Long before he became a business owner, Ibrahim Musa spent his days repairing mobile phones at a small shop in Kano.<\/p>\n
The work gave him steady income, but it also exposed him to something interesting.<\/p>\n
Almost every customer who came to fix a phone eventually asked for accessories.<\/p>\n
Chargers.<\/p>\n
Earphones.<\/p>\n
Power banks.<\/p>\n
Phone cases.<\/p>\n
Screen protectors.<\/p>\n
The pattern repeated itself daily.<\/p>\n
Rather than focusing only on repairs, Ibrahim decided to explore the opportunity sitting right in front of him.<\/p>\n
Several years later, his phone accessories business has generated more than \u20a621 million in sales.<\/p>\n
In this interview, he explains how he identified the opportunity, built relationships with suppliers, and expanded beyond a single customer base.<\/p>\n
Q: Ibrahim, what first convinced you there was a business opportunity in accessories?<\/strong><\/p>\n Ibrahim:<\/strong><\/p>\n The demand was impossible to ignore.<\/p>\n Every day, people came into the shop looking for small items.<\/p>\n Some wanted replacement chargers.<\/p>\n Others needed earphones or memory cards.<\/p>\n The interesting thing was that many customers weren’t comparing ten different stores.<\/p>\n They simply wanted a reliable product at a fair price.<\/p>\n I realized that accessories weren’t an occasional purchase.<\/p>\n People replaced them regularly.<\/p>\n That repeat demand caught my attention.<\/p>\n I started paying closer attention to buying patterns.<\/p>\n The more I observed, the more confident I became.<\/p>\n Q: How did you get started?<\/strong><\/p>\n Ibrahim:<\/strong><\/p>\n I began very cautiously.<\/p>\n I purchased a small quantity of accessories from a wholesaler in Lagos.<\/p>\n Nothing extravagant.<\/p>\n A few chargers.<\/p>\n Some power banks.<\/p>\n Phone pouches.<\/p>\n Screen protectors.<\/p>\n I wanted to test the market before committing significant money.<\/p>\n Within a few weeks, most of the items had sold.<\/p>\n That gave me enough confidence to place another order.<\/p>\n Then another.<\/p>\n Then another.<\/p>\n Gradually, the business started taking shape.<\/p>\n Q: Did your technical background help?<\/strong><\/p>\n Ibrahim:<\/strong><\/p>\n Definitely.<\/p>\n Because I repaired phones, customers already trusted my recommendations.<\/p>\n If someone asked which charger would last longer, I could answer from experience.<\/p>\n If a power bank had quality issues, I knew.<\/p>\n That credibility helped.<\/p>\n People are more comfortable buying when they trust the seller’s advice.<\/p>\n Looking back, my repair experience gave me an advantage I didn’t fully appreciate at the time.<\/p>\n Q: What challenges did you encounter during the first year?<\/strong><\/p>\n Ibrahim:<\/strong><\/p>\n Stock selection was difficult.<\/p>\n Not every product sells equally.<\/p>\n Some accessories move very quickly.<\/p>\n Others can remain on the shelf for months.<\/p>\n Early on, I made several purchasing mistakes.<\/p>\n I bought products because I liked them rather than because customers wanted them.<\/p>\n The market taught me an important lesson.<\/p>\n Your opinion matters less than customer demand.<\/p>\n Once I understood that, my buying decisions improved significantly.<\/p>\n Q: How did you attract more customers?<\/strong><\/p>\n Ibrahim:<\/strong><\/p>\n Word of mouth was extremely important.<\/p>\n A satisfied customer often returned with a friend.<\/p>\n I also focused on availability.<\/p>\n If someone entered the shop looking for a common accessory, I wanted to have it.<\/p>\n Customers appreciate convenience.<\/p>\n Over time, people started recommending the business because they knew there was a good chance we’d have what they needed.<\/p>\n I also maintained relationships with nearby phone repair technicians.<\/p>\n Sometimes they referred customers to me.<\/p>\n Sometimes I referred repair jobs to them.<\/p>\n Those partnerships benefited everyone.<\/p>\n Q: What decision had the greatest impact on growth?<\/strong><\/p>\n Ibrahim:<\/strong><\/p>\n Expanding beyond walk-in customers.<\/p>\n For a while, I depended entirely on people who visited the shop.<\/p>\n Later, I started supplying accessories to smaller retailers.<\/p>\n Instead of selling one charger at a time, I was supplying multiple units to businesses.<\/p>\n That changed the scale of the operation.<\/p>\n The margins were sometimes smaller, but the volume was larger.<\/p>\n Volume created growth.<\/p>\n Q: Was there a point where you realized the business had become something substantial?<\/strong><\/p>\n Ibrahim:<\/strong><\/p>\n Yes.<\/p>\n It happened when I reviewed several years of records and saw how much revenue had passed through the business.<\/p>\n Growth had been gradual.<\/p>\n Because I was involved every day, I didn’t notice the progress immediately.<\/p>\n Sometimes success happens quietly.<\/p>\n You keep improving processes, serving customers, and making better decisions.<\/p>\n Then one day you realize how far you’ve come.<\/p>\n That’s exactly what happened to me.<\/p>\n Q: What habits contributed most to your results?<\/strong><\/p>\n Ibrahim:<\/strong><\/p>\n Three things.<\/p>\n Customers constantly provide information.<\/p>\n If multiple people ask for a product, there’s usually a reason.