How To Start A Bed Sheet Business In Nigeria + BEDDING BUSINESS PLAN

How To Start A Bed Sheet Business In Nigeria + BEDDING BUSINESS PLAN

Beddings are found in most homes in Nigeria whether rich or poor, middle class or high class. And beddings are made up of bed sheets and pillow cases that are changed on regular intervals depending on the person in question; while some homes have few beddings other have much more but statistics shows that most home have at least 10 beddings that are changed from time to time. Beddings are house hold items and they wear out easily because how frequent they are used and how frequent they are washed; the demand for beddings in a nation like Nigeria far outweighs they demand in some other African countries and this demands rises directly proportional to the rise in population / increase of urban areas all over the country and economic growth / standard of living of the citizens.

At the moment the high demand of beddings are met by both local production and foreign importation of various variety and styles, and they come at various price range depending on their size, source and quality levels.

Starting the business selling beddings is easy as ABC, very profitable and it is a job that you don’t need to quite your daily paying job, it can come as a side business; as another source of income. You don’t need so much skill acquisition to start this business, with a fair capital and little marketing skills you are good to go. Getting your customers are also fairly easy because as soon as you start you will find out the friends, associates and family member can just easily be converted into your esteemed customers. Note that everyone around you can become a potential customer; whether colleague, friends, family members, church member, guest houses, hotels and the list goes on.

So with little or no experience you can start up and build up from where you are; below are few points on how to start a bed sheet business in Nigeria.

HOW CAN YOU START THIS BUSINESS?

The first thing to consider is what method or kind of dealership you want to go into and this is because when you clearly state what you want, you limit your options to only succeeding at that which you have chosen and you will not be distracted by the way others have chosen to run theirs.

Method of dealership

• Buying and selling of already made beddings (local or foreign)
• Sell bedding fabrics (bedding makers will buy from you)
• Buy the fabric and make the beddings and sell them

Buying and selling of already made beddings (local or foreign)

Doing this method of dealership is fairly easy all you need to do is get your capital and how much capital will be dependent on how many you want to start with and whether you want to sell locally made bedding or imported beddings. One other thing that needs to be considered is where you can get quality bed sheets at the cheapest price; this will ensure that you make maximum gain on every sheet sold.  After these are done all you need to do is market your beddings and start making profits.

Sell bedding fabrics (bedding makers will buy from you)

If your option is to sell the fabrics for those that are into bedding production or individuals that needs something unique, then what you should be looking for at this are the following.

• Manufacturers of bedding fabrics and making all the necessary enquiries
• Raising a capital for both buying the fabrics in rolls and of different type and quality and securing a shop.
• Make contact with those that make beddings so that they patronize you.

Buy the fabric, make the beddings and sell them

This last option is by far the most lucrative one to go into among the three; in this case you following the previous step on how to own a shop that sells the fabrics for making the beddings, then you also have another outlet where you sew these fabrics into beddings of various shapes, pattern and sizes. You can also sell your products to other bedsheet retailers or employ marketers that will sell them and get paid by commission. So in this method you find out that there are various ways in one business to make more money the only down side is that you will need much more capital to start this. It is important to note at this point that the things that make your beddings unique are as follows:

1. The uniqueness of the materials used
2. The style of the bedding
3. The overall finishing
4. And the final packaging of the product

Any of the above listed points that is lacking will ultimately come back negatively on the business.

Resources needed for this start up?

• A good capital that can take the business from scratch till few months after start up
• Knowledge of a good source of quality fabrics for bedsheets
• Excellent knowledge on how to differentiate excellent looking fabric of great quality
• A skilled tailor that will give you an excellent job and finishing
• A good knowledge on how to package bedsheet in an attractive way
• social media marketing;
• good pictures to put on the media and to use as catalog
• good nylon that will be used for packaging;
• Price range of bedsheets in the market.

THE PROCESS OF PRODUCTION

The procedure for sewing or production of bedsheets and pillow cases are fairly simple for the most used types at home; when special skills are needed may be when you need to make unique design and patterns. This process consists mostly of cutting, sewing, designing, making of patterns and packaging; all these steps listed are fairly easy to master within a short time too.

 TYPES OF BEDSHEET:

• Flat bedsheet: – This is a bedsheet shaped in form of a rectangle; having four sides with two opposite sides of equal length. This is by far the easiest bedsheet to make since it requires little or no special skill to make; just cutting in a straight line.
•  Fitted bedsheet: – this has its own four corners with either the two or the four sides fitted with elastic which is used as a bottom sheet; other times the sheet is secured by the use of a draw string which replaces the elastic. The major reason for the bottom sheet is to keep the bedsheet in place while the bed is been used.

 FABRICS THAT ARE SUITABLE FOR BEDSHEET

There are a few materials are been used for bedsheet production in blend with cotton and they are used for several reasons from durability to wrinkle resistance or absorbency, etc. below are listed a few.

