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Savvy Way To Start A Business In USA From Nigeria (2023)

Detailed guide on how to start a business in USA from Nigeria are provided in this article.

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The sweetest experience for an entrepreneur is having a successful business; it comes with a lot of advantages, one of which is having enough time to pursue other interests.

While this sounds like a great opportunity, starting a company from scratch is not a walk in the park – It requires more than just ordinary efforts. According to statistics, 90% of new businesses fail in the first five years.

This is not meant to discourage you, but rather to make you aware that starting a business requires some strategic knowledge and information.

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If you plan on starting a business in a foreign country, such as the USA, you will find this knowledge extremely useful.

Hence, I am going to share with you all the information you need on how to start a business in the USA from Nigeria in this article.

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Five (5) Trending Business Opportunities In USA

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There are millions of self-employed people who call home their workplace, if you’re interested in joining them, below is a list of business opportunities you can take advantage of from the comfort of your own home in the U.S.

1. Dropshipping

Dropshipping is one of the best at-home business opportunities there is. Dropshipping is a business model that lets you buy products directly from a supplier or manufacturer and ship them to your customers.

Compared to other ecommerce business opportunities, dropshipping is low cost to start. You don’t have to worry about carrying inventory or buying products in bulk.

You don’t even have to worry about shipping products, because your supplier handles that for you.

Business In USA

Since you don’t have to buy the items you sell, you can offer a variety of different products, such as beauty, keto, fashion, home, ice cream, wholesale, and more—dropshipping business opportunities are near endless. If a supplier stocks a product, you can list it on your online store at no additional cost.

2. Sell Handmade Products

If you always enjoyed making and building stuff as a kid, selling DIY products is a great business opportunity to monetize your creativity. Even if you have the will to create something new but lack the know-how, there’s a way to make it happen.

If you’re not sure what to sell, start by looking around your own house. What’s missing that you wish you had? Is it a concrete pot? Colorful artisan bed covers? Then do some online research to see what’s selling. Are big stores like Target, Amazon, or West Elm selling similar items?

Once you’ve decided what things to make and sell and what seems to be trending, start creating!

3. Sell Digital Products

E-learning is exploding as an industry. Recent studies show that the industry will be worth around $325 billion by 2025, making digital products one of the best online business opportunities for creators and educators alike. Music, videos, ebooks, and online courses are a few examples.

They can be held or touched, but are popular amongst consumers because they can download them and consume on their own time.

Digital products also make for great business opportunities because they’re inexpensive to create and distribute.

You can make it once and sell it repeatedly to different people without restocking inventory or talking with suppliers.

If you consider yourself an expert on a particular topic, you can package that information up and sell it in the form of a one-time fee or subscription.

4. Become A Self-published Author

Do you love to write? Have you ever thought about publishing your own book? Well, good news. Becoming a self-published author is one of the best small business opportunities for you.

Self-publishing just means that you don’t work with an established publisher to manage the editing, design, and production processes of making a book.

Instead, you do it on your own. With no real shortage of readers on the internet, there’s plenty of space for you to make and sell an ebook or audiobook and turn a profit.

5. Sell Pet Products

An online pet store is one of the most fun business opportunities, because you can sell a huge variety of products.

Many people treat their furry friends like children and are willing to spend money to make sure they are taken care of.

For example, you could sell everything from organic foods to luxury accessories, beds and apparel.

Business In USA

Whether you want to run it as a dropshipping business or sell homemade treats, the pay is good, the work is rewarding (who doesn’t want to make dogs happy?), and people will never stop spoiling their pets—which means job security guaranteed.

Check out: 20 SME Loans In Nigeria For Your Business In 2022

Steps To Start A Business In USA From Nigeria

1. Choose A Desired Corporate Entity

Before taking full steps to start your business, you should be very sure of what you want to do.

It is easy to start a business in the USA, you just have to take the right steps towards achieving it.

Therefore the first thing you should do is to decide on what corporate entity to build.

You will recall that I have earlier talked about the available corporate entities available for Non-citizens in the United States.

So keep in mind that whatever type of entity you want to run will reflect on your profit, your tax, your assets, and your liability.

Therefore you need to choose wisely and carefully before you start out.

2. Choose Your Business Location

You can take this step as the first before choosing your corporation, what matters most is deciding on it early before executing your plans.

In the United States, if a citizen wants to start a business in a different state from where they reside, such person(s) will pay taxes in their state of residence and also in the business location.

So it is best for them to start their business where they reside.

For Non-citizens, if you will reside in the country to run your business, you will pay double taxes.