<\/p>\n Listening carefully helped me identify opportunities.<\/p>\n Running out of popular items creates problems.<\/p>\n Keeping track of stock levels became a priority.<\/p>\n Good inventory management improved sales and customer satisfaction.<\/p>\n Reliable suppliers make business easier.<\/p>\n Strong relationships helped me access products quickly and negotiate better terms.<\/p>\n Those advantages added up over time.<\/p>\n Q: What mistakes should new entrepreneurs avoid in this sector?<\/strong><\/p>\n Ibrahim:<\/strong><\/p>\n Avoid buying too much inventory too quickly.<\/p>\n A warehouse full of products means nothing if customers don’t want them.<\/p>\n Another mistake is focusing only on profit margins.<\/p>\n Product turnover matters too.<\/p>\n Sometimes a product with a smaller margin but faster sales creates better results.<\/p>\n I would also advise people to separate business money from personal money.<\/p>\n That discipline makes decision-making easier.<\/p>\n Q: If someone wanted to enter the accessories market today, what path would you recommend?<\/strong><\/p>\n Ibrahim:<\/strong><\/p>\n I’d break it into stages.<\/p>\n Spend time understanding what customers buy most often.<\/p>\n Demand should guide decisions.<\/p>\n Avoid large purchases initially.<\/p>\n Use the early period to gather information.<\/p>\n Provide honest recommendations.<\/p>\n Quality matters.<\/p>\n Customers remember bad experiences.<\/p>\n Increase inventory based on proven demand.<\/p>\n Growth should follow evidence, not excitement.<\/p>\n Once you understand the market, supplying other retailers can create additional revenue streams.<\/p>\n Q: After everything you’ve experienced, what principle guides your business decisions today?<\/strong><\/p>\n Ibrahim:<\/strong><\/p>\n I try not to complicate things.<\/p>\n Many opportunities come from solving ordinary problems.<\/p>\n People need accessories.<\/p>\n They want products that work.<\/p>\n They want fair prices.<\/p>\n They want reliable service.<\/p>\n The business grew because I focused on those fundamentals consistently.<\/p>\n Whenever I look back at the journey, that’s what stands out most.<\/p>\n Not a single breakthrough moment.<\/p>\n Not one lucky transaction.<\/p>\n Just years of paying attention to customers and responding to what they needed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Long before he became a business owner, Ibrahim Musa spent […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1028,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":"","cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"yes","footnotes":""},"categories":[1115],"tags":[1635,33,1642,499,1615,34,1639,1610,1627,1637,1634,1630,1626,1644,1624,1633,1648,1621,1646,1612,1629,1636,1622,435,69,1249,1631,1611,1643,1613,1614,1620,1618,1638,1619,1641,1628,1623,1647,1250,1645,646,1461,1616,1640,1625,46,1617,1632],"class_list":["post-1027","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interviews","tag-building-a-successful-phone-accessories-shop","tag-business-case-study","tag-customer-retention-strategies-for-retail-stores","tag-electronics-business","tag-electronics-business-nigeria","tag-entrepreneurship","tag-growing-a-phone-accessories-business-through-wholesale","tag-how-ibrahim-built-a-21-million-phone-accessories-business-from-a-small-repair-shop","tag-how-ibrahim-generated-over-21-million-selling-phone-accessories","tag-how-to-attract-customers-to-a-phone-accessories-business","tag-how-to-find-phone-accessories-suppliers","tag-how-to-make-money-selling-phone-accessories","tag-how-to-start-a-phone-accessories-business-in-nigeria","tag-how-to-supply-phone-accessories-to-retailers","tag-inventory-management-business","tag-inventory-management-for-phone-accessories-stores","tag-kano-business","tag-kano-entrepreneur","tag-mobile-accessories","tag-mobile-accessories-business","tag-mobile-accessories-business-success-story","tag-mobile-accessories-retail-business-case-study","tag-mobile-phone-accessories-store","tag-nigerian-entrepreneur","tag-nigerian-entrepreneurs","tag-phone-accessories-business","tag-phone-accessories-business-for-beginners","tag-phone-accessories-business-nigeria","tag-phone-accessories-inventory-planning","tag-phone-accessories-shop","tag-phone-accessories-success-story","tag-phone-case-business","tag-phone-charger-business","tag-phone-repair-and-accessories-business-model","tag-power-bank-business","tag-profitable-electronics-business-ideas-in-nigeria","tag-profitable-phone-accessories-business-in-kano","tag-profitable-retail-business","tag-retail-business","tag-retail-business-nigeria","tag-scaling-a-mobile-accessories-business","tag-small-business-success","tag-small-business-success-story","tag-smartphone-accessories-business","tag-smartphone-accessories-market-opportunities","tag-supplier-relationship-management","tag-wholesale-business","tag-wholesale-phone-accessories","tag-wholesale-phone-accessories-business-nigeria","pmpro-has-access"],"yoast_head":"\nPaying Attention to Customer Requests<\/h3>\n
Managing Inventory Properly<\/h3>\n
Maintaining Supplier Relationships<\/h3>\n
Stage One: Observe Demand<\/h3>\n
Stage Two: Test With Small Quantities<\/h3>\n
Stage Three: Build Trust<\/h3>\n
Stage Four: Expand Gradually<\/h3>\n
Stage Five: Explore Wholesale Opportunities<\/h3>\n