Don’t Start A Business if You Don’t Understand These Risks

Don’t Start A Business if You Don’t Understand These Risks

Do you want to start your own business? If you have the entrepreneurial spirit, you most likely have some huge ideas about how you want your company to run and the vision you have of it in the foreseeable future. While there is a balance between being practical and pursuing ambitious ambitions, most entrepreneurs will tell you that in order to see your business take off, you must be willing to dream big and take tremendous risks. This does imply that you will fail at times, but failing is an unavoidable aspect of being an entrepreneur.

Starting a business is a gamble, no matter how well you plan and prepare. To be honest, it’s a combination of risks. Will your money last long enough for you to make a profit? Are your personnel up to the task? Is it possible for you to compete in the market? You can reduce danger, but you can’t totally eliminate it.

In this article, we will be highlighting the major risks of starting a new business that a lot of entrepreneurs overlook.

So, let’s look at the risks of starting a new business.

What are the Risks of Starting a New Business?

Starting a business from the ground up is no simple task, and entrepreneurs are well aware that they must make sacrifices in order to thrive. Building a business takes a lot of time, work, and forethought. Many of the usual mistakes made by new leaders may be avoided with good research and rigorous study.

However, if you have little to no experience, you may not be completely aware of all the dangers and obligations you should be aware of before committing to business ownership. Be sure to use this article as a guide to enable you to set up your new business as smoothly as possible.

8 Risk of Starting a New Business

1. Ignoring Minor Details

One of the major risks of starting a new business is the tendency to overlook the small details. When launching a business, it’s sometimes necessary to anticipate mistakes in implementation. Some leaders are so preoccupied with the broad picture that they ignore important nuances. This might lead to serious issues.

Delegating responsibilities to your peers is a wonderful strategy to reduce such a risk. It’ll be simpler to pay attention to detail and avoid mistakes that might lead to greater difficulties down the road.

2. Environmental, Political, and Economic Risk

This is another major risk of starting a new business. Some factors are beyond the control of a strong business strategy or adequate insurance coverage. Companies and new entrepreneurs may encounter some uncontrollable dangers such as wars, and recessions. Although an underdeveloped nation may have a large market for a product, these countries might be unstable and risky, or logistics, tax rates, or tariffs can make commerce difficult depending on the political atmosphere at any given moment.

Furthermore, certain company sectors have a history of high failure rates, making it harder for entrepreneurs in these industries to obtain investors. Food service, retail, and consultancy are among these industries.

3. Market Risk

The market for a product or service can be influenced by a variety of things. The economy’s ups and downs, as well as new market trends, put new enterprises in danger, because one product may be hot one year but not the next. When the economy is bad, individuals are less likely to acquire luxury items or non-essentials.

A rival may take market share if they introduce a similar product at a cheaper price. Entrepreneurs should do a market study to evaluate market conditions, product or service demand, and consumer behavior.

4. Inventory Over­-Commitment

When you have more things than you can sell, it’s difficult to grow a business. Instead, work on developing more lean production procedures that will allow you to meet demand as it arises. If market conditions or consumer preferences change, you’ll be able to pivot to alternative items as needed.

The capacity to manufacture in smaller numbers helps with cash flow and allows you to invest more in research and development, marketing, and other areas of your organization to keep it nimble.

5. Financial Risk

Another risk of starting a new business is the financial risk that could be incurred by the entrepreneur. An entrepreneur will require cash to start a firm, which might come in the form of investor loans, personal savings, or funds from relatives. The founder will have to “put their money where their mouth is.”

Within the broader business plan, each new firm should include a financial plan that shows income estimates, how much capital would be necessary to break even, and the projected return for investors in the first five years. Failure to plan correctly may result in the entrepreneur’s collapse, leaving investors with nothing.

6. Mental and Emotional Stress Risk

The financial dangers of launching a business are frequently discussed, but the mental and emotional commitment is rarely discussed. You’re devoting a significant amount of time, energy, and space to your company, which should not be overlooked. There’s no turning back once you’ve started. You must be on top of your business at all a time to guarantee that it is running smoothly and that your staff is prepared to lead it to success.

While running a business, it’s critical to check your mental health and ensure that you’re taking care of yourself at all times. Your health comes first.

7. Debt Risk

This is probably one of the deadliest risks in starting a new business. You might lose all of your money and wind up in serious debt. This isn’t a joke: many first-time businesses lose money and end up in a worse situation than they were before. If they have the opportunity, some people can borrow money from rich family members, but not everyone does.

