Posts Tagged ‘Online Business’

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Is Bulk SMS Business In Nigeria Crashing?

Saturday, June 4th, 2011

Bulk SMS entered the Nigerian market with a big bang. It became the newest make money online song and I wrote about it in my post  Bulk SMS Reseller In Nigeria. As competition in the market for bulk sms intensified, I was greatly amused and I wrote another article pointing out that using price as basis for competition is not a healthy thing. You can read the article, Bulk SMS Reseller Price War. As at today, it seems the story has changed. It seems the Bulk SMS market in Nigeria is collapsing. Please correct me if I’m wrong.

Bulk Sms Reselling

Bulk Sms

I am not a Bulk SMS reseller. But I’m a heavy user of bulk SMS. I subscribed to one of the most reliable bulk SMS reseller and I have been enjoying their service until recently when I noticed that my sent messages were not getting delivered. I thought it was just a hitch in their system, so I went online and chatted with one of their representative.

Well, I was treated to a very good customer service and I thought that the situation will be rectified. Unfortunately, a week after, the same situation is still persisting. Over 60 percent of the messages I sent doesn’t get delivered and that was really embarrassing.

I was actually thinking of switching to another reseller because I was loosing money. Every time a message sent is not delivered, I loose the money spent on sending the message while at the same time I suffer the embarrassment of intended recipient of such message calling that they never got the message. That is not good for an entrepreneur like me. So I made up my mind to switch to another reseller. But the question on my mind was, which of the myriad of bulk sms reseller parading themselves as the best solution provider in the market should I subscribe to?

Should I join the bandwagon and become  a bulk sms reseller myself? After giving it a thought, I decided that I’m not ready for sms reseller business. I already have my hand full for now. I believe in giving my best in whatever I lay my hands on. Since I don’t have the time to commit to the business of reselling sms, then there is no point going into it for now. My good name is my greatest asset. So the option left is to subscribe to another bulk sms reseller.

Well, while searching for the best provider to subscribe to, I discovered that I’m not the only one complaining about undelivered messages. Some of my friends are complaining also. And funny enough, we subscribed to different bulk sms resellers. So that showed me that it wasn’t only my provider that was having hitches with their services, many more in the bulk sms business are experiencing the same.

Now, someone suggested that GSM operators in Nigeria are responsible for the undelivered messages! How true is that? Whenever, I send messages from my phone using the GSM operators (I have 3lines, MTN, Glo and Etisalat) the messages get delivered. However, when I send bulk SMS to the same operators some get delivered, while some don’t get delivered. A friend suggested that the GSM operators are sabotaging the business of bulk sms reseller. That sound ridiculous to me. But could it be true? There are too many questions and little comforting answers.

What has been your experience as a user of  Bulk SMS in the past one month? Do you have answer to the questions raised above? Kindly say in a comment. You might save a business by doing so. Thanks for reading. Cheers.

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Posted in Entrepreneur, Nigerian, small business | 64 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 »

Website Designer

Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009

You too can become a professional website designer. Website designing (also known as website developing) has become one of the most lucrative online business opportunities that many online entrepreneurs are using to earn money online. Professional website designers are very much  in high demand especially in the developing countries located in Africa and Asia.

Benefits of a Website Designer Business

The beautiful thing about website designing business is that your geographical location doesn’t matter. You can easily set-up shop and operate from anywhere in the world! For example, your clients can be located in a remote village in Uganda or Benin Republic while you are staying with a laptop at a resort hotel somewhere in Bahamas, it doesn’t really matter.

Also, as a website designer, you can easily generate multiple streams of income by adding other services that are related to website designing. For example, as a professional website designer, you can offer the service of Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Website Traffic Generation, Article Submission and other website promotion services. When you client base is yet small, you can even offer to be the pioneer webmaster for your clients until they are set to get a dedicated staff for such duty.

Skills Needed by a Website Designer

In order for you to become a professional website designer. You need to acquire some skills. Some years back, that would have been a great discouragement for those that are not technically oriented. If you were to be a professional website designer in the early 1980’s you would have needed to learn how to design a website with some complicated HTML codes.

