18 Easy Ways to Make Free Money Fast

 

Treasure hunters would revel at the idea of getting free money. But is it really a thing? I mean, are there seriously companies out there that will just give money away because they are nice? Yes, and no. Companies often pay out sign up bonuses when you use a new service. Some of the best (and easiest) ways to get free money are to switch services that you use every day anyway, such as bank accounts or credit cards.

Other companies will pay smaller bonuses for you to try their app. Take a look at this list of ways to get some free money fast, and choose the best options for you.

Attention student loan holders: Now is a great time to refinance your private student loans to get a better rate and save on your overall monthly payments.  Best of all, this is totally free to do! However, if you have federal loans, we recommend you not refinance them at this time as you may lose forbearance and other protections.

We all need our savings accounts to be much larger than they are. But with bills, credit card debt, and our careers, it sometimes feels almost impossible to increase our savings.

If you don’t think it’s possible to boost your savings, then you might be surprised to find out how easy it is to score a few extra bucks each month. And thanks to the internet, all it usually requires is filling out some paid surveys, playing around on the web, or signing up for a few specific offers.

Doing just a few of these things can easily add up to thousands of dollars in cash each year, so what are you waiting for?.

Want some free money of your own? Are you a college student looking for ways to make money while in school?

While you might not get rich quickly with the items on the list, you’ll be getting free money with very little effort.

Check out these 18+ companies that offer free money when you complete simple tasks in your spare time:

1. Refinance Student Loans

Chances are good you have student loans. Have you considered refinancing them?

Refinancing means a lender pays off your existing loans and creates a new, single loan to be paid back at (ideally) a lower interest rate. This is appealing to borrowers because it consolidates monthly loan payments and saves you money!

The *extra* good news is that many refinancing companies will pay you cold, hard cash to refinance with their company.

Check out our review of the best student loan refinance companies

2. Give your opinions for money.

Online survey sites have become a top way for people to cash in doing something pretty mindless in their spare time. While there are a ton out there to choose from, Survey Junkie has one of the longest histories and a consistent record of paying its users.

Just sign up for any one of these free accounts and you’ll be on your way to scoring free money for your musings on everything from new products to advertising campaigns. Some, like Pinecone Research, for example, will even ship you products so you can try answering questions on them.

3. Lower your mortgage payment.

Today’s historically low rates are spurring a refinance boom. By refinancing your mortgage, you not only can lower your interest rate and free up cash flow in your budget, but you can quite possibly take equity out of your home, and put it in the bank.

While not everyone owns their home, refinancing at a lower rate is an easy way to get hundreds of dollars per month free by simply lowering your interest expense.

4. Consolidate your debt to find extra money.

Personal debt such as medical or credit card debt can be consolidated at a lower rate. In a similar way to refinancing a home, if you consolidate your debt, it should be at a lower average rate in order to free up money in your monthly payments. There are two great ways to consolidate your debt:

Personal Debt Consolidation Loan

Online lenders such as Upstart, will work with you on a variety of debts to get them into one low payment, freeing up cash.

Open a 0% Balance Transfer Credit Card

Another great option if you’re only working with credit card debt, is to use a 0% balance transfer card. Many cards have 0% interest options out to 18 months or more. Make sure you have a long-term plan to pay your card off, but this option will net you some short-term reprieve from bills.

5. Get rebates at local retailers.

Ever heard of MyPoints? Simply put, it’s a website that offers points for nearly anything you can do online – from shopping to online surveys.

With MyPoints, the “points” you can redeem are good for cashback and a variety of gift cards to stores like Amazon.com, Best Buy, Nike, and even GameStop.

A gift certificate to Applebee’s, for example, starts at just 790 points. Paypal cash, on the other hand, starts at just 3,970 points.

To get started with MyPoints, all you have to do is sign up for a free account and use the site to shop online, take surveys, watch videos, or participate in fun, daily polls. It’s as simple as that.

You do not have to limit yourself to MyPoints, there are many options available, here are some of our top picks:

IBOTTA

$10 Sign Up Bonus, $20 after redeeming 10 offers

MYPOINTS

Earn a $10 gift card when you spend $20

6. Earn a free $5 with Inbox Dollars.

Inbox Dollars is yet another website intent on paying you for living and breathing. In all seriousness, the tasks Inbox Dollars pays for are crazy-easy. Simply surf the internet, use the website to play games, complete surveys or questionnaires, or print grocery coupons to score free cash!

It’s fairly easy to earn an extra $20 – $30 per month for regular use, plus you can get a free $5 just for signing up.

If you like to get free money, it’s hard to beat this offer. Read more in our Inbox Dollars review.

7. Rack up some Swagbucks.

Swagbucks are ridiculously fun and easy to earn. Believe it or not, this website will pay you free money to shop online, watch videos (or space out and pretend you’re watching) surf the internet, or answer survey questions. Have you ever heard of a part-time job that will pay you just to hang out?

Once you start earning Swagbucks, you’ll learn all the fun ways you can redeem them as well. For example, you can cash in your Swagbucks for a wide range of gift cards. Don’t like that option? Turn in your points for PayPal cash instead.

Signing up is free and you literally have nothing to lose, either. If you’re going to be on the internet, why not get paid? You can learn a little more about Swagbucks in our full Swagbucks review.

8. Score an easy $10 with Rakuten.

Ebates (Rakuten) is a great place to earn money for all sorts of online tasks, but you’ll also get a $10 welcome bonus just for signing up and making a $25 purchase.

Simply open an account, spend $25 at an online store like Walmart.com, Kohls.com, Groupon.com, or Amazon.com, and the $10 bonus is yours for the taking.

And if you use Ebates for the long haul, you’ll earn even more. Just by clicking through the website when you shop online, you can earn up to 40 percent cash back at certain stores. Sounds pretty good, huh? 

