28/08/2025
𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 ₦𝟓𝟎𝟎𝐤, 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐁𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐈 𝐝𝐨 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐲 𝟗-𝟓 𝐣𝐨𝐛?
👇👇👇
A friend asked me a few days ago,
“𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 ₦𝟓𝟎𝟎,𝟎𝟎𝟎 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐰, 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐧
𝐈 𝐝𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐦𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐲 𝐣𝐨𝐛?”
Sounds like a solid question, right?
And yes, I’ll answer it. But before I do, let me address some very ⚠️ 𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐘 𝐈𝐌𝐏𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐀𝐍𝐓 ⚠️ that need urgent attention.
𝑭𝑰𝑹𝑺𝑻𝑳𝒀: 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐋 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐁𝐋𝐄𝐌
𝐍𝐨𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐤𝐞 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭.
𝐏𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐤𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐨𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭.
If someone with poor money habits gets ₦500k, they’ll lose it.
If they get ₦500 million, they’ll still lose it, only on a bigger scale.
So the first real question isn’t “What business should I do?”
It’s “Who is the person holding this capital?”
I've watched too many people get windfalls, salary increases, business profits, even lottery wins, make "smart" investments, enjoy success for a year or two, then somehow find themselves back at square one.
Why?
Because they never fixed their relationship with money.
Money is a receipt of its wielder.
Your bank account balance will always reflect your internal financial state, not your investment choices.
Think about it: if ₦500 million landed in the hands of someone who can't manage ₦50,000 properly, what do you think happens?
They might do well for a while with good investment advice, but eventually?
They'll return to their starting point because money has a way of flowing back to its comfort zone, which is the mind of its owner.
𝑺𝑬𝑪𝑶𝑵𝑫𝑳𝒀: 𝐓𝐇𝐄 “𝐏𝐀𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐈𝐍𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐄” 𝐋𝐈𝐄
Let’s debunk this myth: 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝐧𝐨 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐲 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞. None. Zero. Zilch.
What people call "passive income" is actually the result of systems that required massive amounts of time, energy, and resources to build.
That “rental property” generating monthly income?
Someone had to:
- Research neighborhoods for months
- Navigate Lagos property laws
- Deal with difficult tenants
- Handle repairs and maintenance drama
Those “dividend stocks” paying quarterly?
Someone had to:
- Study company reports until their eyes bled
- Understand market cycles and economic trends
- Monitor portfolio performance constantly
That "automated" online business?
Someone spent:
- Months learning digital marketing
- Countless hours creating content
- Years building systems and processes
The income becomes relatively passive only after you've invested heavily in building expertise and bulletproof systems.
Stop looking for passive income.
Start building active systems that eventually require less active management.
What exists are systems. Once built, they run with less of your daily involvement.
So the goal isn’t passive income. The goal is leverage.
𝑻𝑯𝑰𝑹𝑫𝑳𝒀: 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝟕-𝐘𝐄𝐀𝐑 𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐂𝐈𝐏𝐋𝐄:
Remember the Biblical story of the 7 years of abundance and 7 years of scarcity.
That story Ancient Egyptian King and Joseph, is one I love because of the principles.
Life operates in cycles, 7 years of abundance, 7 years of scarcity.
What you do during your 7 years of abundance determines how you thrive in the 7 years of scarcity.
Of course, you know these 7 years are figurative, for some it might be 20 years or so, and for others 2 years.
Most people upgrade their lifestyle every time their income increases.
New salary = new car. Business profit = bigger apartment. Windfall = expensive vacation.
Then, when tough times come (and they always come), they're devastated.
Smart people prepare. They build systems during good times that sustain them through any season.
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐋 𝐐𝐔𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍: 𝐖𝐇𝐎 𝐀𝐑𝐄 𝐘𝐎𝐔?
Before asking "Where should I invest my money?" ask yourself:
- Do I have a budget and stick to it?
- Can I delay gratification for long-term goals?
- Do I understand the difference between assets and liabilities?
- Have I developed multiple streams of income?
- Do I save consistently, regardless of my income level?
- Can I make sound financial decisions under pressure?
- Emergency Fund Rules: Build 3-6 months of expenses before any investment conversation.
Keep it accessible, not in some investment you can't touch if your car breaks down.
- Multiple Income Streams: Your salary should never be your only source of income.
That's financial su***de in today's Nigerian economy.
- Debt Reality Check: Pay off high-interest debt before thinking about investments.
You can't be paying 30% interest on loans while chasing 15% investment returns and think you're winning.
𝐁𝐀𝐂𝐊 𝐓𝐎 𝐎𝐔𝐑 ₦𝟓𝟎𝟎𝐊 - 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗱
--> The Conservative Foundation Path:
₦200K in Treasury bills/mutual funds (your safety net)
₦200K in strategic land purchase (long-term appreciation)
₦100K for financial education + emergency fund
--> The Business Builder Route:
- ₦300K to start a well-researched provision store
- ₦150K investing in your business education and skills
- ₦50K as your "things will go wrong" buffer
--> The System Builder Strategy:
- ₦200K to master a high-income skill (copywriting, digital marketing, etc.)
- ₦200K in diversified mutual funds
- ₦100K to test and validate multiple business ideas
Here are other options in Nigeria today:
- POS Business – Busy location + trusted attendant = steady daily income.
- E-commerce / Mini Importation – Buy hot-selling products, resell online (Jumia, Konga)
- Foodstuff Trading – Buy in bulk (rice, beans, oil), resell later at a margin.
- Agricultural Partnerships – Poultry, catfish, piggery with existing farmers.
𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻 (𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗧𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆)
Week 1: Set up a proper budgeting system that actually works for your lifestyle
Week 2: Build your emergency fund foundation (start with ₦50K minimum)
Week 3: Choose ONE financial education resource and commit to finishing it
Week 4: Pick your investment/business path and take the first concrete step
Remember: You can lose your money, your business, even your job, but if you've built the right financial habits and mindset, you'll rebuild faster and stronger than before.
What's your biggest money management challenge? Let's talk about it.
