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Misconceptions About Making Money Online In Nigeria

Is making money online in Nigeria only through fraudulent activities?
In this age where information rules the world, a lot of Nigerians are still ignorant about the concept of making money online and online business generally. They still believe that the only way to make money online is to be engaged in fraudulent activities, what is popularly called "Yahoo! Yahoo!" here in the country. And once they, see you with laptop accessing the internet they automatically tag you a Yahoo! boy.

They argue that if you are not trying to defraud on the internet, why then do you carry a laptop all about accessing the internet. They forget the fact that one can do a whole of things on the internet such as studying online. I am writing this from experience. Where I currently live, my neighbours all tag me as a Yahoo! boy because anytime Power Holding Company brings their light, I will leave whatever I'm doing at the time and go pick up my laptop to continue with my online business. And so they believe I'm doing some shitty business online.

And then they all believe I'm into Yahoo! What an ignorance! As a matter of fact, all the friends around me still don't accept the idea of doing business on the internet and making a living from it. And when I tried to convince them you hear things like "You too don join them?" They refuse to accept the fact that there are legit ways of making money on the internet.

Even those that seem to accept, they are still sort of sceptical about the whole concept. They ask questions like; how really can one make legit money online, how much can one make, if one starts online business, how long will it take to see the result, what are the legit ways to make it online and how quick can that be, does it require a capital investment and how much. These and many more questions will be answered in the series that I tag The Concept of Making Legit Money Online In Nigeria. So if you are interested in this business concept, I will encourage you to visit this blog from time to time to learn all you need to start an online business and make a living from it.

It is actually a book that I decided to fragment it as blog posts. But before I answer all of the above questions let me take time to clear your mind of all the negative misconceptions about this subject matter. In the last post, we considered one of such misconception i.e. making money online is all about "Yahoo! Yahoo!" In this post, we will consider the remaining misconceptions.

I am not computer literate/ I need a laptop, I can't afford one and other internet facilities

This is another common misconception when it comes to setting up an online business in Nigeria. The only thing that is required to start and run a successful online business is the ability to browse the internet. Technology has made things so easy these days that at least 7 out of 10 Nigerians can now browse the internet right from the comfort of their homes, or even on the go with the advent of smartphones and tablets, some of which can do whatever a laptop can do for you.

And even if you are a total novice to the internet, even if you have not seen a computer set before, this concept of making money online in Nigeria is structured in a way that the most Novy person in the world can benefit from. With the knowledge such a person will get from this concept, he/she can start and run a successful online business from the comfort of his/her homes. The course is structured to teach the novice the relevant things they need to know in a computer, in order to be able to start and run an online business.

Not having a computer is not an issue. You don't necessarily need to have your own computer before you start an online business. You can start in a cybercafe. And if at all you must start with your own computer, it mustn't be a laptop, any computer set will do, and lucky enough computer set is so cheap nowadays. With less than N20,000 you can get a good one. I even got a Dell laptop with less than 20k recently, 16k to be precise. And the laptop is very good, clean and fast, a 1GB RAM and 80GB HDD, with a high-speed processor. The only problem is the battery, it doesn't back up at all.

How about internet facilities? With less than N3000 (for a modem) you can have your own internet facilities right at hand. And if you have a smartphone, you don't even need a modem. Most smartphones are enabled with a HotSpot which you can hook up with your system. Unless your system does not have a Wi-Fi. With less than N2000 you can have your system Wi-Fi enabled. Go to any computer repair shop and tell them you want to install a Wi-Fi card on your system and they will get it done in no time.

Monthly subscriptions start from as low as N1000, and it's still coming down as more telecommunication companies are coming into the country. This means more competition and consequent reduction in the price of their services. This post you are reading right now, I used N200 subscription to write and post it and did other stuff on the internet before it was exhausted.

I am too busy / I don't have enough time

Probably you are employed and your work demands a lot of time, you can still squeeze out time for your online business venture. You don't need a big block of time to start an online business. All you need is scraps of time here and there. If you seek for an additional source(s) of income, internet business is worth your consideration. Gone were the days when it used to be that if you need a second source of income, you will have to go get a second job if the time permits.

This means closing from one already dead tired and then set out for another one. This day, it's no longer necessary, now you can have additional sources of income working right from the comfort of your home. It is true that internet business requires a lot of your time only at the initial stage, the rest is just scrap of time that is needed from you once you have it set up properly, and your initial work will continue to bring you money year in and year out - a continuous flow of income. Note that the word "Properly" is emphasized. You won't make a dime if you didn't do it the right way.