You must cover all of your bases and prepare for a defeat. Diversify your assets and avoid going all-in on a new business. If you can, set up backup accounts, emergency funds, or credit lines on demand. If you’ve reached an agreement with a venture capitalist, have them ready to help. Take chances when your company requires them, but don’t go bankrupt doing so.

8. Fierce Competition

An entrepreneur should be aware of his or her rivals at all times. If there are no rivals at all, it might mean that the product isn’t in demand. The market may be saturated or the firm may struggle to compete if there are a few larger rivals.

Additionally, entrepreneurs with fresh ideas and developments should pursue patents to safeguard their intellectual property from the competition.

Conclusion

This brings us to the end of our list of 8 risks of starting a new business. Don’t allow the dangers to deter you from pursuing your dreams. To keep the dream alive, try to foresee potential problems and have contingency measures in place to cope with them. Consider how you’ll handle it if a consumer takes an unreasonable amount of time to pay.

Will you be able to discover other providers if costs rise? Have you purchased enough insurance to protect yourself against some of the potential disasters? Despite the risks, successful entrepreneurs understand that they can’t succeed if they don’t take action.


FAQs

What are some of the risks of starting a new business?

Risk of being indebted, mental stress, market risk, competition, environmental risks

What questions should I ask when starting a business?

In the industry, who are my main competitors?

What Is the Market’s Reaction to This Sector?

What sets my solution apart from that of my competitors?

Who is the ideal customer for me?

How Will I Promote My Company?

Will My Business Have a Soft or Hard Launch?

Is it possible to completely eliminate risks before starting a business?

No. it is in fact impossible, although, it is very possible to minimize risks.

What are some factors for me to consider before starting up my own business?

  • Assess Your Skills.
  • Check for Resource Availability.
  • Prepare a financial plan.
  • Prepare yourself to fail.

You might also like: How to get paid to read books online

Metadata: Starting a business is a gamble, no matter how well you plan and prepare. To be honest, it’s a combination of risks. Will your money last long enough for you to make a profit?

The 7 Best Halal Investing Apps You Should Absolutely Have

The 7 Best Halal Investing Apps You Should Absolutely Have

What are the best Halal investing apps? Times have changed drastically, and when great changes occur, it affects a lot of facets of life. One such facet is religion. Not every change is a welcomed one when put under several filters such as religion. Religion is a way of life, one’s belief, one’s creed. To be asked to change such things as beliefs and creeds are asking for too much.

In Islam, investment is indeed allowed, but – and it is a big ‘but’, some things have to be taken into consideration so as not to go against the shariah law and commandments.

Searching for the right investment app is sometimes arduous, and when you factor in an investment app that is halal, you are left with quite the task. In this article, we have gathered the best halal investment apps that will save you a lot of time when looking for halal investing apps. Read on to find which apps to use in order to make some serious cash—the halal way, of course!

What is The Shariah Law?

Shariah law is a set of Islamic laws that govern the principles, spiritual, mental, and physical conduct of Muslims. Regarded as God’s command for Muslims, shariah law is essentially Islam’s legal system.

There are four primary sources of shariah law:

  1. The Quran
  2. The Hadith
  3. The Ijma (opinions of Islamic scholars)
  4. Qiyas (Qiyas is the process of comparing difficult questions of doctrine with similar cases settled by the authority of the Holy Book and Sunnah).

With the shariah set in place as means of guidance, it is only natural for there to be rules set out regarding investment.

What is Halal Investment?

Halal investing apps in recent times have become a hot topic in the global Muslim community. Halal investment refers to the several types of investments that are allowed, and sanctioned by the shariah law; this makes them 100% lawful.

As a Muslim, you are advised to always carry out extensive research before investing in any business venture, not just because of the obvious risk, but to find out if it is allowed in Islam, in other words, halal.

What Constitutes a Haram Investment?

The answer here is quite simple direct; and investment opportunity that is involved in prohibited businesses such as gambling, alcohol, cigarettes, and the likes are considered haram, i.e. they are prohibited.

With all this being said, there are a number of applications that offer halal investment opportunities. Here we will list the 7 best halal investing apps.

7 Halal Investing Apps

1. Sukuk Investment

First up in our list of the 7 best halal investing apps is the Sukuk Investment. Sukuk bonds are like your typical long-term loan bond, but they will not issue you a certificate indicating periodic payments with interest. 

This is because, in Islam, lending money with a view to receiving interest is haram. Rather, you will own a part of the asset and gain from whatever the asset gains.

