Dr Biz Blog

How to invest and save for a secure financial future

sharonchch@hotmail.com (Dr Biz) — Sat, 20 Mar 2021 04:27:25 GMT

Although less exciting than saving for your dream car, learning how to invest to make sure you have a secure and stable future is an essential life skill. While many of us can rest safe in the knowledge that a lifetime of hard work and relative financial prudence (we all need a treat every now and again!) will ensure we always have enough to live on, surprises can and do crop-up. To make sure you are prepared for whatever life might throw at you, we have prepared a list of tried and tested tips for you to save and invest for success.

1. Make friends with a financial adviser

Especially in this day and age, many of us are inclined to go it alone on most administrative tasks, not believing it to be value for money to hire a professional. As anyone that has sought out the help of a qualified financial adviser will tell you, though, when it comes to organising your money, it really is. A financial adviser can help you to map a solid financial plan for today and tomorrow, beginning with assessing your current income and expenditures to setting short-term and long term saving goals before moving on to how to invest. This can help to form a valuable blueprint for your financial future that can keep you on-track and accountable.

2. Don’t be afraid of asking how to invest

Unless you have a degree in finance and economics, most of us simply don’t have a clue when it comes to investment. This lack of knowledge can make it seem like a very scary prospect, leading some to avoid investing altogether. To get familiar and comfortable with the idea, do a little reading around the subject and - most importantly - reach out to family and friends that you know have investments. Ask how and why they invest the way they do, and how they got into it. You might find that this an area you can have some fun, while of course always being aware that investment is risky and that you can lose all of your capital.

3. Think long term first, short term last

When it comes to how to invest, it is always best to start with your longest term investment: your retirement. While the least sexy of all investments, a pension is the most essential and the one that can benefit most from starting early. Most Singaporeans will contribute to the Central Provident Fund (CPF), which will provide income throughout their retirement. Those looking to boost their retirement income, however, may want to open a supplementary scheme too. This is not least because, thanks to the magic of compound interest, saving over a period of 30 to 40 years can be extremely powerful, even for relatively small amounts per month. Putting-away just $100 per month for an average annual return of 5%, for example, will give you a pot of $84,019.41 after 30 years, with $36,100.00 coming from deposits and $47,919.41 from compound interest.

4. What do you already know about?

Once you have your essentials in place, including an emergency savings pot and a pension plan, you can think about how to invest ‘on the side’. To do this, first look at what you already know a lot about. Are you an engineer that is not unfamiliar with the workings of infrastructure projects, for example; or an IT professional with a good sense of what might be the next big thing in computer technology? Whatever your knowledge and skill set, there is likely an investment out there that will make a lot of sense to you. This is usually the best place to start - rather than a “hot tip” on something you know nothing about!

5. Be prepared to make losses

Finally, the most important tip for how to invest is to be prepared to make losses. As in life, absolutely nothing is ever, ever guaranteed in investment and you can lose all of your capital, no-matter where you put your money. Of course, there are different risk levels and so a pension plan with a multinational insurer is typically less risky than Bitcoin, for example, yet the risk remains. Having said this, nothing is totally risk free: even cash and gold, so take a measured approach starting with the above mentioned assets before moving up the risk spectrum. For the fun stuff, make sure you will never need the money you invest, and enjoy the ride. And remember: if in doubt, seek out the advice of a professional financial adviser.

RISK WARNING: Investment can go down as well as up and you may lose all of your capital. Past performance is not a guide to future performance and those with less investment experience should seek the help of a qualified financial adviser.

At Dr Biz, we provide tailored and comprehensive solutions for our client's business needs. From incorporation to accountancy, tax and payroll, to professional advisory services, we help businesses in Singapore assess potential risks and become more cost effective and efficient.

To find out more, please feel free to contact us .

