Thank God I lost my job – Babatunde, CEO, GreenpathCleaners

Gutter cleaning business is one of the most untapped business
opportunities in Nigeria. Yet many, especially youths would
scoff at the idea of going into it. But Mr Oshodi Faud
Babatunde is a Nigerian young man who has keyed into this
line of business and is reaping bountifully. He is a 2010/2011
graduate of Accountancy at the Crescent University, Abeokuta.
But he would gleefully describe himself as a consummate
manager of the drainage system.
His advent into this line of business started when he lost his
job in a bank. When Babatunde got the sack from his
employers, his spirit fell to the lowest ebb. Finding himself in
the sea of unemployment, he knew he must either swim out of
the desolation by starting his own means of earning, or give
up and sink in despair. Fortunately, he chose to swim and
fight the turbulence by going into gutter cleaning. And three
years after he made that decision, he now believes that
getting booted out of the bank was a blessing in disguise.
“I studied Accounting at the Crescent University, Abeokuta.
When I left school, I worked in a micro finance bank,
afterwards I got a contact job in a bigger bank. But while
working in the bank, the urge to be making little money doing
one thing or another was much. I recalled that when I was in
the university, I discovered that I have knack for cleaning
things and everywhere. So, I thought of delving into laundry
and dry-cleaning. I would pick up clothes from my colleagues
in the office, dry clean them and then deliver them at the
office. My supervisor had problems with that, and decided to
report me to management. And I was asked to stop work. I
first started out as a dry-cleaner, and later delved into gutter
cleaning.”
According to Babatunde, he went into gutter management
when he thought about the many places that get flooded and
messy after any minor rainfall in Lagos and believed he could
add value if he starts a business that cleans drainages. “I
went to one area in Lagos Island to pray in a mosque. There I
approached one man and told him I can make his area not be
flooded any more. He agreed and gave me the go-ahead to
clean the gutters. So, on a weekend, I gathered 12 of my
friends and we went to the island and cleared the massive
debris blocking their drainage channels. Two weeks after,
there was a heavy downpour and the waters all flowed freely
away via the gutter. That is how I went into drainage cleaning
business. And so far, it has been so good and we look forward
to partnering Lagos State Government so that we can manage
for them areas that grapple with floods due to blocked
drainages.”
Gutter cleaning is a very in-demand service, according to
business consultant, Chukwuka Dibia. “Blocked drainages is a
big issue in major cities like Lagos and many other parts of
Nigeria, and with inexpensive tools and simple marketing, one
can start a gutter cleaning business, solve the problem of
block drainages and make money. The demand is high
because people and institutions would rather pay someone to
do this tedious, dangerous, and dirty job, than do it
themselves.” Dibia further agrees that a gutter cleaning
entrepreneur faces huge opportunities if the individual runs an
organised venture and has the necessary equipment.
With simple equipment like a shovel, garbage bags and a
study pair of gloves, one get into the fray and stake a claim in
the big opportunities that abound in gutter management. For
beginners, setting prices for their services could be confusing,
but this shouldn’t be if they had undergone some training.
Babatunde hints on how he charges for his services “Gutter
cleaning is a very lucrative business; we could charge N50,000
to N100,000 or more to clear and manage drainages. Our
charge is determined on the extent the gutter is blocked. If the
drainage would require us bringing in machines to clear the
debris, then that would attract a much higher cost.”
Marketing and looking for clients is another vital aspect when
floating gutter cleaning service. Kayode Ojo, another business
expert, suggests that distribution of flyers, word-of-mouth,
placing adverts in newspapers and local online classified
adverts are some sure ways to get attention. “Print up several
thousand flyers and distribute them to homes, offices, religious
centres, hotels, etc before the rainy season. You can also go
from door to door sharing your business card and telling
individuals about your service. This is a very effective
strategy, because many companies are prepared to pay and
have you do the job on the spot for them.” Also contacting
homeowners associations and estate unions could give gutter
cleaners great mileage in making the business known.
Note, gutter cleaning is a dangerous job. The sheds of scars
littering Babatunde’s hands attest to this fact. Hence taking
certain precautions to minimize the hazards of the job is very
essential.
Offering this business might seem daunting and dirty for many,
but Babatunde does it with pride and he is not looking back.
He claims he feels more fulfilled earning his living cleaning
gutters than working as an accountant. And he plans to take
his company to the level he would be contracted by bigger
companies like Dangote Company Plc, and get many more
estates to come and partner the uncountable estates sprawled
all over the mega city. “I’m very happy doing what I’m doing.
I don’t care if people make jest of what I do. As it is in Nigeria
now, you might not survive if you consider some ventures to
be a dirty business. You just have to do something to make
ends meet. I must tell you that I have very bright plans with
this business, because I look forward to working with the like
of Dangote PLC and to partner many estates in Lagos,” he
said.
Babatunde said an emphatic ‘No’ when probed as to whether
he would ever consider quitting drainage management for a
return to a banking job. He further called on youths to stop
complaining about the soaring unemployment in the country
and go into cleaning gutters to earn a living. “Youths should
just drop their ego, and never consider any enterprise as a
dirty business. They should go into entrepreneurial ventures
that would make them have story to tell in future.”