Latest / Closing Sales in Nigeria - Sales For The Nigerian Business Person: The Sales and Marketing Blueprint / Building Businesses & Exporting Charcoal: Your Questions Answered

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Building Businesses & Exporting Charcoal: Your Questions Answered · Closing Sales in Nigeria - Sales For The Nigerian Business Person: The Sales and Marketing Blueprint

0:01
Hello and welcome to the show. Today's going to be a noisy
0:03
episode because I'm out and about.
0:05
I actually have to get to the mechanic real quick to get some
0:08
work done on the car. So I figured let me just make
0:11
this recording real quick because by the time I get to the
0:13
mechanics, you know it can be now.
0:15
So the noise that will be on another level.
0:19
All right, so today let me see if I can accomplish 2IN1.
0:23
That's because things are beginning to back up.
0:26
You know, the number of questions that I've been trying
0:28
to address over here on the show now on my radio show, not the
0:33
podcast on the radio show, he's beginning to pick up steam.
0:38
People are beginning to call. And so the the number of
0:41
questions and contributions are growing and growing and growing.
0:44
And I would like to share some of those things with you guys
0:47
over here on the podcast. So First off from about four
0:52
weeks ago, there was a caller who called in.
0:53
His name is Chimezie and he called in from Loku Goma in
0:56
Abuja. And he's in the business of
1:01
selling computer accessories. You know, he imports them and
1:03
then he sells them over here. And then when he called in, it
1:06
wasn't for to give a question per SE, but he had advice for
1:10
some other person that I was talking with on the air and
1:13
trying to help them solve some of their problems.
1:15
And he made some really valuable contributions that I want to
1:17
share over here today. So basically what Jimmy said
1:21
when he called in was just to say that business isn't hard.
1:24
Business isn't difficult. All you have to do is figure out
1:27
the systems or frameworks, learn a bunch of stuff, and then apply
1:30
it consistently and you'll be fine.
1:32
Then he also said that cash flow management is important.
1:35
So what's your income versus expensive expenses?
1:39
Then he also wanted to give people realistic time frames
1:42
because, you know, he's been in business for a while.
1:45
And then he also had a few things to say about partners,
1:48
business partners, and how that can either hinder or promote the
1:52
level of growth that you want to make in the business.
1:54
So let's just freestyle on some of that stuff.
1:57
So on the main thing, that business isn't hard, business
2:00
isn't difficult. Well, you know, in a sense.
2:03
But basically what he's trying to say, and when people say
2:05
business isn't hard or it's not difficult, what they're trying
2:07
to say is that business is not complex.
2:10
So yes, there are lots of moving things, but The thing is, if you
2:12
can just calm down and slow down and not be scared for a minute,
2:17
you'll be able to see that there are certain systems in at work,
2:20
certain frameworks at work. And so the goal is just to
2:23
understand the system and then start applying things on a
2:25
small, small level every single day consistently, and then
2:28
you'll be fine. And that's one of the core
2:31
tenants behind me coming up with this podcast that selling is a
2:34
system. Selling is a framework.
2:37
It's not about how, it's not about how smooth you are.
2:41
It's not about how fast you can talk about how cool you are.
2:45
It's not about personality. It's not about all those things
2:47
like, yes, all those things help, you know, if you're a fine
2:49
boy or a fine girl, yes, it helps.
2:51
If you can't talk smooth, yes, it helps.
2:53
But at the end of the day, there's a system in play.
2:58
And that's the reason why you can meet somebody who is ugly
3:02
and who is, I don't know, whatever your definition of ugly
3:06
is, or by the way, we shouldn't say that certain people are
3:08
ugly. That's a conversation I've had
3:10
with my son because, you know, in primary school, our children
3:12
say all kinds of things. And so I've had that
3:14
conversation with him, that, look, we don't call another
3:16
human being ugly. It's just a fact of life that
3:21
some people are much more conventionally appealing than
3:25
others because it's a matter of convention.
3:27
Because if you notice, like, let's take men, for instance,
3:30
what passes for an attractive man these days is definitely not
3:35
what would have passed for an attractive man, you know, in my
3:38
youth, OK, I'm still a youth. I mean, back when I was a young
3:42
boy. So back when I was a young boy,
3:44
you know, a man had to be, you understand, like a man.
