Let’s take advantage of these seasonal needs and offer the appropriate business services. You will find below a list of 20 profitable rainy season business ideas.
- Cold Weather Apparels and Accessories: Starting a cold-weather apparel store can be a great option for those looking for a seasonal business. You can buy products in large quantities and start selling to retail fashion shops and corporate offices. You can even hire sales canvassers and pay them on a commission basis.
- Lawn care business: Contrary to popular beliefs, the rainy season is a great time to start a lawn care business. Lots of individuals and large companies seek for services of lawn care maintainers to help them take care and beautify their environment. You will need to advertise your services in local newspapers, or write an introductory letter to the ministry of environment either at local or state level. You can also write to property managers. Who says you can’t go out and knock on doors of commercial businesses and property managements? They have a long list of clients that will need the services of lawn care service providers. You can start with two or three staff.
- Roadside snacks: In this rainy season, snacks like roasted corn, cooked corn and cooked groundnuts are in demand. Passersby, pedestrians and drivers alike would always want to buy hot snacks to heat up their body and quell their hunger. Your target market should be in densely populated areas of streets with big pot holes that could delay traffic. As drivers slow down, they notice you and buy your snacks. Herbs and Flower Farming/Gardening: Flowers survive better during the rainy season. Plants are the basis for all landscapes, homes, gardens and even for brightening offices. You will pay small amounts for packets of seeds and make way more when selling starter plants. The more space you have, the better you will be at it. If you have the space in your landscape and outdoor garden, you can create gardens where you will grow the plants and dry them out after. This will add much to your inventory and you can make lots of money selling dried flowers to retailers, wholesalers, and even flower shops.
- Make Mosquito Nets: Mosquito nets are simple to make and easy to use. They eliminate the need for repeated use of dangerous chemicals. Mosquito nets can be institutional and attractive. By using pretty flowing fabric and a few household objects, it is possible to make a beautiful yet functional mosquito net. Things you will for construction of a mosquito net are; stud finger, 4-inch metal “O” ring, cup hook, 2-feet diameter embroidery hoop, 20 yards of tight weave chiffon fabric, 4 feet of stain cord or ribbon, hot melt glue and clear hot melt glue sticks.
- Tea Café: This market is not likely to be saturated if you decide to start this business. What innovations do you need to do this business? Simply make your tea joint look neat and attractive. Guys will park their cars, jeeps; roll up their sleeves and squat for a cup of steaming tea. You can entertain them with music. Your major target will include bachelors and spinsters, and also from the married groups and workers in general. Most of these people leave their homes early enough for work without having breakfast. Make sure your shop is situated where there is high concentration of people. Also make sure your customers have varieties of beverages to choose from e.g. beverages like bournvita, Milo, ovaltine, top tea etc. Other add-on for your tea café can include bread, canned fish, sardine, noodles, soft drinks and water. As a starter you require fire heating gadgets, tables and chairs, cups, plates, spoons, knives, forks and so on. You may require a small accommodation or a table space in a busy area, which wont be difficult to get if you meet the right authorities. You just need to part with a few cash to get this space. As you start operation, set aside some specified amount that the government may require as levies. Never mind the levies because you can record over 40 clients per day especially when you start very early in the morning and evenings. If you are innovative, entrepreneurial and exceptional, you will discover that there is no limit to what you can earn.
- Catch and Sell Snail Meat: Snail meat has been severally affirmed as a safe and nutritious delicacy. If you place a blanched piece of romaine lettuce, zucchini or cucumber into a small tank, in no time snails will gather around it. You have to be patient though, because it will take a while to catch a whole bunch of them. The best period to commence snail farming is the raining season. You can start with about 50 – 60 snails to have a good knowledge of how snail breeding works. Snails are sold in bunches of 20 pieces each and the price depends on the size. The bigger sizes are sold between N2, 500 and N3, 000 per bunch. It is better to buy the big ones so you can expect to produce more after about 35 days on location. As a starter, you can start with as low as N10, 000 in this business. You can sell your products to hotels, restaurants, individuals and market women. You can even export them if you have large quantities in stock.
