BUSINESS PASSPORT

MANAGING PERSONAL FINANCES IN A RECESSION Over the last 5 years, Nigeria has continued to witness a persistent increase in the price of goods and services, this is happening at a geometric rate. This is owing to the fact that the fall in oil prices in the global market is piling pressure on Nigeria to devalue the Naira, as such this has seen the Naira weaken from N199.56/$ in 2015 to N385.91/$ in 2020. The reality today is that while goods purchased 5 years ago have either doubled or tripled in prices the average salary of Nigerian citizens have either remained unchanged or witnessed a minimal increase. How the Recession Affects Personal Finances: While salaries remain constant and the prices of goods continue to increase, you will realize that one can only do a little with the same salary compared to the number of things he can a few years ago. Let us look at Mr XYZ's personal budget below to understand how the recession hits our personal finances. His salary as of 2015 was N50,00...

RETAIL LOGISTICS AND DELIVERY: THE NEW CASH POINT Countries around the world are still counting their losses from the effect of the Covid19 pandemic on their economies. Businesses had no choice but to deal with months of lockdown in a bid to contain the spread of the deadly virus; this resulted in a massive loss of jobs and massive downsizing of staff strength by business owners. The lockdown period was such that people around the world were confined to staying in their homes for months until governments around the world feel comfortable to partially or completely lift the stay at home directives based on the number of cases in their countries. Despite the negative impact created by the pandemic across the globe, online retail businesses have witnessed positive growth. According to the U.S Department of Commerce data, consumers spent up to 30.1% more on online retail between January and June 2020 when compared to the same period in 2019. The Nigerian online retail business space has al...

O ftentimes the Professionals in Nigeria want to have an additional source of income because their salaries are not enough to cater to all their needs, they think of investing some of their funds in small businesses. Most times these businesses struggle and fail, leaving the investors in debt and financial instability. The reason for a large number of failing small businesses in Nigeria is that most people base the choice of their business on assumptions rather than identifying a problem or the need for a product or service and making sure their business is designed to meet such needs. Assumption  VS  Obvious Necessity Assumption   Investor A thinking:   There is no lovely boutique in this area where I can buy good quality footwear, I am sure there will be people who love good quality footwear. Decision: I need to open a boutique where people can buy quality footwear.     Obvious Necessity Investor B thinking: Every morning, there is a long queue in this ar...