9. Let Trim save you money automatically.

Trim is an app that tracks your spending and automates the day-to-day process of saving money for you, helping you cut out recurring charges for services you no longer need.

Trim markets itself as an assistant that saves you money, helping you tackle debt and strategically cut down on your spending. The app even checks competitors’ prices on products like your auto insurance to ensure you’re getting the best rates for the services you use.

10. Get refunds with Paribus.

Have you ever bought something only to find out the price dropped a few days later? With Paribus, you can get that money back with zero effort. All you do is shop online as usual and let Paribus monitor your confirmation emails from retailers. Whenever the price drops on what you buy, Paribus helps you get refunded.

You can use Paribus to save with popular retailers, like Target, Amazon, Walmart, Nordstrom, and more. Paribus also applies its services to hotel bookings through Expedia, Priceline, Booking.com, Marriott, and Hilton.

11. Collect Cash from Microinvesting Apps

You might think that the only way to make money by investing is through the…. Investments, right?

Nope! These investing platforms and microinvesting apps will pay you cash just for signing up!

STASH INVEST

$5 Welcome Bonus

ACORNS

$5 Sign-Up Bonus

12. Score a bank bonus.

All kinds of banks offer a bonus if you are willing to put a certain amount of cash on deposit or sign up for a direct deposit. From Chase to Huntington Bank and others, these bonuses can add up to some serious cash if you can meet their requirements!

My post on the best online checking accounts highlights some of the best deals in this space, but you can also check with local banks to see what they offer. Just make sure you read the fine print and watch out for any “gotchas” or requirements you don’t understand.

DISCOVER

$150 for a $15k deposit, $200 for a $20k deposit

CITIBANK

$400 for a $5k deposit

BANK OF AMERICA

$100 if you set up Direct Deposit

CHASE

$100 for all new customers

Another way to score bonuses from the bank is to simply have an interest-earning savings account. So after you get that checking account bonus, find a high yield savings account, too.

13. Invest money with Stockpile.

Stockpile makes investing easy and affordable, offering you thousands of stock and ETF options. You can buy fractional shares of companies like Apple and Netflix. Best of all, you get $5 to invest when you sign up. 

If you were thinking of joining an investment app already, you might as well earn $5, right? Join today for a free bonus, $0.99 trading fees, zero management fees, and no account minimums. You’ll be glad you did.

14. Get Paid to Budget

How good are you at managing and saving money? If you’re like most people, the answer is not that great.

But the procrastination to “finally get your financial order in life” is over, my friend! The following companies will actually pay you if you let them help you.

CLEO

$5 Welcome Bonus

DIGIT

$5 Welcome Bonus

15. Get Paid for Selfies

This is a funny one. Basically, a company called Pay Your Selfie will pay you to take pictures of yourself in various locations.

They use the information to help companies do marketing in different parts of the country based off of demographic data (age, gender, race, etc.)

The pictures are all very easy and your first $1 is just for taking a quick pic of yourself. There are always a good number of selfie tasks waiting and people are making a little side money just for taking a few pictures.

16. Sign up for a rewards credit card.

Rewards credit cards offer something for nothing if you are able to meet a small minimum spending requirement. This free cash usually comes in the form of a signup bonus, and can easily be worth hundreds.

Since a lot of rewards credit cards don’t even charge an annual fee, you can get this money for free provided you never pay interest on your purchases. Super cool, huh?

Below are a few cards I recommend from financial institutions I’ve worked with in one capacity or another over the years and trust:

Card Requirements Bonus

Capital One Quicksilver Spend $500 in first 3 mos $150

Wells Fargo Cash Wise Spend $500 in first 3 mos $150

Chase Freedom Spend $500 in first 3 mos $150

Bank of America Cash Rewards Spend $1k in first 3 mos $200

17. Earn a Guaranteed $1,000 with Lyft

I assume you’re familiar with Lyft, the ridesharing competitor to Uber. I actually find Lyft to be cheaper and have better experiences with the drivers.

Speaking of, how would you like to earn a guaranteed $1,000 to become a Lyft driver? Yup! That’s what the company is offering right now.

It’s part of a program called Earnings Guaranteed. According to the Lyft website, the promotion says drivers will earn a guaranteed amount within a certain time frame. If the driver does not make the guaranteed amount within the time frame, Lyft will cover the difference!

And right now the guaranteed amount is $1,000! Easy money.

18. Book reservations with Seated

Seated is an app that can earn you up to 30% back on your meals, and it’s practically effortless. Seated is incredibly easy to use. You just download the app and book your dinner reservations with one of Seated’s partner restaurants. 

Each time you book, you’ll get up to 30% back in the form of gift cards for companies like Amazon and Starbucks. The only drawback when it comes to Seated is location. Seated is currently only available in major cities, currently Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, NYC, Philadelphia, and San Francisco.

If you live in one of those cities, you can get free money as fast you can download the app and get to your favorite restaurant.

The Bottom Line

The internet offers a treasure trove of ways to get free money in a pinch. While many of these options won’t make you rich, they will hopefully meet your short-term needs. And most of the time, all you have to do to get started is sign up and complete mindless tasks like watching videos or answering survey questions.

The free money is out there for the taking; it’s up to you to get out there and seize it!

About the Author

Jeff Rose, CFP® is a Certified Financial Planner™, founder of Good Financial Cents, and author of the personal finance book Soldier of Finance. He was a financial planner for 16+ years having founded, Alliance Wealth Management, a SEC Registered Investment Advisory firm, before selling it to focus on his passion - educating the masses on the importance of financial freedom through this blog, his podcast, and YouTube channel.

Jeff holds a Bachelors in Science in Finance and minor in Accounting from Southern Illinois University - Carbondale. In addition to his CFP® designation, he also earned the marks of AAMS® - Accredited Asset Management Specialist - and CRPC® - Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor. 

While a practicing financial advisor, Jeff was named to Investopedia's distinguished list of Top 100 advisors (as high as #6) multiple times and CNBC's Digital Advisory Council. 