3:47
So it was Arnold Schwarzenegger. It was he man, what else?
3:54
Superman, you know, So to be a man, you have to be buff, you
3:58
have to be strong, what else, you know?
4:00
But nowadays, you know, we have metrosexuals, you know, skinny
4:05
jeans and then that very skinny look, you know, for men these
4:09
days, and then tight clothes and stuff like that.
4:12
So, you know, these conventions, these conventions, they change.
4:18
So basically, let's not call anybody ugly.
4:20
But the point it is I'm trying to make is that, yes, you will
4:23
see somebody who is fine and the person can sell, but you will
4:25
also see somebody who is ugly in quotes who can sell better than
4:28
the fine person. And the point there is that it's
4:32
the person's knowledge of the systems and frameworks around
4:36
selling that is what leads to you being successful in selling
4:39
at the end of the day. So let's keep learning, you
4:43
know, listen to radio shows like mine, listen to podcasts like
4:46
mine, go on the Internet, use Google, look for materials, try
4:50
and get some internships, try and get some apprenticeships,
4:53
learn. And then when you start your own
4:56
business and you start applying things consistently, everything,
5:00
sorry, every day, everything will be all right.
5:01
Because like Jimmy said, there's sometimes that he goes to the
5:04
shop one whole week, not a single customer, but he still
5:08
keeps going. And eventually he gets to that
5:11
week where, you know, too many people just show up.
5:14
And so it happens. Some days are high, some days
5:16
are low. So that was one message from
5:18
Jimmy said. I was saying I'm over here
5:19
today. Then he also spoke about cash
5:21
flow management. You know, since he's in a
5:24
product space is absolutely important.
5:26
Cash flow just means money is coming in, money is going out.
5:28
It's just naturally in business you're always receiving money
5:31
from customers, receiving money from investors.
5:34
What else? Maybe somebody dash you money,
5:39
OK, no, we shouldn't consider that when it comes to business.
5:41
So money is coming in from investors, money is coming in
5:43
from customers. Then money also has to go out.
5:45
You have to buy raw materials, you have to buy inventory, you
5:48
have to pay for staff, you have to pay for never you have to pay
5:50
for Internet. So that's just what cash flow
5:52
means. Money is coming in, money is
5:54
coming out. So he said that Capital
5:56
Management very, very, very, very important.
5:58
You need to watch your cash flow.
5:59
So for people like him who sell physical stuff, if you're
6:05
spending IF800K is coming in every month, but then you're
6:09
spending 1.4 million naira every month, you now know that there's
6:11
a problem. It means that every single month
6:13
you're short 400 K. So there's a problem that you
6:15
need to figure out. So he said, what's your
6:19
drawdown? Those of you who have physical
6:21
businesses, drawdown is just the amount that you pay yourself.
6:23
One enters into your pocket. So be very careful.
6:26
You know, what's your drawdown because you can be drawing down
6:28
too much in the pocket. And then before you know if you
6:30
have a problem. And then he also spoke about the
6:33
importance of reinvesting cash into your business.
6:36
Then when it comes to time frames, this is the advice that
6:39
he had for some of the young bloods that we were talking to
6:41
on the show. He said that look, we need
6:43
realistic time frames that too many people show up and they
6:46
think they can blow in the short term.
6:48
And remember when we say short term, short time is 00 months to
6:51
one year or six months to one year, then medium term is 2 to
6:56
three years, long term is three to five years and beyond.
7:00
So he said two to three years, you know, is a good time frame
7:04
that show up, try the business. If by year 2, year three thing
7:08
is not working now you know, you can throw in the tower.
7:10
So in other words, if you want to get involved in the computer
7:13
accessories business like Jimmy's, you know, you don't
7:16
start in January 2025 and then by April 2025 you say, OK, this
7:19
business is too hard. Let me let me leave, let me fold
7:22
up. I mean, like I haven't done
7:23
anything. You've only been in the
7:24
business. You've only been in the game for
7:26
four months. So he said realistic
7:28
expectations, you know, two to three years.
7:30
And you know, I think that sounds about right.
