Turning Your Expertise into Extra Income: The Plan B Blueprint

Hello and welcome to the show. Today's episode is being recorded at my desk and it's a full house just in case we have the usual interruptions in the background. If this is your first time listening to the show, the goal of this podcast is free business education, so you're in the right place. And by the time we're done, please share, promote and talk about the show so that your friends and family members in Nigeria and abroad can benefit from all the issues that we tackle over here.

They can do that by subscribing on Spotify, YouTube, Apple or whatever player of their choice. And if you in particular have any sales or marketing questions, then bring them to me. You can SMS or call or WhatsApp me on 08064662140. Today I want us to look at some business ideas. And, you know, all this talk about Plan A, Plan B, because somebody called me on the radio show, the one that I have on Radio Maria, and we had quite a discussion over there.

In fact, some people even called in to give their own opinions. And I figured, you know, it's a very good thing to talk about over here today. So let's get on with this whole Plan A and Plan B thing. A Lady Dorcas, she called in and she wanted a business idea for a Plan B OK, No, she didn't call in. She sent an SMS, so she wanted the business idea for Plan B and her conditions were as follows that it has to be something that's in her area and let's see what else.

OK. I think those, I think that was the only condition that was attached. So remember, she says she wants a Plan B and her Plan B has to be in the same area that she is. And unfortunately, there wasn't much more detail after that. And this is one of the reasons why not just on the radio show, but over here on the podcast, that's for those of you who reach out to me on WhatsApp. I mean, some of you just ask questions and you don't have a lot of context behind it.

And, you know, actually need more context because I noticed that some of you that ask a few questions and then you just tune out. You know, I'm not asking you questions because I don't have anything else better to do with my time. But The thing is, if I'm going to give you an answer that is relevant to you and is useful to you, it's applicable in a particular context, I'm going to have to know some more. So you can't just reach out and say I'm looking at the Plan B.

The Plan B must be in my area. You know, I don't know what your plan A is. I don't know what you're doing. I don't know what your area is. In fact, I also wanted to know why must it be in your area? Is it something with, you know, supervision you want to be around so that you can supervise? Because there's some people who, you know, in the real estate space who say don't buy anything that is not in your backyard. You know, in other words, if you live in Lagos on the mainland,

don't buy real estate that is in Lagos in Lucky, you know. So that's the kind of idea that if you live on the mainland, buy real estate on the mainland. So you know, anything, shop, shop, you can just dash there and go and see, you know, how far out my house, that kind of thing. So those were the sorts of questions that follow up questions I would have asked, but of course you didn't provide any more details even though I

asked on the air for not just her, but for other people, like, OK, these people you sent in questions. I need some more context. I need some more info, you know, send a WhatsApp, you know, but they didn't. So I just tackled it anyway based on the limited assumptions that I had. So yeah, why mostly being in your backyard? Why mostly being in your area? Which area are you at? You know? So, yeah. So if you do reach out, please,

the more details you can, you can give me for your questions, the better. So this whole thing of Plan B and now said lots of us actually should be looking at our plan A because there are lots of people who, you know, you're already doing something. Now you think the thing you're doing is not sweet or the thing that you're doing is not bringing in the kind of money that you like. So therefore, you're now thinking of Plan B, which is in another space, another industry,

another XYZ. But I firmly believe, especially for those of us who are fresh, we're new in this whole business thing, good business ideas can flow from your Plan A. Let me repeat, you're currently doing Plan A Plan A is not sweet. Plan A is not giving you money or Plan A does not have room for career progression or for, you know, whatever. Good ideas can come from Plan A, and This is why good ideas can come from the Plan A, the thing you're currently doing, because the thing that you're currently doing, you have some familiarity with that thing.

You already know it. Nobody has to teach you. You don't have to go and spend time and money trying to learn something else. You already have some level of expertise assuming you are a diligent somebody. If you're not a diligent person, then you know really I can't help you because it doesn't matter what advice I give you. The way you're carrying your non diligence in your plan A, you would transfer it to your Plan B and any which way you just mess yourself up.

So I'm assuming that you're diligent and if you're diligent, you would have carried small expertise no matter how small. Then most importantly, you have knowledge of the customer base in your plan A because after all, is there something that you're doing right now, the job that you're doing right now, the hustle that you're doing right now? So you already know the customer base or the stakeholders like you know the every, every, You have a sense of it.

