How to go about setting up your
small business in Singapore ?1.
Roughly conduct your own market research of your proposed type of business - consumers
needs, the target market, the trend of business, the market size, keys to hold
your market share, pricing strategy or 4's P, the niche, and so on 2. Do
a SWOT analysis of the proposed business - the strengths and weaknesses of your
proposed setup in relation to your competitors, suppliers,etc and identify opportunities
and threat facing the proposed business, and so on. 3.Formulate your mission
and the objectives of the proposed business - describe your proposed business,
or the type of business you are in. A thorough description of what makes your
business unique or the niche you are in. Identify few key objectives of your business
including products, market, service, etc 4. Draw up your business plan -
ie marketing plan, financial plan & policy,
operational plan, manpower
plan, capital requirement (working capital & fixed asset, sources of
finance) and so on. 5. Decide on your setup and infrastructure - the type
of company you wish to form - sole-proprietors, partnership, or private limited
company. The location of your office, the space required, etc. Note that you are
allowed to register and conduct your small-scale business using your HDB flats
under the Home Office (HO) scheme, subject to compliance to the terms & conditions
and approval by HDB. 6. It costs S$65/- and approximately 2 days to register
a sole-proprietor and partnership business in Singapore. For a private limited
company, the cost is roughly in the region of $1000/- inclusive of registration
fee, seals, minutes books by a professional secretarial firm. . Note the price
varies depending on the service provided by them. It takes approximately 3 days
from the submission of name to obtaining the Certificate of Incorporation. 7.
After formation, go all out for your business. Try to aim high and be the champion
in your small niche business. Execute your marketing plan as quickly as possible.
Don't be bogged down by family issue, especially if you operate from home. Smile
and stay positive at all time. 8. Perhaps you could also explore the possibility
of employing staff on a commission basis, part-timers, or associates to help you
expand your business, and so on. Marketing is the key element for your business
to success. 9. Constantly look for effective ways for day-to-day managing
the whole operations of your business. Initially you may have to do all by yourself.
When your business expands, you can't operate alone. Perhaps you should
consider outsourcing part of your business function, but remember to retain the
key portfolios to yourself. 10. Keep proper records - maintain a simple
set of accounts that meet your business needs. Keep all receipts, invoices and
supporting documents and file it properly for accounts and tax purposes. Perhaps
you should prepare weekly cash forecast to keep track of your cash position, and
also update your debtors regularly for collection purpose. Prepare a monthly profit
and loss statement to review and compare against your budget or plan, and take
whatever remedies action to ensure it is on track. Of course, you may also require
reports like stock listing, creditor listing, fixed assets register, balance sheet,
etc to effectively manage the financial function. Finally, I wish you all
the best in your business endeavour !. For any query or information, please
contact the Mr. KC CHIA at the telephone (65) 9022 1288 (mobile) or email to kcchia@homebiznez.com
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