Short on cash but dreaming of starting your own business? There are many business ideas waiting to be discovered even if you can afford to spend only N20,000.

Businesses You Can Start with N20,000

Here, we have curated a list of 8 business ideas that you can start with N20,000 and start making a profit immediately. We have also included some tips on how to set up these businesses.

1. Sale of Beddings and Bedsheets

Regardless of where you stay, selling beddings and bedsheets can become a big business if you put effort into it. However, you will gain more profit if you live in a school area where students are constantly in need of such materials.

You will need less than N20,000 to start up this business. To get customers, you can start advertising to your friends and tell them to help spread the word. You can also go to social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram to post pictures of your profits and get more customers.

2. Sales of men’s clothes

Getting just one piece of men’s shirt or jeans might be too costly for your budget so you can focus on just men’s underwear. Take a trip to Aba Market where the most popular types are being produced. You can purchase in bulk and sell them as singles or packs of three.

You can also purchase a large umbrella and wheelbarrow (fairly used) and make your way to popular stops or marketplaces to sell the underwear.

3. Laundry Service

From clothes, beddings, to curtains, everyone has something that won’t have enough time to deal with and would prefer to push it to others that have that time. You will find much success in this business venture if done in an area with working-class and career individuals with busy work or business schedules that take their time.

You could also earn more in areas where the power supply is erratic. Starting out, you might have to use your home as your office as well as wash by hand. As you gain more profit and customers, you can set up an actual office, get a washing machine and hire washer-men and pressers to speed up the process.

4. Housing Cleaning Service

Just like the laundry service, a home cleaning business is most likely to succeed if you stay in an area with working-class individuals. You can start out working for small homes and where you have established a brand, you can expect bigger clients to hire you to clean their offices.

To get you started, you can get your cleaning equipment and create business cards. Share them through your family and friends to spread the word out.

5. Web Design

If you have a thing for programming, then going into web development and design could be the easiest way to make money on a small budget. Having programming skills beforehand would be a plus, however, if you don’t, you can sign up for programming courses on sites like Udemy.

Starting out, you can focus on courses that teach you how to design simple websites like blogs. This should give you a bit of experience and you could make some money off these blogs. You can then move on to designing shopping sites for big firms. Web development means you’d have to get familiar with tools like WordPress, Joomla as well as hosting services.

Getting a company to work for once you’ve gained the needed experience and skills won’t be that hard. Sites like Fiverr and Upwork bring web developers and clients together. You can register on these platforms to start building your CV and client base before moving on to work for big corporations.

6. Graphic Design

Graphic design is in the same field like web development, however, it is a much simpler skill. You will have to be creative here and if you’re already great at drawing images, then you should have no problem with this skill. If you’re not good at software like Photoshop and CorelDraw, then you would need some practice.

There are tons of free content on YouTube that can help you get started or you could go to Udemy to get courses on graphic design that would provide more reliable information. Still, you won’t have to spend a dime to learn graphic design if you’re very creative.

When you’re done with your training, you can head to websites like Freelancer, Upwork, and Fiverr and open an account as a graphic designer. You could also get gigs by advertising on local sites.  Simply go to local forums and register. Make a post talking about your skills and what you have to offer. You can do this on popular forums like nairaland.

Graphic design is a sought-after skill in Nigeria. There are tons of companies that need fliers as well as magazines, newsletters, and many types of print media in need of graphic design services. You could easily make lots of money off this skill on freelance websites as well as by offering local services.

7. Recharge Card Selling

The recharge card business can turn out to be your best business venture if you’re in the right location and could also become a waste of money. If you’re on a tight budget like you have only N20,000 to spend to start your business, you could get an umbrella, a chair, and a table, and purchase the recharge card in bulk and start your business.

There is little profit with every card sold, however, being in the right location could see you cash out at least N3,000 daily which is close to N100,000 a month. You could add other services like registering SIM Cards to your business as it grows.

8. Phone Repair Services

Phone repair is a tough one in the sense that you would never be able to get overwhelmingly rich from this business. This is due to the Nigerian mentality of looking for the lowest prices for a service. However, you can make some profit to boost your financial status. To learn how to repair phones, you would have to meet the phone repairers themselves as they will let you watch them as they make repairs. You might have to pay them but if you know the person, you won’t have to spend much to learn this skill.

When you’re done with your training, you would have to set up shop and get some equipment. You can start with the basics like replacing broken screens and fixing charging ports before moving to other complex repairs.

9. Social Media Marketing

This skill requires no cost if you’re naturally gifted at pulling a crowd, however, you’d want to check some YouTube videos on how to handle a social media marketing job. In simple terms, a social media marketer is a person that handles the social media accounts and channels of a business, company, or firm. As a social media marketer, you will be responsible for bringing new customers as well as running ads to ensure that the brand gets more exposure. You will also be responsible for making posts on the company’s social media pages.

You can purchase books, check YouTube videos, as well as, purchase courses on Udemy that will teach you all the tips you need to know as a social media marketer. When you’re fully equipped with all the right information, you can head off to platforms like Fiverr, Upwork, and Freelancer to offer your service.