- Umbrella Stocks and Sales: Since there is no notable umbrella manufacturer in Nigeria, prospective investors are advised to buy in wholesale and start selling branded umbrellas to corporate organizations. Don’t forget companies will like choose the colors that match their company. Modern rain umbrellas are made with fabrics (commonly nylon) that can withstand a drenching rain and one that can dry quickly and fold easily. They are available in varieties of colors and designs. You can get it in large quantities for retail at Idumota in Lagos and the prices ranges from N150 to N250 depending on the size.
- Tarpaulin Hire Business: Many people organizing outdoor parties are most likely to hire tarpaulin to shield them from the rain. You can make money by engaging in the tarpaulin hire business. If you don’t have enough money to buy a brand new one, you can lease it from sellers and hire out to those who need it, taking the commission as your gain.
- Pest Control: A pest control home based business can provide you an healthy income. There are various types of pest controls such as insect or rodent control, or the business can specialize in providing all pest control services. There are also various methods now being used to control pests, such as chemical-based sprays and organic-based sprays. This will also have to be a consideration in terms of the types of methods your business will utilize. Overall, a pest control service can be very profitable business venture during the rainy season and can generate profits of N5million per year. You can write a proposal to big corporate organizations stressing the advantage of pest control and healthy living can have for them.
- Yam planting and Sales: Turning yam into an exportable product is considered a remarkable achievement in Nigeria. Although the country is rated as the largest producer of yams in the world, it didn’t find the means to take advantage of this huge potential for export until the formal launch of the Nigerian Yam Export to U.K in July 2009. You can take advantage of the rainy season, which is best for yam planting and sales. You can buy yam in large quantities and sell to exporters, and you can also sell to local manufacturers who process yam to pounded yam and flour.
- Maize Cultivation and Processing: Investors have the opportunity to capitalize on the current high demand for staple foods by investing in the cultivation and processing of maize and corn. Maize is commonly grown in the middle and southern part of the country where heavier rainfall permits two corn crop seasons per year. A well drained loamy soil can be used for maize plantation.
- Gutter Cleaning: A lot of gutters are blocked during the rainy season preventing the free flow of water. You can start making money by offering the service of Cleaning Gutters. Don’t shy away from this business because it’s a money earner in the rainy season. You can employ two to three people to leverage on. You will need to assemble items such as large wooden spoon, a simple garden trowel, and a sturdy pair of garden gloves. You can find work with landlords or landlords associations. Some will prefer you clear it for them weekly while some will want their gutters to be cleared once or twice in a month. You can charge between N5, 000 to N20, 000 depending on the clients and the intensity of the work to be done.
- Hire Water Pumping Machines: A lot of houses will get flooded during the rainy season. This will create a business opportunity for you to own a water pumping machine and hire out to these houses to clear the flooded area and pour the water to the gutters. Some water pumping machine owners charge as much as N5, 000 per day. During emergencies when there is no entrance to a whole street a water pumping machine owner can charge more. All you need to do is to identify such flooded areas, move in with your pumping machines and charge appropriately.
- Sell Rain Coats: Modern raincoats are often constructed of breathable, waterproof fabrics such as gore-tex and coated nylons. These fabrics allow some air to pass through, thereby allowing the garment to “breathe” so that sweat vapor can escape. You can commission a tailor to sew in different sizes and designs to meet the demand of different customers; you can also buy in some retail stores and sell directly to individual and corporate organizations. Or you can recruit sales canvassers who can help you get it to the markets, especially when it rains.
