THE NATION WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2013
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SMALL BUSINESS AND ENTREPRENUERSHIP After many years of working in Union Bank Plc, Alhaji Nurudeen Lawal retired. He returned to Alagbado, a Lagos suburb, to sell rods. Though his business is small, he told DANIEL ESSIET that the micro enterprise is growing.
From banking to rods selling LHAJI Nurudeen Lawal, Executive Director, Alowonle Technical Services, spent much of his adult life working for Union Bank Plc, before he bid farewell to paid employment. While there, he saw how micro entrepreneurs were developing new enterprises and creating jobs. He thought of what to do after retirement. At this point, opportunities in the iron and steel industry came as a beacon of hope. He saw a well-developed metals industry with vast resources to support manufacturing. He saw opportunities for entrepreneurs to sell products, such as
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iron, blooms/slabs steel coils, roofing sheets, steel pipes, wire rods, galvanised wires, stainless steel wire and fasteners. So, many small businesses were taking advantage of these opportunities and living their dreams. In March, this year, he started a small business which sells iron rods. He got a place in front of Anwarudeen Prayer Ground Mosque, Alagbado on the Abeokuta Express Road, to spread his wares. He knew it would be expensive to get a place around Lagos mainland where rents are high. Earlier, he enrolled for a threemonth entrepreneurship course on how to start and manage rods
selling. He learnt how to identify various steel rod products. “Those going into this business should be trained to identify and sell different rod products to survive in a competitive market,” he said. The programme, his perseverance and family support are the reasons behind his success. For Lawal, the local construction boom offers big rewards for small rod sellers. This is because steel products are in high demand. Demand has increased in recent years, but the market for rods, however, is segmented between small-scale residential and commercial or industrial uses. With his little supply, Lawal
assists contractors. He uses his creativity and industrious work to implant himself in the local construction industry. According to him, belonging to the Association of Small Business Owners (ASCON) has helped him develop a business plan for the neighbourhood. He uses his working capital to buy in bulk to control the cost of supplies. He pays attention to the changing needs of her clients and stocks items to meet the demand. He has no employees yet. But he has clientele of contractors. He plans to expand his business by exploring growth opportunities. His attention to customer service has enabled him to build a
Alum processing plant
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LUM is a common name for aluminium sulphate. Used for purification of water,alum has a lot of applications - dying of fabrics, tanning of leather and in the paper industry. Apart from household consumers, industrial consumption of alum in the country creates a continuous demand market that can only be satisfied with the establishment of small cottage industries in different parts of the country. The main raw materials for alum manufacturing are bauxite and sulphuric acid, which can be sourced locally. Bauxite deposits occur in commercial quantities in Ondo, Cross River and Yobe states. The equipment required for alum production include the following - sulphuric acid tank, acid pump, jaw crusher, Evaporating tank, setting tank and digester. Production process for alum takes the following stages: Raw bauxite is fed into the crusher to reduce it to powder form. The powdered bauxite is mixed with sulphuric acid for a considerable length of time up to four hours. The solution is then released in a large settling tank and glue is added to enhance the coagulation of all suspended particles. The solution is then filtered into a concentrator for further concentration. Finally, the end product is poured into moulds for solidification as it cools. Quality is then tested and certified for the market. Site location must have water, elec-
loyal cadre of customers. He said by selling rods, he has been able to give his children good education and a good environment to grow up in. He also said new traders are welcomed. Entrepreneurship, he said, though rewards hard work, has many challenges.
Living his dream
By Edwin Agbaike
tricity and good access road, which is the basic infrastructure necessary for the smooth running of the plant. A three bedroom flat or an existing warehouse in a plot of land will be ideal for take-off. A small scale Alum project may cost about N350,000 to N1. 2 million. This amount can be scaled down or increased depending on the financial strength of the promoter. Potential investors in need of capital for implementation of this or any of our listed small scale project may get in touch for assistance. Investors can market the products through wholesale dealers on industrial chemical raw material dealers. Direct contact can also be made with industries that use the product extensively such as textile industries and independent small-scale fabric dyeing industries tanneries, manufacturers of baking powder and the paper industry. The plant capacity under consideration is estimated at 4,500 metric tonnes per year. On a capacity utilisation of 40 per cent, the plant first year revenue at wholesale price of N2,500 per metric ton will be N4,500,000. Since cost of raw materials is minimal, a profit after tax of 35 per cent is expected. The return in investment is high with a short payback period. The project is capable of providing employment for at least seven personnel. For more details contact krisedbrilliant@yahoo.com or call 08023381900.
