How to start a bead making business

Maryetieno Udoh

With a little creativity, anyone can make beaded jewellery. But to get started, you can take two weeks training course with any fashion house on bead making.

To make beads, you will need some metal strings for connecting the beads, wire cutters, a tape measure, pins, clasps and different types of beads, of course. More importantly, you will need a bead design board to help you make the job much easier and organised.

The market is usually flooded with all kinds of beads so you have to be prepared for competition. The key to survive and succeed in this business is to create a unique brand. Establishing a niche in the market is difficult, but not impossible. A good way to get the attention of potential customers is to advertise online. Advertise on your twitter, Face book, Instagram, Whatsapp account. You can use word-of-mouth too but again whatever fantastic piece you are making will advertise your work to the world.

If you have the needed skills in beaded jewellery making and are interested in either making it a full time job or a part time job then you must put in your best.

Here are a few tips to start your business from scratch

Capital: Start with what you have. Many people are discouraged from starting their own business because of they think they need huge capital to start. With N30, 000 or less you can start a small scale beaded jewellery making business.

Know your scope: You have to choose the type of jewellery design you want to specialise in, such as earrings, rings, necklaces, handbags or a combination of all.

Decide how to get your supplies: As a jewellery designer, you have the option of making your pieces from scratch, if you have the tools and the necessary training to do so or you can buy your materials from the market.

Think of a creative name for your business.

Make it legal: Register your business name with Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC). It is easy and you will be glad you did in future.

Create marketing materials: Get business cards, which you can hand out to your friends and family as well as at fairs.

Start: When you are ready to start selling your products, take them to family gatherings, offices, shops, social events etc. It may be a challenging task at the beginning but it will pay off. You are the best marketer for your goods.

How to determine prices

While there are no hard and fast rules for pricing your beadwork, the general rule is to calculate your materials costs, plus anywhere from 25-40 percent profit on materials; and a fee for your time.

If you are not happy with your sales after six months, re-evaluate your marketing strategy, Find out if people are satisfy with your product. Remember that you are competing with thousands of other handmade jewelry businesses.

We cannot meet the demand for Shea butter

Victoria Onehi

Yasmin Othman is the National President, African Women AgriBusiness Network and Women in Shea butter Business. In this interview she said Shea-butter is a world resource product and Nigeria produces 60 % of it. If this potential is harnessed properly, she said it could become a huge export earner for Nigeria.

How do you think women are faring in business in Nigeria?

A few women have made it but a good percentage of them need hand holding that is support. Before now, people use to say government should do this, government should do that, now people are doing a lot, women are using their hands to do a lot. But they need more support and they need the enabling environment. They need finance and capacity building through training to upgrade what they are doing. For instance, somebody or an organisation can teach them how to package their products properly to meet the global standard.

You are in the Shea butter business, how can the business get better?

We have been in this business for over ten years now. We work with women in the villages.

Shea butter is our product in Africa almost 100 percent. This product is based in Africa and you won’t believe we have over 60 percent of the tree in Nigeria. As far as Shea butter in the world is concern, Nigeria has not started.

What do we need to start?

We need the federal and the state government to come in and create enabling environment to support us. Almost 99 % of people in this business are women. From plugging it, processing it, packaging and storing it and then taking it to market, women are involved. Many women don’t have the means to go beyond this. That gives room to the foreigners to take it out and refine. They take it to Europe and refine our own product but if we have the resources can we do it ourselves and it will be a big export earner for the country.

We need to put people to work. The trees are there. Nobody plant the trees. They are God given trees in the bush, nobody plants them. It takes over 25 years to fruit and it can be there for over 60 years. But right now, nobody is saying okay these things are a God given resource; let us find a way to plant more.

What are the benefits of this natural product?

Shea-butter is a world resource product, it is been sort after all over the world now. West Africa cannot even meet the demand. They are using it for anti-aging in the cosmetic industry and even the European Union has accepted that it should be part of food industry. So, they are looking at it for pharmaceutical and for their chocolates. And you know they eat a lot of it because it is better than cocoa butter and it doesn’t dent the teeth. So, we cannot even meet the demand. Back home, everybody have gone natural and it doesn’t have any side-effect. It is a very good moisturiser and it leaves your skin looking fresh. From your hair to your toe. It is a magical product. So, more people can come in and create a good business out of it. Right now is individual effort.

I believe for you to actually benefit from Shea butter business, you to get into cosmetic industry. That is where you get the money. But it is a lot of work. So many things have to be in place for you to be there, and to be acceptable in the global market right now. Right now, we don’t find that help in Nigeria. It is mainly, individual effort.

Lagos trains retiring civil servants in different skills

From Risikat Ramoni

Retiring women in Lagos State ministries, departments, parastatals and agencies were taught various skills of their choices by the Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, WAPA recently.

The empowerment scheme is aimed at training 250 women in hat making, soap and pomade/production, tie and dye, catering and food production. Also, some will be trained in hair braiding and weaving, gele tying and make-up, bead stringing and event decoration.

The Assistant Chief Administrative Officer of WAPA, Mrs Funmilayo Goodluck said all women need to learn a skill to enable them to keep working even after retirement.

She tasked all working class women to learn a trade or a skill, so that they can be economically independent and self-reliant after leaving active service.

One of the retired civil servants in WAPA, Mrs Sofiat Oladejo said she has acquired skills on liquid soap-making, fashion designing and tie and dye. In her view, tie and dye is a lucrative business that can sustain her if she sells locally and export too.

A staff of the Department of Local Government Establishment and Pension office, Mrs Modupeola Ajado, tasked women to learn as many skills as they can to enable them earn money from different sources.

The three weeks training ends on July 23rd.

NAFOWA to train 150 widows, youths in Kaduna

From Maryam Ahmadu-Suka, Kaduna

The Nigerian Air Force Officers Wives’ Association (NAFOWA), has launched a skills acquisition programme for 150 widows and youth in the NAF base community in Kaduna state.

The NAFOWA National President, Hajiya Hafsatu Sadique Abubakar at the opening ceremony of the programme said the gesture was aimed at providing support to families of Air Force personnel especially those engaged in fighting insurgency in the North East.

She noted that with the current insurgency in the North East, there is need for women to be encouraged to seek alternative in providing for their daily needs.

The NAFOWA National President emphasised that the current economic reality in the Nigerian state demands that women must be innovative in sourcing for means of gainful employment.

“The primary aim is to build capacity and develop entrepreneurial skills amongst youth and women in the barrack with a view to making them self-sufficient and income earners especially, with the current economic reality of our society which demands that we must be innovative in sourcing for means of gainful employment, ” she said.

She noted that the programme has already commenced in Maidiguri and Makurdi NAF bases adding that, 150 youth and women have been trained in various skills and trades including tailoring, hairdressing, barbing, catering, soap making, computer training, aluminum works and production of leather bags and shoes.

The Kaduna programme is the third so far in NAF bases across the country, the programme was developed to complement the Federal Government’s efforts at curbing unemployment amongst youth and women.

In her remarks, the NAFOWA Chairperson, Training Command Chapter, Kaduna, Mrs. Grace Balogun while appreciating the efforts of the national president advised the beneficiaries to make good use of the opportunity given to them to better their lives.

Quote

“The difference between who you are and who you want to be is what you do.”

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