Key financial planning mistakes to avoid for a secure future

sharonchch@hotmail.com (Dr Biz) — Mon, 25 Jan 2021 06:02:47 GMT

Financial planning is often forgotten in the hubbub of daily life, with most us glad simply to have a little money left in our bank accounts. However, the savvy among us go a little further than that, taking time to think about their immediate and longer-term financial futures. Doing so is not only a good way to manage money and prepare for any emergencies that might arise, but also to achieve financial goals well into the future. Below we set out a few mistakes to avoid for those thinking about financial planning.

1. Not knowing your priorities

The starting point of any financial plan is understanding and establishing your financial priorities. Typically, these will depend on where you are in your life. If you are 25, for example, your financial planning focus might be on saving to get on the housing ladder, or perhaps paying down any debt accumulated during your education. New parents, however, will likely be thinking about how they can start saving for their own children’s future, while business owners might need to prioritise business activities over the short term. Think about what matters most now, then work forward from there.

2. Under-estimating risks

No-one likes to think about the worst happening, however as 2020 showed us, the worst can and does happen. Insurance products are typically the best way to prepare for unforeseen events, yet they are frequently neglected. According to Aviva , on average people are short on their life insurance of around two times salary and three times for life protection. Moreover, the firm’s long term care study showed that while 95% were aware of severe disability, 50% said they believed they could stay healthy and would be unlikely to need long-term care cover. None of us can predict the future, so make sure you are prepared!

3. Not having an emergency fund

Along with an adequate insurance policy, a healthy savings pot is a financial planning necessity. After paying down expensive debt (typically anything that isn’t a mortgage), saving for an emergency should be the next big priority - or indeed if you have lots of debt it may be worthwhile considering doing the two things concurrently. It is usually best to have at least three months of expenses saved. This should include housing and utility payments as well as discretionary expenses and any other regular financial obligations such as school fees or medical expenses not covered by your medical insurance.

4. Under-considering dependents

As part of your emergency fund, or perhaps separately, you might like to consider any eventualities that could crop-up with your dependents. This will be especially pertinent if you have older children at university or otherwise not yet established in a career that might need financial help, or if you have ageing parents that might soon need long-term care. An unforeseen event with a dependent can scupper even the best laid financial plan so be sure to fully and regularly assess their situations and, if you can, work with them to shore-up their finances. This might include ensuring they have adequate savings and investment plans in place, which you can work with a qualified financial adviser to put together.

5. Thinking too short-term

While getting priorities in place and saving for emergencies are the most important first steps when it comes to financial planning, don’t let that stop you from dreaming. Once you have all of the essentials in place, think about what you would like to ultimately achieve financially. Would you like to build a certain amount of wealth by a certain age, perhaps so you can quit work or change career, or make a big purchase you have long dreamed about? Perhaps you would like to give a large sum to your children, or even a charity. Whatever your financial goal, think about how you might go about achieving it and set out a plan. Often, writing down our desires is the most powerful way to realise them.

6. Forgetting about your retirement

The final piece in the financial planning puzzle is to think about what your own old age might look like, or what you would like it to look like. While many of us will rely on our children to take care of us in our old age, again, things don’t always work-out the way we plan them, and so it is likely wise to start paying into a retirement plan as early as possible. This is not least because the power of compound interest means that the longer you save and invest, the more your interest builds on itself and the more growth you will see on your capital. You can work with a financial adviser or planner to start a plan, go directly to an insurer or start your own investment pension portfolio.

To find out more, please feel free to contact us .

Top 5 personal finance tips for entrepreneurs and small business owners

sharonchch@hotmail.com (Dr Biz) — Mon, 18 Jan 2021 15:26:31 GMT

Personal finance tips are useful for anyone, but they are particularly useful for entrepreneurs and small business owners. In the often frenetic madness of running a small business, personal finances can get left behind, which can lead to a nasty shock when busy business owners finally get round to checking their bank statements!

Managing your own money is just as important as balancing the company books, though. Indeed the two things are often intertwined, especially if you find yourself having to dip-in to company funds to fill a personal financial hole. To avoid this, entrepreneurs and business owners need only implement some simple personal finance hygiene, which we set-out below.

1. Separate your funds

The foundation of good financial practice for those running a small business is to ensure there is a clear line placed between personal and business funds. This is especially the case for entrepreneurs and self-employed freelancers, for whom business and personal expenses can become muddled.