2. M1 Finance

M1 Finance is a halal investing app that provides an intriguing blend of automated investing coupled with a wide array of portfolio customization to go alongside borrowing and spending features. You can select from expansive pre-built portfolios called “pies” (a reference to portfolio pie charts) or build your own strategy.

You will easily find the M1 Finance app a good halal investing app for obvious reasons. For one, its interface is quite simple; nothing spells ease like a user-friendly interface. Also, Opening an account is simple and you can start investing with an amount of as little as $100.

The clients can trade without any fees or commissions. The brokerage has introduced an innovative way when it comes to portfolio creation.

3. Fundrise

Next up on our list of the 7 best halal investing apps is Fundrise. Fundrise is an online real estate firm that offers investment opportunities in the private real estate sector. What makes this app so great is that it offers low minimum investment fees and it is also open to all investors. With just one investment entry, you can create a broad portfolio.

The portfolio may include a great number of real estate assets. You can also avail the assistance of a team of experienced real estate professionals.

Fundrise deals mostly in real estate investment trusts which generally invest in income-producing real estate through the purchase and management of buildings or by holding mortgages. Fundrise also offers eFunds, in which investors’ money is used to buy land, develop housing and then sell it.

Also, Fundrise offers what it calls an Interval Fund, which offers high liquidity and diversification.

4. Robinhood

Robinhood has made our list of best halal investment apps for reasons you will soon find out. One of its earlier glaring advantages is that it offers no charging commissions for cryptocurrency and stocks, although that is no longer the case seeing as a number of its competitors adopted the same strategy.  The broker recently added cash management services and a recurring investment feature in an effort to attract new customers and deepen the financial relationship with existing customers.

While investing in the ETF, you can diversify your holdings. For this purpose, you must try to buy a wide range of stocks in just one investment. After that, you can execute more sophisticated strategies and secure bigger positions.

5. Amana Funds

Next up in our list of the best halal investing apps is Amana Funds. For many who don’t know, Amana is an Arabic word meaning fidelity, honesty or sincerity. This goes well in showing its users that this is an investment app where Muslims can rest easy knowing their funds are in safe hands. Nothing beats earning some cash in halal ways!

Amana Funds is a non-profit investment company with its base in North America. For the sake of transparency, Amana Funds allows its clients to keep tabs on the business activities so they can aware of the sources through which the company generates its revenues.

6. Wahed Invest

Another halal investing app that offers its clients the opportunity to invest money ethically without having to worry about going against the divine rules of Islam is Wahed Invest. Wahed is Arabic word meaning unique, or one.

Wahed invest the new wave in the world of shariah-compliant investment apps. In addition, Wahed invest is the largest Islamic Robo Adviser based on the number of clients counted is the United States after just one of its releases.

Just like M1 Finance, Waheed allows users to open an account with a minimum of $100 and invest in a portfolio of ethically responsible stocks, Islamic bonds, and gold. The company utilizes the services of a full-time Ethical Review Board to ensure all returns are following Islamic principles. 

7. ShariaPortfolio

Last, but certainly not the least is ShariaPortfolio. This app focuses solely on ethical and halal investment options.

According to experts, ShariaPortfolio offers the best halal investment strategies. It utilizes three key points to help clients to make the right investment moves. The key points include:

  • Client  preferences
  • Financial aspirations
  • Risk tolerance

When these three key points are taken into consideration before making a move, they are bound to improve the chances to reap huge rewards.

Conclusion

When inclusion is done the right way, it is beautiful and admirable. It is a good thing to see that financial apps are making room for halal investments, thereby catering to the needs of Muslim clients worldwide.

As promised, we have delivered the best halal investing apps currently on the market. You no longer have to do the arduous task of combing the internet looking for the right app; we have narrowed down the list for you considerably.

Stay tuned and be sure to check out Northpad for more eye-opening financial write-ups. What halal investing app is your favorite? Let me know in the comments!

FAQs on Best Halal Investing Apps

What is the best halal investment?

In terms of investment, gold is seen as a secure, conventional, and Sharia-compliant option. Gold is easy to get and invest in, and it is not considered to be in violation of any Islamic finance laws.

Is investments haram in Islam?

No. as matter of fact, investment is not haram in Islam. What is haram is investing in business ventures that are not in line with the sharia laws; such as gambling, alcohol, and tobacco.

How can I invest halal?

Investing in enterprises, often known as equities or stocks, and fixed income assets, such as Sukuks (Islamic bonds) or real estate, are the two main categories of halal investing. Both forms of investments must adhere to Islamic rules in order to be considered Halal.

Are investment companies halal?

