12 BUSINESSES THAT CAN BE DONE IN A NEW SITE OR AN UNDEVELOPED AREA
My experience in a new site or undeveloped area of Lagos and Lagos outskirt of Ogun state of Nigeria has opened my eyes to the ordeal of the residents of new site. I believe it will go a long way to help those residing in these areas all over Nigeria both in the area of meeting their immediate needs and surviving in what they can do to earn a living.
Recalling from peoples’ past experiences, many people were forced to pack to their building with no proper planning to move at the time they left for their own house, this could be due to inability of renewal of house rent, inability to relate well with landlord and some other life’s challenges.
The Need to Start a Business
Most time the situation that surrounds relocation to a new site or undeveloped area are new challenges, many people among those who have relocated were financially down. This is nothing but the expenses incurred during and after their relocation to the new site.
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Start a Physical Shop
This is advisable because new area always have challenges of so many needs; therefore selling different things in the shop will be a relief for you to have additional income. You will do well to sell many things one could think of as you are starting. I guess that you may be thinking of what to sell. There are lots of things to sell according to your capacity – I mean your starting capital. The items may include the list below: 
Selling of Plastic Product: Water bottles, rubber sandals, buckets, coolers/warmers, food flask, Chairs and Tables, Kegs, Hand Fans, Trays etc
Farm Products: Cassava/Yam flower (Elubo), Pepper of different kinds, Tomatoes, Garri, Semolina, Wheat, Yam, Palm Oil (Epo), Vegetables, Alubosa (Onions), Vegetable Oil, egg etc
Raw/packed Food: Macaroni, Noodles of different kinds (Indomie, Chicken-Chicken, O. Noodles, Honeywell), Spaghetti, Bread, Donut, puff-puff, chin-chin, cake, Beans cake (akara), all kinds of small chops, buns, different types of chips, sweets, candy, chocolate, biscuits, pop corn etc
Drinks: Sachet /Table Water, Zobo, wine, fruit juice, Coke, Malts, drinks of different kinds etc.
You can sell any useful item needed in the community.
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Baby Care Centre
Day care is encouraged due to the fact that some of the people who relocated to undeveloped areas are most time busy with one business or the other in their former locations which they cannot quit immediately they relocate to the new area, they would have to look for alternative. Some would look for house maid which is not the best compared to baby care centre. A child needs capable hands that would properly cater for him or her just like the real mother would care for him or her.
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Food Shop/Supply
Food is important for every living being, there is no person that does not eat. You can start this in a little way especially if you are very good in hospitality and cooking, the reason why one has to start in a little way is that, new area does not always contain large number of people, it is only artisans like bricklayers, welders, suppliers of sand and gravel and labourers that works with them. If one doesn’t prepare little food that could be finished by the artisans, it might become a waste. Look at the numbers before you cook.
Please note that you don’t need to be thinking or bothered to start in a bigger way, many people always think of starting business in a bigger way. I just read of a woman that started food business with N650.00, the business has now grown into multi-million naira company business. Don’t despise the small beginning!
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Barbing/Hairdressing Salon
Taking care of our hair when it is grown beyond what we like and beautifying ourselves with good style of hair cut and hairdo cannot be overlooked in a new location. With this point, there is need for a salon where one could make him/herself look beautiful. Barbing and hairdressing jobs will be of advantage to those who are good in this area especially when they are good at it and start on time before the arrival of other people to the new location. With little capital and space, you can kick start the business.
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Transport Service
Many people who left main city for undeveloped sites needs to move from their location to their various destinations on a daily basis, someone that knows how to drive can start the business whether on a full time or part-time. Part time could be when people are going out in the morning and when they are coming back in the evening.
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Health Care Centre
This type of work is only meant for qualified professionals in the field, it is not to be practiced by just anybody, there use to be health challenges in a new site just as it is in other places. But living in a new location can also add to being ill most time. This could be as a result of mosquito bite and transferring of another person’s blood to another and other injuries that one might involve in. Starting health centre or a clinic is one of the best to embark on.
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Computer Centre
The world is now closer than ever before with the use of computer and internet. An experience person in computer and internet can start operating computer centre for people to be trained.Most time, computer training centre or school used to be scarce in an undeveloped site. This makes people travel far to be trained. My experience in 6years of staying in my community shows that a computer training centre is highly needed in a new community. Secondary school leavers would have to board vehicle or ride on motorcycle before finding a computer training centre.
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Real Estate Agent
Landed and housing Property is lucrative business in Nigeria. When looking for a space, plots or acres and buildings beginning from shops, uncompleted and completed buildings, someone that relocated earlier to a new site could engage in such a business.
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Rental Services
Rental service is of different kind but the one I want to discuss is of building tools or instruments. Shovels, water-tank, mould for block molding, digger etc had served as a means to earn income and it is still working till date. This is because many of the artisans would not go along with all these tools due to long distance; they prefer to rent at the site.
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Water Supply Services
Everybody needs water, we need water for many things especially in the new site where building project is being carried on a daily basis, and workers especially the bricklayers would need water for mixing of cement regularly. There is no way the bricklayers would work without using water. It would be of advantage for an individual who just relocated to the new site to start water supply service to generate income.
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Building Materials
Selling of Cement, planks, nails, iron, plum, roofing sheets of different kinds, paints, tiles, pipes and many other materials are essential and needful in any of the undeveloped areas. It would be a wise decision if one could think and start one of these materials. Of course, not all of these materials would be bought from the main city if they are available at the site. Some people at times deposit money for different materials needed to the nearby and trusted seller. Nearness to the work site is an added benefit to the buyer.
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Block Molding
This is another area that one can look into. Block can be mold with manual mold or machine for vibrated block. Whichever one you want to choose, it is still a means to earn a living. People will always need to buy blocks for building even if the new site eventually developed.
Benefits of starting a new business in an undeveloped area or a new site.
To get Income – you will earn a living through money which you worked for.
Meeting Needs – meeting your needs and that of people in the new site.
Developing the site – the new site would be developing gradually.
Building future – future of generations that will dominate the community is being taken care of.
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