This article contains a comprehensive guide on how to start a football viewing center in Nigeria.
Are you thinking of making money as a student in Nigeria? This is the perfect business idea for you if you are ready to face the little challenges that may arise in it.
Although there are various ways of making money online, some people prefer the offline method because they don’t have to face the struggle of explaining what they do online to people every day.
Another benefit of the offline business is the ability to access loans from friends and financial institutions. Imagine how awkward it would be to ask your friend to lend you some money to start a blog. Huh?
Now, let’s get to the real thing.
If you don’t like explaining what you do to people every day, then starting a football viewing center as an offline business might be the right choice of business for you.
The reason is very simple; you don’t need a registered company to start a football viewing center. You also don’t need a huge budget to get the business going.
Nigerians love football! That’s all you need to know. And once there is an audience for your business, then you don’t have to worry about making sales or not; because sales would automatically make themselves.
Another reason why you should invest in a football viewing center is that you are not promoting any product. You’re not burdened with the task of making sure your product is perfect, and all that headache that comes with physical product sales does not come your way.
Let’s look into the process involved in starting a football viewing center in Nigeria.
What You Need to Start a Football Viewing Center
Now that you know how easy it is to start a football viewing center let’s look at the things you need to start a viewing center.
For the purpose of this post, I would go with a medium-planned football view center business. You can always expand the plan (or minimize it) to fit your budget.
1. Viewing space
Of course, you need a space. This is the most important item on your list.
You need a large space for your audience. You don’t have to build the space yourself. Just look for free space in the proper area of town.
You want to cite your football viewing center in a place with a high youth population and high-security level in other to drive sales and protect your materials.
In my school, some guys make extra money by renting out their space for other things when they’re not showing any football match (especially during weekdays).
You might want to find a partner that is into another form of business; maybe a tutoring business raises funds and acquire the space. (You would have successfully reduced your startup cost by doing this).
If you’re not in a student environment, don’t stress yourself with finding a partner; just get a good location for your business. The money spent on acquiring the space would be made back a few weeks into the business.
2. Chairs
Yes, Nigerians love football, but we don’t like standing while watching, especially when we’re not watching for free.
So you would need some set of chairs for your audience.
Don’t get plastic chairs! Nigerians can “over” jubilate and break them, which will lead to a loss on your end. Hire a carpenter to help with making a strong wooden bench.
It all depends on the availability of space, and your projected audience, 20 to 30 benches should be good for a start.
3. Ventilation system
Football viewing centers are always overcrowded. This is one of the reasons why I stopped watching football publicly.
When I said a ventilation system, I was trying to sound “posh,” so don’t think “poshically” like me.
Let’s just be plain and call it Standing fan (huh?)
You would need at least three huge standing fans to keep the place cool when your audience is watching.
4. Power Supply
We all know how “awesome” the electricity supply is in Nigeria. So awesome that we dare not rely on the power supply to run a business.
To avoid facing any difficulties, it’s advisable that you ditch PHCN in your plans for power supply.
Get a good generator (It does not have to be brand new if you’re low on budget). You should also invest in UPS or inverter because Nigerians don’t like any form of interruption while watching their favorite game.
You would connect the gadgets directly to a UPS or inverter, such that when the light goes off (be it generator or PHCN), you viewers can keep watching until you put on a secondary source of power…. smart, huh?… lol, I know!!
5. Television Set
You need a good television set. A standard football viewing center should have at least two big screens.
This would come in handy when you’re about to show two matches at the same time (English premier league).
You don’t need a Samsung LED tv, or smart tv, or LG HD LED whatever-you-choose-to-call-the-tv.
Just get something that provides a clear picture. Don’t be stingy, though; get a plasma!
You need a good old deck sound speaker. Not just for your audience; but for publicity purposes.
Position the speaker at the front of your viewing center and increase the volume (try not to piss your neighbors off). This would attract passers-by to your football viewing center. Smart? I know…lol.
6. DSTV or Other Cable Subscription
You would definitely need a cable TV subscription to get access to the Supersports stations and other relevant game-showing stations.
I don’t know much about the subscription package, so you might want to visit the nearest Multichoice office to make inquiries about this.
You can also reach out to those who are already in the business to ask them about the best subscription package.
7. Lights
Although you can’t keep the light on when watching games, you would have to put it in the light when your customers are about to leave, so make sure your football viewing center is well-lighted.
Why am I even telling you this? Make the place dark, as in really dark, very dark! Maybe they’re coming to the shrine or viewing center; we would know…lol.
8. Tickets
This is a way of making sure that everybody pays. Of course, there are some “bad guys” in the hood that would never pay… And in your own best interest, you should make those “bad guys” your venue bouncers.
Try to make a pocket-sized tick for customers. You basically give them the ticket after payment. It’s more like a receipt.
It does not have to look fancy or professional; because I know some people are thinking of “hiring” a Photoshop guru already. Scratch the idea! Just make something simple and save your money for other things.
Getting Started As A Football Viewing Center Owner
Now that you have everything you need. The next thing is to create a viewing plan.
Make publicity for your new business by offering discounts for the first 10 or 20 viewers. Just like every other business, it might be a little bit difficult to get customers for the first few weeks.
But once you tell people about it, they will eventually show up in your viewing center (either the devil likes it or not).
You can offer various incentives for referrals as well. Something like; bring your friend to watch a match, and you won’t be paying for the match, only if your friend is viewing it here for the first time.
The idea is to spread the news about the existence of your business as much as possible.
Get a whiteboard and position it in strategic places, not just at the front of your viewing center. Place those whiteboards at popular junctions within the vicinity of your football viewing center. Write features and promo information on the whiteboard.
Expanding Your Ideas
You can include a beverage selling business as well. If you know how to market your business, you can create a branded t-shirt and sell it to football fans.
The possibilities is almost endless with this business. So what are you waiting for? Get on with it and start making some real income for yourself.
Major Challenges in Opening a Football Viewing Center
- Space: the major challenge people who wish to invest in football viewing may encounter is getting an adequate space that can accommodate their needs. Space is the first thing to be put in place before any other.
- Cost of space: after seeing a good place to use, in most cases, the cost of the space may be too expensive. Don’t go for a space that will take all your gain. Remember, football has a break period, and you will have to pay for those times you are not showing any match.
- Capital: this is the biggest challenge for every business. In the case of opening a football viewing center, it will be very difficult to secure a loan from the bank. Even if the bank approves your loan, how about the interest rate. We all know that the interest rate is outrageous in Nigeria. So it is best you try to save up some money. If your savings is not enough, seek an interest-free loan from friends or family. Or partner with someone you both can add resources together.
- Attracting customers: the best way to attract customers is by advertising. The environment you find yourself in will determine the kind of advertisement you should engage in. There is no best way of advertising. It all depends on your location and the kind of people living in it. You should know the kind of things that attracts them.
- Football break season: when planning your viewing station, remember there are peak and off-peak periods. So expect an imbalanced graph of your profit. You have to plan effectively for the rainy days.
