Month: November 2010

With increasing ownership of smartphones in Singapore, there is a growng number of mobile apps developers seeking a slice of the action. According to iMerlion, there are about 100 developers in Singapore, up from zero 2 year ago. Many of these apps have no real life applications but a lot of them are popular due to their entertainment values.

Many app developers are seduced by the fact that they can earn money while working from home. Apparently, the seduction is strong enough to make several successful executives quit their high-paying full-time jobs. According to The Straits Times, dated 6th November, a Mr Lim Thye Chean actually resigned from his job as chief technology officer with a Malaysian technology firm to start his own app programming company.

Just how lucrative the market is? Well according to the article, you can potential earn $10,000 in a few months if your app is in demand. If you have an unique idea and wants to develop an app, it doesn’t matter if you have a computer science background or not. You just need to spend some time learning the programming code and there you go!

What are you waiting for? Catch the app craze while it lasted!

My partner and me are currently in the midst of preparing for our wedding next year and we are considering whether to engage a professional emcee or seek our friends’ help on our big day. The problem is, I do not have any guy friends who are comfortable being a wedding emcee and we feel that the market rate for a professional wedding emcee is too expensive. I thought that even if an emcee was recommended to me by words of mouth, I would like to know his style, looks and rate in advance before engaging his services. After all, nobody likes to engage a balding fat uncle to be their wedding emcee even if he is very good!

I thought that it would be a great online business idea to have a website that promotes a mixture of up-and-coming and popular emcees. Ideally, the website should post their photos, track records, emcee rates and their selling points for users to consider. Of course the website should also contain contact numbers or email for couples to make arrangement with the emcees to discuss the details or to check their dates of availability. You can earn money by either charging commission fee for each successful booking or charge listing fees from the emcees. 

Have you ever woke up early on Saturday mornings or having to rush off from office just to purchase some healthcare products from the hospital’s pharmacy for your family members? Don’t you just wish for a 24/7 pharmacy store? With Singapore’s rapidly ageing population, an online pharmacy definitely serves a niche demand for the busy working executives taking care of their elderly parents.

CGH mypharmacy
Enter CGH’s mypharmacy, Singapore’s first online pharmacy store. I have been using mypharmacy for the past 4 months to purchase continence products for my dad and I totally love it! I no longer have to wake up early on Saturday mornings or rush down to the hospital from work.The key reasons why I like mypharmacy:

1) Free delivery for minimum purchase of $100 items
2) You can choose to pay by cash, cheque or credit card
3) Loyalty points for redemption
4) Wide range of products
5) Very transparent shipping policy (you can check out the shipping schedule for the expected date of arrival of your purchase).

Online Business Idea
There is definitely a demand for online pharmacies given Singapore’s greying population. If you are interested, you can focus on selling healthcare products rather than healthcare supplements/medicine.