Getting Startup Capital For Your Business

The most common complain among youths trying to launch a business in Nigeria, is lack of
capital. What many youths do not realize is that several organizations have millions of dollars
set aside for the funding of small business enterprise, NGOs and small organizations.
These organizations range from personal foundations, corporate CSR, government grants and
other special grants. Some of the grants can fund any kind of business enterprise, while others
are meant to encourage investment in certain sectors of the economy. For instance, some
grants are for small businesses interested in green renewable energy or in ecological
conservation projects. Some grants are also meant for NGO's , Women or social enterprises.
In any case, every young and aspiring entrepreneur should be aware of all available sources of
free capital and apply to relevant ones.
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Boost Profits with the Power of Facebook

As of July 2011, Facebook has over 750 million active users.  This makes the Facebook community the third largest country in the world, and more than 2.4 times the population of the United States.  The potential of Facebook marketing is absolutely incredible.  And to top it all off, Facebook marketing is FREE!

To get started making money on Facebook, the first thing you need to do is decide what you are going to market.  This could be anything from an affiliate product you receive commission for to promoting your own business or website.  If you plan to use an affiliate product, make sure it’s a good quality product with a reasonable price.  If you promote worthless items you will lose the trust of your Facebook followers really fast.  It’s usually best to purchase the item yourself first and learn as much about it as possible before trying to sell it to others.  If you end up regretting the purchase yourself, don’t put other people through the same situation. 

If you already have a personal Facebook account, make sure you create a new fan page for your business.  It’s okay to try to get your friends to “like” your business fan page but chances are many of them will not be interested in what you are promoting.  By creating a separate fan page, this gives them the option to either “like” your page or not but you can still retain them as a friend on your personal profile.   

Besides suggesting your fan page to your personal list of Facebook friends, here are some other methods you can use to increase your fan base: 

• Add a link to your Facebook fan page in your website and every email you send out.
• Use custom Facebook applications to attract people to your fan page.  Just don’t overdo it.
• Link your Facebook account to your Twitter account and vice versa.
• Create niche relevant videos to add to your fan page and also embed them on your website.
• Add a link to your fan page on your personal profile page.
• Give a gift, such as a free report or video in exchange for becoming a fan.
• Enter new fans into a drawing for a free giveaway. 

Promoting products or services to make money on Facebook is great but you have to be careful how you do it. Just remember, most people come to Facebook to socialize with their friends, not to go shopping or purchase items.  If you are too aggressive with your sales pitches, you may find that you will lose followers and you may even have some people complain about spam. 

The best way to make money on Facebook is to build the trust of your followers.  This can be done by posting useful information and tips about topics in your niche and promptly responding to comments and messages from your fans.  If you are a blog owner you can syndicate your blog to automatically post to your Facebook page and thereby generate more blog readers.  Once and a while it’s okay to send out status updates promoting an item or service or maybe a review of an affiliate product you are marketing.  Just try to keep the advertisements to a minimum.  Put yourself in the shoes of your fans and ask: “What would make you want to be a fan of your own site?”   

Another way to make money on Facebook is by utilizing the Facebook Marketplace.  The Facebook Marketplace is similar to Craigslist in that it allows you to place free localized classified ads to sell your unwanted items.  You can also use the Facebook Marketplace to promote your business by placing ads linking to your website, blog, Facebook fan page, etc.  Just be sure you use an attractive photo and a strong “call to action” to entice people to click your ad.  Maybe even consider giving away a free gift such as a report or eBook that could be downloaded when they visit your site. 

As if the above methods of Facebook marketing are not enough, you can also purchase PPC (pay per click) or PPM (pay per thousand views) advertisements.  Due to the social nature of Facebook, most people will list demographics such as their interests, marital status, etc. in their profile.  This is very useful as an advertiser because this enables you to key in on these demographics and end up with extremely targeted ads.  For example, pretend you are a nightclub owner in Denver and you plan to host a concert with a famous rock band.  You could set up an advertisement to only be seen by Facebook users in the Denver area who have rock music listed as an interest on their profile.   

Hopefully this article opens your eyes to the huge potential there is to make money on Facebook. Whether you plan to sell affiliate items to your fans, used clothing to a local audience, or use paid advertising to promote your business, the power of Facebook marketing should not be underestimated.  If your business currently has an online presence and you are not yet using Facebook, then you are missing out on thousands of potential prospects.