Neighbourhood Surveillance

It's been a fantastic year. So far so good.  Sorry if I forgot to send the usual new year greetings. We've been 2 weeks into 2014 already.  Well, happy new year (guess it's never too late!).
This year I have a very unusual idea that centers around security.  Hmm, security we all need it.  If you feel you have nothing to lose, toy with the idea of losing the little you have and the message really hits home.

We particularly need security in our homes.  Why  do I think so? after installing burglar proof doors and caging up, after keeping all manner of weird looking animals as pet, I still think we need further security. This thought was what birth the idea I'm sharing today.We all want to keep our families as safe as possible. We have locks on our doors, alarm systems, large dogs (or small angry overconfident ones). Many of us even have a neighborhood watch, which in most cases consists of a couple of old men with whistle who walk or drive around the neighborhood once in a while, shining their flashlights on stuff.

I want you to consider your neighborhood watch as the outer-layer of your home network perimeter security. Perimeter security is as important as firewalls, anti-virus, and wireless security because all those things won't help you if a bad guy comes into your house and steals your computer.

Let's take some perimeter security concepts, mix them with a little social media, add a dash of networked surveillance and see if we can bring the old neighborhood watch concept into the 21st century.

In an average household, the home is 'alone' for about 12 hours, when kids go to school and adults go to work. Then comes the night time when everyone sleeps and we leave protection to God, notwithstanding our little effort at securing ourself as I've mentioned above, security guards, dogs, burglar proofs and what have you.

A security system that monitors the home visually can be installed.  It covers the entire building, if there's intrusion, it captures the image of the culprits.  The cameras used for these sort of surveillance at times have motion sensors built in.

So how do we monetize this seemingly obvious concept?
I believe if you make a good presentation people will pay an extra to you, just as they pay the guard who comes to sleep outside your house at night, if you get what I mean.

For a building you'll need: IP cameras, Internet (if you want remote viewing), router, media storage. Some of the IP cameras are even battery powered (so you wont bother about PHCN commercial breaks); they have SD card slot for recording when network connection is lost.

So, you can tell who enters, who's at the gate, and peradventure there is an incidence, you'll get an opportunity to identify the perpetrators.

Without remote viewing you can set this up with less than 75k. Thats a paltry 6k per month.
Now lets look at the big picture; suppose you get buy in from a street, an estate? It could be the beginning of another PLC.  Want to further drill down on this idea? Shoot me a mail or just comment and lets have fun discussing it.  Cheers.

Event Video Streaming

Ever imagined a party service where you'll host a live stream of the event online for guests that cannot attend?  It could be one off.
Live streaming, refers to content delivered live over the Internet, requires a camera for the media, an encoder to digitize the content, a media publisher, and a content delivery network to distribute and deliver the content.
If you're new to video streaming or you don't really understand the concept of online media streaming you can check this link for an intro.

Most of us would love to attend that party, birthday, burial, house warming, you name it. But at times our schedule just won't let us. This idea will bridge that gap.
Just as most folks will get the services of a video coverage guy, a photographer, they can as well get the service of a video streaming guy. It will add to the fun.  For a period of time (one week, one month, 4 months or even a year).

With its own website and comments, email options, where guests can post pictures.
You can make guests log in to participate.
So go ahead and do your home work. You'll need of course a camera, an Internet plan, a hosting plan.  All these will determine your cost price. I'm sure it'll be cheaper than TV airtime. Give it a shot.
If you want to brainstorm or collaborate on this, shoot me a mail.
Check https://www.ustream.tv/platform/plans, for pricing of plans.
Merry Christmas.
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N80m Worth of Business 30k Startup

Most people will agree with me that transport business is a great business.  But the challenge is usually with the driver or the vehicle.
Well, what business doesn't have its Achilles heals.  Today, I'll be discussing the transport business in a different dimension.

Patiently follow my pitch.

Almost everyone gets to move from point A to B.  It becomes a little complex, when time, stress, traffic and convenience becomes an issue.

We all spend money in transporting ourselves whether you are a commuter, a motorist, or one who has a hired driver to drive him around.

