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  • “The Dollar Rate Is The Bane Of My Existence” — A Week In The Life Of A Shipping Agent

    “The Dollar Rate Is The Bane Of My Existence” — A Week In The Life Of A Shipping Agent

    A Week In The Life” is a weekly Zikoko series that explores the working-class struggles of Nigerians. It captures the very spirit of what it means to hustle in Nigeria and puts you in the shoes of the subject for a week.

    The subject of today’s “A Week In The Life” is a shipping agent. Shipping agents help people buy goods from sites like Amazon and eBay. They can bypass the dollar limit on cards and the heavy custom duties. Our subject talks to us about how the pandemic, exchange rate and Nigeria affects his business.

    MONDAY:

    I didn’t sleep until 3 a.m. last night because I was browsing the internet for things I could import to sell. I haven’t found anything, yet, but it’s a matter of time before something comes up.

    I hate waking up early, and that’s why I’m up at 10 a.m. today. 

    My primary source of income comes from buying and shipping goods into Nigeria. The job is flexible enough that I get to control my time, so I can afford to do market research and proper product vetting. 

    I’m also a general hustler — I design, print, advertise and conduct market research. As the spirit leads. 

    I’m also enrolled in a finance course to understand what it takes to properly run a business. A typical day for me involves either waking up to fulfil shipping orders or waking up to go for lectures. The only reason I can afford to wake up late is that I’m only fulfilling orders today. And because I’m doing it from home, there’s not a lot of pressure. 

    Apart from the flexibility, the best part of the job is helping people solve their problems. And the resulting credit alerts after I’m done. 

    TUESDAY:

    Because of the $100 limit on Nigerian cards and exorbitant custom fees, people always need my expertise. I ship goods in from China, UK and the US. All I require from my customer is a link to their desired item. Then I handle the rest. 

    I also bring in custom products for sale. One aspect I’m really into is called private labelling. Companies have a ready-made product in this model and they don’t mind slapping anyone’s label on it. As long as you can pay, these companies are game. 

    My most successful privately labelled product is the anti-glare glasses. While looking through my sales history today, I noticed I had gone from selling 10 units in a day to selling 100 units in two weeks. I’m making a profit of about ₦1,000 per unit, and that’s not bad at all. 

    I’m constantly looking for the next hot thing to import and sell. This involves me begging certain questions like, what are people searching for? And then using Google trends to collect that data. 

    It was through trends I noticed the demand for antiglare glasses in Lagos. Through trends, I also observed that the North has a higher demand for sex toys than the South. What’s the moral of the story here? Always check the data before you touch any product. If not, it’ll end in proper tears. 

    WEDNESDAY:

    Two things are the bane of my existence in this business: scammers and the dollar exchange rate. I have no control over the price of the dollar, but I try my best to prevent scammers.   

    Because a lot of my clients are purchasing from third party websites, I always tell them to be careful. If the price looks too good to be true, then it’s probably a scam. 

    But not everyone listens.

    Some clients are adamant and insist I can’t tell them what to do. I try my very best with each customer to personally vet their orders. I click on their links and read reviews about the seller. If the seller has less than 10 reviews, I flag them and inform my customer. 

    Customers who like awoof will laugh at you. But some that trust my expertise will listen. I remember a customer who sent me a link for iPhone 11 Promax for $350. And the seller he wanted to use had zero reviews. After explaining why it was a scam to him, he cancelled the order. 

    But it doesn’t always end like this. Today, I went to pick up an order for a customer that I also advised against buying a product. He ordered for dirt cheap Airpods Pro, but on opening the box, I saw knock off China earphones. 

    Of course, I was sad because of the time and money spent, but there’s only so little I can do when people don’t listen to me. At the end of the day, it’s their money, and customers are always right. 

    THURSDAY:

    My business is at the mercy of many things: pandemic, dollar price, shipping agents. 

    Before the pandemic, it used to take 5–7 days to ship orders from our warehouse abroad to Nigeria. Now, it takes 14–21 days. And this is minus Nigerian factors like strike, delays, clearance etc. 

    Then there are import rates. Since I started this business, I’ve never increased the amount I charge my customers. However, my price has gone up from ₦2,500/lb to ₦2800/lb. Why? The naira keeps sinking into the ground. And because import rates are fixed in dollars, I have to reflect in my prices.  

    The only saving grace is that my shipment is still more affordable than traditional bodies like DHL or FedEx. While these bodies handle the whole process from pickup to shipping to delivery, my method is different. 

