Nibletz Staff
With everyone steadily moving towards the world of Digital everything, it is no surprise that there have been a rise of online businesses being set up in Singapore. With the rise of technology and also, unfortunately, the rise of costs associated with maintaining a physical business in Singapore, owners are now turning to the online world.
Aside from reduced costs, online businesses are a much easier way for individuals to set up shop, keeping overhead costs low and profits high. E-commerce is one of the up and coming markets in the industry and one that is certainly extremely promising. and it is certainly extremely promising. In today’s article, we bring to you The How, What and Why of Starting an Online Business in Singapore. Read on to find out more.
Quality Hosting Is Key
Before you can embark on running your online business, you will also need to ensure that you have purchased quality WordPress hosting. Hosting can truly make or break a website. If your host or their hosting plan is unreliable, you are setting yourself up for a lot of problems down the line.
Research, Plan and Get Writing
Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither were any businesses. The first step in your journey is to structure a good business plan. Research into what the market needs at this point of time, and try to cater to said needs. There is no point in catering to a need that has already been met. Market research is crucial, and can assist you in building the stepping stones of your business. Research can give you a thorough idea on how successful your business will be or if you will need to alter and fine tune things in order to be the best version of yourself, on this this case, your business. Only the best version of the business should be advertised to the world!
Now, there is no point in planning everything in your head – you need to put it down on paper. This is to ensure that you don’t forget anything, and so you can show your investors or business partners what you actually mean. You can use visuals, you can write an essay or make diagrams – just make sure that everything has been penned down and is kept safely! This is called your working plan of action and will eventually be turned into the blueprints for your ecommerce business.
Time To Get Started
Now that you have your business plan, blueprints and web hosting in order, it’s time to enter the playing field. Of course, with each country comes different laws. Singapore is no different. Below we will look a little deeper into some of the laws in Singapore which you will need to familiarize yourself and abide with.
Funding and Financial Assistance
The Singaporean government is always trying to ensure that the nation’s economy stays stabilized and prosperous, and thus tries to ensure that all businesses manage to stay afloat and succeed. When it comes to registering your business, setting your website on and so forth, things can start to get expensive and frustrating. Thankfully there are ways around this with government funding and financial assistance.
Business Loans
Most of us would probably be familiar with the age old business loan. The plus side of a bank loan is that you will always remain the sole owner of your business. However, on the flip side, you will also forever be indebted to your lender and be free of debt once it is fully paid off. In an instance where things do not take off, you are putting yourself at risk. With regards to bank loans, it is something you need to take time to ponder over thoroughly in order to ensure that your credit is secure and not tarnished.
The Other Option, Government Funding
One of the perks of starting your online business in Singapore the fact that the government has been extremely hands on when it comes to new startups and are always on the search for new opportunities. There are a number of initiatives that allow start-ups and specific industry businesses to access government funding. Some of the perks will include grants, business incubator schemers, and tax incentives.
Next Step, Incorporating Your Business
Once you have finances set up, the next step is incorporating your business. Business incorporation is extremely important because when you register your business, you will need to decide on your business structure. The structure you choose will then be a gauge or measure for your taxes, how much you are liable to pay and will also determine how you are supposed to run your business.
The most common business structure chosen is to incorporate a private limited company. This has numerous advantages and it will assist in helping your company rise at a quicker pace. The registration process is simple and only takes up to a day to complete.
Finally, Gather Your Arsenal
Last but not least, it’s time to gather your arsenal. This is a step that will rely heavily on the service or product you are planning to sell and is not as simple as it seems. There are a few infrastructural things need to be sorted in order to ensure the diligent sale and delivery of items and services to your customers. Choosing the correct infrastructure will reduce your workload and benefit your business by leaps and miles.
So, what are some of the infrastructures that you need?
Website Development
You will need to ensure that along with your reliable web host, you have a great domain name, and proper design and development for your website. Your website is essentially your online space, and you want it to look as good as a physical store would.
Marketing/Advertising
The best way to ensure you get as much traffic to your website as possible is to create consistent, quality content and dip your toes in online marketing and social media advertising. Starting Instagram, Google Plus, Facebook and Twitter pages are also a fantastic, cost-free way of marketing your products and services. People can also leave you reviews on these platforms, ensuring that everyone knows how great your products and services are.
Bookkeeping
Lastly, bookkeeping. Finances need to be handled with a great deal of care, and can be managed on your own or by hiring a professional, which is what we would advise doing. Even when hiring a professional, always remember to play it safe and still check the finances yourself make sure they all balance out at the end of the day. Keeping on the ball ensures no disasters occur in the future.
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We hope that this article has been useful in educating you about the steps you need to take when starting up an online business in Singapore.
