Business Opportunities for Low-Income Earners in Nigeria

Contrary to widespread assumption, there are a variety of approaches to launching a firm that allows you to focus more on launching your ideas rather than on the financial commitments and administrative details. Let’s go beyond the first significant mental barrier, which is not having a business idea. This article lists small business ideas that make a great entry point for beginners and low-income earners.

Profitable Business Opportunities for Low-Income Earners in Nigeria

1. Create and market t-shirts with print-on-demand:

You may express your creativity on t-shirts, hats, phone covers, sweatshirts, skirts, tote bags, and more. If a community has passion and pride, you may create a t-shirt business by developing clever slogans for developers or references that appeal to cat owners.

To avoid spending extra money on a whole photo shoot for each new design, you can even employ t-shirt mock-up templates.

You can use a variety of print-on-demand platforms, and many of them can be seamlessly integrated with your Shopify store to fulfill orders. To ensure that your customized products look good, always order a sample of the item (sometimes available at a discount).

2. Publish a book of your own:

If you have the knowledge or the creativity, you can publish a wide range of original publications, including cookbooks, picture books, comic books, poetry books, photo books, coffee table books, and novels. When starting out with self-publishing, print-on-demand is a reasonably risk-free option. Additionally, it allows you control over your book’s appearance and calibre.

Create, order, and distribute your own books as tangible and digital goods using Lulu xPress and Blurb, two well-liked platforms. Additionally, consider selling it on online stores like Powell’s or Amazon.

While you can get a book one at a time, buying in bulk automatically lowers prices. If you already have a blog or are seeking to start one, publishing your own book can be a terrific monetisation method.

3. Make online courses or digital items

On this list of low-investment small-company ideas, digital products like music, courses, podcasts, and templates are exceptional examples. They lack the same quality materials as the others. Because there aren’t any continuing production or shipping costs to worry about, your margins may stay healthy, making it one of the best businesses to start.

The responses include various things, including original musical beats, stock pictures that can be licensed to other artists, and instructional goods and templates that assist people in advancing their skill sets in a specific industry.

Consider packaging a talent that you have that may be used to create a digital product to create a new source of revenue.

The free Digital Downloads software from Shopify makes selling digital goods in your business just as simple as selling real ones.

4. Offer greeting cards, prints, and posters that are produced on demand

If you have an eye for photography or are artistically minded, drop-ship employing a print-on-demand business model so that others can actually possess a piece of your artwork. Just make sure you either own the rights to the information you wish to print or that you are using public domain assets that you are free to monetize.

If you already have a sizable internet audience, such as if you’re a cartoonist or urban photographer, you’re in a particularly strong position to test out this small business concept.

You can produce your work as posters, framed wall art, greeting cards, or other items depending on your printer. You may promote your products without printing out each one and setting up your own photo shoots by using several free digital templates and mockup makers like Placeit.

5. Start a nonprofit organization:

A better world can be funded in various ways, including by establishing a non-profit organization.

You can use a blog post about your community involvement or a live impact calculator on your website to demonstrate your consumers’ influence by patronizing your business as part of your marketing strategy.

It’s simple to collaborate with nonprofits and integrate your purpose into your business, thanks to the Give & Grow Shopify app. You can program it to donate a particular amount or a percentage of sales, or you can request that consumers add a donation when they check out.

6. Promote a service:

Although providing services isn’t passive, it can be a successful approach to becoming self-employed. Regarding service-based small company ideas, “time” is your biggest investment and your inventory. You may start a consulting business to provide project assistance, or you could continue to provide these services on an ongoing basis.

It offers one of the best opportunities for business growth because it can be used with any of the other ideas described above to create additional revenue streams by “provide” services through physical or intangible goods.

An example might be a photographer covering a nearby event while also promoting prints on Instagram. A copywriting swipe file containing compelling sales copy can be purchased from an independent author for a fee. To make it simple for customers to book an appointment with you through your store or purchase tickets for a class, you can use BookThatApp or Acerill Appointment Booking for Shopify.

7. Open a fashion store online:

You can open your own online clothing store if you enjoy dressing up and sharing your style online. You can just select products from other merchants into your own web store; you don’t need to learn how to design clothing (using the dropshipping model we discussed earlier).

Using one of the many product-sourcing apps, you can create your own fashion brand, model it yourself for product images and social media posts, and gain an online following as a trendsetter. Your brand can include dresses, shoes, swimsuits, accessories, and more. You may add a variety of styles to your Shopify store with apps like MyOnlineFashionStore.

8. Sell your handmade and homemade products:

Making your own candles, soap, sauces, or pottery puts you in a unique position to develop a small business idea because you have complete control over product creation and sourcing.

Many creators on Shopify really started out with a home-based business idea, selling on Etsy or eBay, or through word-of-mouth to friends and family, and blossomed into full-time small-business owners after proving there was a market need for their products.