Then finally, you have some credibility or you already have some reputation in this plan A. Because of that, when you are fed up with your Plan A, it makes more sense to say, OK, this skill set that I have, this knowledge that I have, this familiarity that I have, the stakeholders I know, this customer base, blah, blah, blah. What other business opportunities can I look for that are directly tied into this Plan A? Because the problem we're looking for a Plan B that is in a new space is you will have to go and learn a whole new bunch of stuff.

You will spend time, you will spend money. It will take you a while to get expertise in this new field that you're branching into, the customers, this space you're branching into, you do not know and then you have no credibility, you have no name in that space. So this is the example that I gave on the show. And then for somebody else who called after her. In fact, we even examined ourselves. But let me just give the example that I gave on the show.

So this was the example. So the example I gave was take me as a baby lawyer back in my baby lawyer days. Now let's say I started working for one senior, you know, back then also used to call them, you know, your senior colleagues. So let's say I started working on one senior and the senior was paying ME70K. And because of that I'm not happy. Oh, by the way, I graduated a while ago. You know my, my trick number is, you know, 1996.

So you know that graduated a while ago. So back then 70K would not have been sweet, but 70K would not have been entirely rubbish. I know that now 70 K is minimum wage and it is rubbish but I'm just saying for when I graduated 70K yeah it was not correct boss not too bad. So my senior is fame is 70 Ki begin to grumble and I'm thinking Oh my guys do Plan B. If my Plan B now remember I'm a baby lawyer. I graduated in law.

I've been working here for like 2-3 years. If my Plan B is now that I want to go and do tailoring, fashion design or photography or whatever, I'm going to have to learn a new skill. I will have to pay someone or invest my time in learning fashion design or learning photography. Assuming it's not something that comes in it because you know, some people have the talent as in you know, follow com as in as they are born. You just have some talent.

So assuming it's not one of those in late talent things, you now have to get familiar with something else. You don't have to learn a new industry. You now have to learn a new set of customers, a new set of stakeholders, a new set of expectations. You're now trying to build reputation. And these things take time. And when you're frustrated in your plan A and you're trying to look for Plan B, time and money is precisely the thing that you do not have.

If you're frustrated as a baby lawyer, you're actually trying to see how can I quickly, you know, be raising this my level of income from 70K and adding other things. Not that I'm planning to move on to something else. But then the thing I have chosen requires another incubation stage of maybe 2-3 years of learning or something or establishing a name before you start seeing money. I hope you guys have flowing, you know, hope you guys are following, following me.

If you're not, I give my phone number at the beginning of every episode and at the end of every episode. So send me a WhatsApp message or send me an SMS. You say, bro, I had this episode. This thing you say is a lie. I know I agree and you know we'll have a talk about it and in fact it might even inspire a follow up episode. So me now as a baby lawyer, any 70K, are frustrated that my senior is not treating me well, he's not paying me well.

Instead of looking at another industry, it makes more sense to now see what other opportunities given the expertise I already have, the knowledge base I already have, the credibility and reputation I already have. What avenues for extra income can I pursue First? I Max it out before I now start stretching and say OK, I'm going to go and do Plan B. And so the lady on the air, well of course she didn't give me details, but on the air this was just me freestyling.

Now these are some things that as a baby lawyer I would look at CAC registration. Lots of people want to start businesses. If my OGA is not treating me well in the office, nothing stops me from doing PP. You know, in law and in medicine, PP, we call it private practice. And I think, yeah, it's private practice. That's what we used to call you back in a day. I don't know about now. So you're my organ. No problem. It doesn't mean that on my own time I can't be coordinating one or two horses.

So we used to call it PP back then. Lawyers will be doing you work for yoga, but you now do private practice. Medicine is the same thing. You have yoga, but you also be doing your side, your PP, your cyber practice, private practice. So I can be doing CAC registration for people work for my yoga from 8, leave the office by 5:00 and then by 6:00 in the evening I can start looking at other people's business ideas, preparing the articles and memorandum of association, all the paperwork, you know, all the everything that we need to do.

Prepare it on my own time so that my girl won't come and say that. Look, I'm paying you 70K so I expect for you to work for me and not to do anything as in this one. I'll be doing it on my own time so nobody can quarrel me that. Yes, it's PP, but I did it when I went home. I didn't do it in your office, I didn't use your material. So you can't answer me. This is my own, my own side of my own side, something. So as a baby lawyer, you can be doing CAC registration for people and there's no problem.