Jeff is an Iraqi combat veteran and served 9 years in the Army National Guard. His work is regularly featured in Forbes, Business Insider, Inc.com and Entrepreneur.

Top 10 Business Ideas in Nigeria You Can Start with 100,000 Naira

In a country where economic deficit and unemployment have become the order of the day, conceptualizing a business idea in Nigeria and subsequently starting it can be likened to a goldmine which offers an opportunity for people to tap into a better livelihood.

According to Statista.com, a total of 32.5% of Nigerians were unemployed in 2021, with a forecast unemployment rate of 33% in 2022. 

Apart from being a gateway to self-employment and helping to put an end to job hunting, starting a private business from various business ideas also comes along with several advantages which include but are not limited to: 

Unlimited freedom 

Unlike working under someone or organization, where your mode of operation and work is being dictated by your boss/superior, personal l business gives you the privilege to work at your own pace and with ease. This is most suitable for people who may not have what it takes to work for a company due to certain conditions such as old age, underlying medical issues, limited time, etc.

Fulfillment of dreams and ambition

Getting a job is one thing, getting a dream job is another. While the former may be a little bit difficult, the latter is almost next to impossible to come by. We live in a country where a majority of people do a job they don’t really want or because they have no option. But with a proper business idea and conceptualization, one can fulfill his/her lifetime dream by starting a business that is in line with such a dream.

Financial freedom

Financial reward is yet another importance of starting a personal business. It is no longer news that most employers in Nigeria pay their staff peanuts for salary. The prices of commodities are on the high side, and the money being paid to the average worker is far from being enough to cater to their daily needs. A good business idea when materialized is capable of turning things around and subsequently giving financial freedom to the originator.

From the foregoing, it can be deduced that having a business idea and materializing it is of immense importance for whosoever deems it fit to give it a shot.

While there are many constraints to starting a personal business, capital to start with remains a major constraint.

In this article, we will be looking at 10 businesses you can start in Nigeria with as little as N100,000 which guarantees 100% return on investment in 30 days or less.

1. POS/E-PAYMENT

POS (point of sales) tops the list of business ideas in Nigeria you can start with 100,000 naira for obvious reasons. The business is one of those businesses that has come to stay for a very long time. Financial transactions are an integral part of human life and the banking sector habitually fails to live up to the people’s expectations in that regard.

POS serves as a subtle alternative to banking transactions and saves people from wasting their precious time that could be spent on something productive in bank hall queuing because of basic financial transactions. Financial transactions such as transfer of funds and withdrawals, payment of bills (DSTV, GOTV, PHCN), recharging of airtime, and selling of data among others can be taken care of by POS.

Mr Tayo Adewale, a 26-year-old HND holder from one of the federal polytechnics in Nigeria, after graduating and wrapping up his mandatory NYSC was unable to secure a white-collar job. He finally decided to go into the POS business, courtesy of N100,000 donated by his family which he used to kick-start the business. As of today, Mr Tayo claims he has been making nothing less than N100,000 return on investment since he started the business while some of his colleagues are still on the streets still searching for a non-existing white-collar job.

In starting a POS, one of the most important things to consider is the location you want to situate the business. The nature of the location your business is sited can either make or mar your POS business idea. While determining the kind of location, some of the things you should consider are: 

GSM network/Internet

This is an important factor that must be considered before opting for any location. You must ensure your POS business is situated in an area with a very good GSM network, to ensure hitch-free business transactions.

Proximity to banks

Another important thing you should consider before choosing a place to locate your POS business is how close the area is to the banking area. Locating your POS in an area very close to the banking area can be likened to efforts in futility and may not bring about the return on investment as expected. This is because the majority of the people may rather prefer to visit the banking for their transactions since it is close by.

Security

While searching for a place for your POS business, you should ensure the place is secured and has little or next to any history of crime. This is because you will be dealing with cash daily which makes you vulnerable and a soft target for criminals if the location is not secured.

What you need to start

Some of the things you will need to get the business started are business capital, space/shop or container, a banner, and most importantly a POS machine for the operation of the business. You can get your POS machines from banks like GTB, UBA, Zenith, First Bank, Access Bank, Polaris Bank, and hosts of others. 

2. Phones and other gadgets charging 

Phones and gadgets charging is yet another business idea in Nigeria that can be materialized with as low as 100,000 naira. It is no longer news that the electricity supply in most states of the country is unstable and unreliable, which makes the business of changing phones a very juicy one to venture into with relatively low capital.

Also, the cost of petrol for generators that could have served as an alternative power supply has become expensive and unaffordable. Hence, most lower and middle-class citizens who cannot afford to purchase a generator often resort to phone charging vendors, paying a minimum of 100naira to get their phones and other gadgets charged.  

Mr Wale Olakunle, a middle-aged man who owns a phone charging shop in Oke-Odo, a neighborhood close to the main campus of University of Ilorin, relished his humble beginning in the business and how far he has come since he started the business about three years ago.

“I started this phone recharging business three years ago with a 100,000 naira loan I took from a microfinance bank. When I first started, the first two weeks were dull and I was already thinking of giving up on the business. But towards the last weeks of my first month, the business started booming and the rest like they used to say is history. At the moment, my take-home from this business is nothing less than 7,000 naira daily after deducting all expenses. That is around 200,000 naira monthly,” he explained.

What you need to start

While starting a phone and gadget recharging business, one must consider the location. It is preferable to locate your business in an area with a poor electricity supply. This will make it inevitable for people to patronize your business. As a phone recharging vendor, you should also develop a good charisma which will allow your potential customers to freely relate with you as you will be dealing with different types of people dailySome of the things you will be needing to kick-start the business are a container/space, a covered or shaded stall, a small generator for power supply, fuel to power the generator, original chargers and desktop, and an electric socket board with multiple electronic sockets for charging. 