7:33
But whether you agree with two to three years or not, the main
7:35
thing is nothing. For most people, nothing happens
7:38
in the short term. You know, 0 to one year, nothing
7:41
happens. You make some traction, you
7:43
know, small, small, small. But that big overnight growth,
7:47
big boy, big girl, millionaire status, for most people, nothing
7:51
happens in one year. Then Jimmy has also spoke about
7:55
how we need trustworthy partners because the partners and the
7:58
stakeholders that we surround ourselves with, these are the
8:01
people that can either help us to move forward or hinder us.
8:04
Like in his own case, you talk about how having people in his
8:07
crew who are not trustworthy was beginning to slow him down
8:10
because he was not free to execute.
8:12
You know, there's some things you can execute on if you look
8:14
back and you see that your boys are shady.
8:17
So if your boys and girls are shady, then, you know, you
8:19
always have to keep putting eye on them and, yeah, you know,
8:23
just slows you down. So he said we should learn how
8:26
to select the right kind of partners.
8:30
And yeah, that's something that I totally endorse.
8:33
And they also spoke about the importance of separating
8:36
personal problems from business problems.
8:37
They always have to be professional.
8:38
Like he was talking about the death in the family.
8:41
And it's something I can't relate to because back in the
8:43
event or in the wedding space, yes, your family member has
8:47
died. And you know, the bride and
8:49
groom, they will say, but then they'll ask you that, OK, we
8:53
still want our album. How can when are you going to
8:55
deliver that album? You know, it's just the sad
8:56
realities of life, you know, so bad things happen, but The thing
9:00
is, clients still want their stuff.
9:02
So. Oh, OK.
9:03
Your uncle died. Yeah.
9:04
Sorry. Oh, sorry.
9:05
Oh, but yes, I paid you 1.5 for the furniture.
9:08
When are you delivering the furniture to my house?
9:10
So they will condo with you for, you know, maybe 2 minutes, but
9:15
then they'll quickly get back to the matter.
9:16
That look. OK.
9:17
I paid you for furniture. Where's the furniture?
9:19
Well, I paid you for a car. Where's my car?
9:21
Well, I paid you for solar panels.
9:23
Where are my solar panels? So he said we need to learn how
9:26
to keep things professional, separate business problems or
9:28
personal problems. And one thing I'm going to add
9:31
is keeping things professional doesn't mean we deny that we are
9:36
suffering, but not everybody needs to know our personal
9:40
business. But either way, when we're in
9:41
front of clients, we need to be attentive, we need to be paying
9:44
attention to them, We need to be other focused.
9:46
We need to be focused on them and their own needs.
9:49
You know, later on, then when we leave, you know, we can go to
9:51
church and you know, go and pray or you know, maybe go and meet
9:54
your wife and cry on her shoulder or something like that.
9:56
Then we need to be diligent and we need to make sure that the
9:59
customer is satisfied. So professionalism, you know,
10:02
that's what it means. You're attentive, you're other
10:04
focused, you're diligent and you're trying to work on
10:06
customer satisfaction. If you have personal problems,
10:09
because let's face it, everybody has personal problems.
10:12
And if everybody tries to unload their personal problems, I mean
10:14
nothing will get done. I mean, like, imagine me now
10:16
going to my mechanic and I said why I'm here.
10:19
Nothing that we said for the AC. Well, let's do it.
10:22
And then he starts telling me about problems at home.
10:24
Problems. This is why problems with this
10:25
kid problem with this problem with that.
10:27
I mean, I will listen to him and I'll like a a belly, belly.
10:31
Sorry you, sorry you life is hard.
10:33
You shall be well. You shall be well, you shall be
10:35
well. And then after a while I'll just
10:37
stop going there because we'll be like every time I go there,
10:39
these guys offloading this personal business for me.
10:42
So yeah, that was contributions from Chimney.
10:48
Let's see. OK, so let me move on.
10:50
So hold on, let me get my notes, let's see what else.
10:53
OK. Then there were also some guys
10:55
that called in, there was Francisca who called in from
10:58
Lube. And then another guy, Chuka, I
10:59
can't remember which part of Abuja he called in from, but I
11:02
love that question together because it was all around
11:04
charcoal export. They wanted to know charcoal
11:06
export, that business, is it feasible, Is it viable or is
11:09
charcoal contraband? Now, of course, the reason why
11:12
they asked those questions is because as I was yanning with
11:14
somebody else on the show, you know, the whole thing came out
11:17
about my me and my brother when wine business doing commodities
11:21
exports, that's exporting sesame seed and exporting charcoal and
11:24
how we intended to go into processing and exporting sesame.
