Beyond Plan A: Finding Your Next Business or Career Path with Existing Assets.

Hello and welcome to the show today. And I am at an undisclosed location for different reasons and I have a few minutes so as let me just make a recording real quick. So there's going to be some interruptions, cars, people, who knows, maybe chickens and cows. If this is your first time listening to the podcast, the goal of this show is free business education. So don't worry, I'm not here to talk about cows and chickens.

So if by the time we're done, you get value from this share, promote and talk about it so that your friends and family members and even your enemies in Nigeria and abroad can benefit from the questions that we tackle. Why do you worry about your enemies? Because if your enemies make more money, automatically make money as well. But we can talk about that later. So people can follow by subscribing. Spotify, YouTube, Apple, any player of your choice.

And then if you have any sales and marketing questions, dear listener, the person who is listening right now, if you have any questions by the time we're done, bring them to me, call me, SMS me, WhatsApp me on 08064662140. Today on the show I want to explore. OK, Another caller who called me on the on the radio, that's on my radio show, Joyce Hilar's based in Guadalajara. She called on 15th of April. And the reason why she called was because she's in the poultry business.

But then you know how my inflation now, so cost of everything is now high because of that, people are not buying live chicken like before. You know, in the past, you know me, I've always been a frozen chicken kind of guy. Go and buy the frozen chicken and chop it up. Although Mumsy says that frozen chicken is tasteless. Well, you know me, I don't care. Just go and buy that thing, chop it up, you know, throw some pepper on it, fried that thing.

Just, you know, you can't eat it real nice. But my mumsy and my popsy, rest in peace. My dad has been dead for a while, but mumsy was was brought up in the village. Popsy was also brought up in the village. So for them, they prefer the, you know, local chicken, the one that, you know, eats food from the ground and you know, and blah, blah, blah. They said that that thing tastes nice. But to be honest, you know, I'm a modern kid, so I can't tell the difference.

Is it local chicken? I will eat it. Is it foreign chicken, I will eat it. Is it frozen chicken? I will eat it. But because of the way hyperinflation is just running rampant in Niger, people are not buying whole chicken again. So Joyce, alas, is saying that, man, this poultry business, you know, too pure again. In fact, she even says that people, because she sells through agents in the market that mark the people in the market are even holding her inventory up to 150 K.

That's how much money has been tied. So she can't continue. And she's now thinking that, whoa, let me move on to something new. What other business can I try? So that's the reason why she reached out. Now, I think there's something that we should look over here on the podcast because there are lots of people who you're doing a business, you're doing A also, you're doing a career, that's your plan A. But then something happens and I'm thinking or more I suppose get Plan B, maybe start working on something else.

Now the problem is lots of people when they have plan A and I want to do Plan B, then I'll start looking for something fresh, something new, something entirely different, which in itself is not bad. The problem is if you do a Plan B that's not related to your plan A, you're going to invest time. You're going to invest resources in learning something new, building new connections, building a new reputation, learning a new market, learning new skills, learning new customers, learning new stakeholders, learning new XYZ

and all these things. They take a lot of time and reduces the amount of time that you can start putting money in your pocket. Because for someone who is in Madame Joy situation, actually the goal is to try and see because let's face it, she has inventory in, you know, in stock, then the one that is still outside with the market dealers to the tune of 150 K. So she's in a situation where she actually needs to start making money.

No, no, no, not let me go and try something else. Like let's say if she says she wants to do cassava farming, you don't have to Start learning about cassava. You know how to Start learning farming. You don't have to Start learning. Is it raining season or dry season? When are we going to harvest? You don't have to learn processing fertilizer. You know, it's it's a it's a whole lot. But for someone in that situation, the goal is let's try and say we can get some quick Muller now and let's see how we can stop the the money that is bleeding out of the business.

Let's say we can slow that down now. Now some of you say this sounds similar. Now, we've discussed this kind of thing before, and yes, we have, but this is just another example about how your Plan B should be related to your plan A. Because if you want to get a Plan B and it's tied into your plan A, you're going to be able to take advantage of your existing knowledge, your existing skills, your existing reputation, your existing connections, your existing network, and then your existing capital.

Capital means the things you have already invested on ground because for somebody like Madame Joy, she has already invested things on ground in raising chickens. So for those who listen to the earlier episode where I mentioned her case, you know that somebody called live and say, well, I'm sure what this guy is saying is correct. How about instead of doing poultry for meat, that's a broiler, how about doing poultry for eggs?