3. Mobile food vendor and delivery business 

Food is an important aspect of human existence that is simply inevitable. Regardless of the situation, we must always find something to eat. This, and other reasons are why online food vending and delivery business occupy the number 3 position on the list of business ideas that you can start with 100,000 naira.

At the moment, a good number of people find it difficult to cook food at home due to the nature of their work and busy schedules; hence, they result in employing the services of these food vendors. Working-class, students and artisans are some of the examples of people that fall into this category.

While starting a mobile food vendor business, one needs to have learned or possess cooking skills, which will give you a sharp edge over your competitors, as you have many alternatives like eatery, restaurants, and other mobile food vendors racing to have your customers. Your ability to prepare delicious, nice, and affordable meals will set you above your competitors.

 

While interacting with a popular mobile food vendor in OjoduBerger side of Lagos, Mr Kelechi Emmanuel expressed that his life has turned around for the better since he started the business a few years back. He expressed gratitude to a friend who first spoke about the business idea with him. However, he lamented the current price of cooking ingredients and foodstuff, urging the government to please find a lasting solution to the price hike.

What you need to start

Fast and reliable means of transportation are important aspects that must be in place for the smooth running of the mobile food business. 

The good news about the business is that you don’t necessarily need a shop or office to cook your meals, you can start by cooking from the comfort of your home and expanding the business as time goes by.

4. Copywriting

Copywriting is one of the most profitable online businesses in Nigeria you can kick off with a low cost of 100,000 naira and below. If you have good writing skills and firm control of language, then this business will be your ticket to financial freedom. 

The copywriting business comes in different forms: it could be writing of advert copy, blog posts, video scripts, presentation, direct mails, jingles, creative content, and so on. The main task of a copywriter is to weave content in such a way that will be convincingly enough to persuade or promote a certain product, idea, service, or cause. A copy, when well written, can perform magic on any product or services.

It can be done as full-time or a side hustle that guarantees a return on investment if one knows his or her onions very well.

Particularly, students, who have good writing skills, can explore this business opportunity to support their parents in catering for their academic financial needs.

The salaries of a copywriter in Nigeria ranges from 100,000 –300,000 naira depending on the nature of copy and organization. Some copywriters also charge clients per word. On an average, a copywriter charges 11-20,000 per 1,000 words.

To get clients as a beginner in copywriting, you can apply for a position of freelance job board, cold pitching, speaking at conferences/workshop and promoting of your business on professional platforms like LinkedIn 

A final year student of the University of Ilorin, Seyi Olawaleexplained that he has been surviving from the proceeds of copywriting since he lost his father in year two at the university.

He stated further that he no longer asks his mother or family for monetary help, as the money he makes from the business is more than enough to cater for his financial needs.

What you need to start

Apart from having an inherent writing skill, copywriting just like every other skill can also be learnt.  You can build from scratch or improve your copywriting skills by reading books on copywriting, watching copywriting videos on YouTube, following copywriting blogs and taking copywriting courses on online learning platforms such as Udemy and Coursera. Getting a copywriter as a mentor can also be of immense benefit while you are trying to improve or learn copywriting.

Another good news about this business is that, it is a remote one, and you practically don’t need to situate the business in a particular geography. All that is needed to start up the business is your smartphone or preferably a laptop system, a good internet connection, and, an adequate power supply.

5. Graphic design

 

As the saying goes, “A picture is worth much more than a thousand words”, going by this saying, it is free to say that graphic design is therefore worth much more than a million words. Graphic design is a process of projecting visual communication to communicate a particular message. It combines different elements to communicate a message to an audience.

Corporate organizations, government establishments, politicians, partisans, and virtually every sphere of human endeavor employ the services of graphic designers. While contemplating on venturing into graphic design, it is important to get yourself acquainted with the basics and fundamentals of graphic design such as: hierarchy, color, typography, lines, shapes, balance, texture, alignment, proximity, and contrast.

An Ilorin-based young graphic designer by the name, Ayomide Adeniyi stated that he makes nothing less than 120,000 monthly from graphic design simply by helping different organizations and individuals to design flyers, e-book covers, and banners. He continued that another means he makes money from the business is through the teaching of the skills to interested students.

On how he promotes and gets clients to patronize his business, the young designer explained that he gets most of his customers from a referral by people he has designed for in the past and also by showcasing and posting his designs on social media space like Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, and Twitter.

What you need to startStarting a graphic design just like other digital skills does not require having a particular shop/space, what is most important is learning the skill. There are various ways you can learn graphicsdesign which  includes watching graphic design videos on YouTube and also by paying a professional for master classes where you will be trained on the fundamentals of graphics and how to monetise the skill.

The tools you will be needing to materialise the business idea are your laptop and smartphones. For laptop design, you will be needing software like Corel draw, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe illustrator, and a host of other similar software while you will be needing applications like Canva, Pixellab, Logo maker. 

6. Selling of clothes

The importance of clothes can never be overemphasized. Clothes form part of the three basic needs of man, the others being food and shelter. Hence, it is one of the lucrative business ideas in Nigeria that can be started with a relatively low capital of 100,000 naira and below.

According to a young male clothes vendor, who is based in Ilorin, he explained that having a good relationship with your customers is the best way to grow your business. He continued that, you must also be willing to advertise your business through one on one interaction and most especially on your social media platforms to convince your existing and potential customers for patronage.

Some of the types of clothes to sell are children’s wear, native wear, English wear, jeans, underwear among others. Purchasing of these wears for resales can be made at popular clothes markets, such as Balogun market, Aswani market, Katanguamarket, Tejuosho market, Onitsha market, and Aba Market.

What you need to startWhile starting the business, having a shop may not necessarily be important from the onset, as you can simply purchase clothes and deliver them to the doorsteps of your customers.

