Setting up a Succesful business in Nigeria

The hard work you do today pays dividends in the future.

We have installed our first 5 clients. What did we take out of the experience? 1. We did it. We executed. 2. Quality matters. There is no need to explain. Buy and sell quality. 3. You can't run the business if you are not present. It is like cooking you leave the kitchen and the food burns. Watch the video for more lessons.

You'll never see a U-Haul behind a hearse. ... Now, I've been blessed to make hundreds of millions of dollars in my life. I can't take it with me, and neither can you. It's not how much you have but what you do with what you have. Denzel Washington   The Egyptians tried it and all they got was robbed.    Don't tell this guy that though  

The product has finally arrived and we set out on a two week installation marathon. We installed our first system in Lagos, the 2nd 3rd and 4th in Abia State. We returned to Lagos and installed the 5th. We suffered failures, road in vehicles that were death traps, traveled to places that I had never been to before. Creating logistics that did not exist. Putting together employees in a very short period. In the end we pulled it off. We officially were a company that installed solar power. 13 months the concept did not even exist. I was unemployed and had no clue that by July of 2014, I would be running a company that installed solar 6000 miles away from my home in New Jersey. In a country that I left when I was 16 years old. Watch the video for what we did.

Life Lessons: Nothing is Permanent Our guest this week is Mr. Olu Abosede, Founder and former Managing Director of a wholly indigenous, quoted company, Aboseldehyde Plc. The company was once used as a reference point for other local entrepreneurs who would want their companies listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). Within a period of 14 years, the company had become a very strong brand in the country in its niche area. Things were also pretty good for our guest who built his first personal multi-million Naira house at age 28 and the second at 32. His children were in choice schools locally and abroad. His house at Gbagada, in Lagos State, was a beehive of activities by friends and associates who regularly showed up on weekends to treat themselves to some choice wines in his well-stocked personal bar. Then, in a sudden twist, from 2000, there was a gradual but irreversible slide of fortune, starting with the forced take-over of his company by creditors. And the rest came in ...

“There are two great days in a person's life - the day we are born and the day we discover why.” ― William Barclay

We finally paid for our solar panels, batteries, cables, racking and combiner boxes. We have picked a shipping agent who will remain unnamed and we have handed him our waybills and invoice. He tells us to expect our delivery in 30 days. We figure March or Early April 2014. In anticipation of seeing the products first hand, my wife and I fly to Lagos in the Middle of May. She departs and we did not get the goods till then end of June 2014. Watch the video to understand the journey and the feelings that washed over me during the wait. Please share with friends and subscribe to my blog for more content

In 2018 I hired a director of operations to run our company. He had been interviewed by the team. We had a team that worked very well together and I jealously guarded that. I did not want anyone disrupting the manner in which they worked. Within 40 days of the new manager coming on board, team members had either been fired or had quit. What went wrong? I listened to this Ted Talks video and I learnt something from it. It is about chickens, but it is super instructive. I hope you can apply some of what she says to your business.

My youngest son was asked by his older brothers, why do Dad and Mom give you more than they ever gave us? His answer "I asked" Do you ask? Do you go after what you want?

Thank you for coming back and reading my content. In this chapter I discuss how I became an Original Equipment Manufacturer. I also tell you how I fund my initial purchases. Please comment and feel free to tell me what you liked and other sources of funding that you have used.

“The graveyard is the richest place on earth, because it is here that you will find all the hopes and dreams that were never fulfilled, the books that were never written, the songs that were never sung, the inventions that were never shared, the cures that were never discovered, all because someone was too afraid to take that first step, keep with the problem, or determined to carry our their dream.” ―   Les Brown

The beginning is the title of this video, because we actually decided to be an entity. We had incorporated, established partnerships and our first conversation with a governmental agency.

In 2013 I decided to focus my efforts and skills on building a business in Nigeria. My middle son had built a model of a landfill that could produce enough gas to power a fleet of garbage trucks. This prompted a visit to the Rutgers Eco Complex where I was given a tour of a waste to energy facility. Nigeria has a lot of organic waste and a deficit in power. So why not. Watch the Video to learn more

January 18, 2015. I sit behind my lap top and I am thinking how I can recount my journey so far. Should I only tell you about the successes and omit the failures? Should I tell you about the ease with which you can break into a market and omit the challenges that are thrown your way at every turn? As I write this story it will come to me. In January of 2014 we selected a manufacturer in China who would manufacture the systems we would install for our customers. The decision was based on the fact that they could provide us with everything we needed to install a complete system for our clients. They gave us cables, batteries, racks, panels, control systems and allowed us to be OEM. Knowing very little about solar power, I interviewed and hired someone who was already in Africa but had trained in the United States. I verified his references. We started to sell our wonderful new system and we were fortunate to get some sales. I also made the fortunate decision to ins...

Aero has been running a promo. N10,000 naira to any destination in Nigeria. I booked a round trip for my wife and myself to Owerri from Lagos. The flight attendants and crew were very pleasant. As the plane was about to I showed my wife our online booking and she noticed that the return date was wrong. The flight attendants told us to ask for the station manager one IG who should help us take care of it. When we landed we went to the ticket counter. After being ignored for more than 45 minutes the individual who attended to us told us that IG had had a stressful day and we should not bother him. We went to the office that was immediately outside the Owerri airport gates. After waiting for over 1 hour we met IG whose name is Ignatius Utsalo. He was recently posted to the airport. He introduced us to a lady who said she could not help and directed us to send an email to tickethelpdesk@aero.acn. IG asked us to forward a copy to admin@aero.acn. The reason they could not help was because of...

http://africajumpstart.com/2014/04/04/african-entrepreneur-insights-nigeria-the-steps-i-took-to-start-a-solar-power-business/#comment-55 Our story on how we got started is posted on the Africa Jump Start. Follow the link to read the story. F I HOME BLOG FEATURED COUNTRIES EVENTS MEMBERSHIP ABOUT SHOP African Entrepreneur Insights - Nigeria: The Steps I Took to Start A Solar Power Business   Home   / Identify Opportunities   / African Entrepreneur Insights – Nigeria: The Steps I Took to Start A Solar Power Business Previous post April 4, 2014 1  Comment Identify Opportunities This is a guest post by  Christopher J. Onwuasoanya , founder and President of  Atlantic Waste and Power System . In his article Christopher, who resides in the USA, describes the early steps and challenges he faced setting up a new business in Nigeria. He also describes the big opportunities in the power sector in Nigeria, a...