I don't have a means of paying or receiving payments online/PayPal does not accept Nigeria, therefore Nigerians can't do business online

Well, gone are the days when one has to depend only on PayPal for online transactions. Of a truth, Paypal is one of the major and largest online payment processors, but there are bundles of other alternatives, as will be covered in this course. For a quick run through there are alternatives like Payoneer (widely acceptable like PayPal), Perfect money, BitCoin, Web money and a host of others. You can equally use the service of a third party like Graphcard and the likes. We will cover this in details in subsequent posts.

Also, most Nigerian credit cards issued by Nigerian banks are accepted by most foreign countries for online transactions. Any credit card with master card logo is accepted for online transaction on most foreign websites. Examples of Nigerian banks that issue such cards are GTB, Zenith and others. I personally, I use GTB Naira master card for my online transactions, and it works fine. We even have PayPal in Nigeria that allows you to pay for services online. The only problem is that you cannot use it to receive payment.

I don't have enough money (start-up capital)

Fortunately internet business requires little or no capital for a start. There are several ways to start and run a successful online business without having to spend any money in the form of capital. The following links point to articles in this blog that explains the concept of starting an online business without investment. The only form of capital you need is the cost of the internet subscription. But if you are one of the lucky ones to have free access to the internet, maybe you live in an environment like most higher institutions of learning in the countries are Wi-Fi enabled, then you can definitely start an online business without a dime. As we proceed in this course you will get to understand that the concept of making money online is divided into two parts, namely:

  • The free method of making money online: Which requires no capital investment.
  • The paid method of making money online: In this method, you need a little capital for a start. For example, you may need to register a domain name, buy a hosting account, pay someone to design a website or blog for you if you don't know how to do it yourself, and probably pay some advertising fee if you choose to advertise your business (for quick result anyway).


Internet business is too stressful

I was talking to a close friend of mine about creating a website for her business and make some bucks off the site in addition to her income. After explaining the concept to her the response I got was "It's too stressful". Well, that was her opinion anyway. To me and to every other Nigerian who is into internet business, I don't think anything is stressful about the system. As a matter of fact, if you run a business in the real world, one of the best ways to expand your network and create more awareness for your business, reach a wider audience of customers is to have a website created for your business.

Apart from that, you can even make additional money from your website (i.e. if you monetize it). Perhaps you are already thinking "I don't have a business to start with, permit me to give you a suggestion. When you sign up for our Networking Business through me, you get a free website designed for you. You can monetize the website and get additional income, that only if you publish relevant information that people will be interested in reading.

I am too young/too old

I agree with you if you are too young or too old to eat. If not, then you definitely don't have any excuse. There is no age barrier to internet business. Nobody cares about your age. Age is a number after all! The web is an ultimate merit-based marketplace. If you have what people want, they will come looking for it in your website, irrespective of your age.

The internet market is already saturated with good ideas taken by the whites and the early starters

Yes, I agree with you to some extent, but there are still 1001 unique ideas that you can come up with. You can even modify an idea that has already been in existence, and it will become a unique idea. This misconception was actually a statement made by a friend that's closer than a brother. The internet is a vast marketplace that is changing or growing at a fast pace. How on earth could anyone think that it's already saturated? Of a truth, the key to success with an internet business is to have a unique idea on your website, there are still many ideas that are unique to your locality. Why not create a site around it and promote it to people of your locality?

I am too small to compete with the big guys (gurus), I can't beat the competition

Who is calling you for a competition after all! By having a unique idea or tweaking an existing idea to make it unique, you need no competition. As a matter of fact, you will enjoy a monopoly. And if anyone tries to steal your concept, you already have the first mover advantage.

People have already made money with the system, no much more to be made

No one can make all the money on earth. The profit of the earth is for all so the Bible said. Your own piece of cake is waiting for you. Come online and take possession of it.

I am not educated

Who needs your certificate in internet business. Certainly, no one will ask you for your degree or whatever qualification. If you are applying for a job in the real world, of course, you need to show some pretty impressive grades and perhaps some important personality at your guarantors and some great letters of recommendation. Offline you'll definitely need quality education. If you are setting up a business in the real world, you would probably have issues with NAFDAC, you may be required to register your business with Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), you may have to go through one or more legal processes. In all these, you need some sort of quality education. That's it for real-world business. It is not like that in the online world. Once you can read and write, you are good to go in online business.

Well, I can still go on and on with a whole lot of misconception about this subject matter, but because of space and time permit me to end it here. Internet business is really worth your consideration if you seek ways to make additional income right from the comfort of your home. Come up online and take your own share of the internet money. It works!

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