Comfort (24) left her job as a secretary at a construction company to start a POS business, which helped triple her income. Here鈥檚 how she did it.
This is Comfort鈥檚 story, As Told To Elohozino
I worked for a construction company as the secretary, and my monthly salary was 鈧�50,000, which wasn鈥檛 enough. I was barely saving, and most of my money went towards transport. Transport took half my salary, and my rent was 鈧�200,000. So, I had to get to work, save for rent and feed with my 鈧�50,000.
Before I left, I raised this issue with my manager and asked for a 鈧�20,000 increase, but she refused. What she actually said was that I was lucky to be getting 鈧�50,000 because the lady she worked with before me was earning 鈧�40,000. Apparently, my advantage was having a National Education Certificate. After she refused to increase my pay, I had to quit and spoke to a friend about what ventures I could go into, and she suggested starting a POS business. She introduced me to an agent who sold a POS machine for 鈧�23,000, and that was how I started.
I started my POS business in February 2024. It wasn鈥檛 an easy journey, to be honest. When I started the business, it was difficult to rally customers. I got scammed and accidentally did a duplicate transaction of 鈧�50,000 in my first week. Scamming POS agents is a lot more common than people realise, and they have many ways of doing it. Sometimes, young boys come in multiples and try to intimidate or distract you while one of them holds the POS machine and runs a fake transaction. They expect that you鈥檒l leave the machine with them and trust them. If you don鈥檛, they try to joke about it or scare you in some way.
Sometimes, people who drive big cars show up with cards that don鈥檛 work. They ask to hold the POS machine while you鈥檙e counting the money, and they pretend the transaction went through. Some do fake transfers and show you fake receipts. They ask for a regular bank account because they know they can rely on those banks to delay the alerts.
When all these things happened initially, I took it as a sign to stop, and maybe God was telling me that the business wasn鈥檛 my calling, especially after losing 鈧�100,000 in that first week. But my friend encouraged me, and I just kept going back to my kiosk. Before the end of the next week, I had made the money back. I鈥檓 more confident in dealing with them as well. Once a customer is being difficult I tell them to go to another stall to withdraw.
Now I make about 鈧�150,000 a month, sometimes more, sometimes less. On average, I make between 鈧�4,000 and 鈧�5,000 a day. Fridays are my best days because people always withdraw large amounts. But I鈥檓 making enough money now. When I worked at the construction company, I鈥檇 trek to work sometimes to save money. The place I used to stay was a one-bedroom apartment I shared with my friends.
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Since I started my business, I save 鈧�10,000 a week, sometimes more, excluding my monthly income of 鈧�150,000. I also have a clear budget now: 鈧�3,500 for electricity, 鈧�35,000 for my mum and sisters, and 鈧�25,000 for food. I鈥檝e also moved out of the shared room and have my own space, and rent is 鈧�250,000. I even go out with my friends more. We sometimes go to Magic Land or a lounge to eat fish.
For my next plans, I think I want to expand the business. Maybe open two or three more stalls and have people manage them. I know it might be difficult because I鈥檒l have to pay them, and it may not be a lot, which was also the issue I had at my old job. It鈥檒l also be hard to find people I can trust with money, but I definitely want to do it. I won鈥檛 really say my decision to expand is to provide jobs. It’s more about creating multiple streams of income. I鈥檝e seen that this business works for me, and it鈥檚 very straightforward.
As for my education, I don鈥檛 have any plans to go further right now. Maybe that鈥檒l change in the future. Growing up, everyone in my family did business, so it feels like I’m on the right track. My mum and older sister both sell produce from their farms, so each of us has something we鈥檙e doing. The profit isn鈥檛 always great, which is why I try to support them whenever I can. My dad was also a farmer before he passed. If there鈥檚 anyone who鈥檚 done anything different from what my family does, it’s me.
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