By Chisom Asogwa
It hasn’t been available for a while now, that dream job every young graduate hopes to find upon graduation.
The oil firm with a fat pay, allowances and a posh company car, even the merger white collar jobs are such a hassle to clinch. No one needs to preach the salvation message of financial independency anymore; every graduate is fishing desperately for his/her big escape. Big escape? ENTREPRENEURSHIP!
I can’t begin to preach the advantages and the necessity of entrepreneurship in this 21st century; the financial freedom and stability if offers, if managed properly.
Through series of inquires and research, I came up with a list of five (5) viable business ideas/professions a young graduate can bravely dive into with low capital and succeed.
Social media
There was a time when social media was considered as a ‘passing fad’. A place where young people chat and fool around. This is an absolute lie. There are over 3 billion internet users and over 2 billion of them have active social media accounts.
We now have careers such as social media influencers, social media comedians and social media managers.
People with loads of followings and engagement on their social media platforms are paid huge sums by business firms to advertise their products and services.
There’s no need for 30billion to be in the account for you to embark on your journey to monetize your social media accounts. All you necessarily need is an android phone. Which if you’re reading this post you already have one.
Do your research, follow people who have established themselves as leaders in social media and learn. If you have to be on your phone all the damn time the least you can do is make money from it.
Photography
It’s probably a bad thing that in our generation, no one wants to be an intern. Everyone wants to jump high and be a boss instantly. Photography is a very profitable profession if you’re willing to learn from the pros.
You don’t need a high version of Canon to start your career. If you’re willing to intern with a professional and you show dedication and passion, when you get little jobs of your own, you can lease a camera from your boss. (You guys must have a good working relationship though).
If your head is in the right place, you start saving for your dream camera.
While you’re waiting to boss up your bank account, you’re learning from a pro and gaining valuable experience. By the time your account balance is properly balanced, you’ll be ready in every ramification.
Fashion (Styling)
For this particular trait, you’ll need to have interest for fashion. Wait a minute, do you consider yourself a slay queen/slay mama or a slay king?? Whenever you upload pictures, people are commenting things like ‘give them, oshey baddest, hot mama, and hot sauce’ then you’re not far away from making money.
I have a stylist friend. What she does is tell you how to combine your cloths and rock them, sometimes help you shop trendy clothing’s and she gets paid. Voila! She gets paid for her knowledge.
If you’re into fashion and love to play dress up, monetize your talent. Read up on being a stylist. Social media is bae. Get your first clients from your fans and friends. Zero capital required.
Food
No one says no to food. If you love to cook, snap your stuff and post online. Start cooking for little gatherings.
Birthday parties, get-together etc. What do you think Chef Francis does online especially on instagram? Get the gist and speed up your life. Stop cooking for free for annoying older brothers. Make money from your natural skill.
Natural Hair Industry
We may not realize this yet but natural hair is the next big industry in Nigeria. More and more women are going back to their natural hair thanks to the likes of Viola Davis and Chimamanda Adichie.
According to the last population census in Nigeria, the population of women in Nigeria is about 70 million. As far as the hair industry is concerned, this means a huge market for hair and hair related products.
The average female in Nigeria spends a lot of money on her hair even before getting to high school. If you can start learning now on how to style and take proper care of natural hair, in a matter of months you’ll be a hot cake. Literally!