Some investment companies are halal as they follow the rules laid down in the sharia; this makes them halal. Other companies aren’t because the sharia law is used as a means of guidance.

Which investment is halal in Islam?

The major types of halal investments are Sukuk Bonds, Jarrah, and Murabaha.

Is Fundrise Halal?

Yes, Fundrise is a halal investing app that is compatible with the Shari’ah

Skeletons in the Closet? Unraveling the Roles of Men in MNorthern Nigeria

Skeletons in the Closet? Unraveling the Roles of Men in MNorthern Nigeria

What makes a man is The title of a song released by an Irish pop vocal group/boyband popularly known as “West Life” in the album “Coast to Coast”. Also, a question that ought to be no longer rhetorical in the mind of every single member of the Northern Nigeria society. Why? I will paint you a very short but interesting picture.

Imagine two Northern Nigeria stereotypes; Mr. A and Mr. B. Both above thirty. Mr. A is a forty-five-year-old accomplished civil servant; living a luxurious life in a well-furnished apartment but with no family of his own. Mr. B is a thirty-six-year-old moderately-to-do businessman; living a middle-class life with one wife or more and children.

Who is going to be labeled more “Man” in the Northern Nigeria society? Let us hold on to that thought for a while.

Notice closely, that three simple criteria including age, wealth, and responsibility/family were considered in the formation of these stereotypes. And although there could be more, these three for most readers of Northern Nigeria or anywhere, were more than ample to make an immediate mental judgment as to who is more man than the other. Perhaps, if there was more, then it was left to those lacking in any of the three fields to find stitches to patch up their masculine wears and tears.

A man is not who he thinks he is; he is what he hides.

Andre Malraux, Author of Man’s Fate

Meaning that the secrets we hide are what defines us. So could there be more to the question of ‘who is more man than who in the Northern Nigeria society’, rather than the simple societal stereotypes? Perhaps, we ought to open closets and ask about forgotten skeletons. Thus, we will start with the basic question of who a man is. 

Who Is A Man?

A man as defined by dictionary sources is “An adult male person”; that is someone who biologically is of the male sex and passed the age of boyhood. 

Societally, to be one’s own man is to be free and independent. Meanwhile, those traits, habits behaviors, or roles that society considers appropriate for a man are referred to as masculinity, manliness, or manhood.

Some even argue that just like wealth, race, or social class, masculinity has a social status and higher social status is achieved with higher masculinity. Therefore, having understood who a man is, the next step for us is to begin to ponder on our initial question; that is to find out “what makes a man”.

What Makes a Man?

Good question. An even more interesting one comes from the opinions of different individuals, in different societies, and with different cultural backgrounds and beliefs. Since there is no objective out-of-the-textbook explanation of what makes a man, it was left to assume a better way of understanding this question.

As such, conducting a survey of answers from Quora; an international Q & A online platform, where questions are asked and answered for the purpose of sharing and growing knowledge, answers to this particular question were found and a review of them gave me the following points of what makes a man:

  1. A boy becomes a man through the process of struggle.
  2. A man is someone charged with the responsibility of caring not only for himself but for others around him. He also doesn’t blame others for his mistakes but apologizes and corrects them.
  3. A man has a strong moral code by which he lives and is defined. He constantly recognizes his weakness and strives to be better.
  4. A man discovers his true inner self and doesn’t change his personality as change takes place in the outside world. In other words, he is not easily influenced.
  5. A man is conscious of himself and controls his instincts, urges, and emotions.
  6. A man is steadfast in his decisions. He knows when to be flexible and when to say no.
  7. A man is free to define himself.

The aforementioned points have tried to define what makes a man based on a general perception of people from different societies.  A man’s Life experience, Responsibility, Moral code, Strength of character, Self-awareness, Steadfastness, and Choice are what I found to be the most popular opinions.

However, how can I use these points to discover which is most relevant in our Northern Nigeria society?

What Makes a Man in Northern Nigeria Society?

You will recall the image we digested earlier of two Northern Nigeria stereotypes using age, wealth, and responsibility to decide who was more man than whom. Recall how ‘you’ were also accused of making an on-spot decision. From there, we went on to explain the concept of who a man was and what was his masculinity.  Our goal now is to decide what makes a man in Northern Nigerian society.

Traits, habits, behaviors, or roles that society considers to be appropriate for a man have been found to be considered his masculinity/manhood. Seven areas including; his Life experience, Responsibilities, Moral code, Strength of character, Self-awareness, Steadfastness, and Choice were considered generally to be vital.