- Start a Car Wash Business: A lot of cars will get dirty in the rainy season because of splashes by mud. You are going to make cool money in the rainy season with this business. There is some equipment you need to start this business. Most importantly you need a pressure washer, if you want a proper washing to make your customer appreciate your service and always come back. The pressure washer brings out the water with pressure. It removes all the dirt and makes the cars to glitter. The pressure washer is also used to wash the car radiators, no matter the amount of dirt that blocks the vent of your radiator, the pressure washer removes all and opens up the vent again. The pressure washer consumes less water. The amount you can charge to wash cars and trucks will vary with location and to how dirty the car or truck is. Normal car wash costs N300, but for interior wash, it can cost up to N800. Washing of engines cost up to N1, 000 which is also the cost for normal washing of Jeep. The cost for washing a truck can be around N3, 000 and a very dirty trucked can be charged N5, 000. If the engine is extremely dirty, you will have to apply chemicals which are a mixture of diesel, detergent, kerosene, petrol and acid, which should be mixed very well. Sprinkle on the engine and leave for about five minutes. Now when you use a pressure washer to rinse, the engine would look as clean as new. You can get to major car parks, negotiate with car owners and get their cars washed before they get back to the car park
- Repair Pot-holes: You can start a mini-road-construction business repairing pot holes. A lot of pot holes will continue to increase in size during the rainy season. Some products make potholes repair easier than others. Asphalt makes the process significantly easier. No special equipment is needed with asphalt. You can start making money with the local government area in your locality. You can even negotiate with the unit or National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) in your area or discuss with the landlords association or the local government chairman. You can charge as much as N20, 000 to N100, 000 or more, depending on the intensity of the project.
- Own a Warehouse: A lot of retailers have been keeping goods in shops before now but during the rainy season, most of them will be forced to take their goods to warehouses to protect their goods from unexpected rainfall. Prior to opening a warehouse business in your area, it is paramount to find out how many competitors you have. Gain knowledge of how existing firms have positioned themselves in the market place and then design your business in a way that sets you apart from others. You can charge daily, weekly or monthly. However, make sure you inform your retailers in your areas that don’t have a shop before now that you can provide them a secured place for their goods in your warehouse. They would be ready to pay for your services
- Produce Shower Caps for Women: This business can be started with very low capital. Purchase some yards of plastic materials which are clear, opaque or semi-transparent or can have pretty designs on them. Measure the distance around the head where the shower cap is expected to end. Add one inch to this figure for overlapping purposes. This will be the shower cap circumference. Purchase elastic, less than one inch wide, and cut to the shower cap circumference. The elastic can be sewn on the outside or inside of the shower cap edge, or the elastic can be pinned down, sewn, and then one or two folds (or rolls) made, then sewn again to “case in” the elastic inside the edge of the plastic cap. You can sell for N50 or more depending on the quality of the nylon you are using.
- Set Up an NGO for Climate Change Disaster and Relief Services: This type of NGO is going to be busy in the rainy season, providing supportive services for Nigerians who live in flood prone areas. The NGOs in this sector will be responsible for educating Nigerians in these areas on how to avoid flood disasters and also provide weather report and analysis so that they will prevent flood occurrences in their regions. Such an NGO will receive regular funds from foreign donors. You can make money from this by affiliating with already existing NGOs abroad. They have regular source of funding and they will be happy to have an affiliate agency here in Nigeria or Africa.
- Make Mosquito Repellant Lotions: Earlier on we talked about Making Mosquito nets for sale. But you can also produce mosquito repellant lotions so repell mosquitoes which are in abundance in the rainy season. There a couple of different formulations you can make for your natural mosquito repellant. In general, what you are doing is diluting an essential oil that the mosquitoes find distasteful or which confuses them so they can’t bite you. The oil doesn’t mix with water, so you need to add them to other oils or to alcohol. It is important to use an oil or alcohol that is safe for your skin. You can sell in a small bottle after production for N100 to N300 depending on the size.
- Produce Agro Products for Local and Foreign Consumption: Local products like cocoa, kola nut, banana, chili pepper, shea nut, okro, melon are products that you can start selling during this rainy season. All you need to do is to locate the exporters and start earning finders fee. If you have a small farmland, you can sell to retailers and start making money that exceeds your imagination.
The rainy season is an all year round event, so if you have the time and some money to invest in a business idea then check above the one that best describes your dream business or starting point. Discover the money making possibilities of each one and use them as your keys to success.