I’ve run ads and built marketing systems for businesses. But nothing works faster than this:

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In Nigeria, many people succeed in business and career not because they spend plenty money on adverts, but because someone referred them. When someone says “This person did a good job for me,” it carries more weight than any advert you can post online.

Let’s be honest. If you are just starting out, whether as a tailor, graphic designer, makeup artist, photographer, or even a mechanic, people don’t know you yet. They don’t trust you yet. So how do you make them trust you? You work for free or give them a big discount. Do your best work. Then ask them to tell others about you.

For example, imagine you are a makeup artist in Lagos. You just finished learning the skill. Instead of waiting for someone to pay you N20,000 for bridal makeup, offer to do it for your cousin or friend for free. Make her look amazing. Take pictures. Post it. Let her tell her friends. Before you know it, someone will call you and say, “I saw what you did for my friend. Can you do mine?” That’s how you start.

Another example is if you sell small chops in Abuja. Instead of printing flyers and paying for Instagram ads immediately, make a few packs and give them to offices around you for free. Tell them it’s a sample. If they like it, they will order more. And they will tell others.

Even big businesses do this. When a new restaurant opens in Port Harcourt, they might offer free drinks or 50% off on food for the first week. Why? Because they want people to come, taste the food, and tell others. That’s how they grow.

So if you are new in any business or skill, don’t be afraid to give value first before asking for money. Use free service or discount as your traffic source. Let your work speak for you. Let people carry your name on their head because of how well you treated them.

In Nigeria, word of mouth is powerful. Use it well.


—Jbm Sopuruchukwu 
(Advertising Copywriter).

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