Stuart’s Philosophies

Some of you have requested for information relating to business and wealth building in the local context. Ok… here are some of my tips, fresh from the mental oven.

If you have never thought about starting business before, you really should speak to other people about it. As you speak to people about business building, you’ll realize it’s fun, exciting, risky, painful… all rolled into one. Everyone loves their business, but hates being in it.

My personal advice is, find a business model and innovate it. If people find you are copying another business model, you’re done for. You’ll be labelled as unoriginal. Think of all the OSIM copycats. I’ve also seen so many people copycating our seminars, too. All of these turn out ineffective. Usually it will be difficult to get to number one position in the industry in such a situation (being #1 is important - market leadership and dominance is essential for growth and survival, in my opinion).

To start a business, you should get insight. Don’t worry so much about the technical set up and how much it costs first. You must always keep your eyes open. Opportunities are available everywhere but you have to keep your eyes open. Just because you thought “that won’t work”, doesn’t mean you discard the idea. You have to innovate the idea and that is where you need to interact and work with other people.

Sometimes, a business mentor will be able to assist in the development or honing of your ideas. This is one of the reasons why I run business coaching. It’s because most people are stuck, and I throw out a lot of ideas to get enthusiasm and excitement going. Without that, the business remains like a normal business.

Speak to entrepreneurs who are successful. I bet you they will be real happy to talk to you and give you insight because they have already achieved so much. How to talk to them will be another idea altogether, but the first step you need to do is to get exposure. Explore the business model. A business model is basically how the business generates money. Some business have complex revenue models that cannot be managed by an individual. Others can get it done really easily. The fact is if you want to start a business in Singapore, you need to know the following:

1. What does it take to sustain running the business? Many people only ask what it takes to START the business, which I think is totally wrong. You need to know not just the money elements to run the business, you need to know the effort elements. It’s not just a question of whether it is worth starting a business, but whether it is worth sustaining. Asking entrepreneurs their opinions will give you this insight and more ideas about what you can do to sustain your business in the future.
2. What is the main objective in running the business? Short term versus long term? Some people start a business without asking when it will END. The key is, sometimes, it may be more profitable to cash out on the business by selling it, or going public. There needs to be an exit point because you will then know the ’signs’ that will set of the question “Do I want to continue”. Unfortunately, many entrepreneurs’ exit points is usually due to a drop in business or the inability to continue running due to financial concerns. How do I know? Because I’ve been there!  If you were to ask successful entrepreneurs about their objectives, it could give you some inspiration. I’ve never known a successful entrepreneur who began their endeavors just for no good reason at all. Most of them started because of some specific priority in their lives.
3. What is the level of “rabidity” in the market? The market you are targeting needs to be ’mad’ for the product or service they are being given. If they are fanatics in that market, you will probably have fiercely loyal customers. One example is car owners of a well branded car. People who own BMWs tend to be a little more loyal to the brand than, say, Hyundai. People who play golf or soccer are more fiercely loyal than, say, joggers and badminton players. People who swear by slimming centers tend to have a heightened self-esteem after a successful run, and will be more willing to spread the word by talking to their friends about it.
4. What is the cost of getting a customer? It costs money to get a customer. If you can minimize this cost, your business will be able to flourish. If you have ways to get ‘free’ customers, or situations where customers clamor to find you, you’ll have non-stop business. :) You’ll find that in successful businesses, costs of acquiring a customer should drop over time, because of the effect of the media and of word-of-mouth recommendations.
5. What is the cost of losing a customer? Losing customers is a natural thing in any business. But the question is will losing your customer cost your business money? Sometimes, because you cannot fulfill your end of the bargain, you lose a customer. This could turn into a negative cycle that will lead to people avoiding your business. Consider what the potential cost of losing a customer is and ask yourself if you can sustain this business even in the worst-case scenario.
6. How long before you stop working in the business, and let it run as automatically as possible? Most people start a business thinking that they have to work hard in it. I think the most important element in business is you have to create an opportunity for yourself to be freed from the need to work in the first place. You do this by leveraging your employees and groom them to become better. So, how long will it take for you to do this?
7. How scalable and extendable is your business? A business can be extended by looking at the entire value chain. So for instance, my business looks at training in various areas, including corporate training, personal coaching, but is focusing on personal development. So, without having to gain too much additional competence and skill, can your business grow? Does it have space to grow and move? If not, you will find your business having a limit in terms of how it can grow. You’d be more likely to succeed if you are in the fashion retail business than say a shop that just sells preserved fruit.

There are obviously other questions, but I’ll think through on this in greater detail and add in more things along the way.

Watch out for my next post on Business Resources in Singapore, and how exactly you can register and start a business here.

Tags

General, Starting Business In Singapore