Posts Tagged ‘Make Money Online’

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Outrageous Bank Charges!

Wednesday, April 14th, 2010

Outrageous bank charges in my account, this is unacceptable! It is not often that I make  a post because I’m angry. But this post, Outrageous bank charges was inspired by the activities of my banker that I just discovered this morning. I wasn’t planning to make any post today, but I got angry enough to hit my computer keyboard, because I’m definitely going to reclaim those bank charges or look for a better banker. Here is the story and I will be glad to read your opinion.

I got a cheque from a foreign firm who places adverts on this website (I do make money online you know). The cheque was for $125. Small amount I know, but that’s what makes the big bucks when it comes from different streams. Well, with excitement, I deposited the cheque in my domiciliary USD account with my banker, one of the famous Nigerian Banks (some are no longer famous, if you care to know why, read this post, .

The cheque was credited into the account and I went home smiling that in another 21days (well, from experience that is what it takes before a foreign cheque gets cleared into a Nigerian domiciliary account),  I will have access to the fund. However, I was shocked to discover when checking my account online the following day that the figure credited into my bank account has been reversed. A new figure for $100 was now credited! That was so confusing. I’ve never heard of such before. What manner of accounting is that? At least the cheque figure should be credited and then whatever charges the bank wants to make can now be debited into the account with explanation. Well, that wasn’t the case.

Careless me, I forgot to take the issue up (I guess I was too busy chasing more money online). I forgot all about the transaction until this morning when I discovered that I have been charged another $10.50 for the same cheque (21days is accomplished, the cheque from the foreign firm has cleared). Also, another $20 was charged as handling fees for sending the cheque from Nigeria to the foreign firms banker! For crying out loud, it is just a piece of payer, almost weightless! Isn’t this courier charge outrageous!

Anaylsis of The Outrageous Bank Charges

A quick analysis of all the charges got me angry. First, $25 charged for unknown reason, another $10.5 charged for unknown reason and finally $20 charged as handling fees. That means a total charges of $55.5 out of $125! That is a whooping 44% of the cheque value. So, while I labor tirelessly trying to make money online legitimately, my banker is sitting in the comfort of his office and taking out 44% of the proceed without my authorization. And nobody deemed it necessary to offer some explanation on why my internet business proceed should be divided between me and my banker in a manner I consider unfair.

My Reaction To the Bank Charges

If they had taking 10% or 20% of the proceed, maybe I would have been too busy to notice, but they took 44%. Of course, that was too much for me to forget. I paused my online business activity and made a franctic call to my account officer, ready to express my grievance. Unfortunately, he was not available to pick the call. That did not disuade me from making more effort, 44% of my earning can’t just end-up in the banker’s pocket without me putting up a fight. I quickly drafted an email and fired same with a note of urgency to the customer care service of my bank. It has been over 30 minutes since then, but there has been no respond. My account officer called back and I narrated the situation, he too promised to look into it, but there has been no response till now.

Nigerian Entrepreneurs Doing Business Online Please Help

Am I using a wrong bank?

Is this what other Nigerian Entrepreneurs doing businesses with foreign firms go through?

Was it stupid to have agreed that the foreign firm issue a cheque in settlement of the service I rendered?

What are the best steps to take when disputing bank charges?

Can bank charges be reclaim in Nigeria? I know it is possible elsewhere.

I need answer to this because it was not a one time deal. Another payment will be due soon. (I’m still making money online legitimately though I live in Nigeria!) The foreign firm does not use AlertPay, PayPal, is yet to remove Nigerians from her blacklist. So, what other options do you suggest for receiving money from this online business client?

This is not the first time am dealing with a foreign cheque. I’ve not really been careful to determine if the bank charges was fair or not. However, this particular incidence is a good starting point. I may not have noticed the outrageous bank charges if the cheque was for a five digit figure! I need your opinion on this, especially naija online entrepreneurs. Are you experiencing outrageous bank charges?

Update: Poll added based on readers demand (credit goes to Willo and McNeri) 😉

[poll id=”1″]

Note: You can choose up to 2 answers.

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Posted in Entrepreneur, Nigerian, small business | 49 Comments »

Online Business

Tuesday, January 26th, 2010

Online Business

Have you started your own online business? Do you have a website? Are you online? Are you making money online? Those are common topics for discussion these days. Internet services are fast becoming available everywhere. Gone are the days when you must visit a cybercafé before you can get online. This days, you can hook-up to the internet using mobile phones even if you’re living in a village where electricity is a luxury.

The information technology improvement has created an exciting frontier that is abundant with business opportunities. It is an established fact that people in this present generation now communicate more using the internet than they do using any other media. So, why not exploit the same for business ventures? That is what this post is looking at.

What is Online Business?

Are you kidding me? You want a definition of Online Business! Well, since you asked, my definition of online business is “An Online Business is any legitimate activity carried out on the internet (world wide web) that generates profit after all expenses has been fully paid for”. Please note the following:

  • If it is not a legitimate online activity, then it can’t be called online business. It is better referred to as scam!
  • If it doesn’t generate income that is more than the expenditures incurred in carrying out the activity, then it can’t be called online business. It is better referred to as hobby!