Therefore, comparing the criteria used earlier in stereotyping the Northern Nigerian man to these seven points leads us closer to finding out what makes a man in Northern Nigerian society. The confluence point was found at the responsibility valley. Clearly, age and wealth when compared to responsibility, could not have been the major catalysts that influenced your hastened decision of who or what a man is. Rather the roles/responsibility attached to a man is what drives Northern Nigeria society to assess his masculinity.

These roles/responsibilities of a man in Northern Nigeria society will be the master key that will unlock the closet door and allow us a peek at its skeletons if any. 

What Is The Role of a Man in Northern Nigerian Society?

This takes origin from the concept of “Gender role”; which is a set of behaviors and attitudes considered desirable or appropriate based on that person’s gender.

The term role could be defined as a duty that someone or something is expected to have. At the same time, it is the way someone or something is involved in an activity. Going for a more elaborate definition, a role is a socially-expected behavioral pattern usually determined by an individual’s status in a particular society. Similarly, it is a set of connected behaviors, rights, obligations, beliefs, and norms as conceptualized by a society.

All these combine to interrogate the role of a man in Northern Nigeria society as follows:

What are the rights duties and obligations of a Northern Nigerian man?

How is the Northern Nigeria man involved in activities of Northern Nigeria society?

Roles carried out by Northern Nigerian men are undeniably vast but nonetheless, they can be classified based on their positions/status or their general functions. The positional roles of a Northern Nigerian man can be dynamic, that is, they can evolve or be interchangeable based on his current position in the family and society. The Northern Nigeria man therefore can discharge his roles based on his position as follows:

  • As a father
  • As a husband
  • As a son
  • As a brother
  • As an uncle
  • As a neighbor

Whatever position a man may occupy in the family or society, there are certain roles he is bound to come across. These roles unlike his positions are not dynamic. Careful analysis of both leads us to categorize the roles of a Northern Nigeria man in society in four unique ways namely:

  • Domestic roles
  • Religious roles
  • Socio-cultural roles
  • National roles.

These will be carefully elaborated and looked at. 

Domestic Roles of A Man

Domestic roles are duties and obligations assigned to members of a household to ensure efficient meeting of its basic needs. Either as a son, husband, or father, men in Northern Nigeria society are expected to carry out assigned responsibilities in the family.

These mostly include:

1. Household Labour (Chores)

Due to the physical strength of men, a man is expected to do hard and labor-intensive activities in the household. For example, he will wash the car, do the gardening, and perform animal slaughter. 

2. Technical Work

A man is expected to learn simple household technical work in order to take care of problems that may arise without employing the services of a technician. He may take care of:

  • Electrical tasks like changing sockets, bulbs, turning on or servicing generator, and simple vehicle checks.
  • Plumbing tasks in the kitchen and in the bathroom. 

3. HouseHold Representation/Leadership

A man in the Northern Nigeria society serves as the link between the women of the house and the outside world. Religion and culture do not encourage Northern Nigerian women to have unlimited freedom with no control. Therefore, a man in the household is faced with certain responsibilities like:

Being a natural leader to women below and above him. He may do so by providing them with emotional strength and guidance.  

Going on errands outside the home as much as he can, especially at night and also, sometimes accompanied the women of the house.

Answering the door and ushering male guests.

4. Discipline and Security

A man is expected at all times to ensure peace and orderliness within his household and arrest conflict when it arises. He is also charged with the responsibility of keeping members of the household safe from internal and external harm. Therefore, he is:

Active alert and checks all locks and appliances for safety before retiring to bed at night.

Passive alert at all times and watches out for suspicious sounds and movement within and around the boundary of his home.

5. Financial responsibility

A husband, father, and sometimes even son are responsible for the financial well-being of every member of the household. Not only that, he is at other times, expected to contribute to the financial well-being of other members of the extended family. As such, he must work hard and earn a living in order to:

Provide good food, clothing, shelter, and education to those he is responsible for.   

Give allowances where expected.

Regularly, chips in and contributes to the well-being of his extended family.

Religious Roles of Man

The predominant religion in Northern Nigeria, Northern Nigeria is Islam. This has provided the Northern Nigerian society with certain beliefs, behaviours, and obligations to follow. In addition to the completion of personal obligation to God, he is also tasked by religion with several roles.

Some of these roles that religion has mandated for the Northern Nigeria man include: 

1. Religious Leadership Roles

A well-learned and societally accepted man with good moral and social conduct is charged with leadership roles like:

  • He leads prayers as the Imam in mosques and leads prayers for the deceased.
  • He assumes political roles in society.
  • Also, he as a man can become a scholar who delivers preaching like “Tafseer” in religious gatherings
  • A man is charged with carrying on the name of his father and passing it down to his own children.