11:29
So what's it called, Guy? What's this thing called now,
11:36
Ori? Sheer butter.
11:37
Sheer butter because these are things that grow around that.
11:41
I was hired, you know, Benoit State, Nassau State, you know,
11:43
we grow these kind of things, but we never got into that.
11:46
So some people called up like, oh, OK, I've been hearing about
11:48
this charcoal thing, you know, so what's up?
11:50
Is it a good business? So it's charcoal trading.
11:53
Is it feasible? Feasible just means doable.
11:55
The answer is yes, because there's overseas demand.
11:59
People need charcoal for fuel. They need charcoal for
12:02
recreation in the Middle East and in China.
12:04
So they need charcoal to power some, some machines, some
12:09
furnaces, you know, things like that.
12:11
And then when it comes to the recreation part, you know,
12:13
people like to smoke their shisha and smoke the, you know,
12:16
all the kinds of things, all the smokables.
12:18
So that's the main reason why people buy charcoal from
12:21
Nigeria. That's why people in the Middle
12:23
East and in China buy the charcoal.
12:25
And if you doubt what I'm saying, the next time you're in
12:28
Abuja, the next time you're in Lagos, the next time you're in
12:31
Kano, those go to any of these Hangouts, any of these lounges.
12:35
You look, it's usually on the left corner.
12:37
Just enter the room and then look to the left corner, the
12:41
very dark part of the room. You see some guys that huddle
12:44
around the table and you see something that looks like a
12:46
genie lamp or something. That's the shisha.
12:49
So they put the water inside that thing.
12:50
You put the lemon, you put the weed, you put the everything,
12:53
you put the charcoal under. They now light the fire under
12:56
the charcoal. And The thing is, you know how
13:00
those of you who who like to who like to base, you know how you
13:03
do your thing now. So you light up that thing and
13:06
then the charcoal is sending the everything is warm and bubbling.
13:11
And then the weed will mix with the lemon fragrance, with the
13:14
Rosemary and thyme with the everything.
13:16
And then you smoke it and you give yourself a nice high.
13:19
And I don't engage in that kind of stuff.
13:21
But you know, whenever the few times that I go out, I always
13:24
see them huddled around the table.
13:26
Then we'll be passing the pipes around.
13:28
By the way, are you guys supposed to be passing pipes
13:30
like that? You don't know that.
13:31
If somebody has hepatitis and you know, you, you take a hit of
13:34
the shisha, then you pass it to him.
13:35
That's all of you. Just be shame hepatitis amongst
13:39
yourself. So please, I don't endorse
13:42
shisha, but if you must, if you must base, if you must unwind,
13:47
then at least pay for your own personal shisha.
13:50
Hold your own, get your own pipe.
13:52
Don't be sharing pipes. All of you.
13:54
You see eight boys gathered that you don't know, who has been
13:56
kissing, who will not be passing nothing around.
13:59
Next thing somebody will give you herpes and you know
14:02
hepatitis and all that stuff. So be careful even as we flex.
14:08
So basically, yes, charcoal feasible.
14:12
There's demand then for the exports, yes, it's viable.
14:15
Viable just means am I going to get good returns?
14:18
And the answer is yes. However, I told them that look,
14:22
charcoal business, export business is not like it's not
14:26
business the way that most of we Nigerians know because most of
14:30
us who get into business in Nigeria, we start off basic, we
14:32
start off small. You know, you buy rice for 90K
14:37
and then you sell the bag of rice for 125K, then you now made
14:42
a profit of 35 K. That's how most of us get into
14:44
business. Buy and then you sell or you buy
14:49
bread at 900 naira wholesale, then you sell it at retail 1002
14:55
and you made a profit of 400 naira or whatever that is.
14:59
So that's how most of us get into business.
15:02
However, when it comes to international export, things
15:05
become a little bit dicey, a little bit strange, depending on
15:09
the products, depending on the part of the world, depending on
15:12
the business traditions that they have.