I believe that definition is simple enough for our purpose. Let’s get to the next issue.

Who can do Online Business?

Anyone who has enough determination can venture into online business. There are myriad of online business opportunities that are waiting to be explored. You don’t have to be a computer guru. As long as you can read and move a mouse or any other pointing device, then you can learn to do business online. Even if you lack those basic abilities or you are unwilling to get involved, you can learn to outsource many of the tasks you don’t like to others who are willing to do such at a fee. In other words, you can actually run your online business without engaging a computer physically. The possibilities are endless.

What do I need to start Online Business?

Well, the minimum requirement is a link or connection to the internet. For you to do business online, you must go online. That is the only requirement that cannot be bypassed. Once you get online via an internet connection, either with a computer or a smartphone, then you’re ready for online business. The fact that you’re reading this shows that you know how to get online, except if you got a printed copy of this article.

The subsequent requirements will depend on the type of online business you wish to do. There are some online businesses that requires huge amount of money to start while some other ones require zero capital. I will give two examples to buttress this point.

  1. You can sell other peoples product or service. There are different methods of doing this. However, many of the methods allow you to start operating with zero capital. You can setup a free website, write your own articles or get free articles from article directory to promote the product or service you want to sell. The last step will be to work on generating web traffic for the new site.
  2. Bulk SMS reselling. To start this business, you must buy an SMS package from a major SMS reseller and then sell to individuals or corporate entities that need the service.

As you can see, it is possible to start the first idea without spending a dime, but the second business idea requires at least about $20 as kick-off capital.

How can a Nigerian run a successful Online Business with the poor social infrastructures?

Too many never get to start because they are waiting for a perfect business environment before they start. The truth is you can start making money online even with the poor social infrastructures that we have in Nigeria. I started browsing when it cost N20/minutes to work online. Today, you can go online for less than N1/minute in some cybercafé. If you’re are really determined, you can make it. Instead of wasting your time chatting with strangers on Yahoo, you can start your online business by building a blog.

Is Online Business Risky?

Well, life itself is full of risks. It is a risk to wake-up in the morning and step outside your home. So, the answer is yes. Online business has risks. However, the risks are such that an average Nigerian can handle. You will only get into a mess by engaging in either of the following:

1. Engaging in illegal activities online because you want to get rich overnight. Gone are the days when online activities can be carried out anonymously. EFCC and other agencies are on the lookout for those that use internet to commit financial crimes.

2. Parting with cash in a hurry without learning how things work online. Too many Nigerians have fallen victim to fraudsters who sell all manner of automated junks that they claim are capable of making you rich while you do nothing.

My suggestion to you is that you start with free resources. When you have learnt how things work, and you have practice with free resources, then you can start spending your hard earned cash for resources you feel will enhance your online business. Take it from me, online business requires patience. You can’t make it big online in a hurry. You will simply get your pocket burnt by falling victim to scammers.

So quit talking and get into action. Start your own online business today. Cheers.

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Posted in Entrepreneur, small business | 20 Comments »

Online Business Ideas

Thursday, April 9th, 2009

What Online Business should I Start, please I need Ideas?

Does that question sound familiar? Of course, that is the question so many folks are asking. The most common request new entrepreneurs make online is suggestion on profitable online business ideas to start. The forums and social network websites are full of such requests . Millions of internet users are searching online for business ideas that they can implement to generate residual income. Online businesses seems to be coping better during this economic recession than the traditional businesses. Well, that is my personal observation, let’s get back to the aim of this post. I intend to share with you some hot online business ideas you can implement.

Starting An Online Business

Online Business Ideas

The beauty of some of these ideas is that they can actually be run as internet home based business. That is not to imply that they are  meant for work at home mummies alone or the unemployed. It will do no harm if you have some extra bucks beside the fixed income from your  paid job. Some of these ideas  can actually be developed into small online businesses that are capable of recruiting staff (that means, you can eventually Fire Your Boss and Hire Yourself Some Staff!). Some of the internet marketers currently making waves online started their business from their homes. Their first staff were members of their immediate family who lend helping hand out of solidarity. You can achieve the same feat! You heard me right, you too can become a successful entrepreneur, an employer of labor.

I’ve come across several internet marketers promising to sell 101 hot ideas on online business or best online business ideas for some dollars. If you are not too lazy to do a little research online yourself, you can do without those packages. I can authoritatively say that you do not need so many internet home business ideas, you only need one good online business idea and the sheer determination to turn your dream to reality. Of course your passion as an individual is what determines the best internet business you should start. I addressed this issue in  a post, The Best Online Business To Start.

I also wish to disabuse your mind from assuming that the only successful online business idea is that of becoming an affiliate marketer or earning peanuts via Google Adsense placed on some crappy website (I don’t mean to be rude, just trying to drive the point home). Beside affiliate marketing and Google Adsense there are other great online business ideas that you can implement as a newbie entrepreneur. My personal policy is to engage in any legitimate online business that will give me residual income. I am careful to only implement ideas that can run as a system without me being tied down. I don’t want another job. I want a business that runs on its own. So, I avoid crazy online business ideas that aims at turning human beings to clicking or surfing robots. Sitting behind a screen and clicking for hours just to generate $5 dollars is a stupid online business idea as far as I’m concerned. Look at it this way, how many clicks will it take for you to generate $100,000 per year? If the answer is mind boggling, then it is a pointer that it is not the right online business strategy for you to implement.