    My customers send their goods to my foreign address/warehouse. Then I gather the goods in bulk using a cargo airline. When it gets to Nigeria, the airline drops the package with clearing agents under NAHCO. I lean on NAHCO/SACHO agents who give me their rates and help me to clear out my goods. No payments to customs, no handling charges. 

    When I receive my goods, a dispatch rider goes to disburse them. Alternatively, I also arrange pickup from my house. Because of the lean model and plenty waka, my clients enjoy competitive rates. 

    If the naira was a bit more stable my customers would enjoy even more competitive rates. But alas, here we are. 

    FRIDAY:

    I’m on the road as early as 8 a.m. today. I’m going for my ACCA lectures; classes start at 9 a.m. and end at 3 p.m.  

    After classes, I’m going to pick up new arrivals even though I’m already tired. This is the life I signed up for, so I’m not complaining too much. Just enough. 

    I have ambitious plans for this business. I want to upgrade the company from a business name to a limited liability company. I also want to get a proper office space so I can stop working from home and get staff.  

    Eventually, I want to bring in custom products in bulk — winning products selected by me. Then I plan to establish a network of distributors to move these products. 

    I’m working so hard so that I can be a successful businessman. I want to be the type that people call importer-exporter, pure water.

    Check back every Tuesday by 9 am for more “A Week In The Life ” goodness, and if you would like to be featured or you know anyone who fits the profile, fill this form.

    [donation]

    Hassan Yahaya

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  • A Week In The Life Of A Fish Specialist Earning $5,000/Month

    A Week In The Life Of A Fish Specialist Earning $5,000/Month

    “A Week In The Life” is a weekly Zikoko series that explores the working-class struggles of Nigerians. It captures the very spirit of what it means to hustle in Nigeria and puts you in the shoes of the subject for a week.

    The subject of today’s “A Week In The Life” is a twenty-six-year-old fish specialist. He talks about making over $30,000 from selling fishes, how he stumbled on the business, the cruelty fishes face, and why he left paid employment.

    MONDAY:

    I quit my job today. 

    With everything going on this year, it just felt like the job was one more thing that wasn’t working because the company wasn’t offering me the growth I wanted. Even though I’m worried about the next step, I’m happy because I have a side hustle which involves exporting fishes alive as pets or for whatever use the person buying needs it for. 

    As a kid growing up, other people had televisions in their house, while we had an aquarium. Because my dad studied Fishery at the university, I learned a lot about fishes from a young age. The only downside was never having anyone to discuss them with — everyone looks at you weirdly when you bring up a conversation about fish. So, I turned to the internet where I started a community of over a thousand like-minded people. I’ll never forget the first time someone outside Nigeria offered to pay me $400 to send fishes to him. In my head, I was like does this guy know what the exchange rate is? Those were cute times because I’ve since gone on to make up to $12,000 in one sale, and $30,000 in the total sale — the profit margin is insane. 

    I buy fishes for $100 outside Lagos from fishermen who catch and kill them for sale. Fishes are only useful to fishermen when they’re dead, so I have to beg them to catch mine alive. Because there are many cruel methods fishermen use to catch fishes, this is usually a struggle for them. And many times, I have to buy a net and even build ponds by the rivers for them. I’ve heard that fishermen pour herbicides on the water to kill the fishes and then pack the dead bodies for sale. I’ve also heard some of them pour palm oil on the water and because of the viscosity — oil stays on the water —fishes can’t take in oxygen. When fishes take in “oiled water,” it blocks their gills making it impossible for them to extract oxygen from water so they die. Whenever I beg them not to employ regular tactics, they always look at me like I’m stupid because they can’t fathom what I’m using the fishes for. 

    The more I think about it, the more I realise that Nigeria is not even a place for a human being, talk less of a fish.

    TUESDAY:

    God will bless white people and they’ll go to heaven because they came to Nigeria, assessed our rivers and compiled a book about all the species of fishes in them. Published in the 80s, this book is one of those dusty, dog-eared books that has seen different regime changes in Nigeria. In the book, you’ll see how rivers are connected, the number of fishes in each river, and migration time table of these fishes. Just by reading the book, I know the time of the month and river to go search for a specific fish. All I have to do is go to the community with a picture to show the fishermen and speak small Yoruba. That’s the easy part. 

    The hardest part is transporting the fishes alive down to Lagos. 

    I have to beg the driver to pack the fishes in a certain way because if the water gets too hot, the fishes will die. I also have to beg for water to be changed at certain bus stops during the journey. It’s stressful in its own way not because of the cost of the fishes but because the people [fishermen, driver] I’m dealing with don’t know the value, so I literally have to teach them. 