•Lawal
A web content expert, Kehinde Ajose, dreamt of becoming an entrepreneur when he was in school. Now his dream has come true. He runs his own media firm. DANIEL ESSIET reports.
•Ajose
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VER since Kehinde Ajose was a student, he dreamt of two things: reviving entrepreneurship and empowering businesses. Today, he has achieved his dream. He is a media entrepreneur and runs a public relations /content development outfit called M.O.V.E Media. “ I work with and train authors, entrepreneurs, and showbiz practitioners to get more visibility for themselves and their businesses by leveraging the magic of publicity. I do this by helping them to leverage on the platform of the print media, social media, and E-commerce. “We also help small and medium enterprises(SMEs) to develop alluring content for their business to be irresistible in the competitive market space, “he said.
Besides, he is a blogger. He runs an inspiration and lifestyle blog calledKehindeAjose.com When did he start nurturing the dream of a business? ”I had always done business even though I didn’t give it much attention. As a student in the university, I was editing and proof-reading books for authors, selling books, writing articles for publications and profiting from my passion. In my final year, I just decided to take it serious and give it more attention. Like they say, the rest is history. We thank God for how far he has led us?” How much did he start the business with? He said he started with a laptop which cost about N55, 000. “I had a laptop, hope, and a network of individuals who were willing to support through referrals and words of mouth. But before the laptop came, go to the cyber café. I was not willing to make excuses in the pursuit of my dreams. It paid off at the end of the day,”he said. The business is growing. “The excellent service we render to our clients, and the positive feedbacks we get from them is what propels us to do more and deliver.I believe in the
‘Create a conducive environment for entrepreneurs’
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• An aide to Chairman, Badagry Local Government Area, Lagos State, Hositode Moses Dosu (2nd left) receiving a cake from beneficiaries of the council’s entreprenuership programme.
saying:, “Under promise, over deliver. It’s a growing business with huge potential for more success.” Is it expensive to start? He said it is not expensive. “ I started out with what I already had, a laptop and good will. It was easy for me to leverage on my media contacts, because I was writing for a couple of print media publications as a student. So, leverage is the key here ... using the little you have to achieve much. So, the mustard seed one has shouldn’t be underestimated , it has the capacity to grow into a forest. His organisation supplies firms with different types of content, including, recorded live events, original web content and books. For him, businesses need a catalyst to consolidate their market and creatively innovate. He knows what it takes to launch an entrepreneurial venture, but most importantly, how to keep the business going. He is doing well. His advice to young people who wish to be entrepreneurs is that they leverage resources and use them to their advantage.
HE Federal Government has been urged to provide conducive environment for new entrepreneurs. A financial expert, Mr Shola Sulyman, gave theh advice in OmuAran, Kwara State. He said the private sector can revive the economy. He called for the adoption of a corporate turnaround management strategy to save troubled companies and return them to solvency. “When we talk about corporate turnaround management, I am referring to the way we resuscitate failed or failing businesses. “It’s a complex and tasking service that demand expected results within weeks or months. “When a business or company is in crisis, either financial or management, you need to take a proper diagnostic approach to ascertain where the problem lies,” he said.
Sulyman, who is also the Chief Executive Officer of Sash and White Consulting firm, said the high number of failed businesses had contributed to the increasing rate of unemployment and insecurity. He said the alarming rate of business failures in the Third World countries was not only crippling the economy, but affecting the citizens’ standard of living and their images. “For this reason, there is need to imbibe corporate turnaround management in developing economies and more especially in the public sector,” he added. Sulyman identified factors responsible for failure of businesses to include poor strategic choices, lack of financial discipline and obsolete business models. Other factors, he said, were economic recession, government’s intervention and disaster induced business failures.