One of the most germane qualities you must possess to make it big in the business is the ability to convince your customers on the need to purchase your product. Without proper pacification, your customers may not see the need to patronize a particular dress, as many other needs are competing for the capital of your customers.

Equally, it is also important to have good networking to people and maintain a good rapport with your customers who can in turn help to refer you to other potential customers for patronage. 

7. Laundry business

Laundry is yet another lucrative business in Nigeria that is often overlooked. Due to the busy nature of most people’s jobs, it is difficult to create time for washing clothes, and that is where the laundry service provider comes in.

Richard Ojigbede, a student of Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, while talking about his journey so far in the laundry business stated that he used to watch customers’ clothes with bare hands in the past but the proceeding from the business has bought him 2 washing machines and a generator. He explained further that most students have no time for washing clothes due to academic stress which is of immense benefit to his business. He concluded by saying he makes nothing less than 10,000 every day from the business.

What you need to startOne good thing about the business is that you can comfortably work from the comfort of your home without necessarily owning a personal shop or space.

All that is needed to materialize the business idea are the basic tools like washing machine, iron, and generator in case of a power failure.

Laundry just like most other businesses requires you to be honest. As a laundry service provider, you must at all times be a promise keeper by ensuring the readiness of your customers’ clothes as at when due.

It is also important you establish good connections with your customers in order to improve the chances of referral to other potential customers.

8. Shawarma selling business

Shawarma is a snack that is made of beef or chicken filling. It has over the years become one of the favorite snacks of people, most especially the younger generation. This lucrative business idea can be actualized with as little as 100,000 naira and below. 

Mr Sunday Agbor, who owns a popular Shawarma spot close to a supermarket in Ojodu Berger part of Lagos State explained that starting a Shawarma business requires a lot of dedication and patience. While recounting his own experience, the young man said that, the initial stage of the business was not too rosy, as he only made a few sales during the period. He continued that he presently makes more than 250,000 every month from the business.

What you need to startBefore venturing into the business of shawarma, you must first get trained on the process of shawarma making. You won’t want to start the business without a proper understanding of how it is made and start selling low-quality shawarma to your customers. This will kill your business even before it starts.

After getting trained, the next thing is to look for a good location where you can situate your business. Preferably, it is good to locate your shawarma spot in an urban area where you can easily meet with your target audience. Places like students’ area, supermarket surroundings, the entrance to an estate, bar, hotel, and T-junctions are a few of the best spots you can locate your shawarma business in order to make high profit and return on investment on the business.

Some of the equipment required for the business are shawarma toaster, show glass, pot/utensils, spron, and insect killer for flies. 

9. Data reselling business

Presently, we live in a digital era where the world has become a global village and everyone needs to be connected to stay informed about what is happening in their immediate environment and the world at large. To this end, purchasing and having a data plan becomes inevitable.

According to a 2021 report from Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC), Nigerians consume an excess of 80,000 terabytes of data every month. 

A data reseller is an individual who purchases data in bulk from VTU platforms and telecommunication companies at a relatively cheap price and then resells it to customers at his or her convenient rate.

A student data reseller, Miss Sharon Odewunmi expressed her satisfaction with her choice of business. She further stated that the business just like every other business requires one to have patience and good networking, as the business cannot grow without referrals to potential customers from the previous ones.

What you need to startSome of the requirements to start a data reselling business are a laptop or smartphone, capital for the initial purchase, good internet connections, and a bank account as a medium of payment.

To make money from this business, one needs to be a good marketer, this means that you must be actively able to advertise your business through face-to-face communication and your various social media platforms. You should also reduce the price of your data plans to give you a sharp edge over your competitors and equally convince your customers to purchase data from you as against buying it directly from their network service provider.

10. Declutter agents business

The advent of social media has been a blessing to humanity not just only by providing an avenue to make friends and stay connected with one’s family, but also it has continued to provide means of livelihood to some of its users. Declutter agent business is one of the fastest routes to financial freedom on Instagram. 

As a declutter agent, you simply rake in your money by helping sellers to display their product for potential buyers to see and if satisfied with the product, the buyer makes the payment and you get your own percentage from the proceeding of the sales. Your job is that of a middle man who connects buyer and seller. 

There is virtually nothing that can’t be sold via decluttering agents. Products such as: furniture, mattresses, generator, television, fans are few examples of varieties of things that can be sold and bought through the declutter platform.

According to a popular declutter agent on Instagram with the Instagram handle “deluxe_declutter” which has 13.5k instagram followers, she explained that she started the business with just 5,000 naira but currently makes nothing less than 300,000 monthly from the business. On how she promotes her business, the young lady stated that she reaches her audience through Instagram sponsored ads. She, however, described trust and sellers’ disappointment as the greatest challenge she faces in the business.

What you need to start

Starting this business does not also require situating it in a particular geographical location. It is a remote business that can be done at the comfort of your bedroom. What you will be needing for the business are your smartphone, Instagram accounts, data bundle and adequate power supply.

Having high followers on Instagram is also an added advantage. The more the number of your followers, the more chances of buying and selling through your platform and the more you make money from the business.

It is also important to have a good online reputation, as this will improve the people trust in you and their chances of making sales and purchases through your platform.

Conclusion  

In conclusion, there are many business ideas in Nigeria that you can start with as low as 100,000 naira. What is most important is your ability to look in depth and analyze the category you best fit into. Also, it is important to have patience, as the initial stage of personal business may be frustrating and not yielding enough as expected, but with dedication and hard work, it will just be a matter of little time before you unlock your financial freedom in the business.

8 Practical Ways to Escape Poverty

 

Are you concerned about breaking the chains of poverty? If yes, then this article is for you.

Let’s begin 8 Practical Things You Must Do To Escape Poverty

1.     Stop being Entitled

It’s not circumstances that keep us where we are; it is what we think and say about ourselves. But seeing yourself as deserving success is one thing; getting other people to see you that way is another. You may feel you deserve to be handed a job because you spent five years of hard work studying at the university. But for other people, you are just another millennial that has a lot to learn.

