If you have decided to delve into the business of exportation and you’re lost as to how you’ll get started, this article would help you figure it all out. Nigeria’s export is an industry that is responsible for almost one-fourth of Nigeria’s GDP, so the export business is a gold-mine you definitely want to tap into.
Here are seven steps to starting your exportation business and profiting from it.
1. Register your company – This is the first step as you want to look professional and it saves you from a lot of legal issues. You definitely do not need to hire a lawyer to get this done as you could register your company personally through the Corporate Affairs Commission for just a token. Then return after a while to know if the name you chose has been approved. Registering your business just tells the government that you own a business and the name of that business is yours.
2. Decide your area of interest – Nigeria has lots of produces to choose from. You want to choose products that appeal to you or that people are greatly interested in. Agricultural produces like yam, ginger, sesame seed, garlic, plantain, cocoa, groundnut, avocado pea, gallstone, textile and garments, and so many others. You want your business to be known for some specific things, decide on which areas you want to focus on.
3. Find capital – Without capital, it isn’t possible to start an export business. It’s, of course, dependent on what your business wants to export.
4. Learn – This is really important as you cannot jump into any business, especially the export business and blindly “find your way”. There are some permits you need to get, licenses you need to know about. Make your researches extensively and make sure you learn a lot about the export business before you take any step. There are a lot of lessons you need to learn before you start so that you don’t land yourself in some serious legal issues when you haven’t even gone anywhere in your business.
5. Get necessary permits and licenses – There are important licenses and permits you must get in order to operate your business and be recognized as a reliable business.
6. Find suppliers – You need great quality products in order to get great customers and keep them coming back for more. You need to make your researches, ask around and keep asking. You need people that will supply quality products to you at a cheap rate so that your profits at the end of the day can be meaningful.
7. Get buyers – You can get buyers with different strategies, on social media, on trade websites like go4worldbusiness.com, there are a lot of traders here who export and import in various countries that you could also get buyers for your product. Would even be easier landing buyers as you’re a registered business with necessary permits and can be trusted.
You could also get buyers by running online ads on Facebook and Google, getting in touch with buying agents, and registering with NEPC (Nigerian Export Promotion Council), they are really helpful as they aid promote Nigerian exporters businesses. They could also refer buyers if you want that.
Here are seven steps to starting your export business. One major point to put in mind is the importance of learning and learning about exporting is a really complicated aspect to master, as it requires a lot of first-hand experience and also patience in understanding so many other delicate aspects of the business.