But if you want to run the business from your own country (Nigeria in this case) you will only pay taxes for the business.

To choose your business location, you need to consider the following factors:

  • The requirements for non-US citizens in each state.
  • States with cheaper annual report fees.
  • States that give you more privacy.
  • The state’s taxation structure.
  • States that have more accommodating laws and acts.

3. You Should Get A Registered Agent

This is a huge step towards getting your business registered.

Before you can start your business as a legal entity, it is very advisable to register it with the state of your choice.

After you must have decided on which state to start your business, you should get a registered agent that resides in the state to help process the registration of your business.

This is necessary since you will not be physically present at the location of your business.

A registered agent will represent your company in tendering paperwork to the government of the state, they will also receive every official document in your absence.

4. Get An Employer Identification Number

The Employer Identification Number is also known as EIN is a tax ID that is issued by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) of the United States.

This identification number is issued to identify and distinguish businesses.

Business In USA

If you start your business without this identification number, you would be restricted from:

  • Getting a business license
  • Opening a bank account
  • Hiring and paying workers.

Since you would not be present in the state, you will need to hire a lawyer who will help you process this.

5. Get An Individual Tax Identification Number

Another very important step to start a business in USA from Nigeria is getting a Tax Identification Number. Just like your EIN, Individual Tax Identification Number (ITIN) is issued by the IRS.

The number aids you to pay your tax and also how the authority to identify your business tax record.

The number is required when you want to open a US bank.

You can also use it when creating online payment gateway accounts like PayPal and others.

6. Open A United States Bank Account

The next step to take in starting a business in the United States is to open a United States Bank Account.

You can’t possibly use your Nigerian bank for your business finance.

To open a US bank account, you can go to the headquarters of your preferred bank in Nigeria for inquiries.

The Nigerian branch of that bank will instruct you and ask for the requirements.

Note that you must go to the branch of your preferred bank.

This means it may not be too easy if a US bank you want does not have a branch in your country.

Some of the requirements you will need to provide are:

  • A letter of confirmation of your Employer Identification Number (EIN) from United States IRS.
  • A United States-based mailing address.
  • Individual Tax Number
  • Your Passport.

7. Insure Your Business

Another step to starting a business in USA from Nigeria is to insure your business. It is a requirement in some states to insure your business.

It is a federal government requirement, but it varies from state to state.

8. Register Your Business

To have a legally recognized business, you must register with the government.

The process of registration depends on your location – your preferred state.

While some states in the US permit online business registration, some others require you to fill paper documents physically.

Also, the cost of registering your business depends on the state and the type of business structure.

Likewise, the documents for registration still depend on your preferred state.

Some of the required information to register a business are:

  • Business name.
  • Business location.
  • Business structure.
  • Registered Agent
  • The number and the value of shares.

ALSO READ: Top 10 Fastest Growing Businesses In Nigeria

How To Identify New Business Opportunities

If the types of business opportunities above don’t meet your needs, keep these tips in mind when looking for other business ventures:

  1. Look at industry trends and insights. Continually educate yourself on industry trends by subscribing to niche publications, joining relevant associations, and following experts on social media.
  2. Do competitor research. See what similar companies are doing. Why do their customers go to them? What’s their pricing like? This will help you identify key business opportunities to expand your market reach and create better products and services.
  3. Listen to your customer base. When your customers talk, listen to them. How do they talk about industry products and services? What frustrations and feedback do they have? Use this insight to tailor products for the right audience.
  4. Collaborate and network. This will help you better understand which ideas work and which ones don’t. Your business won’t get very far without a solid network.
  5. Find a mentor. Look to connect with someone in your industry who has achieved more than you. They will help you get better and identify more key business opportunities.
  6. Keep an eye out. Business opportunities can pop up out of nowhere, often as a result of your hard work. So be ready to take advantage of an opportunity at any time.

Frequently Asked Questions On How To Start A Business In USA From Nigeria

Can I Work for My Business in the U.S. If I’m Not a Citizen?

Unfortunately, this is a scenario where you would need a green card. Of course, if you don’t have one, you can always work for your company from your home country.

Does the Legal Address of My Company Have to Be Located in the U.S.?

No, in fact, it can be located anywhere in the world. Keep in mind though that in addition to your American mailing address, you also need a registered agent in the U.S.

CONCLUSION

Any business can succeed, but if you look past your money and focus more on your business name and success, the possibilities are endless.

Be persistent with your business and conduct market research to stay on top of the latest trends, and who knows, you may become the next Walmart.

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