2. Religious Rites Roles

Execution of certain religious rites has been assigned solely to men by religion. These rites are prohibited for a woman to perform. They include:

  • Acting as “Waliyyi” and “Wakili” in marriage.
  • Taking part in prayers of the deceased and escorting the dead to the grave.
  • Giving out “Zakkatul fitr” (alms) on behalf of his family
  • He is the one to seek permission from a woman’s father to court her when looking for marriage. He also pays a token for the woman before he can take her as his wife. This token is referred to as “Sadaki” or bride price.

3. Matrimonial Roles

The roles of a man in marriage have been clearly outlined by religion in Northern Nigerian society. These include:

  • Financial responsibility: He becomes financially responsible for his wife’s food, shelter, clothing, education, and discipline according to the teachings of Islam.
  • Emotional responsibility: He protects and safeguards his wife’s emotional state of mind.
  • Moral & Spiritual responsibility: He guides and educates his wife on her moral and spiritual conduct. For example, he should constantly monitor/permit her interactions with people outside her home or make sure she discharges her prayers on time.

4. Moral Role

Personal code of conduct of behaviours and interactions with people have been clearly outlined by religion for the man to follow. He is expected to:

  • Offer a handshake in greeting and say the “Salam” when passing a fellow Muslim or group of Muslims.
  • He is expected to imitate qualities like honesty, patience, and humility among others.
  • He is expected to obey and honor his parents and especially his mother as she is the key to his paradise. 

Socio-Cultural Roles

These are roles spelled out by the society based on their culture and tradition. They are socially accepted beliefs, norms, and behaviours allowed of a Northern Nigerian man. In addition, they are rules handed down from generation to generation which may or may not be dynamic. They include the following; 

1. Occupational Roles

Certain occupations in Northern Nigeria society until today are believed to be suitable for men and unheard of for women. Even though the Northern Nigerian man has a white-collar job, he is encouraged by society to be involved in technical/manual jobs or trading.

Examples of such occupations Northern Nigeria society has outlined for men include; wanzam, carpentry, building, animal rearing, etc.

2. Courtship Roles

Before a man in Northern Nigeria society marries, he undergoes a period of courtship in which after taking permission from the lady’s father, they get to know each other before marriage. Society has socially constructed roles the Northern Nigerian man must play in this period. They are as follows:

  • He initiates the courtship process.
  • He offers gifts occasionally to the lady whom he wants to marry.
  • Before he marries her, he is expected to complete the cultural rites of marriage like gifting her clothes or otherwise “Lefe” and other necessary cultural rites. 

National Roles

Northern Nigerian people are naturally proud of genetic traits handed to them like wisdom in speech, strong moral/social code, and ambition.

Wherever a Northern Nigeria man is, it is his responsibility to: 

1. Political Role 

  • Use his natural skills and talents to govern the nation politically.
  • Become a recognized trade or craftsman. 

2. Citizenship Role

  • Be a law-abiding member of the nation and dispatch his duties accordingly
  • Abstain from criminal, social or moral misconduct that will bring him and other people shame.
  • Be a man the nation is proud of.

Conclusion

From the above, it is clear that men in Northern Nigeria society have clearly spelled roles.

This is How You Should Manage Your Money in 2021

This is How You Should Manage Your Money in 2021

When you are in a financial crisis, what you need are personal money management tips that will help you to reduce your spending and not finding a job that pays higher than your current job. In fact, this will help you invest and save your finances. It will also help you achieve the financial freedom that you so dream of. Here is what we found to be easy and more suitable for Nigerians in times of money management tips:

1. Track Your Expenses to Improve Your Finances

You need to know how much you spend monthly to improve your spending habits. Money management tips begin with knowing how much you spend. You can use money management apps like Money Manager Expense and Budget or Mints to track your expenses. Tracking your expenses helps you in knowing how much you spend on essentials and non-essentials. As well as help you to plan, reduce expenses and improve your finances.

Here is how to track your expense as a beginner.

2. Plan a Realistic Monthly Budget

Since you know how much you spend monthly, you can use it and your monthly income to plan a budget that is according to your lifestyle. You do not need to be strike with yourself when cutting down expenses. Start slow, adapt and improve with time. For this purpose, plan a budget that is in line with your responsibilities, lifestyle, and your spending habits that is not based on impulse but needs. Money management tips like budgeting will help you gain better money management habits, improve your spending habits by gaining the spending awareness that is right for you.

