Nigeria Youth Development Initiative

We all desire financial independence, and there is no better time to desire self sustainability that this period of uncertain economical times we all find ourselves.

What are the solutions? Jobs are not readily available and unemployment rates keep increasing daily, many organisations including the presumably big ones are retrenching staff and in quite a number of companies members of staff are currently on half- salary; an option they gladly jumped at instead of resigning... times are hard and they may not get better anytime soon... except for those who are wise!

It is already clear that a salaried job is either not available or is not sufficient for financial independence, the more you work at a salaried job the more money you make for your employer and of course for the Government on taxes... and usually the more you are paid in salary the more the things you need to spend money on, for most people even those who earn as much as N500,000. 00 they still do not know where all the money goes.

So what exactly is the solution to becoming financially independent? What can be done to ensure you can make money regardless of how bad the economy is, or regardless of how hard times are? The solution is not in just starting a business, you may most likely need start-up capital, so starting a usual product-based business may not be the solution.

The solution interestingly is very simple...you need to have the right skills! Nigeria has tremendous opportunities but most people do not have the skills to take advantage of these many opportunities; let me ask you a quick question: “Besides a certificate (or the dream of getting a certificate) from an higher institution, what other ways can you make money? Did you have an answer? If you did say yes, I do have other ways of making money then congrats! you are one of the very few who can survive no matter what, but if you answered ‘No’ then do not be dismayed, just make sure you pay attention to what we are about to say.

Do you know that regardless of hard economic situations, the guy who barbs hair, the person who dresses female hair, the individual who bakes cakes, the make-up expert, the event manager and planner etc will always make money...the person who sells food or caters at events, the individual who plays musical instruments always make money, you know why? They have skills others need to constantly pay for! Skills that others will need no matter how bad the economy is, men can you do without getting an hair-cut? No! Do you know an average barber with 2 nos barbers in a shop earns not less than N300,000 (Three Hundred thousand Naira only) and that is if he charges just N150 per person, for high-profile barbers shop where N1000 is charged they make N960,000 from just one chair, if you have as much as 5 barbers working for you, do the math!

Anytime you meet a need, you are making money, there is no better way than offering service than through a skill not everybody has, I know a couple of young people who will never have to work for others to make money, they have skills! Take the case of Kehinde, Seyi and Noju, my former juniors at the Department of Architecture, University of Lagos, Akoka; do you know that they all bought cars before they finished from Unilag? You need to realise they are just now currently undergoing NYSC! The three started a company called Digital Phantasy, an architectural visualisation or commonly called 3D company, they use the computer to model 3D images before they are built, you are probably wondering what 3D is? Let me explain as simply as I can...it is short for 3 dimensions but the truth is when a 3D expert is done with a project you may think someone took a picture with a camera, you will not believe that the image is not real; have you seen buildings advertised by developers and estate agents of estates before? You see an image of a beautiful building but it is really not existing, they created it with a computer program based on the architectural plans; do you know that they charge as much as N100,000 per view and most projects require not less than 3 views depending on what sides of the building the client wants to see! You can finish modelling a building in 24 hours, how many people do you know who make N300,000 in 24 hours! The shocking truth is they do not even need a regular office, they can work from home and use daddy’s generator, all the start-up they need is a computer and you can buy a computer for as little as N10,000 besides they get mobilised 50% before work commences, that alone is enough to buy a laptop and a small generator! That is the advantage of being skilled as against a salaried job or trying to prematurely set up a product based business... you need little or no capital to start, all you need is proficiency in your chosen skill and clients!

I have scores of friends who are making fantastic money today from skills: my brother bakes cakes and a wedding cake can go for as much as N200,000! Hair dressers earn as much as N3000 on just one customer, imagine as a student you are good at braiding and you braid hair for your fellow students in your hostel, think about how so much money you will make and you wont need a shop, your room will be just perfect, or you let them have loads of fresh air and have them sit outside... are you seeing what I am seeing? Are you counting all the cash in your head? Good... very good... you can join them too.... there are several fantastic skills you can learn and everybody has a skill that is just perfect... let it be something you can be passionate about, something you will enjoy doing, something you can even afford to do for free, it could be I.T skills, or catering skills, you can even hone your singing skills or learn to play musical instruments, a friend of mine does make-up and she earns N20,000 for every bride she makes up, I need to also mention that she trains at N20,000 per head for 2 weeks, if she trains just 10 people she makes a cool N200,000... how many bankers make that kind of money in just about 4 hours in a month!

The Nigeria Youth Development Initiative was founded by Architect Olaniyi Gbolahan to help encourage young people to learn skills that will ensure they can be financially independent, NYDI organises seminars and conferences and goes to schools etc just to ensure the message if disseminated to as many youths as possible.

NYDI recognises that learning some of the skills can be expensive so we have partnered with entrepreneurs who teach the skills to give discounts to members and at the moment we have scores of skills you can learn for as much as half the normal fees!

The following are exciting skills you can learn and earn income for yourself with:

Web Design
Corel Draw (graphics tool for handbills and brochures etc)
3dsMAX (3D visualization tool)
Computer Networking
AutoCAD
Interior Decoration
Contracting in Painting, tiling, P.O.P Ceiling, windows, doors, furniture etc
A/C Installation
Catering
Fashion Design (including wedding dress making etc)
Hair Dressing
Lifestyle e.g Make-up, gele tying, bead making, hat making etc
Events Management
Music (performance and production)
Film production and editing
Printing
Entertainment (master of ceremony, disk jockey (D.J) etc
Modelling
Creative writing etc

You should visit us at the Youth Development Centre for more details and my advise is to start at learning a skill right away!

Call the following numbers now: 08068878501, 08023260887, 07040683996, 01-7410972

The Youth Development Centre
GOA/ NYDI Office
11, Isheri Road, Imole Oluwa House,
Aguda, Ogba, Ikeja,
Lagos State.

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