With companies such as Spotify, Instagram and Snapchat it’s tempting to decide to start your own business. If the eye-watering revenues of these companies aren’t alluring enough the ability to manage your own time as well as having the freedom of working the way you choose is indeed a tempting proposition.
However, before quitting your job and beginning your new career path, here are some tips for starting your own business:
Have an idea for a product or service that will be of value for the consumer?
It’s all well and good to invent a dazzling new product but for the consumers, it’s worthless if they struggle to find a value for it. For example, you can invent a spoon that can fly, even so, your product might struggle to make any sales if the consumer does not understand its use. The way your flying spoon can generate revenue would be to market your item as something that a person can actually use in their everyday life, for example, a cooking utensil or some type of self-defense weapon.
When developing your product, instead of trying to develop the next great invention, go into your community and identify problems you think could be addressed via a product or service you can develop. You will spend a lot less on marketing by developing a product that fixes a problem than trying to explain the use of a product that a consumer would either struggle to understand or find difficult to use in their daily life.
Some of the most successful companies in the world like Google, Facebook or even Apple rose to fame by developing products that either fixed problems or became answers to issues the buyer did not know they had in the first place.
Do you know who your target market is?
In an ideal world, a product should be able to be purchased and enjoyed by every consumer regardless of age or social backgrounds like Facebook, Google or Paga; but this is a very rare and difficult thing to accomplish. It is a far more cost effective to cater your product to a specific target audience. A tip to help you market your product to the right type of consumer is to imagine your most ideal customer; for example, a young professional who has just graduated from university and wants to take advantage of their new found financial independence. Imagine what the person wants or needs, then explain why your product is the answer. Also, imagine what the person would like to know that would lead them to buy your product.
Don’t be afraid to ask for help
Having a competitive advantage is key in any successful business, so it’s tempting to keep everything to yourself and never ask for help. Surrounding yourself with experts, family, or friends even employees who you trust can, in fact, be beneficial for your business; this is especially important in areas of your business that you struggle with whether it’s marketing, HR or sales. Using information from experts in a certain area can mitigate the potential risk of making mistakes that can hurt your business. Your connections can even have a positive impact on the growth of your business.
Even though Paga is a tech company, our team is made up of people with various skills and from different backgrounds. We come together to use our skills and talents to change the lives of Nigerians for the better. We hope that our company’s story can inspire others to develop a business that can transform Nigeria for the better.
-Beulah Samuel-Ogbu, Intern
Making Life Possible is our ethos at paga, and it is what keeps us committed to our mission of providing inclusive financial services for all Nigerians. With over 15,000 agent outlets and 8 million+ customers, we are inspired by the stories of the community we are building and the people we are empowering by making life possible every single day.
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