• cotton and polyester
• silk
• linen
• modal
• bamboo rayon
• polypropylene
• lyocell

polypropylene or olefin as it called in some circle is a hypoallergenic spun bound material which is cheaper in production and is used in cases where it could be disposed after use without the fear of losing so much money. It is used in emergency shelters and hospitals because of it disposable nature.

COST OF INVESTMENT

The total cost of starting this business is solely dependent on how big you intend to start. So there is no laid down cost for startup; but it is important to note here that if you just intend to sell already made bedsheet then you may need at least thirty thousand naira only (N30,000).

MARKETING STRATEGIES FOR SELLING BEDSHEETS

We spoke earlier of how easy it is to startup the business by quickly turning your circle of friend, family and co-workers into potential customers but here we will go a little bit further than these circles and tell you how you can reach a wider circle around you.

These centers around creating awareness and sourcing for new clients even where your awareness program is unable to reach.

1. For those that have a shop it is important to put a billboard or sign post in front of your place of business; it has to be catchy and bold, they kind that is all up in your face kind to ensure that everyone that passes there on foot or driving will see it at first glance and understand exactly what your business is.
2. You cannot leave all the job to others to do; you have to go out to source for new client and keep a good working relationship with existing clients for continuous patronage.
3. Employ marketers that are on monthly salary and motivate them by giving them commission on each client brought or each bedsheet sold. You can give them monthly target to keep them in constant check.
4. Sell at both wholesale and retail quantity/price.
5. Place a sample of your bedsheet on a well-made bed in or at the front of your shop to keep your customers wanting more. Change the sheets as often as possible.
6. Use social media, internet, fliers, posters, handbills, television etc. to ensure that you put your business out there and there by promoting your sale daily. Contact big online businesses like jumia, konga, etc. to market your product which will give you much more gain to because of the wide reach.
7. Give seasonal discounts.

REASON TO START NOW

• This business is very easy to start especially because you don’t need a lot of skill to kick start the business. Just your willingness to do and succeed is almost enough.
• The business is very comfortable to run and extremely convenient to managed
• Requires very low start-up capital unlike other business that will require very huge start-up capital that almost discourages you before you start.
• Puts food on the table because there is monthly, weekly and even daily income
• This business can be run as a side business meaning that you don’t have to quit your daily job to concentrate on the business.
  • Every house in Nigeria uses bedsheet and in most case each house may have up to 10 or more batch.
• Most families don’t know where to get bedsheet of good quality
• The competition is not stiff; there are still few bedsheet shops or makers around.
• Aside from home, schools, hotels, hospitals, etc. buy these commodities at regular intervals.
• People give bedsheets as gifts during weddings, naming ceremonies and during festive periods

TYPES OF MACHINES NEEDED

If you are producing your bedsheets, here are a few machines that you may need

1. Ironing machines
2. Bar tacking machine.(Optional)
3. Zigzag flatbed sewing machine.
4. Over lock machine
5. Flat lock machine (cylinder bed and flatbed)
6. Label/elastic inserting machine

7. Single needle industrial lockstitch sewing machine (with or without trimmer)

GENERAL PROCEDURE FOR STARTING THE BUSINESS

• HAVE A PLAN

Having a plan drawn out before starting a business helps you to set boundaries and also to know you have what it takes see the business through to the time that the business begins to take care of it and you. Make sure in your plans you have detailed description of each step of the business without leaving anything out or leaving anything to chance. Be certain and deliberate about every move.

To write a business plan on starting a bedding business in Nigeria, call us at 07033378184 or via email: hello@businessplan.com.ng. We will be glad to help.

• GET THE REQUIRED CAPITAL

After writing your business plan the next thing is raising your capital no matter how much or how small it is. Source for you capital and then you are ready for business.

• GET A BUSINESS LOCATION

Get a business outlet or location where you want to do your business. It is important to note that you must consider accessibility to your place of business before securing it. Then register with local authorities and Coperate Affairs Commission for your business name to avoid unwanted harassment.

• FURNISH AND EQUIP

Furnishing you place of business is equally important because it makes the place comfortable for you, your staff and also your customers. Get professional help if you so desire but ensure that your environment is as comfortable and lively as possible.

• A CLOSER LOOK AT THE COMPETITION

Visit other business owner that may be a competition to you and take a look around. See all they do and what they do differently from what you have planned. Learn their strengths and most importantly their weaknesses because this helps you build your business on the right path.

In conclusion, if everything is done accordingly you can have a good chunk of the population of your community and the nation at large as your customer and that means mega cash for you. So take this serious and start up today.

To write a business plan on starting a bedding business in Nigeria, call us at 07033378184 or via email: hello@businessplan.com.ng. We will be glad to help.

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