Read this to know about budgeting.

3. Save Even If It Takes Time

Saving money is important in several ways. For instance, you can use one of the banks in your community or Cowrywise to start an emergency fund that you can use during unforeseen circumstances as Nigerians call it “Vex Money”.

Funding the savings does not have to be huge. You can also start saving small by saving 10% or 20% or even 2.5% of your monthly income. Set savings goals with a timeline if you need motivation.

4. Timely Clearing of Bills Each Month

This act will help you avoid embarrassment in Nigeria. It will teach you how to spend responsibly, and based on priority.

To manage your bills, you need to make a list of all your utilities and rent, review the date for payment and mark it in your calendar. Meanwhile, set a date that you will be paying your bills or you can set automatic bill payment if the option is available. While monitoring it, try to be organized. Paying bills on time will help you know how much time you have left and you can budget, save, and spend according to what is available.

Procrastinating? Check this to pay your bills on time.

5. If You Want to Be Financially Free, Pay up Your Debt!

Paying your debt is very important when looking at personal money management tips. To clear debts, you need to organize your debts into categories like “urgent payments, moderately urgent payments, and important payments”. Try to avoid getting into debt more. Cut down your expenses gradually until your spending habits is a healthy one. Focus on paying your debts one category at a time until you have paid all your debts.

6. Avoid Impulse Purchases

An impulse purchase is mostly influenced by pricing and product displays. People buy products they do not need if it is on a discount or packaged well or on a limited offer and presentable. Money management tips important here is avoiding impulse purchase, you need to avoid temptation especially on goods that provide options of “Buy now, Pay later”.

Stop and ask yourself if you need what you are about to purchase and why? Try and create a shopping list and make a budget, stick to it. Remind yourself of your financial goals in the first place before you purchase anything.

Want to know more about impulse purchases? Check this out.

7. Let Your Money Work for You. Invest!

Before you commit your money to work for you, you need to know what kind of an investor you are, how much you are willing to risk, and what are your investment goals. Once you decide on whether you want to manage your money’s growth or set it and forget about it for a period of time. Then, you can begin your investment journey.

Investing a huge amount of money is not necessary. Small contributions to your investment account will help you earn more money aside from your income. However, find out about investment agencies in your community before you invest to avoid putting your money in investment scams like investments run by the likes of Amos Olaniyan. There are legit investments companies operating in Nigeria and this platform Wealth.ng, has put together investment companies in one place that you can choose from and pay in Naira.

Want to avoid scams in Nigeria? Here is how.

8. Start a Side Gig

Another personal money management tips, is finding the right side gig to pursue. First, you need to find an exciting niche market that you like. Then do thorough research to find out what other people in such a niche market are doing to earn other income.

Select your target customers and provide solutions for the diverse needs of people in their niche markets. Choose activities that complement your regular job for better results. The first advantage of side businesses is that they generate additional sources of income. Economic freedom can mean different things to different people, but one thing they have in common is reaching a level where you don’t have to worry about money.

Side hustle puts extra income in your account and helps you in paying bills when your income is not enough. If you have debts, you can use your side hustle earnings to pay them off. You can use your side hustle earnings to save or respond to emergencies. A side hustle income will also help increase your retirement savings.

Side gigs can also accumulate wealth. You can gain financial freedom more quickly by investing your income when you buy stocks, currencies, real estate, or other alternative investments.

Conclusion

Every personal money management tips begins with changing your habit. These changes might be easy or hard looking at the inflation rate in Nigeria. Once you are committed to these money management tips, they will help you in attaining your financial freedom. Above all, the foundation to personal money management tips is a great budget that you can stick to according to your lifestyle.

What are the ways you manage your money in Nigeria? Kindly leave your comments below. Share with your loved ones let us know how you manage money.

You could also check the 5 reliable money saving apps in Nigeria.

Step-By-Step Guide to Writing a Business Plan

Step-By-Step Guide to Writing a Business Plan

Doing business anywhere can be tough. But it doesn’t have to be. When you have a business plan in Nigeria, your venture can be much easier than you think. A business plan is an invaluable tool that guides your business and prepares you for future risk. This article will show you how to write a good business plan in Nigeria.

What Is a Business Plan?

A business plan, as the name implies, is a plan for a business (usually a new business) in a written document that gives a sketch, describes, and draws in detail how the business will achieve, reach, execute and accomplish its goals. It is a writing conveying information that outlines the operational and financial aims of a business. It is safe to call it “the business strategy” or “road map”. There are specific step by step guides for writing a good business plan. 