Just be aware of any rules governing your product category, particularly for anything clients will ingest, breathe in, or apply to their skin.

One of the numerous maker-owned companies on Shopify that originated on Etsy is Brooklyn Candle Studio.

9. Launch a pet-related business:

All types of small company opportunities are abundant in the pet sector. There is a lot of demand, and the sector is worth more than $100 billion. In your pet store, you may provide products like accessories, food, or toys in addition to services like grooming, training, or walking.

10. Make a membership scheme:

Online memberships aren’t just a trending new industry that emerged due to individuals being forced to stay at home during the COVID-19 issue. Online memberships are perfect for business owners with a well-established, vibrant network. Similar to subscription-based businesses, they operate by having clients make ongoing payments in exchange for a virtual good or service.

The management of content on a website that is solely accessible to members is made easy by memberships, and this is true even for offline businesses that do online sessions with a facilitator. Businesses benefiting from this business model include yoga studios, fitness centres, clubs, and art schools.

You can offer exclusive live streams in addition to (or instead of) downloadable content because this content is protected behind a gate that only paying subscribers can access.

Whatever path you choose, ensure you record in a quiet area for crystal-clear audio without any background noise.

Utilizing email marketing to remind your members of fresh information is another smart move. The best ways to generate interest for new launches are through emails, video teasers, and client endorsements.

Additionally, Shopify makes it simple to launch your membership-based business. Just as you would for a real item, create a new product and give it a name and description that mentions your subscription services.

11. Work as a virtual event coordinator:

Starting a virtual event planning firm could be lucrative if you enjoy creating events and bringing people together. You’ll be in charge of organizing virtual conferences, networking events, and training sessions for businesses worldwide as a virtual event planner.

12. Take up handyman work:

The market value of the home renovation and repair sector is approximately $500 billion. If you’re a handyman who enjoys mending things, whether it’s repairing a furnace or creating a patio deck, this may be a successful company for you.

13. Market your pictures:

Do you love capturing pictures? Create a full-time photography business out of your pastime. These days, marketing services aren’t just for weddings and company advertising efforts. Setting up a business and selling prints, posters, NFTs, and other items is simple. Alternatively, you might make money while taking pictures by selling them on stock photography websites.

14. Launch a beauty salon:

The beauty industry really pulled through during the pandemic. Our research shows that 55% of health and beauty business founders reported being satisfied with business performance in 2020. Businesses that sell online and offer different delivery services will continue to win.

Some product ideas with high demand are:

• Personal care products like hand soap and sanitizer
• At-home spa rituals like face masks
• Beauty technology like massage guns, smart mirrors, and makeup refrigerators

15. Stand up comedy:

If you think yourself to be humorous, you should seek a career in stand-up comedy. You can plan your own performances. For example, a student with good money management skills will undoubtedly become quite wealthy.

16. Social media influencing:

Social media influencer marketing is another excellent approach for people with modest incomes to make money. Influencing on social media is a type of advertising. In this instance, social media users with significant followings use the platform to connect with their audience and promote the goods and services of contracting firms. As a result, if you are a social media influencer, businesses may hire you to promote their goods or services. This is an excellent, carefree method to make money, particularly for students.

17. Office and home cleaning:

Maintaining cleanliness is crucial for a healthy atmosphere. The majority of those who were unduly busy with their jobs hired others to clean their homes, shops, or offices. It is an easy chore that anyone can complete if they are willing to try. All you really need are a few flyers advertising your services and a few inexpensive cleaning supplies, including mops, brooms, and buckets.

18. Producing resumes:

Writing resumes, CVs, and business proposals is a fantastic stress-free method of generating millions in Nigeria. You would be surprised to learn how many Nigerians are illiterate in CV writing.

As soon as you have given them a thorough framework and have mastered the creation of resumes, CVs, and small business plans, you will have the chance to assist hundreds of business owners and organizations in achieving their goals. This business concept is also straightforward to establish and quite profitable.

19. Consultancy:

You should launch your own consulting company if you have any experience in industries like agriculture, business, or relationships. This is a significant business opportunity that you should seize. You can earn a lot of money with this business idea, depending on your area of specialization. You get to make money in addition to assisting other people. How awesome is that?

In conclusion, have you ever had severe financial difficulties while attending school? If you said yes, you are not the only one. Consider the effects of both being in school and having little money. Certainly stressful. University students may find life to be at best difficult and, at worst irritating because the Nigerian system doesn’t actually allow for earning and studying at the same time. Setting and achieving financial objectives while still enrolled in school is a smart move, especially given the alarmingly high unemployment rate among college graduates in the nation. This post offers you the chance, as a student and low-income earner, to empower yourself with a small business you may launch to make a living. yourself with a small-scale business, you can start to earn a living.