Entrepreneurship

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. Services like Google, Yahoo, and Bing are search engines. Billions of people use them every day and search for solutions to their every little problem. These services take benefit of their massive user base and use it for marketing purposes.

These search engines don’t have answers to all queries, so they allow you to answer the queries of its users. Almost all businesses provide a solution to a problem and make money from it. So they create websites and target those searched queries.

The problem is that there are a lot of businesses offering the same service, so search engines like Google look for the best results and rank them accordingly on the result pages. In order to make their website ranks in the top results, businesses hire the help of SEO experts. Here I have shared why you also need to take the help of an SEO agency Singapore to grow your business.

Cheaper Marketing

Marketing usually takes the biggest chunk of profits. However, SEO doesn’t require you to invest all your profits away. It’s one of the cheapest digital marketing tactics that brings you measurable results. You will have to invest some extra at the beginning to build your place in the online world. After you have built a position, you only have to maintain it.

You Get Long Term Sales

An advertisement gets you results only for as long as it’s live. On the other hand, SEO keeps bringing results for a  long time, even after you stop investing in it. Once you have created some pages that are ranking on the first page of search engine result pages, people will keep visiting them. If you have created the right content, those visitors will keep converting to customers.

Best Way to

It is no secret that Asia is quickly becoming a global economic powerhouse. In fact, some analysts believe that American dominance within this portion of the world is coming to an abrupt end (1). There are many reasons behind this paradigm shift and one of the most relevant involves the ways in which technology is being deployed across the online retail sector. Augmented reality is a perfect example of how smart businesses are leveraging the power of the digital revolution. Let’s take a closer look at how these innovative systems function before highlighting some of their primary benefits.

AR 101: Taking the Online Shopping Experience to an Entirely New Level 

We should first appreciate that the concept of AR has been in existence for some time. It was first seen within the real estate sector, as potential customers could access 360-degree perspectives of a home or an apartment. However, these systems were rather crude and their capabilities were decidedly limited. Technology has come a long way and AR can now be used by even smaller online enterprises in order to actively promote their top-selling products.

AR essentially employs a series of images so that a specific item can be viewed from multiple angles. This helps customers better appreciate what is being offered. AR can be particularly useful during the buying process, as other functions such as the possibility of zooming in or out are also included. Whether referring to a piece of high-end furniture, a bicycle or a new car, products will be presented in an entirely new light. These are several advantages which can be directly attributed to such an approach. Some examples include:

• Customers will have a better idea of what they are purchasing.
• AR dramatically enhances the overall engagement process.
• Products will literally “jump off of” the

This will be a short post that I hope to inspire readers. Recently when I tried to order Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) online, I wondered how come the logo consists of a picture of an old man. Why not a picture of the founder in his prime? It was then I found out that the KFC founder, Colonel Sanders, got rejected 1009 times at age 65 before he found success.

Colonel Sanders was forced to start life all over again in his twilight years. But more amazing was that he got rejected 1009 times before his chicken recipe was accepted! That was a crazy number of failures and to be frank I don’t know how many folks in Singapore can manage to handle so many rejections.

Nonetheless, it was fortunate that Colonel Sanders persevered and went on to build a “finger licking good” global empire. His true life story is very inspiring and made me rethink about failures. On looking back, I feel that I should have remained sanguine in the face of some setbacks and managed certain situations with the spirit of Colonel Sanders.

Like many people, I find it hard to remain positive when dealing with rejections or setbacks. It is definitely not a nice feeling when you are being criticized or having your idea being thumbed down. Maybe I had been too negative in those situations and did not see the opportunities to improve. Perhaps I had given up too easily and did not put up a good fight.

But through the KFC success story, there are a few enlightening learning points. Firstly, to achieve our dreams, we must have the conviction and the will to put in the effort and energy. Colonel Sanders did not let his age became a handicap for him nor did he …

SG Wealth Builder is pleased to share the results of a recent survey conducted by Peatix, an event ticketing platform in Singapore that is passionate about building strong communities through events.

Singaporeans are increasingly keen on entrepreneurial and startup events. Specifically, 23% of participants would choose to attend startup and entrepreneurial events, and 25% want to see more of such events here. Notably, interest in these events was equally high for those aged between 25-30 and those above 40.

“This display of interest in seminars, talks, workshops and networking events to increase one’s knowledge and professional growth even amongst youths today is a wonderful testament to Singapore’s growing entrepreneurial spirit,” says Emi Takemura, Co-founder and Head of Asia at Peatix.

The Peatix Survey has also found that 88% of Singaporeans consider themselves happy, and that attending events regularly contributes to this.

These results run contrary to previous reports of Singaporeans being unhappy – in fact, less than 1% of the 600 survey participants considered themselves to be very unhappy.

