Stationery Shop Business Plan in Nigeria

How to Start a Stationery Business in Nigeria

Stationery Shop Business Plan in Nigeria – When a person is asked if he would want to start a business you would find out that the said person would mention a lot of things, from sale of electronics, to foodstuff, teaching, but no one would ever really think as far as the stationery business.

Get your Stationery Shop Business Plan and feasibility study pay N30,000 to:

Bank Name: Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB)

Account Name:  Chibuzor Tochi Onyemenam

Account Number: 0044056891

After payment, send your name, email address and “stationery business plan in Nigeria” to  07033378184

This is a silent mint that has been in existence for years and has only been growing in value. For as long as there are offices and schools in existence there will always be a need for a fully stocked and reliable stationery dealer. Stationeries that come to mind are pencils, rulers, erasers, biros, chalks, markers, staplers and staple pins, paint brushes, cardboards, crayons and water colours, jotters, A4 papers, decorations, balloons ,but essentially these  only make up 15% of the stationery business. A massive profits can be made from this if a solid marketing plan and business plan are put together so as to not only attract the right clients to the shop but to also make an impressive profit.

Also Read: Computer Based Center Business in Nigeria

One of the key things to keep in mind is knowing what your stationery shop is going to be targeting, the stationery business is such a wide business that one cannot possibly especially at the inception of the business cover the entire needs of clients so it is best to focus on the gap or the niche that the stationery shop would go into. This niche is one that the dealer would have to investigate and do a survey on to find out the weaknesses in other stationery shops and how to take advantage of these weaknesses and supply in a manner that would satisfy customers where others have failed.

There are several objectives or paths which is stationery dealer can focus on, some of which are;

Writing Materials and Office Stationeries

1. Supply of official diaries
2. Supply of jotters and writing materials.
3. Supply of A4 papers
4. Supply of stapler and staple pins
5. Supplier of calendars and cardboards
6. Supply of notice boards
7. Supply of pens pencils, books and other writting materials

Education and Schooling

1. Supply of books for students
2. Supply of pens and other writing materials
3. Supply of textbooks
4. Supply of maths sets
5. Supply of cardboard papers
6. Supply of paint brushes watercolors and markers.

And so on.

As a dealer one needs to think out of the box to enable them satisfy customer requirements. By providing these materials at an affordable rate one would be able to secure students and pupils as steady customers. As a dealer one can market their business as a means to encourage learning for students and also teaching for teachers by making stationeries available at a reasonable price. Location also been a key factor in the stationery business, the shop has to be close to the customer to enable them patronize you without having to go to the market or long distances to purchase stationeries. Like every business one would worry about the profitability but in the stationery business it is very possible to be successful in it due to the large number of schools in Nigeria, some streets have up to 20 schools and these schools need a steady supply of stationary be it in retail or in wholesale.

According to Federal Ministry of Education Nigeria there are 746,596 primary school teachers, 292,080 in junior secondary schools and 398,275 teachers in senior secondary schools nation wide. Which creates a very large market space waiting to be exploited by dealers in stationeries. The population of students in the country also grow exponentially with each passing year as education is becoming a necessity even in the rural areas in the country. Where the power of marketing comes in would be the task of pitching successfully to these schools in a manner that would grant you do contracts of supply or permission to open shop in the vicinity. Once this is done success wouldn’t be far away. A key points to remember as to why the stationery business is one that is very lucrative is that the marketplace isn’t flooded as the business is not a flashy one as to attract the attention of many, so one can function without the threats of massive competition. To the buyer or the customer the Stationaries being sold are not exactly expensive they are quite affordable such that children are able to buy several at a time and because of this the turnover is quite high as many would have no problems patronizing the dealer. As a dealer the trick to the business lies in buying wholesale and selling and large quantities to interested schools and offices that are in need of stationeries, being a consistent provider and a reliable one would attract customers from far and wide.

There are very simple steps one needs to adhere to to be able to successfully start or delve into the stationery business.

Before Starting a Stationary Business in Nigeria

Budget – Starting a stationery business is very cost-effective one needs to have a budget of 200 thousand to 1 million naira before starting the business the amount of money needed in the business solely depends on the scale of the business. the scale of business meaning whether you would want to start small or starts big and also location plays a huge role in the budget of the business as well as size of the shop. Most shops can cost as high as 500,000 to rent and others as low as 100,000 to rent. These factors are solely dependent on location and size of the shop. Other landlords may choose to make their properties easily accessible to any class of tenants by opting to take a monthly rent instead of a yearly one which can be very helpful to businessman seeking to get low cost shops for themselves.

Another factor to consider when getting a shop is the cost of furnishing, furnishings such as shelves, electronics, chairs and any other effects needed to make the shop fully functional and comfortable may cost a deal of money. Payment of staff salaries is also a factor to consider but the average stationery shop rarely needs more than two people to run it on a day-to-day basis.

Business Registration – Registration of businesses in Nigeria is very important not just from a legal standpoint but also from the view of the customer a registered business is a trusted business. This alone gives the customer much confidence to buy as much as they would want without fear of being swindled. registration of business is also important if you plan on being in the business for a long time, from say 2 to 20 years. The tax system in Nigeria is slowly getting intense and the tax offices such as FIRS are steadily making it difficult for individuals who own businesses that aren’t registered to function peacefully. Business registration is therefore important for the businessman in order to function and run his business with complete peace of mind.

Renting a Shop – A very important factor to take note of when going into the stationery business is that one needs to rent a space that is closest to the customer. In a manner of speaking the businessman has to bring the business to the doorstep of his customers. The perfect location would be a place where more than 2 to 5 schools or offices are in close proximity to each other, this would make it ideal in order to reach a larger customer base with very little effort. workers, parents and children should be able to access the stationary shop without having to go far away from their workplace or their school or place of work. After this has been sorted out one now needs to rent a shop according to the budgets at hand so as not to overspend on rent. It is important to work with them your budget and get the best out of it as stationery shops rarely need much aesthetics.

Design and Furnishing – Stationery shops don’t really need excessive furnishing, one just needs to focus on a number of shelves, a showcase, a store and also the electronics and wiring.

Purchasing Stationeries –  When the furnishing is done the next step is the purchase of stationeries from a dealer that deals in wholesale buying from a retailer would not help in getting the amount of profits needed to give the business a turn over. When buying stationeries one needs to have in mind the needs of a wide customer base both the rich customers and the poor customers.

Business Strategies –  Business strategies when running a stationery business are just like every other business.

1. Sending proposals to schools and offices is a good way to let people know that you exist and you can provide the needs.
2. Offering discounts put you in direct competition with any other stationery shop in the area, this technique is used to destabilise the market in your favour.
3. Doing giveaways mostly works with schools and is a great way to win the hearts of students, for example giving one pen, sharpener or eraser free when a certain amount of books are purchased from you.
4. Attending school parties and having a stand in the party arena.

The stationery business is one that is very profitable even though capital-intensive but with hard work and a good business acumen and innovation success is definitely certain.

Get your Stationery Shop Business Plan in Nigeria pay N30,000 to:

Bank Name: Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB)

Account Name:  Chibuzor Tochi Onyemenam

Account Number: 0044056891

After payment, send your name, email address and “stationery business plan in Nigeria” to  07033378184

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