There are a few important steps required before we even start a business . Do the ground work first . It will be good if there is a mentor to assist but many a times this is not available . Its always a good idea to do your own networking for they may become handy at times .
The Groundwork
1) Market research . Identify your targetted market or customers . Who are the customers and how large is the market (demand) ? It certainly helps a great deal if there is a committed and ready customers
2) Identify your competitors . Who and how many of them ? How big are the competitors ?
3) What is the value proposition to our customers that our competitors are unable to provide ?
4) How much capital is required ? How long can business be sustained in the event of a down-turn ? Rental and inventory can be a major problem in long term business sustainability , other than pure labour cost . Minimise overhead whenever possible .
5) Do a business plan and business projections . Work out the sums to ensure that this is a feasible and viable business . Is the assumptions made reasonable ?
6) Understand the risk and what else can be done to minimise risk . Is the "reward" worth the risk ? Remember , you have limited working capital . Everytime we fail , we wipe a portion of our capital . Capital has a limit .
Business Registration
1) Submit the application on-line via Bizfile
2) depending upon the type of business , special licenses may be required ( controlled items such as beer , cigarettes ,etc) .
3) approval may take 2 to 4 weeks
4) Once approved , registration may cost S$50.00 and for the company's name S$15.00
Funding your business
1) If you have done the ground work , then you would know how much is required and where it is going to come from .
2) Most of the time , this should come from yourself , family members and friends if they are willing to help . Also note that there will be situations where family members or friends may want their money back for whatever reasons before the period is up . So there is need to prepare for this .
3) There will be situations where you may be able to get grants or some form of funding from government bodies or agencies . Talk to EDB about this possibility
Setup the company website
1) Search for a proper domain name for the company and a hosting site
2) Oay someone a small fee to get the web design done for the company