That is layers. And I said fantastic. That is a very good idea because you can see now for somebody who has existing capital on ground for raising chickens before poultry, you can see that we want all 2 modifications. You can now take advantage of the things that you've invested on ground and now roll it over into doing chickens for. So I was again for late for layers. I mean instead of doing broiler, you now do layers, you know, for eggs.

So that's the whole point. So that kind of thing. Now you are not trying to learn a business afresh because if Madam Joe wants to go, like I said, from chickens to cassava is to Start learning new things. This one of the learning that is required is minimal because, you know, chicken is chicken. There are difference in broilers and there's difference in layers. But one that she has to learn is not too much because she's already been in space for several years.

The modification that you will make to your building or to whatever is not as big as if you want to now go and start doing maybe. Yeah, yam or cassava business, you know, because the place that you store chickens, I doubt that you can store yam confidently in that place. Because let me see, OK, let me not speculate because to be honest, it's been a while since I even studied a Greek, a Greek economics. I mean, was it a Greek economics?

Now, when I secondary school, I can't remember. So that's the whole idea. Now, let your Plan B come from your existing skills, your existing knowledge, your existing capital, your existing reputation, your existing business, your existing career. So I just wanted to talk more details about that conversation with Madam, Madam Joy, what we came up with. So the layers thing, now, at the time it sounded like a good idea, but by the time me and Madame George spoke one-on-one was like, well, you know, the idea makes sense.

But they still one or two things because apparently it turns out that broilers and layers, even though you know, chicken are chicken, it turns out that layers require different kind of medication, different kind of diet and different kind of housing. So yes, there's some modifications to be made. So, you know, it's a pity because I'm trying to come up with ideas. I should be able to move with, you know, sharp, sharp, sharp and pivot to something new.

So well. But you know, what I said is still correct Because yes, even though the modifications are now going to amount to more money than I thought, at least it's not the same kind of stress as saying I'm going to go and learn an entirely new business and get an entirely new kind of warehouse because I want to start doing yam or start doing cassava or start doing snail or start doing something like that. So it still holds.

It's just a pity that I wasn't able to like that thing wasn't as straightforward as I thought. Then let's see, let's see, let's see. OK. I also told her that some things that she could do, she could also do training and consultancy because you remember the Madame Joy episode, she did have some medical difficulties, medical conditions that are now causing small complication. So she's not as mobile as she used to be. You know, unfortunately, this is the reason why we should always support and pray for each other because business can be hard and then sometimes people fall into one or two personal or something, something that makes it difficult to continue with business.

So I've also looked at how she could do training or consultancy because there are people who want to start poultry farms and this one has been in the business for a very long time. She actually can guide somebody. OK, you want to go into poultry? OK, no problem. Start up capital, be looking like this choice of building, be looking at this area. Should you buy land? Should you rent land? How many heads of chicken should you start off with?

What kind of medication do you need? Where are the good and reputable veterinary doctors in Abuja? You know, stuff like that. All those questions, she'll be able to do that sort of thing. So that's one option and you can see now that it is tied into Plan A because Plan A is she's already in the chicken business and she's already doing these things and selling it through agents in the open market. But you can see that a Plan B

training and consultancy that is related, she doesn't have to learn much. The only thing she will not have to learn as a trainer or a consultant is she will not have to learn how to haggle, how to negotiate because people like to in Nigeria, we price everything. Sure, but people price more when it's services. If you say 1.2, they say 1.2. For what? Are we not just talking? Calm down, you know, I don't want to start pricing you.

So she'll have to learn how to price the haggle and negotiate when it comes to services. She also learned how to position herself differently because where you position yourself when you so poultry and stuff like that, the positioning of a consultant is somewhat different. Then she also have to learn how to start looking for new kinds of customers because for selling poultry, she's going to the open market and approaching agents and you know, stuff like that.

So the ICP is now different, but you can see that at least since she has knowledge base, at least she won't have that thing where where people are new to the consulting space. You know that your mouth to be shaking when you're talking to somebody. I mean, for her, she has lived the life of chickens. She has lived that chicken life, so she might be nervous when it comes to pricing, but at least if it's the chicken knowledge she knows and not just theory because she did the theory and she has been doing the practice.

So now it's different then Let's see. OK. Then one that I didn't mention over the air first morning to discuss with hers, I found out that there's a business called a business, some business practices, basically it's called PBM. Now PBM is an initial of course, and it just stands for poultry by product meal. So what these people do is they will come and they will buy your chicken, especially the chicken parts that you don't eat and stuff like that, and then they take it and then they process it.

The processing is technical. Shall you take it, you boil it, you grind it, you do all kinds of things. But by the time they are done, you produce something that you can use to feed pigs, you can use to feed cattle, you can use to feed cats and dogs and things like that. And I was shocked because I thought, you know, this is only Weibo stuff. I didn't know that the Nigerian businesses that do that. So yeah, they actually are Nigerian companies that do this.