To start, make sure you have separate bank accounts for business and personal spending and don’t mix the two. Also be sure to use your business account for any expenses you will later claim for under your annual tax return. This will also help to compile expenses, which can be arduous if they are spread across different accounts,

2. Understand your expenditure

Knowing how much you need every month for living expenses is key to ensuring you don’t dip into business money. To find this out, sit down and compile a budget of key expenses like housing and utility bills and then discretionary spending. Once you have a figure, you can transfer this from your business income account every month or quarter, as suits.

If you have a registered company, however, be sure to work with your accountant to discuss how you take your business profits as income. This is because the way you take income from your business can have tax implications , and you should make sure you are doing this as efficiently as possible. If you need help and advice on tax, feel free to get in touch with Dr Biz !

3. Budget effectively

As well as understanding your own personal expenditure, you should also try to get a clear picture of your business expenses to help ensure you have enough to cover your overheads for both. Costs related to business premises such as rent and equipment, as well as purchase ordering, staffing and paying for service providers are all key considerations.

Once you have done this you will know the level business income you need to target and then what you need to do to generate this income, including the amount of product you need to sell or clients you need to serve. This will help to ensure that you are generating enough income to cover business costs while also paying yourself the personal income you need every month.

4. Build a solid savings pot

Of course, things don’t always go quite so smoothly when running a business. In-fact, the majority of new businesses typically take a year or two to turn a profit and establish steady flows of income. And so, if you are a new business, you should have a pool of savings built up that you can dip into for your personal expenses while you are getting on your feet.

Even if your business has been around for a while, though, you should still make sure you have a good pot of savings ready for when times get tough. As recent events have shown, things can come up that even the strongest businesses might struggle to endure. At these times, a solid savings pot will help to make sure you have enough to cover your own living expenses.

5. Think about your future

Filled with enthusiasm and drive for their business ventures, entrepreneurs and small business owners can often forget to think about their own long-term futures. This is especially true when it comes to retirement, with many often assuming they can rely on their businesses to look after them in their old age.

While this will be true for some, as highlighted above, things don’t always go to plan, and so establishing a pension plan of some sort is usually a good idea. This might take the form of a stakeholder pension with an insurer, or a long term investment portfolio you manage yourself. Whichever you choose, make sure there is enough to fund the kind of retirement that a hard-working business owner deserves when she finally kicks back to relax and enjoy the final fruits of her labour.

To find out more, please feel free to contact us .

Why blue carbon is a natural growth sector for Singapore and Asean

sharonchch@hotmail.com (Dr Biz) — Tue, 12 Jan 2021 14:53:52 GMT

Blue carbon is a new entrant to the lexicon of climate change mitigation, and one that has special significance for Singapore and all of SouthEast Asia. It refers to the ability of marine plants to absorb carbon and reduce overall emissions, particularly mangrove swamps, tidal salt marshes and seagrass meadows - all of which are found in abundance throughout the region.

While previously undervalued and underserved within global conservation efforts, recent scientific studies have come to underline the enormous value that blue carbon assets hold. According to a study by the National University of Singapore , DBS Bank and Temasek, so called Natural Climate Solutions (NCS) - of which blue carbon is a big part - has the potential to absorb over 30% of the carbon needed for the world to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

Manifold benefits to blue carbon

Beyond carbon removal and storage, blue carbon plant life also has significant benefits in areas such as storm protection and water filtration - issues that are becoming ever more pressing throughout SouthEast Asia. This is particularly true for mangrove forests, which have been found to be one of the most effective tools the world has in terms of carbon capture and flood defence.

As the region most heavily affected by the rising temperatures and increased extreme weather events that climate change presents, as well as high levels of pollution, South East Asia stands to benefit in manifold ways from the preservation and restoration of blue carbon assets. Globally, SouthEast Asia has been identified as having the greatest area of potentially restorable mangrove forests - over 3,000 square kilometers or more, which represents a third of the global total.