Now I classify everyone into 4 groups using Lagos as my primary environment.

1.       Group A. are the typical commuters that’ll rather take a commercial ‘danfo’ or BRT bus to get to their destination.  Some do this trip daily from as far as Alagbado, Ogba, Ikeja etc to Victoria Island.  They spend an average of N1000 on a return trip. Notwithstanding the rush, rude conductor, inconvenience, traffic, and the filth they’ll encounter.  This group will pay N20,000 per month on transportation.

2.       Group B. this group are commuters that do same trip as group A. the difference is that they, rather than go with the commercial buses, they opt for a paid ‘chartered’, ‘drop’ cab.  They pay an average of N3000 on a return trip. Making a monthly average of N60,000 on transportation.

3.       Group C. This category of people have their own cars. Only downside is the stress of driving through the traffic of our busy metropolis, and the effect it has on the cars and of course on their health.  They spend an average N25,000 to fuel the car.  Asides the stress, likely breakdown, insurance, sleep deprivation etc. that cannot be quantified.

4.       Group D.  The last group is just like group C, only that, they get a private driver to chauffeur them at an average cost of N30,000. Making a total of N55,000 per month.

 The perceived earning power of Group A may not allow them fit into this business model.

So what if you tell each person in Group B – D that you’ll provide them a uniformed driver, a brand new Air Conditioned car, to pick up at home and drop them off at work daily for a paltry N50,000 for one month circle, do you think it’ll be a bargain for them?

They won’t have to drive, they won’t fuel the car, they won’t need to service the car, and they won’t need to pay the driver. Hmm.

If your gut says yes.  Keep reading or stop if otherwise, because it gets more ridiculous.

Good you think it’ll probably work.

Now your deal with these guys is for pick up and drop off, say within the hours of 5am to 8.30am and 5.30pm to 9pm.

Again, What if you tell a company that you’ll provide them a brand new car with chauffeur for their pool at a cost of 70,000 per month.  They won’t pay the driver salary nor pension, they won’t maintain nor fuel the car, if the car breaks down you’ll send a replacement.  Do you think it’ll be a bargain for them?

 Your deal with them will be within the hours of 9am – 5pm.

If you have a buy in from both individuals and company you are in business.

Well sounds nice and catchy hmm? But how will it be funded?  Lets say you'll need about NGN 30,000, yes Thirty thousand naira only. 

Further info email me with blog subject as your mail subject.  Great week.
Image curtesy, idriveyourcar.com

Untapped Online Financial Wells

Drop Shipping

The internet is indeed the greatest thing that happened to the human race in recent times.

This week I want us to look into the online business.  It’s a huge industry.  You can sell practically anything online.  This means you are not limited by location.  You can be anywhere and sell to anyone. It’s fantastic. 

However majority of us don’t take advantage of this, as we’ll rather just send emails and check out friend’s status on Facebook – interesting.  The time you spend online can begin to yield better returns to the point that you may become more comfortable financially.

This week I’ll be discussing Drop Shipping.

Drop shipping is a retail method in which merchandise is shipped to the customer directly from the warehouse or supplier rather than from the retailer. When a product is sold, the retailer passes along the customers' order information to the wholesaler or supplier who then packages and ships the product. This process minimizes the risk to you, as a retailer, because you do not need to buy the product until it has sold. Suppliers take care of the warehousing, packaging, and shipping of products, saving you a great deal of money.

Drop shipping is not a 'get-rich-quick' scheme. As with any business, it takes dedication and hard work to be successful. However, there are distinct benefits to using drop shipping in your online retail business:

• You can become a retailer without needing to invest large amounts of money.
• You can start a business with very little risk.
• You don't have to carry inventory or pay for inventory upfront—if the product doesn't sell, you never have to buy it.
• You don't have to buy packaging materials and shipping labels, nor will you need a shipping account.
• You purchase products at wholesale pricing and set your own retail prices.