Aside from the common mistake that most entrepreneurs make in their business, quite a number of businesses have started and crashed down because of a poorly written business plan or the lack of one. Having a good business plan in Nigeria will serve as a guide through every stage of your business from starting to managing and even dealing with your profits. A business plan can also be used to help you get loans from banks and get people to invest in your business. Likewise, securing grants for your business.

I know how confusing it might seem, and that’s why I’ll be sharing with you 9 easy steps to guide you in writing a business plan in Nigeria:

1. Executive Summary

Here is an important part of your business plan because this is the first part that the reader encounters. It should contain everything about your business including your mission, your objectives, business background, and keys to success. While you must cover everything on this page, be sure to keep it straight to the point. 

2. Business Description Summary

In this section, you should state the nature of your business, who your target audience is, and what gives your business an advantage against the others. Be sure to define the services you offer clearly and the problems you hope to solve. Perhaps, you want to run a business of dried fruits, under this section, you’d state that you hope to solve the problem of fruit spoilage when large purchases have been made or for a long time. 

This is an essential part of writing your business plan in Nigeria. It will give whoever is reading your plan a true insight into what you’re doing and if they should invest or give you a loan. If you have a location where your business is located, it should be mentioned here too. Your business description should contain all of your strengths and should be appealing to whoever reads it. 

3. Product and Service Summary

You cannot write a business plan in Nigeria without in-depth details of the things your business is about.

What sort of products are you producing? What are the services you offer? Are those the only products and services you will offer? Do you intend to add more? Where do you get your raw materials from? How much does it cost you to get a full batch of production? How much profit return does your product bring back? 

These are the questions the product and service summary section answer. 

4. Market Analysis Summary 

Before writing this, you will need to conduct a SWOT analysis. SWOT stands for Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, and Threats. This analysis will show you what other businesses are doing, what is the trend and theme related to your business, what’s its position and value in the large-scale market. It’ll help you understand who your competitors are, their strengths, what do successful competitors do? How it works. 

After knowing all of that, you should include it in your plan and also, plan strategies on how you can do it better than they did. This is really an essential step in writing a business plan in this country.

5. Management Summary

Here, details of how the business or company is being run, about yourself, and partners you might have (if you are not running it alone) should be noted. How many shares do you have and how much percentage do your partners have? 

In addition, include the team that runs the business and highlight their expertise and abilities. It’s safe to mention notable staff, their roles, and talents also. You should also include your plans of getting more people in the team as your business expands if you have any. 

6. Strategy and Implementation Summary 

In this aspect, it should contain details about how you intend to interact with your target audience – your customers. You should include your brand message, planned advertisements, and promotions that will attract people to your brand. 

Furthermore, sales representatives and marketing agents, as well as methods of marketing and outreach, should be included with the strengths. In addition, it should include the advantages your business has over others and how you intend to use that to your sales advantage. 

This is a crucial part of your business plan in Nigeria. It plays an important role in convincing your investors that investing will not make them suffer losses. 

7. Financial Summary

Here is also an important part of your plan and should include accurate and up-to-date details of your finances. You should include cash flow statements, assets, debts if you have any. More so, the financial state of your business should also be up to date at the time of writing the plan. 

You should also include how your finances are being managed, how revenue is being generated. Again, you should include who is in charge of finances, how accurate your financial predictions have been, and if you have been able to reach the goals you set out. 

At a glance, your readers should be able to tell if your business is in a healthy cash position or not. If your business is just starting, be sure to include the present relevant details and avoid including false or twisted information. 

8. Funding Request

There might not be a need to include this if you do not intend to ask for a loan or grant. This should contain how much you need and details on how the funds acquired would be spent. Additionally, if you are getting a loan, indicate your payment plan and if it is an investment, state the benefits that the investor would gain from their investment in your business. 

You should make sure that the details you provide are accurate and detailed to clear every doubt your reader might have. 

9. Appendix

Lastly, this should contain other information you may want to add including legal documents, contracts, etc. 

Conclusion

Now, with your understanding on how to write a business plan in Nigeria, be sure to be straight to the point and honest with every detail you provide. If you’re still confused, you can head over to a site called bplan. There you can get different samples to practice with. 

For people who have so much on their hands or can’t just find time to write a business plan themselves, just visit Mediahooch. They handle writing business and every or anything regarding branding and marketing, can be professionally executed by them.

You should also check out tips for new business owners, this will greatly help your business.

Good luck!