There's some businesses or there's some people who like to do who need legal research. Nothing stops you from doing legal research on your own time. Even if you're going to use your gas. Please, you know, some seniors are are OK. Some seniors are cool. You can tell them that. OK, senior, you know, to be honest, there's some private whatever you know that I'm pushing and I beg. I'll be coming into the office on Saturday.

You know, if there's anything you want me to do, I will do. But I also spend like one or two hours, I'll use the office library because I'm trying to tidy up one or two things. If you don't believe me, my cousin who is currently a senior advocate of Nigeria, he when he was with, how was this guy's name, another senior advocate, I can't remember his name. The senior advocate didn't mind. You know, he knew that everybody has one or two things that you know they are pursuing, but he didn't mind.

OK, no problem. You guys want to come in on Saturday? So long as you make sure we're done with this matter, this matter, this matter, sure, no problem. And that's how my cousin and a bunch of other people, that's how they started. You just have natural power. Your senior, you're straight up with your senior and you make sure that you deliver whatever it is that you guys are working on. And some of them are cool like that, Sure, no problem.

You want to come on Saturday, You want to come on Sunday? No problem. You want to use the library? No problem. So legal research, that one is also there. Then there's some people that need some help when it comes to contract drafting and review. You know, I've signed something, I've signed Tennessee agreement, I've signed non disclosure, I've signed whatever. We are all the lawyer. Please let me look at it. When you look at it, I'll give you 50 K Oh, sorry, I don't know how much you know, people charge now.

So I'm still thinking, you know, like back when I graduated. So if you looked at something and somebody gave you 50K, you know, back when I graduated, it wasn't a bad deal. But now I don't know how much lawyers will charge. So please don't say I'm telling lawyers to be collecting 50K. I'm using the time off. Like I said, my my trick number is 1996. So that's the idea I'm using to tackle this question. Then let's see what else.

One idea I came off from was tutor that's teaching people. There's a law school in Wari in Abuja, there's a law school in Inugu, law school campus in Inugu, law school campus in Lagos and they should be for Abuja, Kano, Inugu, Lagos. Yes. So you can be going down by teaching people. OK. Are you getting ready to prepare for the BI exam? That's the big exam that we write before they give us our qualification, our qualification, our license so that we can practice law.

You don't want me teaching people. So those are the examples that are just free. Start on the air. So you can see now how your Plan B can take advantage of your expertise and your knowledge that you have and the reputation that you have in your Plan A for that kind of thing. Now as a baby lawyer, I don't have to learn anything new. I don't have to meet anybody new, I don't have to network in any new circumstances. I don't have to, you know, there is no learning curve.

I don't have to learn, practice anything, build expertise or whatever in the new industry. All I need to do is just to step aside small after hours and I can start building my plan BI, repeat. Too many people are looking for a Plan B that is totally different from your Plan A. You're making your journey longer than it need be. Now, the next person that called after we had discussed this matter, the ladies in the poultry business in Lagos,

that's right in Abuja. Now for her, the poultry thing has become, you know, hyperinflation now. So cost of chicken has gone up, you know everything. So basically the business was good, but with the way the economy has turned recently is no longer a good hustle for her because the cost of maintaining this chicken and everything, the cost price that she wants to sell it at people in the market are not buying. If our people in the market are owing her money, they're holding her like 150 K.

That's what she said. And then she has chickens at home. That is just inventory that sitting I do that she can't sell because, you know, I mean, think about it. If you raise this chicken and you do the math and it's like raising these chicken cost you, but I'm not in the chicken space so I have no idea. I'm just making stuff up. So please, nobody should crucify me. So if it cost you, let's say like 7-5 to raise one chicken,

it doesn't make sense If you're not going to take the chicken to the market and you sell it at 76, I mean like, how can you profit 100 naira on top each chicken? Doesn't make sense. So I don't know what adequate profit margins are. But you know, in my own opinion, I mean my own guess, if it cost me like 7 K to raise each chicken to majority, you know, chicken feed plus this plus this plus that, plus plainly the boys who work for me, you average out the amount costing me like 7 K

before me. I think the least I'll try and sell my chickens would be 10K at least maybe 1:15 if I won't try for 15K. So let me try and at least double the money that goes into it. So because of that, now she says she's looking for Plan B, another industry. So now told her look Madam, based on what we discussed before is the same thing over here. If you're going to look for Plan B, 'cause you mentioned some other industries, all these other industries is a new space.