In the 1990s, great stride was made to make the lives of website designers easier. Some sophisticated website design software such as Dreamweaver, Microsoft Front Page etc. were introduced. The software helped to cut the work of website designing to about half of what it used to be. But then, the software were pretty expensive and many could not afford to purchase them. The few free website design software were not able to produce the same result. Beside the high cost of buying the website designing software, a newbie website designer still need to spend hours learning how the software works.

That is no longer the case now. Instead of a website designer struggling to learn HTML, CSS, DHTML, Ajax and other website development tools or spending a fortune to buy Dreamweaver, there is a cheap alternative. A newbie professional website designer can now use any of the free Open Source CMS (Content Managment System) tools to design professional websites. Some of the most popular CMS that any determined person can easily learn are WordPress, Drupal, Joomla, etc.

Content Management System for Website Designers

The beauty of a CMS  tool is that the program already has a well designed website-skeleton that keeps the entire structure of a website together. You do not need to break your head worrying about  how to pull together the various sections of a website and ensure that they work in harmony. Also, many of them takes care of compatibility of your website design with different internet browsers.

These benefits makes CMS the best launch pad for a website designer career. If you learn how to use a CMS program to develop a website, you can later add to your knowledge and develop your skill by learning HTML, DHTML, CSS, Ajax etc. This is not an afterthought, it is recommended. You can’t claim to be a real professional website designer if all you know is how to use keyboard and mouse clicking at widgets 😉 It is ok to start that way, but you must add to your knowledge if you really want to be competitive in your online business. If you are scared of that, then be ready to outsource some complicated jobs you get to well tested website design professionals (at least you will still earn some profit from the deal).

WordPress 2.7

WordPress 2.7

Why start Website Design with CMS tools?

The reason why I recommend starting your website designer career with CMS is because you can actually create a website from scratch without any prior knowledge of website designing by using such tool. For example, WordPress 2.7 is so simple that the only pre-requisite skill it requires for you to design a website is the ability to use a keyboard and mouse while following step by step instructions written in English (or any other human language).

Website Designing as an Online Business

If you have been looking for online business ideas that you can safely implement without spending a fortune, website desining is one of such. It is cheap to start and yet it has great earning potential even for a newbie online entrepreneur. I can easily prove that to you.

Take a look around your locality, how many of the small scale business owners have their businesses online? Too many small scale business owners are still internet shy. The situation is worse in developing countries. If you package a presentation and you are able to convince them to give you an opportunity to take their business online and manage it for the first 3months, you will have enough client to get you busy earning money online. You may actually end up firing your boss and hiring some staff 😉
Beside those entrepreneurs that have no web presence, (as you master the use of CMS tools for website designs), you can take a step further in your business by contacting those small businesses whose website are so poorly designed that they look like scrap books made by a five year old. You will be able to convince them by showing the previous jobs you’ve done.

I guess you no longer have an excuse for not starting an online business. I have just giving you an online business idea that is both easy to implement and yet lucrative. Go start a website designer business now! Your future is bright.

You can get a free update to this post Website Designer by subscribing to my RSS feed. It is free. If you have a question or contribution to the discussion, feel free to drop it in a comment. Cheers.

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Posted in Entrepreneur, Wordpress | 14 Comments »

Starting An Online Business

Thursday, November 20th, 2008
Starting An Online Business

Starting An Online Business

Starting an online business is a lot simpler than starting an offline business. So, if you have been thinking of venturing into entrepreneurship, online business is a good way to test the water and check if thoroughly you are cut-out for the adventure of running a small business.

I have personally observed that almost all the fundamental principles that make for a successful offline small business will still be relevant in your online business. Though, the competition online is much more keen than that you have in your neighbor-hood. You may actually be competing with millions of small entrepreneurs who offer the same product or service that you offer.

This means you really need to establish good business practices and lay a strong foundation that can stand the test of time. Your success online as an entrepreneur will be hinged on your ability to build long-term business relationships with your online customers by providing quality products or services at a price that is considered competitive.

Why Start An Online Business? (more…)

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Posted in Entrepreneur | 2 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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