Making Money Through the Setting up of Cooking Gas/LPG Business

I think most people are now familiar with cooking gas or LPG (Liquefied Purified Gas) due to its massive usage nowadays, people tend to prefer cooking gas to other traditional source of cooking like firewood, coal, kerosene etc, because of its cost efficiency, neatness in usage, easier to use feature, faster in cooking and so on. The use of gas also helps in reducing the problems of deforestation and the preservation of our forests from the felling of trees.

With the aforementioned, many wise investors has ventured into the business opportunity and the profitability it brings due to more and more people using cooking

gas ranging from household use, eateries, restaurants etc.

Cooking gas business is very profitable and with a capital of N100,000 ($500) to
N300,000 ($500) you can start a cooking gas business.

What You Need in Starting  A Cooking Gas Business:

Get a Business Plan: It will be very good to get a business plan, even before you can venture into any business; you need a good business plan. Your business plan will contain your ideas and how you want to them and the tools you want to use, how to manage competitors, marketing strategies to adopt etc.

Get Trained: You need to get a very good training so as to have enough knowledge about the core rudiments of the business from experienced retailers or Gas Depot for at least 3-6 months.

You will need to learn some skills such as; How to refill cylinder, how to transfer, how to change valve, safety precautions, license and any other knowledge that may be necessary for the smooth running of the business.

Get a Good Marketable Location/Rent A Shop: You can start by renting or leasing a particular location for a shop, but in choosing a good location you must consider one main factor which is the marketability of the area.

You can site your gasoline shop in an urban/residential area where there is a room for commercial success, siting your shop in a rural area where there is low turnout for cooking gas is a dead on arrival business idea.

Some of good locations are where there is the presence of tertiary institutions (University, Polytechnic, Colleges etc) amusement centres, eateries, restaurants and any other places where the usage of cooking gas is rampant.

Another factor you must also consider in choosing a location is safety, there are some required guidelines regarding the siting of a gas business due to its inflammable nature. Most Federal and State Governments have some laid down rules and regulations regarding the establishment of such business due to its hazardous nature.

Capital: According to what some specialists in the business says; N100,000 – N300,000 is enough to purchase more than 20 gas cylinders, get a shop and the necessary items needed for start up.

The amount needed will depend on the location you choose to site your business, if it’s in a big commercial city, you are going to spend more than that in getting a shop but at the long run it will definitely pay off as huge sales will make up for the effort.

Profitability of the Business: It is a highly profitable business determined by the number of sales you are able to make which in turn increases your turnover. For example using a 12.5kg cylinder, a 12.5kg cylinder can bring profit of N500.

You purchase at a unit per cost of N2500 or less and you can for N3000 or more. If you sell 5 cylinders per day it brings a profit in a month, therefore; N2500 x 30 equals N75000 profit margin, and if you sell more than that quantity outlined means more profit.

Marketing: After employing all the tips above and the business is up and running, you need to market your products so as to increase your turnover. Any marketing skills you know that can work very well need to be adopted, this can be in form of price reduction, discounts, word of mouth, using of sales representatives.

At the initial stage of the business you need good marketing strategies that will gain you customers and retain them, also try and outshine your competitors in every means you know that won’t affect your business.

Employ Workers

You may need to get experienced workers for the proper running and management of the business; you will combine the experience of the workers with the experience you had and use it to move the business forward.

You may need someone to assist you in the area of refilling cylinder, transfer, change the valve and general works. The worker you employed will be at the shop to attend to customers in case you are not around due to illness, travelling or other unforeseen absence.

Safety Tips For Running The Business

Always handle cooking gas and all equipment with care

Always respond to any notice from the state or country’s regulatory agencies to avoid fines.

Always keep in touch with the authority to ensure you remain compliant with current regulations

Stay in touch with your suppliers to get updated on current prices and trends

With all the startup guides above if implemented, you are on your way to profitability in cooking gas business. Goodluck!!!