15:14
So for charcoal, typically when we're selling it, we had to
15:17
accept 40% deposit. We could not find anybody that
15:21
will pay us 100% as, OK, we're sending you the charcoal, but
15:24
then give us the money 100%. Of course, the angle that
15:28
they're coming from is, Luke, I don't know you, you're just in
15:30
Nigeria there. How do we know that we send you
15:32
all these millions that you know, charcoal show?
15:35
So what we were doing, the Standard Time we're doing was
15:39
we'll collect 40% of the money for the value of the charcoal
15:44
and then the remainder, the 60% was going to be financed through
15:48
letter of credit between the banks.
15:51
Now letter of credit is a letter that is exchanged between both
15:54
banks where one bank says, Oh yes, I know that my client is
15:58
doing business with you and the client has given me the money.
16:01
So the money is now in my own hand.
16:03
When you deliver, I will transfer to the other bank.
16:05
So with letters of credit, it is 2 banks talking to each other.
16:08
So it's no longer me. And OK, let's say I'm selling
16:13
charcoal to Malam Abdul Kadir somewhere in the Middle East.
16:18
So by the time we get letter of credit, it's no longer me and
16:20
Malam Abdul Kadir talking one-on-one.
16:22
But it will be our banks talking one-on-one and exchanging
16:25
paperwork. So would have given instructions
16:28
to the bank. Malam Abdul Kadir will tell his
16:30
bank that look when I go and and I see my charcoal in the pot and
16:34
everything is OK now make the transfer for the 60%.
16:37
And so that is how we were financing our trades.
16:41
So you can see that it's a little bit technical.
16:43
It's not as simple as you go and buy something for 900 naira and
16:47
then you sell it for 1300 or let's say you're selling human
16:51
hair and your human hair is 500 K, but the person is coming to
16:56
buy the human hair will pay you your 500K cash upfront before
17:01
they collect the human hair. So when it comes to trading
17:04
charcoal and exports, you know, the things are a little more, I
17:10
don't know what's the word, but let me just say the first time
17:12
that you meet you and you know, especially when we're talking
17:15
exports, everything now is million, million million.
17:17
The number is big. So the first time I won't like,
17:20
you know, your leg will be shaking.
17:22
You'll be like, hey, what am I committing myself to?
17:24
I'm going to go and source these things, 400 and 100 of thousands
17:27
of them for millions, and then I will just send it to a total
17:30
stranger. The person only gave me 40%.
17:32
So the person doesn't pay. What will now happen?
17:35
And actually, these things do happen.
17:38
One of our most trusted customers, we had done lots of
17:41
trades with the guy. So there was now no, no, you
17:45
know, like No Fear because it's our guy now.
17:47
We've already done like four or five trades.
17:50
And then that time that the port was destroyed in Syria, was it
17:54
Syria? I can't remember where there's a
17:55
time where some port was blown up in the Middle East.
17:57
You know, we're going involved in some of these big because our
18:01
consignment was on the ship and then the guy received it.
18:06
I think they unloaded part of it.
18:07
And then that's when the the explosion happened in the port.
18:11
You know, some people said it was terrorist, some people said
18:13
no, was just accident. But whatever it is, that's how
18:16
the thing happened. And then our guy was now saying
18:19
that him he's in a he's in a bind.
18:21
That's in a difficult position. But of course, we were already
18:24
committed to the trade. So that's where quarrel now
18:27
started. Like the remainder of our money.
18:31
So how far? And you know, anyway, so these
18:34
things happen. You can't commit to something
18:37
hundreds and hundreds of thousands.
18:39
You're entering millions and then basically will not happen.
18:42
So these things happen. So my advice to Francisco from
18:46
Lumia Chuka was like, yeah, charcoal is cool, but us get
18:49
very familiar with international contracts and with payment
18:52
terms. You need to know what's up, need
18:54
to know all these things because I told them when you're quoting,
18:57
you need to know sometimes like 2 times I told them were COB and
19:03
CFI. So COB is when you quote goods
19:07
costs, is it cost on board? So it's been a long time so I
19:10
can't really remember. We've exited this business long,
19:13
long, long, long time ago. So COB I think is cost on board
19:17
and that means the quote you're quoting the quote for getting
19:21
the charcoal and everything on the on the ship.
19:26
Then CFI is cost freight and insurance.
19:30
So freight is freight is just transport fare.
