How to Start an Import and Export Business in 2020

How to Start an Import and Export Business in 2020.

Import and Export Business – Import is a pretty popular concept and it simply means “transactions in goods and services to a resident of a jurisdiction (such as a nation) from non-residents. The precise definition of imports in national accounts comprises of and excludes specific “borderline” cases.

Importation is the process of buying or acquiring products or services from another country or another market other than own.

Imports are significant for the economy because they enable a country to supply nonexistent, scarce, high cost or low quality of certain products or services, to its market with products from other countries.

In another word, the import is a good brought into a jurisdiction, especially across a national border, from an external source. The party bringing in the good is called an importer.

An import in the receiving country is an export from the sending country. Importation and exportation are the defining financial transactions of international trade.

In international trade, the importation and exportation of goods are limited by import quotas and mandates from the customs authority. The importing and exporting jurisdictions may impose a tariff (tax) on the goods.

In addition, the importation and exportation of goods are subject to trade agreements between the importing and exporting jurisdictions.

How to Start an Importation Business  

 Look for hot Products

Back in the days, you’d need to travel to many countries to be capable of identifying products to import. Now, it’s pretty simple, you can sit back at the comfort of your bedroom and do it on the internet. Look for current products or some that are not in the country presently that you think people will love.

First of all, bring a small quantity into Nigeria to see how people will react to it. That is, to quantify the acceptability of the product before importing.

If a product is not acceptable, there is no need to invest your hard-earned money into it because it wouldn’t sell to make you your money back. You must do this initial product trail by bringing small quantity first to see if people gonna like it.

After you showed it to your potential customers and they like it, make an estimate of the quantity they would demand based on their interest and use the data to judge the volume of goods to be imported.

Use the same process to get your subsequent products. Until the product becomes a household name.

Where to get the Products

I said it before, you don’t have to travel oversea to get a sample of the product — you can get it on the internet. To achieve this, go to the merchant websites like Alibaba.com, Ebay.com, etc or just Google and type the ‘keywords’, that is where to import goods from — browse through to see the type of product that may not already in the Nigerian market.

Place your order by paying via your electronic Credit or Debit card. Most Nigerian Banks now have cards that are acceptable on these sites. You may write money through other means like a bank deposit or money transfer.

Once you’ve paid for the goods with shipment cost included. the next thing is to wait for the goods to arrive. You may not need the services of a clearing agent if the import is through premium Currier services Like DHL UPS and others.

Sell off the Products

Before you go about importing the product, you must have talked to your potential customers about your soon to arrive product using the sample from the previous product sample you brought in.

Now that you have the main products, Get the product to them and sell off at wholesale prices to make your profit.

Then repeat the process to as many times as it remains profitable. To be able to increase your capital, you need to reinvest your gain from the first and second trips until you have enough money to import in mega quantity.

Check from Nigeria import and export promotion commission (I’m not sure if that is their real name) to see types of products allowed into this country.

I will be sharing more details about the import business in my subsequent articles. For now, ask your question by commenting below, and let’s expand on the subject.

How Much you Need to Start an Import Business

That depends on the type of product you want to export. Other factors are credit period you get, credit period you give to your customers and per month cash expenses you need to meet.

For a simple formula, you have to calculate a few things.

• Estimate the expected period of credit you have to give and you will get from your suppliers.
• Let’s assume you will get 45 days credit period and you will give 60 days payment period to your buyers. in that case, you’ll be held responsible for 15 days only.
• Let’s assume you think your monthly sale is 10 Lakh with 20% gross profit. Then you have to invest 8 lakh to make a sale of 10 lakh per month. Now according to point no. 2, you have to bear the liability for 15 days in a sales cycle. That brings down the amount to be invested to 4 Lakh.
• If you have monthly expenses on salary and other maintenance of your office at 1 lakh per month than you have to bear the liability for 2 months straight. (You can’t enjoy any credit period here, and your buyers will give you a payment after 60 days only.) So on a 1 lakh per month, you need 2 lakh for two months.
• 4 Lakh for material and 2 lakh for other expenses give the final figure of 6 Lakh. Let’s maintain a contingency figure to be 25% of the base amount. So you need 8 lakh for the business

 50 Hot Selling Products to Import and Export & Make Profits in Nigeria

1. Candle (With Sweet Fragrance Used For Decorations)
2. Power Bank: Nobody likes carrying a smartphone without an empty battery.
3. Memory Cards: To save those precious files.
4. Apple: Because an apple a day keeps the doctor away. We love apples!
5. Ear Phones: For music lovers
6. Decoder: DSTV, Startimes, Gotv, etc.
7. Screen Guard: To protect your screen
8. Car Trackers: When you need to track your unsuspecting driver’s whereabouts.
9. Wireless Server: You know what it is. All things wireless.
10. Hair Extensions: Ladies love their hair extensions.
11. Games: To keep boredom at bay.
12. Wrist Watches: To monitor their tight schedule.
13. Camera: Who doesn’t need to capture beautiful moments such as weddings, birthdays, seminars, etc.?
14. Chargeable Lamps/Solar Lamps: Because of epileptic power supply by .
15. Printers: Because people need to print documents and business cards.
16. Scanners: To scan documents in offices.
17. Phone Screens: To protect smartphone screens from cracking when it falls on the floor.
18. Beehives: For bee farmers.
19. Vacuum Cleaners: To clean the homes of the nouveau rich.
20. Books (Textbooks): Because every student needs notebooks to pour in the knowledge they learn daily.
21. Solar Energy Storage: For long-lasting, uninterrupted power su.ly..
22. CCTV Cameras: Security cameras – banks, hotels, and businesses need this.
23. Projectors: For summits, events, seminars, and demo presentations.
24. Phone Panels: It’s a no-brainer, really.
25. Clothes: To look good and confident.
26. Shoes: We all need shoes on our feet.
27. Fashion Bags: Nigerian ladies love to own one in their wardrobe.
28. Fabrics: for looking good at owambe parties.
29. Beddings: to make our sleep more comfortable.
30. New Under Garments: We need to feel good.
31. Lawn Mowing Machines: For maintaining beautiful gardens and lawns across homes and cities.
32. Fumigating Machines: To keep those annoying pests at bay in offices and homes.
33. Computer Accessories: a must-have for a functional computer or laptop.
34. Bathroom Accessories & Water Closets: because people need to make their bathrooms stylish and comfortable.
35. Cookers: So our wives, aunties, and mothers can keep serving us those delicious meals without stress.
36. Electric Bulbs: Let there be light in our homes and offices! Nobody loves groping in the dark.
37. Motor Parts: So our cars remain on the roads and not in the garage. Even mechanics need those.
38. Tricycle Parts: For our Keke Marwa/tricycle owners to remain in the transportation business.
39. Generator Parts: Until our electricity becomes constant, we will continue to buy generators.
40. Motorcycle Parts: For our millions of Okada riders.
41. Electronic Home Appliances: For a fully functional home and happy housewife.
42. Car Batteries: “I love it when my car battery refuses to start”, said no car owner ever.
43. Car Stereos: For car owners to listen to while caught up in traffic jams.
44. Electrical Equipment: For powering the nation’s energy resources.
45. Clinical Equipment: For medical treatment and surgical operations.
46. Musical Instruments: For our music artists to entertain their adoring fans.
47. Building Materials: For building construction companies and landlords.
48. Female Make-Up Kits: Because our ladies love their makeup to be on fleek!
49. Sports Kits: For sportsmen and women and lovers of fitness.
50. Laboratory Equipment: For the medical and health care industries.
51. New Toys: Both kids and adults need toys for various reasons.

StudentsandScholarship Team.