New survey reveals a 25% increase in demand for startup and entrepreneurial events in
Singapore.
SINGAPORE, Tuesday June 30th – An independent survey by global online ticketing platform Peatix has discovered that Singaporeans are increasingly keen on entrepreneurial and startup events. Specifically, 23% of participants would choose to attend startup and entrepreneurial events, with a quarter wanting to see more of such events here. Notably, interest in these events was equally high for those aged between 25-30 and those above 40.

“This display of interest in seminars, talks, workshops and networking events to increase one’s knowledge and professional growth even amongst youths today is a wonderful testament to Singapore’s growing entrepreneurial spirit,” says Emi Takemura, Co-founder and Head of Asia at Peatix.

“Although gaining skills online and being on online …

In my journey as a personal finance blogger, I have the privileges to meet up with great aspiring entrepreneurs. I learned a lot from these successful entrepreneurs because they have been unselfish in sharing with me their views and their thoughts on successful entrepreneurship. In fact, yesterday, I met up with the founder of icompareloan, one of the best websites for comparing mortgage loans in Singapore. Below are some of the traits I think commonly found in great entrepreneurs.

1. They note down their ideas (just like my Investment Notebook). If there is an ah-ha moment, they would quickly note it down and revisit the idea again.

2.They think through their ideas over and over again to see if they can be successful. Sometimes their ideas might have been implemented by others. But if they are able to develop a better and more cost-effective way of doing it, then they stand a higher chance of winning.

3. They do their homework and spend tonnes of effort on researching. After all, no generals would like to fight a losing battle.

4. They can sell their ideas effectively. In business, if you cannot sell, you are finished. To make money, you must know sales tactics.

5. Passionate about their ideas. Conviction and belief are key to a successful business idea. A successful entrepreneur would always speak with a belly of fire whenever they touch on their projects.

6. They have no qualms in making many revisions to their business strategies and adapting to changes if it means to making more money.

7. Great entrepreneurs are fiercely resilient and do not give up easily without a good fight. They are not affected by setbacks and would do anything to win.

8. They understand the concept of teamwork and know that not everyone can …

Quite some time ago, a reader visited my blog and suggested that one niche business idea could be to provide a service to help foreigners or permanent residents to integrate into Singapore society.

I have mixed feelings when he suggested this to me. While this business idea is potentially niche and may have less competition, it is something which I find it difficult to make money. This is because to be a successful business man, one must have conviction that his product or service would be beneficial to his clients and thus create market demand.

As a born and bred Singaporean, I am not so sure whether this is something which I would want to explore, even if it could bring in tonnes of money. There are definitely much better ways to make money in Singapore.

Sometime I wonder what kind of nation we want to build. Do we want to be a rich nation but with the majority of the population consisting of foreigners? Or do we want to slow down and strengthen the core population? I guess there are always trade-offs in life but as a young nation, we probably need to start to define our identity in the global stage. Otherwise, it is very easy to become a lost. confused nation.

Foreigners or permanent residents come here and compete with our locals for jobs at lower wages without having to serve National Service. As it is, they have created much social stress for the locals. They also compete with our children for schools, crowd our transport system, occupy our hospital beds, take up our scholarships and view Singapore as solely a place to become rich.

I am not sure if there are any plans to calibrate the flow of foreign talents into Singapore but it is important …

I have not been blogging for quite some time. This is because last month I became a first-time dad and I was really busy with my day-time job. To manage time, I engaged a confinement nanny to look after both my wife and my little bundle of joy during this challenging period. The experience also gave me the business idea of setting up a confinement nanny agency.

During our research on confinement nanny agencies in Singapore, me and wife realised that there are not many established ones around, notably only a few. Eventually we settled for PEM which claimed to be the largest confinement nanny agency in Singapore.

The first nanny lasted for one week and left because she claimed her grandmother passed away and she needed to go back to Malaysia. The replacement nanny who stayed throughout the confinement period was old and slow.

We were not satisfied with the services of PEM but held on to their services because we felt it was a hassle to keep changing nannies during this short period of one month. Somehow we also felt that the services rendered wasn’t value for money.

During the contractual discussion, we stated that the nanny was expected to perform basic household chores, cooked for me and my wife and also take care of the baby. However, the replacement nanny ended up spending more time in the kitchen and less time looking after the baby. Below is a break-down of the cost:

1) S$700 to the confinement agency
2) S$1300 to the confinement nanny
3) S$300 worth of herbs for my wife
4) S$140 to CPF for the foreign helper levy

Looking at the amount of money I spent, confinement nanny services is definitely a lucrative and in-demand business in Singapore. There are not many such agencies …

Starting up a business is not easy and very often, it can really take over a person’s life due to the huge efforts and financial commitments required. Therefore normally I would not advise anyone to quit their job and start a business because that could be a recipe for disaster. Do it right and your life changes drastically for the better. Do it wrong and your life goes spirally downhill. So always plot your move carefully and make sure you do your homework before making the big escape from the rat race. Below are five reasons why you must never quit your job and start up your business.