19:33
When you put something on the ship, freight is the transport
19:35
fare basically. So if you're quoting CFI, that
19:38
means that you're quoting you're going to pay for the transport
19:41
fare of the charcoal. Then insurance, you're going to
19:44
pay for the cost of insuring it because like I said, bad things
19:50
happen sometimes, like with this, our loyal customer, we
19:53
send it the overloaded half and then the next thing the pot get
19:56
blown, gets blown up where there was accidental, whether I was
19:59
terrorist, you know, shark, the thing happened.
20:03
So yeah, you need to know all these things.
20:08
Yeah, you need to know all these things.
20:09
Then also told them about the registration requirements that
20:12
are needed, that you need to register with your banks, you
20:16
need to fill and back then I think was form M1 from M1 with
20:20
your banks. I think that one was something
20:24
Forex related anyway, because a lot of these people that you're
20:26
doing business with, they're going to be sending you hard
20:30
currency, they're going to be sending you dollars.
20:32
So you need to be licensed to receive Forex payment.
20:37
So I think was from M1, but I can't remember.
20:39
That was a long time ago. But you know, when you go to
20:41
your bank, your banking people will put you through.
20:43
Then you register with the, I think his Ministry of trade, but
20:47
I really can't remember which ministry because since I'm based
20:50
in Abuja, I'm the one that used to go to the ministry.
20:52
But for those of you who are based in Abuja, if you know the
20:54
VIO office in Mabushi, when you get to that main junction, when
20:58
you turn left, you're going to VIO office.
21:01
That's where was the vehicle inspection.
21:03
Something, something, those are the people that like to harass
21:05
us. You know, where's your license?
21:07
Where's your this, Where's your dad?
21:08
And they're looking for bribes, the idiots.
21:11
So if you turn left, you're going to Vio.
21:12
So if you turn right now, all those buildings on your right,
21:17
you see three of them, the one in the middle, the three of them
21:21
are federal ministry. So the one in the middle,
21:22
whether the Ministry of trade or Ministry of Commerce or ministry
21:24
of whatever that is the building that you're going to be going
21:28
to. Sorry, I can't remember all the
21:29
details. It's been such a long time.
21:32
Then on the whole thing of whether charcoal is contraband,
21:35
now, I told them, now look, it's not as if charcoal is
21:38
contraband. It's just that when it comes to
21:40
Nigeria, there's always policy inconsistency.
21:42
Policy inconsistency just means today the government says one
21:45
thing, tomorrow the government says another thing.
21:48
So today they will say yes, tomorrow they will change their
21:50
mind. And the reason why there's been
21:52
government inconsistencies around charcoal is because
21:55
certain nations have concerns around deforestation and climate
21:58
change. So in Nigeria, people are
22:00
worried about deforestation. We're worried about the Sahara
22:04
Desert encroaching into the northern part of the country.
22:07
So sometimes the government is like, the taxes on charcoal,
22:11
money is good. So you guys go ahead.
22:12
And then they tax all of you and you pay your so.
22:15
Excuse me, You pay your levies. And then after a while, you
22:18
know, they start thinking about deforestation, climate change,
22:21
no moratorium where all of you stop.
22:23
No more cutting down trees because that is how charcoal is
22:26
made. You go and you cut certain kinds
22:29
of trees, like in amongst the Yoruba people, for instance, in
22:33
Ellering, one of the trees we used to cut was, I think it's
22:37
called, I remember correctly, AYNI think it's I is it?
22:41
I can't remember. So you go and cut this, I mean
22:44
tree and then you chop it up into bricks and then you burn
22:50
it. Basically that's how truckhole
22:52
is made. You take a tree, you chop it
22:54
down, you burn it, but not burning to a crisp as you burn
22:59
it small, get some of the moisture out enough that it is
23:03
nice and dry. So you can use that to power
23:06
your, you know, if you use kerosene stove, you know, you
23:10
can use that for a kerosene stone or whatever.
23:13
The bottom line is to make charcoal, you have to kill trees
23:15
as basic. So sometimes Nigerian government
23:18
is like, go ahead, all of you keep trading, pay us our taxes
23:21
and then it's OK. No, you will slow down, slow
23:23
down. We need to think about
23:24
deforestation and then climate change.
