If you are still jobless or still thinking of which business to start, then NYSC Orientation camp is an opportunity you should not let go. With my experience at different Orientation camps, I decided to share this article with you because with the little you can invest, you can make use of the returns in starting a bigger business after the Orientation Camp.
There are many businesses you can engage in at NYSC camps, and this article only covers some, hence do not see it as a complete reference.
So, What Are the Businesses I can DO ?
1. Photography Business: This is one of the hottest businesses on camp. With thousands of Corpers on camp, engaging in
different activities, for a whole of 3 weeks, then, you should just imagine how much you can make from this business. No matter the competitions, you will surely have your own customers and make your money.With quality snaps, fast delivery and good customer interfacing skills, you will surely make it.
This business is easier for Non-Corpers because, as a Corper, in NYSC kit, you will never be allowed to be in the marketplace during camp activities. Nevertheless, as a corper, if you have your personal digital camera, you can take loads of pictures during camp activities. Then, during leisure time, you can liaise with one of the registered photographers on camp to help you print them out in town. All you just have to do is to give the person your memory card, coupled with good compensation.
2. Video Business: This is a very good business which is not really common in most camps as compared to photography. I so much love this business because, the returns can be so high beyond your imagination. With a good video camcorder, you are expected to
cover all camp activities, there after, edit the
whole stuff and burn it to DVD for Corpers to buy and take home after the Orientation exercise. Wondering how sensible it is to burn all 3 weeks activities into a DVD?
Well, YOU DON'T HAVE TO. The content of the DVD which you will offer for sale will just be short pieces of the major activities that will be carried out on camp. The DVD I bought when I was on camp only plays for 3 hours and to be frank, the guy covered glimpses of major events I love watching over and over again. If you are to make 90% of Corpers to buy your DVD, then you just have to prove to them that they appear in the video. To make this happen, try and make sure you cover all Corpers while they line up on the Parade ground, Platoon by Platoon.
More so, try and be on ground with your camera when they are on queue for registration,food and during the endurance trek. Those are the instances you can capture almost all Corpers on camp. What if you come to camp with a TV and DVD, so that every night, you can be showing the stuffs on TV ? If a Corper sees him/herself in the video, don't you think he/she might instantly register to get a copy of your DVD before the end of the
orientation camp? That's food for thought.
To make money engaging in this business on
camp,you don't need to know how to edit videos nor how to burn videos to DVD. I am very sure there will be some video producers in town, that will do all these for you, just for some token. During my time, I bought my DVD for N600 and the guy enforced Corpers to make initial deposit of N200 if to be guaranteed a copy of the DVD at the end of the Orientation exercise. The guy even made us to realize that he will only be producing few copies and that it will be based on FIRST
COME, FIRST SERVE. Marketing tactics…isn't it? This guy am talking about made a lot of money and as at today, he is now using laptop and Projector to show videos to Corpers on camp.
3. Selling Food, Soft drinks and Beers:
This is also a very hot business you can engage in. Trust me, you will make good money from this business by the time the Orientation exercise ends. If you can ensure that your stand is very clean and with tantalizing food varieties, then, you will make it.
NYSC will provide food to Corpers, 3 times, in a day all through the duration of the Orientation exercise. Nevertheless, majority of Corpers on camp will find it difficult not going to MAMI MARKET (nick-name given to markets at NYSC camps) to get a feel,especially , of the local dishes in the community where the camp is located. More so, at nights, MAMI MARKET seems to be
the meeting and dating spots for Corpers and
even Non-corpers on camp , hence, just imagine the number of drinks that will be sold everyday on camp.
4. Laundry Services: Trust me, there are many Corpers out there that will not be able wash their kits by themselves while on camp, for different reasons best known to them, hence, all they do is to find someone
that will help them wash their dirty kits and pay some cash for the person in return. More so, Corpers don't go to camp with electric irons. Even at most camp, Corpers are not
allowed to make use of electric gadgets. As a
result of this, trust me, you will be making extra money just helping Corpers to Iron their clothes.
During my time on camp, people that engaged in this business made use of the charcoal pressing iron in combination with Stove . You must label every shirt, khaki or jungle boot received with the Corper's unique State code, so that when the owner comes back to claim his/her khaki, you will find it very easy to locate it without any mix-up with other khakis that are with you. You might not be able to do this business alone because I wonder what you will do when you have over 300 kits on ground to be washed and ironed. Corpers will be mad at you if you tell them that their kits are not ready when they are suppose to wear it to the parade ground, the next morning.
During my time on camp, there were these 4 guys under the same business name. While one of them is busy washing, one will be ironing, another will be on the field, marketing and the fourth guy will be going from one hostel to another, packing dirty kits to their stand. If you are to do all these all alone, what do you think might happen to you in the long run?
5. Tailoring Services: You can also make money on camp helping Corpers to fix their wears. Most kits been supplied to majority of the corpers don't suit them, hence
many of them always love to adjust the size to
something that befits them. More so,there are
usually cases where shorts tear during exercises. Hence, if you can be fixing all these for corpers, you will surely be making some real cash.
6. Call centre/Battery Charging business: You can make good money on camp offering phone call services, selling phone accessories and recharge cards.
In addition to selling recharge cards, you can also be making money helping corpers to charge their phones. All you will need will include a small generator, some desktop chargers and some power sockets. You will have to be very careful with corpers phones, to avoid troubles; hence always make sure you label their phones or batteries with their unique state code using permanent marker/
sellotape. There might be competitions but there is no way you will not get your own share of the market.
7. Games/Viewing centre business: You can also make money on camp setting up a games/viewing centre. If you can offer games like snooker, table tennis and video games, at your centre, then, you will surely make some good cash.More so, if premier league/champions league matches fall within the duration of the orientation camp, then,its obvious that you will make money if you can make these matches available to corpers on camp.
8. Configuring free browsing for Corpers: Only corpers that have web-enabled phones that will be able to browse on camp, provided there is at least, GPRS service at the camp location. As a corper, you can be making some money for yourself if you can be configuring free browsing for fellow corpers just for a token. I made some good money configuring free browsing for corpers during my time on camp. It also fetched me a lot of new friends.
9. You can also make money on camp selling things such as: Novels, Motivational books, cutleries, Magazines,
Newspapers, wears, musical CDs etc What of setting up a mini barbing salon or a nail- fixing centre? The list is endless. Just think of
something you know Corpers will need/love to buy and you will see money flowing well into your pocket.
10. As a Corper: You can leverage on your presence on camp to help some businesses or companies to market their products in return for commissions. On camp, you will see different corpers trying to introduce you to one business or the other. You will even see some sharing fliers and handbills. All these are ways of making money either directly or indirectly.
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