Ok, enough of the ramblings, lets look at some top online business ideas for you to kick start your entrepreneurs journey. They may not be rated as the best online business ideas and opportunities, but you can be rest assured that anyone with access to the internet and a little determination can use any of these ideas to build a home based business or a part-time business that has the potential of recruiting staff in the nearest future. Note, these are not new online business ideas, but they have been tested and proven by veteran internet marketers and webpreneurs.

10 Online Business Ideas

1. Online Secretary – You can offer services as a virtual secretary to busy executives.

2. Online Tutoring / Internet Trainer – Online Tutor and trainers are becoming common.

3. Online Desktop Publishing – A little knowledge of word processing and one or two graphic software will put you into business.

4. Infopreneur – You can package information and sell online to people who need such information. That is what ebooks are all about.

5. Online Consultant – Are you a professional? Expert in a particular field? Turn your years of experience into a money minting machine by providing consultancy online.

6. Online Unique Party Organiser – Hey, some of us are not just good in getting things organized. If you are a good planner, you can offer your service for money.

7. Website Designing – Get in touch with the owner of crappy websites and offer to redesign for them at a cheaper rate. You can get serious jobs if you can package a presentation to convince those entrepreneurs that are yet internet shy to establish an online presence for their business.

8. Internet Researcher – you may not believe it, but some folks consider Googling as too much work. If you love searching for information online like  Shelock Holmes (a freelance detective 😉 ) this business idea will suit you.

9. Online Book-keeping Services – Are you a trained book-keeper or accountant? You can help many folks that are getting into trouble with the Tax Authority as a result of muddled up books. You can employ the use of telephone calls, instant messenger and email to get their transaction details while you prepare a professional book of account for them for a fee.

10. Ebay Seller – Do I need to explain this? You or someone close to you must have bought something from EBay before. Go into your attic and look around, you will be surprised that there are items lying down there that you can sell for some little money on Ebay. By the time you exhaust that, you can go to GrandMa or Friends Attics and help them dispose off (at a profit to yourself) all those old toys, books, magazine, music CD/DVD etc.

This post is getting too long, so I have to stop here. I’m planning to give greater details on how to implement some of the online business ideas mentioned above in my subsequent posts. However, if you love playing Shelock Holmes, you can get information by conducting a little research on any of them using the free search engine, Google! I encourage you to bookmark this page to Delicious so that you can return to it later. You can get the future updates to this post Online Business Ideas by subscribing to my RSS feed. The subscription is free. I look forward to feedback from you through comments. If you need any assistance don’t hesitate to make a request. See you at the top. Cheers.

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Posted in Entrepreneur, Investing | 73 Comments »

Make Money Online, Promote Local Small Scale Businesses!

Saturday, November 8th, 2008
sucessful online entreprenuer

successful online entrepreneur

Make Money Online, by Promoting Local Small Scale Businesses. You can earn easy money by advertising Small Scale Businesses Online. African Entrepreneurs are not as tech savvy as their counterparts in the developed nations. The only thing some of them know about the internet is that con artists use the internet to defraud people abroad.

In Nigeria an estimated ninety percent or more of small scale businesses conduct their business transactions offline. Searching for their name in Google will produce no result. Many of the Nigerian Entrepreneurs in this category knows next to nothing about the great potential that online advertisement offers.

Hope you are getting the gist. This obvious need for web presence among the local small scale entrepreneurs in Africa is a wonderful opportunity for any online entrepreneur. You can easily package an offer and make presentation to such local entrepreneurs who are only doing their business offline! (more…)

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Posted in Entrepreneur | 8 Comments »

How To Choose An Online Business

Saturday, March 22nd, 2008

Too many potential online entrepreneurs are waiting and praying for someone that sees tomorrow to tell them the perfect business that will turn them into a millionaire. They want to know the perfect business so that they will do it just right the very first time and become instant success.

Well, there is no such thing. Go ask the next door successful entrepreneur in your neighborhood, he will most likely tell you that:

  • Success comes from making good decisions (even a fool knows that)
  • Good decisions comes from good judgment (nobody will dispute that)
  • Good judgment comes from experience (I thought it is luck!)
  • Experience comes from several bad judgments (I don’t want to agree with that !???)

Welcome to reality. You need not be afraid of making bad judgment or failing! The only way to know if something will work is to try it! This does not mean you should foolishly and consciously start seeking for opportunities to make bad judgment. Rather it means you should seek for opportunities to succeed and try them. If they work, you have added to your experience, if they turn out as failure, you have learnt “how not to do business” 😉 and that will be an addition to your wealth of experience as an entrepreneur.

Several self-made entrepreneurs have offered guidelines that can help one in choosing the right business. I will share five with you.

(more…)

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Posted in Investing, Tips & Tricks | 20 Comments »

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