    I don’t even want to get started on people at the airport. Those ones have no clue on how to handle my goods because they are running on vibes. 

    WEDNESDAY:

    I’m exporting some fishes today so I’m making preparations. The basic things are oxygen, water and packaging boxes. Fishes are funny because some of them require little oxygen while others require a lot of oxygen. For the latter, I spray oxygen from my oxygen tank [used in hospitals] into their water. After that, I place the water into a bag which then fits into a styrofoam box, and we bind them for the journey ahead. During winter, I’d wrap the styrofoam box with a lot of newspapers to insulate against the cold. It’s a crude method, but it is what it is. Everything I’m doing is basically trial and error because there’s no rule book per se.

    The internet has been helpful in helping me figure things out and it has also shown me that no matter how stupid you think what you write is, someone will find it useful. For me, I’m just glad that my passion is allowing me to connect and earn the kind of money I’d not earn on a regular day.

    THURSDAY:

    On this day last month, a Japanese man cheated me out of $6,000. My plan was that the money would be my safety net after quitting my 9-5. We had an agreement of $9,000 — $3000 for freight cost, and $6000 for the fishes. He ended up paying only the freight cost and leaving me in almost ₦2 million debt. Before this incident, I used to say Japanese people were the most trustworthy people in the world and that’s why I shipped without complete payment. When he blocked me on Instagram and stopped replying to my texts, e shock me.

    The only reason I’m remembering is that I just got paid for another batch of fishes I sent, so I’m finally debt-free. I’m just thankful for friends who loaned me money during that period because I was as broke as a church rat. 

    Will I do it again? Yes. For me, it’s more than the money; it’s finding people who share the same passion with me. And that sense of community. 

    I didn’t start out looking for money, someone just told me they’d pay me to ship fishes and that’s how I stumbled into this business. The upside is that one shipment from this month already offset the loss from the Japanese guy. And I have another shipment in December. I’m not worried because I know that with at least $5000 profit a month, I won’t go hungry. Coupled with the fact that I’m also doing something I enjoy, it’s a win for me. 

    Whether I make money or not, I’ll always love fishes and I’ll always own an aquarium in my house to be gazing at them. Even though other people are worried about my unemployment, I know I’ll be fine at the end of the day. And if I’m not then it’s not the end. 

    Check back every Tuesday by 9 am for more “A Week In The Life ” goodness, and if you would like to be featured or you know anyone who fits the profile, fill this form.

    [donation]

    Hassan Yahaya

    , , ,

  • We Re-Imagined Some Currencies As Secondary School Students

    We Re-Imagined Some Currencies As Secondary School Students

    Money makes the world go round and if you’re Nigerian, the Naira makes you sad. Very sad. We tried to imagine the kind of energy the different currencies would have if they were students.

    1) U.S dollars is that talented and popular kid that everyone likes.

    Dollars secretly hates everyone but doesn’t show it.

    2) Pound Sterling is the smart kid that can’t understand why other people aren’t smart.

    Pound Sterling is definitely a snob and keeps to himself.

    3) The Euro is that transfer student no one paid attention to until she came first in class. Now, everyone is wary.

    Euro likes group work and collaborations.

    4) The Canadian dollar is the kid who was assistant class captain and has now made it his life mission to be class captain.

    His tactics is to rally the marginalized towards his cause.

    5) The Japanese Yen is that kid with integrity. They’ll write their own sibling name in the noisemaker list and submit to the teacher.

    This is the kind of person that cheats in an exam and reports his/her self.

    6) The Naira is that kid who always raises their hands and gives the wrong answers.

    They brag about knowing all the answers but still fail exams. In addition, they always blame everyone but themselves for failure. Olodo rabata.

    Hassan Yahaya

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  • A Love Letter To Dollars

    A Love Letter To Dollars

    For some days now, I have been dreaming of dollars because no matter where you live, the dollar is a strong currency.

    As a result of my current obsession, I decided to write a letter expressing my feelings.

    My dearest Dolly-Benjamin, how are you today?

    Hope fine?

    I constantly dream of you every day and night.

    You haven’t called me in a while. I hope all is well?

    As I am dreaming of you, I just want you to be appearing in my pocket.

    Morning, Afternoon, Night. That’s kuku what the Doctor prescribed for me.

    With or without conversion to Naira you are bae!

    Till death do us apart.

    Call me. Your best friend, careful Egungun who doesn’t go to the express.

    Hassan Yahaya

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