Before I discuss the global perspective to this, allow me to add this for my Nigerian audience.  Perhaps you’ve seen a local business or product that you like, you can have an arrangement with them to sell on their behalf.  You don’t stock you don’t commit any funds without a sale.  Your job is to setup the site and get buyers to buy the goods.  You will need to get your info right on shipping and handling.

I once sold shoes designed by a local cobbler.  They were really nice shoes and I knew they will sell.  So I approached the cobbler and we had an arrangement.  I sold those shoes without a single investment.  That was offline, imagine the possibilities of an online arrangement.  I won’t be surprised that your Konga.com and Jumia.com do drop shipping (just a thought, don’t mean to insinuate anything).

Needless to say, your integrity and trustworthiness are key to great sales in this line of business.  Get your buyers to post feedbacks of every successful transaction and you are onto going big time.

Well, back to the global dimension of things, the merchant handles all of the customer service, billing, shipping, etc. The product, as shipped, may be labelled with the website owner's logo, etc. but all of the back end stuff is handled by the merchant.  The website owner does not take title to the goods, but is free to apply a mark-up over the merchant's wholesale pricing, as opposed to receiving a commission as would an affiliate. The site owner's shopping cart is simply a mirror of the merchant's in the ideal situation. Any profit earned by the site owner is paid by the merchant to the site owner.

Well if you are interested in brainstorming further on this you can comment or start a discussion on my brainstorming page.

Great week ahead.
Images courtesy,smashingmagazine.com,  

Protecting Your Idea

Well I’m writing this piece because of some concerns raised by individuals following this blog.

There has been so much concern about the security of that winning idea.  How do you ensure that the moment you share the idea it doesn't just get hijacked? The fear of venturing, of partnering or discussing your idea pervades our minds, and rather than sharing we just keep it to our self.

This action as protective as it seems, can slow down the actualization
of that idea or in most cases someone else may come up with something similar then you say to yourself ‘let’s just forget it’.

I must confess I've been a victim of this over and again, but I've along the line learnt.  When you have an idea you get so excited, can’t eat, and can’t sleep.  Anyone that cares to discuss it, you go all the way spilling the entire concept from A to Z.  All out of excitement, in turn, your listener may do same, and in the process of sampling opinions also end up detailing the concept.  The circle goes on and on. Before you know it, someone who is more eager to take the first step than you, get started and voila! it becomes ‘their thing’.  You end up mopping for a few days thereafter you move on, while others are cashing in on your brainchild.

The fact that most ideas often require a kind of brainstorming; making something obvious that was not so initially, does not mean we should tell everything we know about the idea.  There are poachers no doubt waiting for the blueprint to be shared.  In the long run, when you discover you've been snitched all the seemingly fantastic ideas end up going down Jettison Avenue.

This need not be so.

Every business enterprise begins with an idea but doesn't end with it.

There are other underlying decisions that drive it:

How do you get it to the market?

What makes it unique?

How do you monetize it? How do you price it?

What is the operational strategy to draw attention to it?

How do you package it?

How and when do you launch it?

All these become your trade secret.

It’s not enough to think bringing yam from the north to the south is great business.  Since the yam is cheaper in the north, and the south have consumers ready to buy, the profit margin is good…  There are questions of transportation, preservation, storage etc. that come up and you need to look into these, proffer solution, write down a strategy and have a plan before you even think of venturing into deep waters.  All that need not be spilled at a pitch session.

Except it’s a giveaway like some of the ideas I’ll be sharing here, DO NOT detail your entire concept.

I expect something like:

 ‘Making a fortune from Yam. Turnover in 6 months, minimal risk, easy and convenient buyback plan, Low Start-up investment.’

Anyone who is interested in that will definitely get in touch and we can have an NDA signed, then you can share the concept without risk.

There are a lot of ideas about doing a particular thing that is why we have industries.  The banking industry have loads of institution carving niches for themselves in the way they do banking.  The Aviation industry have several airlines doing business in their own unique way.  Same goes for telecommunication, furniture, manufacturing, hospitality, automobile industries.  All these are different ways of doing the same thing.  How they do it then defines the edge they have above the competition.

