“There’s no city like Lagos.” is the often used paraphrase but then you have “Abuja is too laid back.”.
In a business sense these two phrases would typically send alarm bells ringing in an Entrepreneur’s head. A person looking to cash in from a dynamic market that is upwardly mobile and looking for a place where innovation is appreciated along with distinction will always choose Lagos. It isn’t even up for debate. In a city of a purported 20 million people and counting you are bound to carve out a sizable niche for yourself or be the go to source of a certain product all through the city. It’s the perfect opportunity to also test yourself against other equally ambitious and creative business minds that will definitely keep your edge sharp and honed.
Or maybe that’s not your scene. Drama has never been your thing. You prefer a tranquil and much saner clime with a clientele aware of their worth, understated and deliberate. You feel you want to work in an environment with a developing business ecosystem which is flexible and constantly adapting to economic and societal changes. You want to develop a deep and loyal customer base rather than become a fad or trend. Maybe Abuja might just be the market for you; Population, just over 5 million and rising. It’s a city gradually becoming home to the newly minted but more importantly, most people with money to spend in the FCT don’t simply throw money at things for the face value, they like a story, they want a deeper connection and they value relationships highly.
The Abuja business climate demands you put on a different kind of show. As it’s a steadily developing market but a knowledgeable one they can smell razzmatazz from a mile away So in my own little way I’ll give a few pointers as to some of the easier ways to get your business up and running in the FCT;
- Get your Business name, email & registration right- When you’ve figured out what kind of business you want to get into it’s best to have a sensible business name figured out along with finding out if it has already been taken by another party at the CAC. A business name search on the CAC website and further inquiries via a lawyer should have this done in under a week. Getting an email address up and running is equally as important so that your communications/correspondences will take on a more professional tone and approach. Putting your best foot forward is above all important.
- Keying into networks- Now this doesn’t work the same way for everybody apart from how you start. Networking begins to work when you tell people you meet and who know you what exactly you do. As long as you are in the right environment someone will have something for you to either chase or something for you to work with. Networking takes a new life of it’s own when you interact with people who do similar things that you do or when you interact with consumers or clients who have the need for your product. You have multiple opportunities for this both physically and virtually. You can seek out expos and events which are guaranteed to have either a significant amount of your competition or your client base to work with physically on one hand or you can find groups on social media or attract clients to your products by creating interesting and immersive content that will introduce traffic to your business page.
- Be willing to communicate- It doesn’t matter if you have a physical office or not in the FCT, what is important is your willingness to communicate properly with customers and potential customers/clients. There will be no need to put on airs or feign accents as long as you can speak audible and coherent English. Please don’t go around with the impression that you have to know how to speak Hausa (except your business dealings are with only Hausas, that’s perfectly fine). A simple command of good English will get you by just as well. Also equally important is the ability to write well detailed and informative emails, text messages or chat properly in the case where you are required to on Whatsapp for business.
- Being time conscious- This isn’t simply about managing your time, it’s also about being conscious of your client’s time as well. Not all clients should be called randomly neither should you find yourself hanging around a client even after long concluding your business with them. Also, be conscious of your deliverables and the time frame which you give to the client/customer. Multiple disappointments create the beginnings of a bad reputation.
- Take your branding seriously- The brand and image of your products is key. How you position it and the association you bring in contact with it goes a long way in determining how people interact with you product/service. Every key association and/or positioning has to be well thought out for the leveraging & exploitation. It might sound mundane but in the thick of it one can easily forget these basics. Pushing your business ahead might lead you towards an unproductive direction a lack of planning and foresight might not reveal to you.
- Encourage Collaborations- This can closely be linked to the previous item discussed because it requires being able to pick the situations & opportunities to position your brand. Working with other creatives, brands and businesses to create a much more sophisticated customer experience is a good way to expose your product/service to a larger client base. This can be most advantageous when cost of operation does not significantly increase as a result of the collaboration with respect to profit.
- Conventional Advertising- The rage is social media and it is understandable to see why going by the increasing level of penetration and interaction it is getting when related to everyday life but it is still important to be reminded that conventional media advertising opportunities is still the go through channel for most people to get first contact with your product/service. If it is something you find that you can afford I strongly advice you consider including it in your marketing budget. A larger percentage of the people with significant disposable income are civil servants in the FCT, a demographic that should never be ignored in order to maintain a sustainable business.
- Get the necessary permits and licences- The Revenue collecting arm of the FCDA is quite ruthless and can be a thorn in the side of any growing business when the required permits, licenses and dues are not paid on time. In truth, I wouldn’t say the FCDA causes as much discomfort as the revenue or council dues/permit collectors in a city like Lagos but you definitely will do better not to be found wanting in these areas. The same also goes for ensuring you have obtained the necessary Tax clearance & EFFC financial status certificate.
- Cultivate Out of town Business transactions- Before entertaining big plans of rapid expansion to neighboring states or other economically viable states it is advisable that your businesses first and foremost begins a steady form of transaction with people who are merely just visiting. This can give you quick impression of what the business is like in the areas and states these out of town clients are coming from while a steady increase of interaction with this demographic will surely increase your revenue. There is the desire to seek fast and quick growth and that should not be ignore but the pulse of the larger Nation can easily be felt in the Abuja market. If it isn’t looking so good, maybe money isn’t moving around equally nearby so cut down on a few expenses and save for the rainy day.
Doing business in Abuja can undoubtedly be interesting but requires a considerable amount of perseverance. To break even might take longer than it would be required to in a city like Lagos but benefit it brings is the sophisticated and loyal client base, so knuckling down and staying focused on the long term benefits is the right strategy to adopt if Abuja is your preferred business market.
