about the business if you have little funds charging customers the fees for snapping them but going elsewhere to print your shots if you do not have the resources to start with all the equipments.

Hiring workers

As a small start up entrepreneur you could be your only employee, however if you which to combine your full time job with this business you may need to employ a clerk who of course should be trust worthy. Ideal candidates for this job would be young school leavers seeking to occupy themselves with work. Salary range could be N 10,000 to N 20,000 monthly.

Labour requirement is not stringent as a clerk who doubles as an assistant and apprentice can be employed to serve or attend to customers in your absence although more hands might become necessary as the business grows.

Challenges faced in this business

Like all businesses that run on electricity, the poor state of electricity supply is a major challenge any person thinking of doing this business will face. The use of generators is a must if you are going to run the business especially when you have many orders to contend with. Another problem might also be location as most digital photography businesses that do well are usually situated in easy to locate and accessible places where a lot of first time customers can work in for their jobs. Getting to pay rent in such places isn’t mean stuff.

Opportunities in this business

Many businesses have brands that need promotion. The digital revolution has also ensured that nobody considers using the cameras of the 1980s and 90s. People want to look better than their real selves and one way to do this is to improve on the quality of photos with hi definition digital cameras. Also there will always be the need to submit documents for official purposes hence people would naturally want to upload or print their pictures.

Learning the basics about the business

1. Ensure that you have great picture taking skills. Customers will certainly mess you up if you render them poor services.
2. Service delivery is king in this business as many obscure photography businesses are thriving thanks to the effect of word of mouth and referrals from satisfied customers.
3. Where and when to get new photo materials must be clearly noted because failure to do this might mean running behind schedule on jobs given to you.
4. You could find out more about this business when you research into the

opportunities and requirements.

In conclusion digital photography although not offering the same opportunities as more lucrative SME ventures can be a stepping stone towards other related businesses that offer bigger and more promising rewards.

How to make money in Nigeria - Writing Articles

I often come across questions by people who want to know how they can make money online in Nigeria by writing articles on some Nigerian websites. Many people would want to have this information for various reasons; job seekers who want to have a source of income, workers looking for an additional source of income and writers looking for new ways to improve their profession.

One thing I must say is that it is not a get rich quick scheme and so don’t expect to make a lot of money overnight. Secondly, if you are a poor writer don’t waste your time trying to make income from writing because your work will be flagged. Thirdly let me also say that people with a doubtful mindset towards making money online have already failed even before they set out.

Now to the gist of this article, I have been writing online since 2009 and although I was aware of making money by writing articles online but back then I wasn’t doing it to make money and even if I wanted to I still had poor knowledge of what to do. Now the situation is different, I make money writing articles and it is on a part time basis.

Let me set the ball rolling. I have been a member since 2009 of Hubpages. In case you don't know Hubpages is a revenue sharing website that uses adsense, amazon and its own in house ad program to display contextual adverts on every published webpage on its site under a 60-40 sharing formula. Members will have their webpages displayed 60% of the time with adsense or other adverting programs bearing their accounts with the remaining 40% going to hubpages. The main advantage with hubpages is that it is regarded by search engines as an authority website and for that reason webpages can easily be indexed by search engines.

Another place to write for money is elance, although I am new to it, elance offers a highly competitive writing environment both for writers and clients who have to bid for contracts. Income generated from here varies from $5 per article to any amount the client can afford to pay. There are different other arrangements by which one can make money such as being paid per word or per hour. The choice is really between client and writer. The website owners charge a commission on every deal and there is no contextual advertisement like adsense or others.

Also blogging is another way to make money online from writing articles in Nigeria. In Nigeria, the most common and most affordable way to blog is to use google’s blogger program just as you can see with this blog. It offers users a chance to build web traffic and monetize that traffic thereby making money from contextual advertising which is what I do on this blog as one of my income streams.

Finally, the art of money making is not a day’s job. It needs time to mature and of course wisdom to make it but when it starts happening, it can be a fulfilling experience.

To learn more about websites that pay good money to Nigerian writers, how to get started and more contact me (paulonwueme@gmail.com, 0803 206 4106, BB Pin: 235AB9BC)

7 Lucrative Products To Sell Online in Nigeria

What can one find to sell online in Nigeria to make some serious cash these days? It would seem that with so much unemployment out there that the internet can at least offer some amount of hope for unemployed people or people with business savvy, here are some interesting ideas to pursue to start making money online in Nigeria.

Deals

Deals are special offers that people can get at reasonable prices. There are many examples of deals such as; discount sale of special items, promotional sales, travel deals and so on. If I have a boutique that is new in town and I want to let people know about it, one of the best ways to do this will be by offering an irresistible price for a high value item like may be corporate suits. Deals are popular online selling items in Nigeria.

Real Estate

It is hard to find real estate companies that don’t do internet marketing because many of them know that Nigerians are going online to look for apartments or houses to buy or sell.

Cars

Cars are also in high demand, if you do business online selling cars you are bound to meet customers but to succeed in this business you must know a lot about internet marketing.

Mobile Phones

Nigerians never seem to tire when it comes to buying mobile phones. Selling phones online is another way to smile to the banks.

Hotels and reservations

Nigerians are willing to look for hotels to secure reservations for business or pleasure. You will find that helping people with finding good hotels for great prices is another fast moving online product to market.

Flights and Airline tickets

Airline tickets and flights are also great online best selling items in Nigeria.

Information

Information about how to make money, training and certifications packaged as ebooks or reports are excellent money making products as well.