Starting up a business needs time
Starting a successful business takes time. Do not be fooled by media reports of young entrepreneurs achieving overnight success and becoming incredibly rich. Founders of Microsoft, Google and Facebook actually went through a lot of hardship, trial and errors before attaining wild success at international platform. They had made a lot of mistakes and setbacks before achieving business successes. Henceforth, learn from others mistake and avoid the potential pitfalls. It could be a long time before your business makes any profit, so make sure you hold a job while going through the phase of starting up a business.

Bills, bills and bills
Unless you are born with a silver spoon, we all have bills to pay and worry about. Quitting your job would hurt your pocket especially if your business has not started to earn sustainable revenue. Your relationship with your spouse or family members could also be strained if you are the sole breadwinner. So make sure your household finance is in order and in shape before you made the plunge.

Do it for the Passion, not for the Money
Not everyone starts a business …

Before you take the leap into the path of entrepreneurship, it is essential that you done the homework and write a business plan. As cliché as it might sound, if you fail to plan, plan to fail.

Having a good business plan will provide you a clear business objective and an organized way of looking at all the important aspects of your business. Most importantly, it will provide you a crystallized view on whether your business idea can be successfully implemented.

A well written business plan will also come in handy, when you are looking for funding from potential investors (venture capitalists or angel investors). Key elements of it should focus on:

Stating/defining the problem
Your plan must define the problem which your business is addressing and not just stating your business idea. Nobody will be interested in a business idea if it is not solving a problem and is impractical. The plan has to be precise and easy to understand for layman (nobody likes to read a long-winded business plan filled with technical jargon, especially bankers and venture capitalists). Focus on how and why your business can deliver and solve the problem.

Market size and industry trend
Define the estimated market size and industry trends, dynamics and customer landscape. Describe and list your competitors, including substitutes. Highlight your competitive strength and the barriers to entry which will help to reduce competition.

Commercial viability
Explain in details how the business is going to make money, revenue source, volume growth and gross margins. This section is also a good place for forecasting both revenues and expense totals for the next five years. A good business opportunity with scalability should show double digit positive growth per year, and revenues projected to $20million or more within the next 5 years.

Marketing, sales, and …

Being an entrepreneur is not easy and not everyone can be a successful founder. However, the process of starting up a business in Singapore has been made less painful with the various business-friendly policies in this city state. Each type of structure comes with different structure. It may be useful to check out ACRA website.

To help aspiring entrepreneurs up to speed on Singapore laws, regulations, taxes and government assistance schemes, Enterprise One (a government agency tasked to promote local enterprise) has prepared a simple checklist:

1) Sign up for EnterpriseOne Digest, a monthly newsletter tracking the latest updates on the laws and regulations. You can log on to Enterprise One website to sign up.

2) Ensure your business premises (office, shop, factory) can be used to carry out your business. For example, applicants who wish to use their HDB residential flats for home office are required to seek prior approval from HDB.

3) Apply for all licenses and permits needed.

4) Familiarize yourself with various tax incentives and Government assistance schemes.

5) Register your business with Central Provident Fund (CPF) before hiring your first worker.

6) Register your business with Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) and comply with post-registration requirements.

It is important to think about the type of business structure before applying for ACRA registration. Do you want a sole-proprietary, company, partnership, limited liability partnership or limited partnership?

While being your own boss may be exciting, it can be daunting too. In exchange for the “freedom”, you are not entitled with paid leave, CPF contributions and other perks of a typical employee. So unless you are sure that your business idea would work, don’t be reckless and take the plunge. In life, there are always trade-offs. Do not assume that the pasture is greener on the other …

One of the major obstacles faced by entrepreneurs is the lack of available funding in Singapore to help them kick-start or sustain their business ideas. Even if there are government schemes to provide grants or funds to assist business owners, many of them are clueless on how to obtain these grants.

In many cases, investors and entrepreneurs found themselves having to navigate through layers of bureaucratic red tapes and micromanagement when seeking grants. That is probably why entrepreneurs are more attracted to venture capitalists and angel investors for business opportunities.

In the early stage of a business, funding is needed to nurture the seed into viable business model. But beyond cash, founders should ask themselves serious questions whether they are willing to cede control in exchange for the money. But assuming they are willing to do so, then he should know how to pitch to investors and position his business in a strategic manner.

To obtain that all-important pot of gold, there are several fundamentals that business owners need to highlight or observe in their business proposals:

1) Financial factors: Track records speak a lot and obviously no one likes to invest in a sinking ship. In your plan, you have to be honest and state the financial health of your company. In addition, has your company allocated adequate manpower and equipment for the project?

2) Strategic Factors: Does the outcome of your project match the objectives of the organization providing the funding? You have to provide compelling reasons for the donors to support your cause.

3) Economic Factors: Highlight the differentiating factors and economic spin-off of your project. Mention the market demands and competing market threats in your report. Most importantly, highlight the scalability aspect of your project (the potential impact to the rest of the industry and whether …