You may think you deserve special treatment because you have suffered abuse and extreme poverty in the past; but most people are too busy dealing with their own problem.

People only respect previous results. That is why success continues to beget more success. If you are searching on “How to build a parachute” online and two videos show up; one has 415 views, the other has 1.5 million views, which are you going to choose? That’s it. You’ll choose the more successful one. It is why Samsung phones and iPhone continues to outsell the new phone companies. People unconsciously value sacrifice and result. They expect you to pay your dues.

If you haven’t done anything worthy of accolades, and you go about making demands, you are just being entitled. Get to work building your profile. Go out and start doing that thing you believe is beneath you. Learn that handiwork. Take up that job you believe is below your qualification. No one is going to lay that foundation for you; you have to do it yourself.

2.     Remove Yourself from the statistic of the Poor

The first step to help the poor is to not be one of the poor. With the limitless knowledge and resources available today, it will be too selfish of you to remain poor. Here is why.

By using the resources within your disposal to get out of poverty, you mathematically reduce the number of poor people in the world, not just by one but by many. That knowledge; that idea; that skill you have, can help take care of two, three or more people. It will be unfair if you don’t develop it.

Another important reason to remove yourself from the poor is that – If you want to get what you don’t have, you have to do what you have never done. Poverty comes with a lot of mental baggage. You can’t become a person of success while still identifying yourself as poor. Eliminate all those labels associated with poverty from your lips. Stop referring yourself as among “the poor masses”. Start surrounding yourself with progressive people.

3.     Stop caring what other people think, unless they are buying from you

Little minded people are like crabs. You’ve probably heard about crabs, haven’t you? If you put, let’s say 47 crabs inside a bucket without covering the lead, none of them will be able to get out. In reality, they could simply climb on each other and find their way out; but not these creatures. They will rather pull down anyone of them that tries to find their way out. In their mind, “we all die here”. Little minds who don’t have the courage to work themselves out of their below average life, are often fond of talking down on people who want to try. These people will rarely support or patronize what you offer. But they’ll be the first to tell you why this is not for you.

If your strategy in life is to end up pleasing everyone, you will end up miserable; trapped in the same mess. So, you must train yourself to ignore crab minded people. Let them keep their opinion while you keep your dream alive.

4.     Start seeing ‘yourself’ in Successful people

We are all humans; and we have the natural tendencies to be selfish. Even religions depend on “What’s in it for the convert” like eternal life and prosperity. Poor people see these attribute of selfishness as belonging to the rich, so they portray this false humility to mask their true desire. The truth is that you can’t become what you hate. If you continue to see progressive people as antagonists, you’ll never understand what it’ll take to make progress.

 No doubt, some people take their greed and selfishness to the extreme and only live to oppress other people. But the magic is to understand this inherent human nature, that everyone you meet is first and foremost more interest in “what’s in it for them”. People are always thinking about themselves. With this knowledge, start focusing more on what people want and what you can offer them. Jim Rohn puts it clearly, “you can have all you want in life if you can help as much people get what they want”. Turn the focus of your life towards identifying and providing what other people want and you will be on your way to getting what you want.

5.     Learn a skill and get good at it

On a deeper level, the problem of poverty is not lack of money but lack of skill. The best strategy to escape poverty is to learn a skill people want to pay for. Interestingly, there is an avalanche of free resources to help you develop and brush up your skills; from programming, design to marketing skills. There is also carpentry, shoe making, car mechanic and other handwork. This is where you need to keep your entitlement mindset to check. As long as you are doing decent work, and earning a living off it, you should be confident and proud of what you do.

6.     Move your service from intermediate to professional

Listen attentively to this. People do not hire you or patronize your business or service because they want to help you get out of poverty. They do so because they need to solve a problem. Many people get trapped in the circle of poverty and mediocrity by offering poor and nonchalant services. They go about their work like hunting; every encounter is hunt and kill. They leave each prospect bitter and vowing never to patronize them again.

Don’t toll this path. Instead, keep in mind that people are inherently selfish; they want to be treated well; they want good result. Focus on helping them get what they want, so that you can get what you want. Instead of treating your work as hunting, decide to treat it as gardening. If you are in business, you need repeat patronage; in the professional world, you need referrals and recommendations. Don’t go about burning your bridges. Start cultivating positive relationships around your work.

7.     Learn to sell

What do you think is the highest paid profession in the world? It’s not medical doctors or engineers. The highest paid profession in the world is sales. The richest people are the best at selling; whether it’s selling their vision, their product and service or their skills. They are masters at selling.

The ability to sell is not reserved for a few set of people. Anyone can learn this skill. The problem is that most people spend too much time on the product and too little on selling what they have. If you want to escape poverty, the ability to sell can get you out faster than any other skill. There is no best-written author, but best-selling author.

8.     Take Back Control of Your mind

Most of your opinions are not original. They were adopted from your environment into your mind. Each time you turn on the TV, go on social media, listen to people around, your mind is getting suggestions on opinions to hold or to let go.

Here is an example. Do you know that mega supermarkets are designed to make you buy more than what you had in mind to buy? You walk in to get a deal on one item and you walk out buying a cart full of items; some of which you don’t need. How would you explain that almost everyone in Africa seems to fanatically support a football club in England or Spain? Or that millions of people lost their money in a ponzi scheme that promised 30 percent interest every month.

If you take the time to ponder, you will realize that you are not as in control of your mind as you think. You will realize that some of the things you spend time, energy and money on are actually not worth much. Your mind is your most valuable asset. Take back control of it by deciding what you let into it. Read books and stories that inspire you to dream and take productive action. Invest in yourself.

This is where we wrap it up. Let us know your thoughts in the comment section. Also thumb up and share this video with your friends. If you are yet to subscribe to After School Africa, now is a good time to subscribe. Until next time YOUR SUCCESS MATTERS!

