For obvious reasons, the cooking gas business is profitable. The main reason it is a profitable business is that cooking gas is the most commonly used in cooking today. It is safe and healthy. In this article, you will learn how to start a cooking gas business in Nigeria whether as a wholesaler or retailer
As a cooking gas retailer you can sell gas cylinders, gas stoves, hoses, and other gas cooking equipment. You can also make money repairing gas cylinders for customers.
Capital Needed to Start Cooking Gas Business
Many Nigerians that want to go into the gas refilling business often ask how much do they need as capital to start. They think that because the cooking gas business is under oil and gas business you will always need a huge capital to start.
Well, depending on the kind of cooking gas business you want to start you might need a big capital or small capital to start.
To start a mini gas plant in Nigeria you will need a capital of #6,000,000 – #10,000,000 but you can start a roadside gas retail business with a minimum capital of #500,000.
Steps on how to start a cooking gas business in Nigeria.
1. Write a Cooking Gas Business Plan
The first step to start a profitable cooking gas business in Nigeria is to write a business plan. When you write a business plan for any business it shows you are serious about the business.
It also shows that you want to really know the profits of the business and not want to guess. Business plans are very important especially if you want to go into the cooking gas business on a large scale or for a long time.
So if you want to start a mini gas plant you will need a business plan and if you want to start a small-scale or retail cooking gas business you may not need a business plan.
As I said, it depends on so many things and what you want to do. Business plans are not easy to write so I will really advise to employ the services of a professional especially if you think you need one for this business.
2. Get Required Capital
After writing your business plan the next thing you need to do is to get the required capital to start the business. Like I said earlier the type of cooking gas business you want to start will determine how much capital you need.
If it is a retail cooking gas business the capital you have will be used to buy different equipment needed to start the business.
You will use your capital to rent a shop, to buy big gas cylinders that will serve as your gas reserve, to buy different gas cylinders and stoves to be selling and more.
You will also use part of your capital to get different permits under the state and local government for your cooking gas business. Make sure the capital you are using to start a business like this is yours.
Avoid borrowing from anybody or investment to start as this can be detrimental to your business.
3. Learn How to Refill Gas
If the kind of cooking gas business you want to start is a small scale you will need to learn how to refill gas. Yes, many do not know but cooking gas business is a kind of handwork.
To learn how to refill gas cylinders you can locate anybody in your area that is into the business and apply there as an apprentice. This might be free or at a cost.
After a period of 1 – 3 months of learning, you can be equipped enough to start your own gas refill business.
4. Get a Location/Shop
You need a place where you can be refilling cooking gas and selling gas cylinders to your customers. This is where renting a shop for your cooking gas business comes into play.
To rent a shop for your cooking gas business you need to consider few things. If you follow these few things to the core you will not have a problem increasing profits in the business with a short while.
1. You need to make sure your shop rent is not expensive. Your shop rent should not take more than 30% of your initial capital. Take your time to look for shop with moderate rent so that you do not overspend.
2. You need to make sure that the shop you are renting is located in a popular or a populated area. This area could be at a popular bus stop or facing a main road.
This is to make sure that getting customers to locate you and patronize your business is easy.
3. You need to make sure that the shop you are renting is isolated from other shops. This is to make sure you can control the fire if and when there is a fire outbreak.
5. Start Selling Cooking Gas
After renting your shop and you have bought your gas equipment the next step for you is to start refilling gas for your customers. Customers will start coming around asking how much you are selling gas in KG (kilograms).
Get your prices right so that you will not make unnecessary losses. You need to know how much you will sell your gas in 3kg, 4kg, 5kg, 7kg, 12kg, and more.
For example, if you buy your 3kg gas for #1,500 from mini gas plants you can resell at #1,700 making a profit of #200. You can sell at more profits it really depends on you.
6. Making Profits
There are different ways or methods you can make money from the cooking gas business. You can make money refilling gas for customers that need gas, selling gas cylinders, selling gas equipment and repairing gas cylinders and gas stoves.
With these different ways of making money, your profits are diversified in the business.
