50,000 and You

You have N50,000 and you seem not to know what to use it for. You think it is too small to start a business, that (with consistency) would fetch you a steady stream of income? Well, we bring 3 lucrative businesses you can start and grow with an initial capital of N50,000.

1. ONLINE PR AGENCY: Nowadays, a lot of companies and brands want to get engaged with the public, unfortunately, these companies don't have the audience and influence, so they hire people who command such online presence to build it for them. If you're social media savvy and influential, this is the job for you. Influencers on Twitter charge as much as N30,000 per post. Instagram celebrity such as Maraji has been reported to charge almost a million naira for just a single ad on her page. If you have a solid following on Twitter or Instagram, what you just need is internet bundle to sustain your online visibility. Amazingly, there are now WhatsApp influencers like Pottv who make money by just posting business ads on their story to an audience of well over 10,000 viewing their WhatsApp status alone. You have an engaging audience online? This is for you.

2. POPCORN PRODUCTION: Even if most Nigerians cannot afford to pop champagne, atleast they can pop corn, so being the go-to-guy, what you need is a small popcorn machine which costs about N9,000, a bag of popcorn N5,000 and a busy area and an umbrella. To prepare popcorn, you need 3 tablespoons oil, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ cup popping corn, 3 tablespoons butter melted in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Add the oil, salt or sugar and popping corn. Turn the heat to medium, cover the pot with a lid left slightly ajar, and shake once or twice. The corn kernels will begin to pop within a minute or two. Once the popping slows to an almost stop, remove the pot from the heat. Transfer the popcorn to a large serving bowl and drizzle with melted butter, tossing well to combine. Add more sugar as desired.

3. MAKE UP ARTISTRY: “Saturdays are for Owambe”— almost everyday, somebody out there wants to be beautiful and with the needed skill you can make money from such wants. What skill are we talking about? Creativity and social skills is what will make you stand out as a make up artist. Asides learning the basic skills from professionals, your creative concepts would distinguish you from others. A bridal make up can cost up to N100,000 depending on the client, with your social skills and intentional networking, you can move up the ladder. If you intend going professional, you can get a trolley make-up box for about N36,000 but if what you have is just interest and no skill whatever, learning from professionals by enrolling in a make-up school is the best thing to do. Classes of N25,000-35,000 spanning 2-3weeks are available, after that purchasing a full make-up box less than N10,000 will propel you to fulfilling your passion

— Abdulhameed Ridwan O