How to start investing in Bitcoin in Nigeria

 

Almost everyone have somehow heard of Bitcoin. Most people usually heard about it in passing but don’t know what it is. For some others, their question is if it is legal and how can they start, while for some others the question is what can they do with Bitcoin. In this article we will look at how to invest and make money from Bitcoin in Nigeria.

What is Bitcoin?

Bitcoin is simply digital money, meaning that unlike Naira or US Dollar that makes use of paper, Bitcoin is completely paperless. It was created with the intention of making it easier to move money from country to country, some even call it borderless money. Bitcoin, unlike regular currency (fiat), is not controlled by any single individual, organisation or government rather is controlled by Bitcoin users around the world.

Is Bitcoin Legal?

As to whether it is legal, in some countries it has been tagged as illegal although it is difficult to restrict people from using bitcoin. However, in Nigeria, there are no laws/policies against the use of cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin in Nigeria is 100% legal

What you can do with Bitcoin

Regarding what can you do with Bitcoin in Nigeria, a couple use cases are: using it as an investment vehicle to diversify your assets; trading by making gains off the price fluctuation just like forex trading. Bitcoin can also be used to transfer money across borders faster and cheaper.

How to invest in Bitcoin in Nigeria

On how to start investing in Bitcoin, it’s pretty easy. A couple years ago the reverse was the case but with platforms like Binance, investing in Bitcoin from Nigeria is seamless. Binance is the largest crypto exchange in the world with over 13 million users around the world.

You can start investing in Bitcoin with as low as N50 and can fund your account with either your debit or via bank transfer. All you need to do is Create an Account, Deposit Naira into your Wallet and then Buy Bitcoin.

Note: Due to CBN regulations, deposit via debit card is no temporary suspended, you can deposit and withdraw via P2P section of Binance, it is easy and fast. Once you sign up and verify your account, just go to the P2P section.

Follow these steps to invest in Bitcoin in Nigeria using Binance:

1. Creating an Account

Go to Binance.com and you will immediately see a signup form

Fill in your details, submit and verify your email via the link sent to your email

Go to ‘My Account’ and click on verify your identity

2. Depositing Naira in your wallet

Click on “Wallets”  in the website menu.

Then click on “Deposit.” On the next screen click on “Deposit Fiat”

Select naira from the currency Menu

You can choose the method you want to deposit. A debit card or bank transfer

Click on Continue

Enter the details of how much you want to deposit and click on ‘Pay’ or ‘Submit’ if you selected bank deposit.

For card payment enter your card details and click Pay. If you selected bank deposit make a transfer to the account details, ensure to include the ‘Deposit Reference Code’ in the transfer summary.

Once done your Binance account will be credited with the value you deposited.

Note: Due to CBN policy, use the below method to deposit naira

Depositing Naira in your wallet via P2P

Click on “Wallet” on the website menu and select “P2P”

Now you click on “P2P Trading”

On the next page, ensure you select “Buy”, in the fiat box, select “NGN” which is an abbreviation of Naira. You will get a warning of the risk, accept.

You will see different offers, select convenient offers with high completion rate.

Input the amount of Naira (NGN) you want to deposit.

Now, you will be taken to the completion page. You will see the account number of the trader. Make the payment to the account number using bank transfer.

Once you have made payment, click on Transferred, next.

As soon as the trader confirms the payment, the money will be deposited in the account.

Note: You will see the number of the trader right there, you can call them. Also know that for your safety, the trader account in Binance is frozen until trade is completed

3. Buying Bitcoin

Once your wallet is funded click on “Wallet” and then Fiat and Spot” in the menu

When the page loads Click on “Buy” beside bitcoin

In amount to spend, enter the amount you want to buy. Example: If you want to buy N5,000 worth of BTC, type 5,000 in the field.

Alternatively, you can switch to “amount to buy” using the double arrows to the right of that field. In this case, type in the amount of the asset you want to buy. Example: If you want to buy 0.5 BTC, type 0.5 in that field.

Confirm all the details.

Click “Buy”

You can check if you have been credited, by clicking on ‘Wallets’ in the menu.

Note: You can also use the P2P method to buy bitcoin directly

Automatically trade bitcoin and other cryptos very easily

If you do not have the time or you are not very knowledgeable to trade Bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency, the good news is that you can use a crypto trading bot. The trading bot will trade for you and make money for you even while you sleep.

The bots use different signals to trade. The best crypto trading bot is Cryptohopper.

First, you need to open a Binance account. Then follow the instruction above to deposit funds into your finance account. Once you have done that, sign up for a cryptohopper account. Then connect it to your Binance account. Set everything up.

That is all. The bots will automatically trade for you.

 

Top 12 Benefits of Email Marketing For Business

 Email marketing is one of the best ways to communicate with customers, with this top 12 benefits of email marketing for business we will highlight, how you can benefit from this and generate money.

And while most email service providers (ESPs) now come with plenty of automation tools, email marketing can still take patience, hard work, and a small bit of financial investment upfront, with this the top 12 benefits of email marketing for business is what we will highlight in this articles. 

Which leads back to that same question:

“Is email marketing worth all the time and effort?”

So, today, we’re going to answer that question with a resounding YES. And by the end of this article, we think you’ll agree.

Email marketing uses email to build relationships with your audience. With the right communication flow, you can send relevant information and convert prospects to customers.

People interested in your product or service can join your list and, through email marketing communications, learn everything they need to know to make a purchasing decision.

By building your email list with your target audience (people who can benefit from your products or services), you can be sure that email marketing will become an important source of income for your business.

Why Email Marketing for Business Works

Unlike some other marketing channels, email marketing allows you to keep in touch with your customers on a consistent basis.