And the whole industry is called PBM Poultry by Product. So just in case you're curious and you only get involved, just know that the people that are doing it and I found companies. I'm not going to give out the addresses here because I'm not trying to endorse anybody. But I mentioned it to her, you know, in our private conversation and then I gave her some phone numbers. But I found companies in Ibadan, I found companies in Kalaba, I

found a company in Abuja and I found companies in Kaduna and Kwara that this is what they do, PBM business. And in a way, it's kind of making sense now because you know, you enter shopping malls in Abuja, you see a whole aisle that is devoted to dog food. I'm like, when did this one start? As in a whole section that is devoted to dog food? Like do Nigerians love dogs that much? Because we had dogs and I was like, well, not dogs, just one.

She was a German shepherd. So I know German Shepherd, Abby and Alsatian. I'm not sure if Abby is the same breed and an Alsatian, very lovely, beautiful dog. We called her Bianca. I know, but Bianca is no longer with us and unfortunately my wife doesn't like dogs. So you know, nothing for me. I can't get another dog. So that's it. I've been dog less since my youth, but back when we had Bianca, now Bianca used to eat everything that we ate.

You know, if you eat Amala, Amala is remaining. You just throw it in a plate and I give it to Bianca and, you know, she'll eat. And some of the neighbors are like, hi, people serve. You're spoiling this dog because, you know, we used to put Bianca's food in a plate because a lot of people do just throw their dog food on the ground and the dog would just eat, you know, But I hear that nowadays that there's some dogs that if you throw the food on the floor, that dog would just be looking at you.

The dog would be like, you know, who's going to eat that? Like a beg get my dog dish. So yeah, things have changed. Your last podcast episode I recorded at Grand Square, walking to Ground Square, they have a section where they have dog food, only dog food. You see aisles, sacks, some of them like 25 KG dog food anyway. So that's how these dog food people, this is how they're getting some of their ingredients. So it's from the PBM, poultry by product meal, Abby poultry by product meal.

And if you just Google PBM, you see it coming up. So like I said, there are companies that do this thing in Ibadan. So those are doing Lagos. Want to enter the hustle? Ibadan companies are close to you. There are companies in Kalaba, companies in Abuja, in Kaduna and Quara again, PBM, Ibadan, Kalaba, Abuja, Kaduna, Quara. So I told her, yeah, she's based in Gwags, so in Gwala, Abuja, so she could reach out to the Abuja companies in Central area or maybe the companies in Kaduna because I'm not sure which part of Guwala that she lives in.

So you know, because Guwala that is kind of far from main town. So well anyway, so that's it. One of the things I discussed with her. But you can see that now entering this space, entering the PBM space, at least she has been in the chicken world for a while, you know, so she knows buying, rearing, slaughtering, like she knows. So transition to the PBM. She just has to learn a new thing, some new things about new stakeholders, how to talk to them, figure out what they want,

how to negotiate with them, how to establish relationship with these companies, you know, but the learning is not, it's not that much. It's not like learning something entirely new. Then we also explored about how she can start selling processed meat instead of selling the raw chicken that people will now go and kill in the market through the agents. She cannot start doing the processing the chicken by herself. It's just a matter of training the boys to say, look, boys,

before this, what we've been doing, we've been selling this chicken hole. They go and slaughter it over there. Now we're going to slaughter this thing in house. So she'll buy the freezer and she'll train the boys that look, this how you slaughter chicken when you slaughter this how you caught it when you caught it. This how you bag it when you bag it, this how you store it and then start selling the processed parts. Because the last time my wife sent me to the market, they said go and buy a chicken kilo.

I noticed that when I got there, the guy opened the deep freezer and he pulled out the bag That was, was that, is it hermetically sealed? I'll be hermetically sealed. You know, you know that fancy ceiling now where it's in, it's been packaged and it's like the air has been sucked out of it. But it looks, it looks kind of professional and put it that way. So I noticed that that's the kind of bag he brought it out from me.

He tore it and I said how many kilos? And then we measured the thing and then I bought the chicken. So people have started doing that kind of business in Niger as well. So it's like, well, you know, you can do that as well. So just train up your boys. You buy the equipment, you buy the deep freezer and you know, you have to learn some new stuff. But still it's kind of tied in to her existing knowledge in chickens, her existing skills in chicken re.