23:26
So it's not illegal. But I told them that there are
23:31
people who consult specifically around these sorts of things.
23:34
So check around on the Internet and look for people who are
23:37
specialists in exports and especially charcoal.
23:41
They will let you know what's up, what the current state of
23:44
government policy is. So that's it.
23:46
That's the reason why sometimes charcoal business is moving in
23:49
Niger and then sometimes nobody is touching it.
23:52
It's because of policy inconsistency 1.
23:55
Then they also changed the tariffs a lot.
23:58
So today the tariff can be X and then when you're talking to
24:02
somebody in China, you factor in everything and you factor in X
24:06
and then you guys agreed to transfer money.
24:08
By the time you now get to ministry of Trade, you now find
24:10
out that you're supposed to pay the tax, that the levy they're
24:14
supposed to pay has already gone up like one time that they were
24:17
supposed to be paying for inspection.
24:18
I said, OK, no problem. I went there and I, you know,
24:21
like the like the dongs, like the idea that I was, I was
24:25
actually trying to find the people that are going to do the
24:27
inspection. And then eventually somebody
24:28
levelled with me and persons like Luke Bros, this inspection,
24:31
inspection that they're talking look inspection this like
24:34
nothing is going to happen. So you know what is what you do?
24:38
You want to bring XYZ and then if you settle us, this is how
24:43
we'll run to something. So yeah, it's unfortunate, but
24:46
you know, this, this rubbish happens.
24:48
That's the reason why some people decide from the beginning
24:51
on ethical grounds that they are not going to get involved in
24:53
some businesses. So there are some NGS who will
24:56
say, look, I will never do this kind of business because if I do
24:58
this, I will have to interact with this government agency,
25:01
that government agency. And if that happens, somebody
25:04
who asked me for a bribe and I'm born again Christian, and I do
25:07
not want to bribe. So anyway, I'm not going to tell
25:11
you guys how the episode ended. But yeah, not even though those
25:13
sorts of things happened, the government mandated expect
25:16
inspections. I went there going up and down
25:19
between Mabushi and Utako because they also have offices
25:23
in the Taco. So between Mabusha and Utako,
25:26
I'll try to track down like who is the people that are going to
25:28
do this inspection? Who do we pay to?
25:31
And once we pay, how do we make sure that you guys get to I was
25:37
it Alluring or Benin? I can't remember.
25:39
So how am I going to, you know, just the logistics shack so I
25:42
could let my brother know that OK, I paid.
25:44
This is the day that they're coming.
25:45
This is where they will meet you people.
25:48
So what was that? Any bottom line?
25:51
Sha consult a specialist. So for those of you who are
25:54
thinking about charcoal, yes, it's viable.
25:57
You can make money or talk to a specialist.
26:00
And because there's lots of stuff that you need to learn
26:02
around international payments and then around the current
26:06
state of the government policy, because it will really suck for
26:11
you to talk to somebody in China or in Dubai.
26:13
You guys agree, they transferred to 40%.
26:16
You go into the Bush, you're about to start and then task
26:18
force will now show up and say, who are you?
26:20
Who are you? You can't call this tree, you
26:21
can't call that tree, what are you doing, blah, blah, blah.
26:23
So that would really, that would really suck.
26:27
And yeah, I think that's it. I think that's it.
26:32
So for those who are interested in these kinds of business, just
26:34
know that when you start talking about exports, it's a different
26:38
ball game altogether. There's lots of stuff you need
26:40
to learn. It's a little bit much more
26:41
sophisticated and then the amount of money that you're
26:44
dealing with goes up. And I'm speaking from personal
26:46
experience. When you start off business and
26:48
you're dealing in thousands and 10s of thousands and hundreds of
26:53
thousands, you know, you get comfortable with a certain
26:55
amount. When the money starts entering
26:56
million, million, million, you be like, hey, wahala, you know.
27:00
So it takes some getting used to.
27:02
And because of this, I advise that perhaps if you're getting
27:05
involved in the charcoal industry, maybe you might
27:09
consider local trade because for instance, there are communities
27:14
where you make this charcoal in the communities around Nassara,
27:19
the water towns, and then the charcoal is transported from
27:22
Nassara into Abuja. And then Abuja people, there are
27:25
certain markets where Abuja people go and get their
27:27
charcoal, like what's this place?