Be it a simple, “Thank you for subscribing,” a cheery, “Welcome on board,” or a sincere “Happy Birthday,” email is the easiest and most effective way to let your customers know you value them. Customers love it when a business treats them as an individual, not just like everyone else.

That value should show in the emails you send, and the more value you provide to your target audience, the more they’ll look forward to hearing from you. When that happens, it’s easier to get them to engage with your call-to-action.

These are 12 top benefits of email marketing for business; that make email marketing the perfect choice for your digital marketing activities.

1. Low Cost

Let’s start with the most important aspect: how much does it cost?

To run professional email marketing campaigns, all you need is a basic strategy and the right tool that allows you to test various tactics.

There are many professional email marketing software ( MailChimp, Benchmark, Sendinblue, Mailerlite, among others). These offer various plans based on the size of your list (number of subscribers).

The services are perfectly scalable. You can use a basic plan to start building your contact list, sell your products, and upgrade to more advanced plans as your online income grows.

2. Full Control

You have full control over your communications.

You can:

– Design your assets (for example, web forms, emails and landing pages).

– Decide the type of campaigns you run.

– Segment users to better direct efforts and achieve better personalization.

Plan your communication carefully to reflect your brand identity and stand out from other companies in your customers’ inboxes.

3. Accuracy

When you build your list organically, ask people to confirm the subscription. This way, you know that your contacts want to receive emails from your brand, which means that you are targeting people who are genuinely interested in your offering. This list is considered high quality and is likely to provide better business results.

You can run A / B tests, track statistics, and monitor the results of your campaigns in real time. Based on the information collected, you can make small changes (for example, layout, copy, structure, or workflow) and optimize your digital marketing program.

4. Easy to use

Creating an email marketing campaign is straightforward. You can design your templates, it’s just drag and drop, no coding required! And if design isn’t your thing, you can use ready-made templates to set up your campaigns.

5. The preferred Marketing medium

According to the DMA (Data & Marketing Association), most people prefer that companies contact them through email rather than other channels.

The survey results make perfect sense, as well-designed email marketing campaigns are relevant and non-intrusive – emails wait in the inbox and subscribers decide when is the right time to open and read it. And if they no longer want to receive the content, they can unsubscribe with just a couple of clicks.

Permission marketing means, according to Seth Godin, the Marketing guru, is privilege (not the right) to deliver relevant and personalized messages in advance to customers who really want to receive it.

6. Can reach mobile device users

The percentage of email that is opened on mobile devices continues to grow. According to a Benchmarks report, openings through a desktop account for 45.69%, followed by mobile device openings with 34.31%.

This means that you can reach your customers and influence their purchasing decisions wherever they are. You can also integrate your online and offline marketing, p. Eg by collecting email addresses at events or while shopping at a physical location.

7. Email is its own medium.

The digital marketing strategy is divided into paid, earned and owned media. Email belongs to the category of proprietary media (unless we are talking about sponsored email). It means that your company has full control over this online marketing channel.

In fact, over time, your email list becomes your greatest online marketing asset – a massive database of people wanting to know your brand.

8. Targeted and personalized communication

You can collect relevant information from your contacts throughout the subscription process and use it to tailor the communication to your needs and preferences. Based on the data, you can create segments of people who share common traits.

Your subscribers will stay on your list as long as they see value in your communication; so over time, you can build a huge email list that generates impressive income.

9.  Boost sales

According to a report from the Direct Marketing Association, 66 percent of consumers have made a purchase online due to an email marketing message.

By promoting your business through email marketing, it gives your audience the chance to make a purchase right from their phone or laptop.

Email marketing can be used to sell to prospects, boost referrals, upsell to current customers, and even re-engage customers that have not purchased from you in a while. The more relevant and targeted your email content is, the more likely the reader will take an action.

10.  Increased traffic to your website

Emails are a great way to get customers to visit your website. You can include relevant links to your site within your email content. You can also use your email campaigns to get customers to engage with other great pieces of content available on your website or blog.

For example, a local design school could send out emails to let them know about their new design class that has a limited number of seats. Many of their customers and potential leads may have missed out on this opportunity to attend the class had they not revisited the website in time.

The design school then can fill all the seats more quickly by promoting the class via email, instead of waiting for reservations to trickle in.

11.  Maintain 100% Control over Your Audience

Out of all the email marketing benefits, this may be one of the biggest: you want complete control over your audience.

More than any other platform, email marketing gives you the most stability.

With social media, you always run the risk of having your account suspended or shut down. Sometimes this isn’t even from something you did intentionally wrong.

People have had their accounts shut down for promoting their page on certain groups (without knowing they couldn’t) or by breaking other rules they weren’t aware of.

It’s why you hear horror stories of people building their entire business in Facebook pages and groups, only to get shut down and lose everything.

And the world of content marketing isn’t any better.

Thanks to algorithm updates and changes in SEO ranking factors by Google, you never know when your content will fluctuate on the results pages (SERPs).

12. Stronger customer relationships

Your customers appreciate a good email. The time and effort it takes to draft the perfect email doesn’t go unnoticed. They want to know what’s happening with your business, and how they can get involved.

It’s nearly impossible to reach out to all your customers in person or by phone. Email marketing campaigns bridge that gap. You could even set up a drip marketing campaign to help you smooth out the process.

Drip campaigns are ongoing and drive the user down the buyer’s journey to a final conversion point. They’re often used to provide constant value to subscribers while helping keep your brand top-of-mind. Often times, these emails slowly “drip” helpful information, products, or tips, over days, weeks, or months.

For example, the emails you receive when you browse Amazon, but don’t buy anything, are a drip email marketing automation at work.

Summary 

It’s easy to get caught up in the intricacies of building out an email marketing campaign that works for your customers and your business.

There’s a lot of learning involved, but there’s also a lot of opportunity to communicate with your customers, rather than just sending emails all the time.

With email marketing, you can build your brand, out-do your marketing goals, and set yourself up as an expert, all without breaking your budget.