STARTING THE OKRIKA BIZ? THEN THIS IS FOR YOU!
Are you planning on starting the Okrika hustling just like me? If yes, then continue reading.
If you are thinking or planning to start the Okrika business, the first thing you will need is to decide on the niche you want to go into. When a newbie calls “hello ma, I’m new in the business, I want to go into shoes, clothes, bags, men wears …what do you think?” I say to them, it’s okay for you to want to do everything but as a newbie, you must first of all start from one. Yes put just a feet into the water to determine how deep the water is before putting the other feet.
How do you know which is right for you to start with? Well I do tell every newbies two things;
(1) Research and find out which of the niche moves fast in your location
(2) Or sit and think of that particular niche you are more passionate about as in the one that you know you can handle well without stress.
For instance if in your location, the demand for ladies polo top is high and you are the type that don’t know how to relate with ladies well, you might have difficulty selling the ladies polo top and whereas, if you are the type that is passionate about children and you love everything that pertains to children, you might find yourself selling children wares like shoes, clothes, toys faster than the ladies tops. The bottom line is, go for what you can sell without much stress.
Once you have decided what will work for you, then put your budget together. Knowing how much money you will need to get you started is very important. Though it’s been noticed that most newbies always want to start big but I do advise they start small then grow the business big. I personally started the okrika hustling with a big sack of clearance worth five thousand naira and that is the same trick I use for my mentees. Any ways, it doesn’t mean you can’t start big, yes you can! It’s all an individual choice. Whichever way you are starting the business, big or small, make sure you have a short-range budget that includes a monthly plan for at least one year calendar. Trust me, it will keep you focus. I have my one year budget plan but due to the lock down, some months were cut off so I prepared another one for July to December (six months plan).
After you have achieved the first two mentioned up, then you organize your shop or whatever place you intend to use to display your OK wares. If you will be selling in a shop, an open market floor, road side, under an umbrella, one small corner of your house, bedroom or whatever, organize them. You might need mannequins, display cases, stands, hangers for your wears, it all depends on where you will be using. Everything should be well organized, neat and presentable.
Once everything is up and running, then it’s time to tell the world what you sell. Regardless of whether you are operating an online store or an open market store even if it is on the floor, you have to tell the world. Like I always tell my mentees, Okrika is a shoulting business and one of my OK quote is “na who sabi shout pass dey sell pass”. It’s either you shout online or you shout offline, your choice. You know I laugh whenever some persons say to me “Ah Shile are you saying I should shout? And then I say, yes as part of your test, go to the market, shout, sing, dance and send me a 15 seconds video of you doing the thing” that’s the fun of the business hahahahaha. Then you hear fine boy like me, fine girl like me and then I am like have you heard of the saying “na inside shit money dey” if it’s a lie, ask the first man who started the shit business.
If you are just starting out, looking out for a strategic mentor is a good idea. Don’t fool yourself into thinking that you can do it right away without learning the principles binding the business. Many have wasted a whole full bales and I must tell you that even the experts in the business all got trained before setting out to stand on their own. I went through a rigorous funny training hahahahaha an experience I will share in some weeks to come.
Lastly, remember to seek God’s face and carry him along with your plans before execution. People do say that success, fulfillment and happiness lies in you but I do say your success, fulfillment and happiness lies in the hand of God. Make him the Chief Executive Officer of any business or project you are embarking on then come back and thank me.
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