Nigerians have mastered the art of being resourceful by engaging in petty businesses to keep afloat.
One of such business is selling street food e.g. akara, roasted maize, noodles etc believed to be fast and easy to prepare. This business has a good turnover of profit as are on the go consumers who would stop for a bite, as well as loyal consumers.
It is advised to get a safe spot preferably a location close to a filling station, as it comes with an extended space where commercial motorists stop to buy fuel and fix their cars. These are all potential customers in a safe environment.
For some street sellers, asides from where they cook, they also make a small space and place benches or chairs for their customers to seat and enjoy street delicacies. While some customers would take a seat to enjoy their food, others prefer it to be well wrapped or packaged as take away.
In a chat with Hauwa Salami, who operates a noodle-cooking business stand, she told me that she started the business more than six years ago and has been able to feed, accommodate and also sponsor her siblings into the higher institution.
Start-Up Capital
“I started this business with N15,000 back then as I bought a cooking stove, two cartons of noodles and two crates of eggs, pots, frying pan, litre of vegetable oil for frying and a small kiosk.
“I later bought cooking gas and expanded from that one spot to three other locations, where the sales girls remit the money made from the day’s transaction and it has been like that all these years,” she says.
She advises that anyone willing to go into the business should start small and first make a list of the items – that will cost about N25,000. Hauwa stresses that this is business that does not require much to start.
It is gathered that, for the expansion of the business, a fraction of the profit made can be ploughed back into the noodle-cooking business, as there exists a large number of people who are consumers, especially those who are in the transport business and are always on the go.
Profitability
It is emphasised that street food business done seriously can take the food sellers’ finances to the next level. This is because such business is profitable. It is necessary for people to eat everyday. Monthly, it is estimated that such business could make N200,000 profit or more depending on patronage.