I'll be chicken husbandry, the existing capital that she has, because she already has the coup, she already has the land, and then she already has the reputation of being the chicken woman. So it's not a matter of learning something new, you know, because, oh, they've always known. Everybody knows that when you see joy, you see chickens. So if it's no longer live chicken is now chicken parts, you can see that it is a smooth transition or a smoother transition is the same market.

Everybody knows her, everybody already trusts her. So it's a matter of look, I'm not doing that live chicken thing anymore, I'm doing chicken parts. She will now be talking to people in the in the, is it the abattoir? No, not abattoir, the frozen, the frozen section of the market. I'm talking about open markets now, not like malls. So she'll now be in the open market section talking to this other people so she can sell her cut up package chicken portions.

So the only thing now is just label. So she will now be paying the boys more because the boys work is now harder. She will have to go and talk to Amak. Amak is the Abuja Municipal Area Council because the local councils, local governments, they have certain health certifications that are needed for people who are engaged in this business. Some of you will laugh and say which kind of certification, Yes, I know, I understand because let's be honest, you go down, you pay these jokers,

they're supposed to do give you certificate of clean health and certificate of whatever. And you know, what do they know? If you just go down, bribe them, you will get the certificate anyway. So yeah, I understand, but at least on paper, you still have to go and see them. So if you're based in Lagos, I want to be doing this kind of business. You know, you still have to go and see the boys and allows her and we have to go and talk to them and get your license.

What are you going to pay or what are you going to bribe? You know, that's between you and them, but you need that certification. So she'll have to talk to people in our Mac. Those of you who are in Lagos, you have to go and talk to people and allows her or equal you or whichever local government that you're based in. Then I think NAFDAQ, I'm not sure if NAFDAQ has a role in this. I should have checked, but I'm guessing maybe you might have to see NAFDAQ people as well.

Then you'll also have to invest in cold storage and then transportation, adequate transportation because you know the way that the country is hot as in the weather is really, really hot. Because I was talking to this guy that came to deliver chicken to the house. It's just a pure coincidence. And because wife ordered chicken, wheat, other things to eat only chicken when all that rich. So yeah, so just having a chat with him, you know, if you don't use the right kind of Okada, the right kind of casing and everything, and you carry frozen food and put in it, by the time you drive from here to here, you find out that the chicken has defrosted and the thing as they even started smelling.

So you need certain kinds of Okada containers and certain kinds of containers that you put in the car. But anyway, you have to invest in all of that. So bottom line, what I'm trying to say is this, whether she decides to move into layers or she decides to do training and consultancy or she decides to enter this PBM hustle or she decides to start doing processed chicken products, she will have to learn something new. But the thing that she's learning you new is not going to be too much.

It's not going to be too onerous. It's not going to be too difficult because it is tied in to her existing knowledge in chicken Ree, her existing skills in chicken Ring, her existing connections in chicken husbandry, her existing capital and investments in chickens, and her existing reputation. In fact, the reputation of myself, that's one that is even most important to me because the sliding will be so smooth because everybody who knows that when you see Joy, you see chickens.

So if before it was live chickens, but now joy is doing processed chickens, it's not a problem. It's our girl. It's joy do just flow then let's see what else. OK, Of course we had those conversations about looking for new partners, you know, talking to hotels because I know these are some hotels. I mean, the last time I ate at, there's a long, long, long, long, long time ago. I don't eat in hotels. You know, I'm not a big boy like that.

What's this place called? This is hotel in Zone 7 next to the Bridge Connect, Zone 7 and Zone 1. I can't remember. I used to go to the gym there. So I noticed that their chicken there was like the live chicken they used to do the frozen chicken. So hotels joints, all these pami joints, catfish joints, because they also do things that like grilled chicken and all these things. So yeah, we had that conversation about her talking to those source of establishments as well.

Also about that no exhaustive trailer driving my Yeah. So that's it. So that's the summary of what I wanted to discuss today. So for those of you who have a plan A plan, plan A No2 pure plan A, no two sets, you know, is looking kind of shaky and looking for a Plan B, It actually helps if your Plan B is related to your plan A. It will be a smoother transition. So eventually you can say I'm tired of chicken ring and I want to do forex and I want to do crypto.

Yes, eventually you can move out of chicken eventually. But instead of going straight from chicken to crypto, you know, go from chicken to some of these other ideas that we've discussed while you're now lending crypto on the side. And then one day you can say, OK, bye. Bye chickens. I'm now a crypto trader. So yeah, so that's it. Let's see. Let me have a look at my list. Yeah, that's all for today. So if you have any sales and marketing questions, bring them to me.

Call SMS or WhatsApp on 08064662140. Thank you for your time and attention. I'll catch you, dear listener, at the next episode.