These part of bringing the idea to life is not shared on social media.  Except of course your audience have signed a Non-Disclosure Agreement.  That is why in this blog there’s room for those interested in a particular idea to collaborate privately.  They can agree to signing documents and work together on the idea as a project.  All that aspect won’t be visible to the World Wide Web.

So let’s have an initial pitch of the raw idea.  If you decide to sell, collaborate and brainstorm afterwards it’s your choice.

Additional Resources

How to protect your business idea without a patent    
How to protect your product or idea when pitching it to a company
Trademark and Patent Registration in Nigeria

The Bag wrap Business

 If you've used a padlock on your luggage before, while going on a trip, this should interest you. 

Nigerians are the most heavily laden travelers in the world.  For want of expression in plain language let’s say we are the ones that mostly have excess luggage at the airports.

You see we are a social people having a thousand and one relative to shop or deliver errands for.  It however surprises me that we do not as at the time of this write-up  have a bubble wrap service at our airports.  Once it cost me about £9.5 to wrap a bag from London en route Lagos.  I was with 2 heavy laden, and almost thread bear bags.  Content? Personal stuff and errands.  I dare not allow the bags spill their content.  The wrapping was a worthy insurance.

"We completely seal the luggage and all zips, pockets and straps with stretch plastic wrap but we bring out the handles and wheels," he said.
"It has an advantage over padlocks because the most common point of entry is through the teeth of the zipper, with a ballpoint pen or wire that can be re-zipped.
"But once the plastic is pierced it is obvious so people can pick up their luggage at the carousal and know with the plastic if it hasn't been touched."

He said the method also offered protection against theft and handling damage” that was the elated expressions of a bag wrap businessman.

This business protects the travelers luggage from:

• Theft/Pilferage
• Damage
• Foul Weather (Rain, snow, etc.)
• Manipulation
• Mishandling
• Wear and tear
• Stains
• Scratches
• Accidental openings
• Introduction of unauthorized items

Nigerians are the most heavily laden travelers in the world.  For want of expression in plain language let’s say we are the ones that mostly have excess luggage at the airports.

You see we are a social people having a thousand and one relative to shop or deliver errands for.  It however surprise me that we do not as at the time of this write-up  have a bubble wrap service at our airports.  Once it cost me about £9.5 to wrap a bag from London en route Lagos.  I was with 2 heavy laden, and almost thread bear bags.  Content? Personal stuff and errands.  I dare not allow the bags spill their content.  The wrapping was a worthy insurance.
I have not really done much research on this, to find out why we dont have such at our main  international airport, but, I called a friend that works at the airport and he told me none exist.  It'll be worth the exploring.
In 2009 the airport served 5,644,572 passengers. (Source Wikipedia). The Airport serves about 26 international airlines and it's the hub for international travel in Nigeria.  imagine having a wrap stand at the departure hall of the airport charging an average of N500 per bag wrapped.  You'll be looking at an average weekly income of 200k.
Want to give it a go? 'keyboard' me.
If you're interested in further discourse,partnering on this idea or brainstorming, email me and I will arrange a meeting between all interested parties.  Make the subject of this blog your email subject.

Launching out

I seek a forum for expressing the creative ideas that drops into my mind.

The muse is always with me. I cannot as one man carry out all the ideas.  This forum is for people like me to unburden themselves of the ideas and to share with others who may implement it in making a living and improving on our society.

The more problem we solve the more money we make, and the more help we can render.

So join me in this forum as I drop one after the other different ideas that will change your life.  Feel free to comment and ask questions, we can all learn and improve on it; and hopefully someone will implement it and we all will be fulfilled.

I have in my own way researched the ideas, I have documentations for them, for those interested.  Of course if you want this documentations you’ll have to email me

I’ll appreciate also, those who need to pitch their ideas to do so on the pitch page. Those who need to brainstorm further are free to express themselves on the post.

In the next few weeks I’ll be writing on businesses you can start with little or no capital.   My target audience are Nigeria residence or anyone who may be interested.

Well, see you around.

Afemo