27:31
Durumi Durumi, close to Living Faith Church, Living Faith
27:35
Church and Catholic Secretariat. I noticed that there's a, a
27:38
charcoal market there, like a moderate charcoal market.
27:41
So stuff comes in from NASA, it goes to Durumi and then people
27:45
go and buy from there. And then they supply to all
27:47
these small, small places, you know, maybe like the Amala
27:50
joints in Guarempa and you know, all those places where people
27:53
cook with charcoal. So it's something to consider.
27:56
It must if you, if you already get involved in that business,
27:59
it doesn't have to be export, especially if you're afraid of
28:02
this whole 40% deposit and then letter of credit, you can do
28:06
local. So if you're based in NASA, you
28:09
can do local, do your charcoal, send it to a buyer in Abuja, the
28:13
person pays you want represent upfront and then hopefully you
28:16
make some profit on top of it. So that's it pretty much, Yeah.
28:22
I think that's it. On that particular radio show,
28:24
by the time we're done, my brother called me because he
28:26
listened to the show and he said that I should also warn people
28:30
that charcoal business is cut throat, is very cut throat.
28:34
Everybody is trying to scam you. You know, you're dealing with
28:37
government officials. They want their own cut.
28:40
When you go to the Bush, the farmers are supposed to harvest
28:43
the trees. You know, the, you know, you,
28:45
you pay them. But if you are not there to
28:47
supervise them direct which tree are they cutting?
28:51
The one called rubbish for you. The processing part, the bonding
28:55
of the charcoal and the burying and the everything because it's
28:58
supposed to be a certain moisture content.
29:00
If you're not there to supervise them, they will do rubbish for
29:02
you. So this is the kind of business
29:04
that unfortunately you have to be out there in the Bush with
29:07
them. When they're cutting the tree,
29:09
you are there. When they're hacking the tree,
29:12
you are there. When they are processing it, you
29:14
are there. The lorry people, all right.
29:17
That is also where there's also another problem.
29:19
You also need to be there. The lorry driver who's going to
29:22
drive the thing to port. Did the lorry driver come on
29:24
time? Because that place, those are
29:25
places where you can miss money. And then some silly lorry
29:29
drivers will show up and they will say that fuel have finished
29:32
or that the battery is dead. But because you're not there,
29:35
nobody will call you. Everybody will just sit down and
29:37
be waiting. Nobody will use the initiative
29:39
on call. So it's it's a cultural
29:41
business. And this charcoal business is
29:44
not business you can do from the comfort of your house.
29:47
You can't stay in your house and use your phone and be remote
29:49
controlling people. You have to be in the Bush or
29:52
you need somebody in the Bush with them.
29:54
So I was in the city, my brother was in the Bush, and that's how
29:57
we're making it work. So yeah, that's also another
29:59
warning. If you must do charcoal or this
30:01
kind of business, you cannot remote control anybody.
30:04
Get yourself a nice car that is robust, that will not be
30:09
breaking down anyhow, and just know that you are going to drive
30:14
to the Bush, or rather you drive to the town because there's some
30:16
places that your car cannot enter.
30:18
So what happens? You drive a neighbor park and
30:20
then you take Okada and then you go into the Bush.
30:23
So just know that this is that kind of business.
30:26
So if you don't like mosquitoes, if you don't like scorpions, if
30:29
you don't like caterpillars, if you don't like sleeping in the
30:32
car, if you don't like like when you want to poop, there's no
30:35
comfortable toilet. You have to go and look for a
30:38
boot somewhere and you have to do short put.
30:40
If you don't like that kind of life, then maybe Jack oil export
30:43
is not for you. So let me stop here after calls,
30:47
3 contributions for today. So that's it.
30:50
Thank you very much for your time and attention.
30:51
If you'd love to connect with me for a strategy session for a
30:54
business audit or you have some questions you'd like me to
30:56
answer, the number to call me on or to WhatsApp me on is 0806466
31:03
2140. The country code is +234.
31:05
For those of you who are not Nigerian, then also connect with
31:08
me on LinkedIn, my name is Tavi Shima Aede.
31:11
I also have a YouTube channel the same name Tavi Shima Aede.
31:15
Thanks for the time and attention.
31:16
I'll catch you guys at the next episode.