What is your greatest fear in Life? Loss of income, Ill Health, Loss of job, Family security? The list goes on. Today the world is so insecure. No country in the world today can secure the future of any person, unless of course if you are in government and have a meal ticket that will cover you for a life time. Long ago, Great Britain had a welfare system. Once you were a British citizen of whatever race, and unemployed, you were entitled to a certain amount of money every week. Some people believe that it was this system that made the Caucasian British lazy and reject certain jobs like security men, cleaners, taxi drivers and many others. Nobody ever made real money from a job without having a stake in the company. They can never pay you enough!
But there is a way out. Look for other sources of income and make them work for you. The classical example I give in my classes is a lady who works in the busy city of Lagos, Nigeria in a government office that requires a commitment of hours between 8am and 5pm. Whenever I discuss this topic, the responses I get are varied but similar: “I do not have time”, “It is against the civil service law to do that”, “ I could get sacked if I am caught doing that”! Well all of these responses are right. What you see is what you get. Or perhaps it is more accurate to say: What you look for is what you get!
First of all I talk about writing. There are thousands of civil servants who have a passion and gift of writing and do not embark upon it. Now I am not saying write a column in a newspaper and get yourself exposed or write about your work and go against the secrecy oath you swore on assumption of duty. This is not what I am talking about. Professor Chinua Achebe the Nigerian literary scholar wrote Things Fall Apart as a full time civil servant, many of his contemporaries worked somewhere and wrote their books and periodicals at the same time! All they did was to find time to do what they loved outside of their jobs. And eventually, they made money out of it! Now you may not be a writer. But there is something you can do outside of that daily job that you are not satisfied with. If you do not work in a government office and you have a passion for writing then you can write a column in the local daily and organize an occasional talk shop about the topic that touches your heart.
Most working class people do not think of other sources of income until they are faced with a threat to their major source! Sometimes this can be a major problem because if the only source is drying up then we become under pressure to pay bills and meet family commitments. So why wait? I have promised myself this year that I am going to make two additional sources of income.
Now back to lady I mentioned earlier. She has a passion for cooking. She knows how to cook all manner of soups and stews imaginable. So she decided to change her talent into a business. Twice a week she would load her car boot with soups and stews in plastic containers iced for preservation and she would sell them to her coworkers for a price. There is a case of another lady who saved some money and applied for a visa to China to go and purchase clothing. She worked full time in Accra as an office assistant at one of the radio stations. She would spread he three week leave over three months and spend a week in China three times in a year. Her car boot also became her shop for women and men’s corporate wear! Before long she also opened a finance and loan business right there in the office. Offering loans at little interest to her colleagues who got broke before the end of the month. Now I have given two examples and there are many more. But the bottom line is if you are reading this you need to create your own source. Not everybody has the passion for cooking or selling clothing. Find what works for you and make a business out of it.
Farming and land prospecting is another source of great income. There are certain crops that require little attention by way of watering and weeding and that nine out of 10 times give a maximum yield. Two crops that have attracted my focus this year are plantain and Cassava. If you live and work in a tropical climate you would be familiar with these crops. Plantain is large kind of banana that is a staple food in many parts of Africa the Caribbean and South America. Cassava is a root potato kind of crop which is eaten in various forms all over Africa and the Caribbean. Plantain trees, like banana trees multiply so fast. It takes a crop of plantain 10 months to reach maturity while cassava takes only six months. Both of the crops are in high demand locally and can also be exported. Now we do not have the time or space for export details here so you may have to do your own research.
Suppose I do not have the land to farm? Well think of something else. As a newspaper correspondent in Lagos, Nigeria years ago I used to moonlight as a television producer, I even worked as a radio programme producer too. I have a friend who moonlighted as a scriptwriter for the local television station. Now all this requires extra effort and hours. Suppose you are the kind of person who does not have the energy to do something else, what do you do? Find a way to invest some of the income you have saved.
Now before I address the investment process it is important that we talk about savings. There are a lot of views about savings. A stock broker or investment expert would tell you that keeping money in a bank is like putting fire in your cash! The economists talk about inflation creeping in on your savings and them eventually becoming worthless. But the motivational speakers say if you can save painstakingly over a long period in an account that yields interest at the bank, you could have a tremendous amount of money at the end of the day. Now the overwhelming question here is: which is right? Well my answer might shock you: Both are right! The process and system of investment and savings is outlined in the very interesting treatise, The Richest Man In Babylon by George S. Clason. The books talks about savings and investment. So we ought to do both. One of the greatest challenges of investment is the lack of finance. How do I get the extra money to start ? Well you have options. You can painstakingly raise the money little by little or you can look for a financier. The bank is often the first place that comes to mind when we seek financial aid. In some countries, unless you approach the bank through a Small and Medium Scale Enterprise scheme it is totally impossible to get a loan.
If you can help it don’t go to the bank! If you must go to the bank go with your eyes open armed with questions and make sure that you get a third party to read the loan agreement before you sign it. If you have decided that the bank loan is the best way out for you don’t take the exact amount you need! Take excess. We have often seen entrepreneurs both small and big take the exact amount of money they need from the bank and end up suffering when it is time to pay back. Interest payments on loans from a bank are as regular as every month. Some banks may give you the grace of one month and then you have to start paying. If you cannot pay or if you miss a payment, then it is accumulated. Often you find out that if you do not complete payments on schedule you end up paying more than you bargained for. Owing the bank and struggling in a business can be a heart rendering agonizing situation. I have seen it happen before and it can make you sick.
So if you can raise a little money through savings then eventually invest it in what you are aiming at you could make head way. Another question that comes from this is: How do I save? You save by deducting a fixed amount from your salary or income every month or as regularly as you get it. For adults who are paying schools fees and have numerous commitments this can be quite challenging. One systematic way of doing it is by arranging for your bank to do an automatic deduction from your salary every month. If you can commit to this you would end up saving some money over a period of time and then you can engage in the process of reinvesting it. We must sound an alarm bell here: as much as possible try not do deplete all of your savings!
Now you can start a new business or you can simply invest a little cash in a cooporative or join an online club and get into network marketing. We do not have enough space to address network marketing in this session. But there are bona fide clubs we can join and earn money on a part time bases. One of them is avenuestowealth.com.
The bottom line is that there is always something more you can do. There is always a way of earning more money. I am leaving you today with a box of things we list for people who are planning for retirement. But the truth is that these things can actually be done while you are working at that business or holding down that full time job.
- Fish farming catering
- Livestock Enterprise Water Vending
- Plantain and Potato Chip Production Gas Vending
- Soap Production Meat Supply
- Soap Production Vulcanizing Enterprise
- Toothpick production Child and Elderly services
- Macaroni Production and Janitorial Services
- Cassava Garri Production Telecommunication
- Laundry and Dry Cleaning Newspaper Vending
- Car Wash Driving School photography
- Hairdressing and Barbering Salon Business Centre
- Dress making and Fashion Design Security Organization
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