By Ayomide Arowobusoye
It’s almost four weeks to the opening of National Youth Service Corps, NYSC orientation camps across Nigeria.
The prospective corp members will have no choice but to spend 21 days at these permanent orientation camps usually outside their states’ geopolitical zone.
While many might be looking forward to three weeks of networking, three weeks of making new friends, three weeks of learning new things, three weeks of breathing fresh air from somewhere other than their homes, others might just simply be looking forward to three weeks of making money.
If you’re the business-conscious type, a serial entrepreneur, an active hustler, or if you’re like this writer and just want to make the money you’ve spent doing your ‘clearance’ at school back, then you’re at the right place.
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Here are five business ideas to help you generate income while at the NYSC orientation camp.
1. START A DRY-CLEANING BUSINESS
Starting a laundry and dry-cleaning business will surely get you extra cash while at camp. To start with, you’d meet different people with different personalities on camp. You’d meet those who believe ‘cleanliness is next to godliness’; those who believe ‘the way you’re dressed is the way you’d be addressed’; those whose heads are buried deep in activities; those who are just plain lazy.
However, what these people might have in common is a stock pile of clothes, an urge to always show up clean, but very limited time. This, my dear, is where you come in.
Go to camp with enough soap, brush and bleach. What you’d be washing will be mostly whites so it makes the job easy as there a little chances of detergents destroying clothes. However, no camper would listen to gists about how you kept the clothe in a place and you don’t seem to find it any longer. You have to find a way to be on top of your game.
2. SELL WATER
The use of water is inevitable. Like Nigerian afrobeat legend, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti once said, water no get enemy. Therefore, be a water bender, the one that always provides water. For this you might need enough buckets. All you have to do is to wake up early and fetch enough water and wait for those they are not willing to join any queue for water or need to fetch more than a bucket. You can sell a bucket for N200 or N100.
3. SELL RECHARGE CARDS OR OPERATE A P.O.S
Nigerians and most people of the world can’t deal without airtime credits and data plans. Make things easier for everyone and your pocket by making airtime credits available. If you are already into the P.O.S business, make findings if they will be allowed in your camp and make cash available. Be rest assured that the non-corpers will be your competitors, thus, it is wise to compare their service charge with yours and make yours cheaper.
4. AMPLIFY YOUR CRAFT -MAKE HAIR, BARB HAIR, FIX NAILS, MAKE-UP TOO
This is another intelligent way of making money. Whatever hairdo anyone had on while getting into the camp will definitely need some adjustments after two weeks. So go to camp with enough combs, hair cream, straighteners, gel, attachment and every other thing you think might come in handy. The same goes for nail technicians and make-up artistes. There will be social events that will require your expertise and perfect touch.
5. PHOTOGRAPHY & VIDEOGRAPHY
Now, this is not open to everyone but for those that perfectly handle cameras. Be sure to find out if cameras will be accepted at your camp, take good pictures and videos of your mates, you could send them to someone outside camp to edit for you while you sell the soft copies you have.
There you have it. Go make the extra dough. Do not say I’ve never done anything for you in this world.
