To an average corps member in the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Scheme, the current living allowance paid by the Nigerian Government isn’t sufficient to cater for their daily needs. In an effort to cushion the effect of the money drought, some who still have their parent’s back depend on supplementary funding from home. If you are one, know that such support wouldn’t last forever. Start thinking of alternative means of survival on your own. The following tips should help.
Private Teaching
This is an age-long tradition that had kept many people going all through their university life. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to continue with the tradition. You indicate your interest in teaching children at home to everyone around you. It is always advantageous here for you if you got posted to a school. The teachers, the students, the members of your host community, not leaving out your fellow corps members could be helpful. It could involve you placing an advert of that through whatever means people can get it. Pupils and students in the terminal levels of their education need special lessons. Approach their parents and agree with them on some convenient price. Let me remind you that you can’t give what you don’t have. Update your knowledge to be able to teach others!
Laundry Service
Some folks require the service of persons to handle their laundry. This is a very lucrative venture you can engage in during your spare time. Have you ever attempted calculating how much those illiterate ‘any wash’ women made daily from students during your university days? I know your style of handling the trade would be much professional based on your level of education. Brand the service well. Start small and grow it into something worthwhile.
Agriculture
This, we were taught back in our elementary school, is the oldest occupation of man. Every individual, no matter how sophisticated, depends on agricultural products to survive. What are you waiting for? This becomes handy when you are serving in a rural/agrarian area. Your host community could be kind enough to lease you some land to grow crops. Those from the nomadic families could allow you milk their cattle too. A cordial relationship with members of your host community is all you need to keep you going. Think of a sector in agriculture you can invest in. Snail rearing, fish farming, poultry farming, bee farming and crop production are among areas to consider. Read further on various areas in agriculture on your own. Better still, your jottings during the SEAD lectures relating to agriculture would be very valuable here.
Retail
The distribution of products to their final consumers is going to be interesting to those with good marketing skills. Get some marketable product of interest to sell in your host community and get your profit out of that. Wouldn’t it be interesting that you make some people’s work easier by bring their basic needs closer to them?
Writing
The people around you need the service of a graduate like you to help them put their thoughts in print. Use this avenue to make some cash. It might not be appealing to some people that you charge to write for them. Let such people look for others that would do so for them for free. Today, writing is about the fastest growing lucrative venture. As long as people value your writing skill they would be ready to pay for your service. Writing is real business!
Editing and Proofreading
Some people are good writers but would still need others to proofread their works. Such people don’t want to patronise professional editors because those ones charge more. You are a likely alternative to get such assignments done. Be prudent enough to charge them well. Your knowledge of grammar isn’t a waste. Use it to make some money!
Mobile Workforce
What about making some money from your mobile phone? Wouldn’t it be a good idea to use your phone for purposes other than connecting with friends and families? I had once written about some productive