Despite the drastic climate change gripping most parts of the world the seasons still somehow follow their traditional patterns. Locally this present time should be the rainy season; actually it has been raining across the nation though the rainfall patterns are erratic and uncertain. Anyways, the rainy reason presents opportunities for some interesting business ideas that you can explore. They capitalize on the presence of mostly rainy days to enhance their value propositions. In this article, I will discuss some of the business ideas you can embark on as you leverage on the rainy season.
Selected Crop-Related Businesses
Maize production has always been one of the most common features of the rainy season. Locally, maize is a staple crop so it is a very lucrative food crop to grow and the rainy season is the best time. Of course, due to the mercurial nature of rainfall, these days having irrigation as a backup can be a wise arrangement. There are several approaches you can settle for in your pursuit to produce maize. You can grow maize on a substantially medium or large scale for commercial grain that can be sold to the Grain Marketing Board (GMB) or millers (for human or animal consumption) and the like. Alternatively, you either include or exclusively focus on growing maize for sale as fresh mealie cobs. Many people love to either cook or roast fresh mealie cobs – it is a delicacy most people are even prepared to pay for. Whichever way you choose to conduct this business there are high prospects for realizing good profits.
Mushroom production is also another hit business that can be great during the rainy season. You must appreciate that due to progressions in farming approaches you can now grow mushrooms all year round. Growing them during the rainy season can be wise because the weather conditions will be great for mushrooms. Remember that naturally occurring mushrooms in the wild are widespread during the rainy season. So that indicates that the rainy season is optimum for mushroom production.
There is also another business idea you can explore here. It is common to see people picking mushrooms in the wild and selling them (oyster mushrooms, amongst other varieties). You can find a way to specially package this into an alluring business – people love mushrooms so there will definitely be a market. I will hasten to caution here that you must go down this path if you are absolutely sure of what you are doing. Picking the wrong mushroom varieties, accidentally getting them in contact with poisonous ones or poor handling and storage can lead to fatal circumstances. Most mushrooms varieties are poisonous and even edible ones can become poisonous if not properly handled. Do not take this lightly because we have even had cases of whole families dying after eating poisonous mushrooms.
These are just some of the crop-related business ideas you can try out during this rainy season.
Rain-Related Items Retail
There are so many items that become extremely relevant when it is raining. Some of them are raincoats, umbrellas, gum or rubber boots, shower caps, and so on. The great thing about these items is that they are relevant across the whole span of humanity from men, women to kids. The fact that most people have to daily commute to and fro work or school makes these items highly sought-after. There are many local and foreign suppliers of these items so it is quite possible to find them very cheap thus enabling you to competitively price them for the market.
Mobile Food Deliveries
The working principle here is to mainly target working-class clients. These are people you know would want to grab something during the day as they go through their work. You come up with a food service where you cook and prepare foods that are mostly needed by people e.g. common meals, beverages and the like. You probably might be already running such a business; in that case, you will just have to include the mobile food deliveries element because of the rains. Why the mobile delivery aspect?
When it is raining people’s movement tends to be limited especially for those who usually walk from point A to B. So your value proposition becomes accepting orders for food and delivering them to where they are. One of the low-cost and most efficient approaches I have seen in this regard is preparing basic food e.g. sadza, rice and popular relishes such as beef, chicken and pork. You then load them into a car and go to a convenient spot that is close to most prospective customers and you serve the food right from your car.
Quick Outdoor Snacks
Earlier I sort of touched on this whilst discussing maize but it is a business that can be standalone. You simply have to identify quick snacks that people love that can be quickly prepared outdoors. Some notable examples are fresh maize (cooked or roasted), different types of nuts e.g. round nuts and groundnuts. You can also do hot dogs, braais, tea or coffee and the like. Usually, when it rains it gets cold so providing roadside snacks that are hot and just prepared definitely lures customers.
Car Wash Services
When it rains one of the most annoying things for vehicle drivers is mud. You end up having to get your car washed more often especially if you regularly use roads that are muddy. This means the need for good car wash services somehow goes up. To provide the best service you will need pressurised water dispensers (i.e. washers) so that you thoroughly clean off the mud and all.
These are 5 of some of the businesses you can venture into to capitalize on the rains. It is important as always to do thorough market research before rather than working with assumptions. All these business ideas can be started off small and at relatively low costs.