You don't have familiarity. There you go. You have to go and learn and you have to pay somebody to teach you or you have to go and be doing apprenticeship or research. You will take time to build up expertise. You will take time to learn a whole new set of customers and their expectations and you will take time to build up your credibility and reputation. And right now people are owe you 150 K. You have inventory that you have a Max you have a maxed out so so inventory that you haven't sold a Plan B in a new whatever Madam is too much stress.

So I told her, you know what give me some time. Let me think the next episode I'll come back with some more ideas. That's how we ended. She now called the phone the very next person I called said, bro what you said is correct. I agree with you, instead of her looking for XYZ industries. I can't remember what she mentioned. He said this woman is better off instead of selling so I can't remember the names. The one that you sell for meat is called something Abby's brought broiler.

Abby. She said inside this woman selling broiler for meat, she should now switch and be selling layers for eggs. The layers will be laying the egg. You'll be selling the egg after a while when the layer has passed his due date. You can now slaughter that one. And I said, ah Madam, thank you very much. Perfect example for somebody who has been railing raising broilers for meat. Thinking of Plan B in farming. It doesn't make sense.

In my own opinion, you're better off doing Plan B. That will take advantage of your familiarity, your expertise, your knowledge, your skill set, your credibility, your reputation that you already have now in the chicken space. So if you're now raising layers and selling eggs, the people in the market, they already know you as a chicken woman. So to make the step from broilers selling chicken broiler meat to now chicken layer eggs,

it is a small step. People already know that when they see you, they see chicken. You already know how to raise chickens. You already know the diseases that chickens face. You already know the things that chickens need to eat. You already have an idea of who are the market dealers who are dealing in chicken kinds of, you know, chicken related stuff. It is a small step. You can see quicker returns. Your Plan B doesn't always have to be something entirely different from your plan A.

So please. Let's bear that in mind. Anyway, apart from that brilliant example later on, I was now thinking of the matter and I came up with some other stuff you can do some value add. Abby is that value add and I can't remember his value add anyway. But bottom line is this is something else I thought of. OK, selling the chicken hole in the market. People are no longer buying because it's too expensive. So I thought about it.

What if you train up your boys small and then you guys start butchering the chicken in your own place and then you package it in your own place and then start selling the parts instead of the whole chicken selling chicken parts, you might be able to do that as a profit. And my own justification now was instead of spending time at resources lending a new trade, all she has to do now really is look for someone to train her boys quickly on this is how you butcher chicken.

And then all she has to do now is to buy a deep freezer that can be done in a shorter period of time and you can now transition into something else. And I made a whole list of other stuff. I can't remember where I kept those notes. But anyway, I'll get to it later on and then we'll share that on, on the on the podcast. But that is also another example apart from the baby lawyer example to show how your Plan B doesn't have to be entirely new.

So you know, of course, everybody does whatever it is they want to do. So if you insist you want to go into a new industry, then you don't find, I can't force you. But for quick, quick, quick, quick, quick results, your Plan B should be something that is directly tied in to your Plan A. What you're doing now, because you have familiarity in this space, you've built some expertise in this space for the last 23456 years you've been doing it.

By the way, the woman I was doing chicken, she's been doing it for like 10 years. Then you know the customers, you know the stakeholders. Like this woman in particular, she already knows the market, people, market association, the market, every, every. You know the customers, you know the stakeholders, you have some credibility, you have some reputation. Everybody knows that is Madame that we've been dealing with chickens for the last 10 years.

If she's coming now, she wants to start dealing in Google, for instance, vegetable. It's, you know, maybe it's not too much of A stretch, but it's a new thing, you know, after start making inroads into the Google networks in the market. But if they know you as chicken woman for 10 years, I am going to do Plan B Trying to say I'm moving from broiler, excuse me, from broiler to layers. So much smaller step. So that's all for today folks.

I hope I've been able to convince and not confuse any of you listening. But like I said, if you have any questions, especially if they're sales and marketing related, all you have to do is call SMS or WhatsApp me on 08064662140. Let me know what you think. Let me know what you disagree with. So thank you very much for your time and attention. I'll catch you, dear listener, at the next episode.