As asset to Singapore and beyond

Indonesia holds the greatest potential for blue carbon mangrove restoration - with a greater area than the whole region combined. Meanwhile, Vietnam could reap the greatest co-benefits for its population, with an estimated 2.8 million people that could directly benefit from mangrove restoration. In terms of physical restoration capacity, Singapore has a smaller opportunity, with mangroves covering around 1% of the city-state’s total land-mass.

However, mangroves remain an important asset in Singapore. While they account for only 6% of the total forest area, mangroves store around 11% of the carbon in all of Singapore's forests. Restoration and expansion of mangroves in Singapore could therefore be a big opportunity as it strives to meet globally agreed climate targets: a difficult task for a country with a landmass of just 728km2, but yet where energy consumption per capita is among the highest in the world.

Natural investment opportunities

Blue carbon also presents a significant investment opportunity for Singapore. According to the National University of Singapore study, investments in Natural Climate Solutions could generate a potential return on investment of US $27.5 billion per year in SouthEast Asia. As a leading economic and investment hub in the region with a well established investment market, Singapore could lead the way on NCS financing, which currently accounts for just 3% of all global climate financing.

Considering the huge benefits that the revitalisation of mangrove swamps alone presents, there is a clear mismatch between the potential benefits that investing in blue carbon presents and the amount of money being invested into it. With Singapore set to spend an estimated US $74 billion on mitigating climate change over the next 50 to 100 years there is a clear opportunity for the country to put more of this toward blue carbon.

Public and private opportunities

Within the private sector, Natural Climate Solutions also presents a significant opportunity to businesses and investors. Not least, businesses with risks within their supply chains linked to deforestation and the change of land-use could benefit from investing in local or regional blue carbon projects. Likewise, investors looking for cost-effective options to meet their climate commitments and targets could also look to this sector.

The world faces a tough challenge in coming decades as we seek to find a way to halt global warming and mitigate the effects of climate change that we are already seeing, especially in SouthEast Asia. However, with new and innovative solutions such as blue carbon projects like mangrove restoration increasingly revealing themselves, there is hope that Singapore and its global partners will continue to successfully tackle this threat.

To find out more, please feel free to contact us .

A how-to guide for self-employed freelancers in Singapore

sharonchch@hotmail.com (Dr Biz) — Wed, 06 Jan 2021 15:24:28 GMT

The number of freelancers in Singapore is growing, with the Ministry of Manpower reporting a total of 211,000 registered freelancers in 2019 , up from 210,800 in 2018 and representing close to 9% of the country’s total workforce. This growth underlines a global trend toward more flexible working, with both companies and workers choosing freelancers and freelancing as a way to make efficient use of both time and money.

The Covid-19 pandemic has likely accelerated this growth, with new figures due to be released in late January expected to show a spike in the number of freelancers as companies have been more cautious on long-term hiring. This has had both a positive and negative impact: while helping to generate more work for freelancers in Singapore, many have been forced to accept lower than usual fees .

Nonetheless, freelancing is a potentially compelling opportunity which, if navigated successfully, can lead to a rewarding career and a more favourable work-life balance. Below, we set out a few hints and tips to help get you thinking about whether freelancing might be for you, as well as get you started on the road to a new life as a freelancer in Singapore.

Be clear on your offering and target market

While this might seem a given, many freelancers don’t start-out with a clear idea of the services they are offering and/or the type of clients they would like to work with. While it is good to be flexible and open to offers as a freelancer, it will likely benefit you to have a firm notion of the type of work you can and are willing to do that is aimed at the type of employer you would like to work for. This will ensure you pursue and attract the right line of work.

Importantly, this will also help you to market yourself and your work in the right way, and through the right channels. If, for example, you are a graphic designer with a background in creative marketing campaigns, you will likely be looking for work in very different places to a freelance swimming instructor! Think about the keywords people would use to search for your services, and work from there.

Set up a website and market yourself

Starting out as a freelancer can be a laborious process, with innumerable platforms and social media channels laid out before a newcomer to complete. The most important of all of these, though, is a website where you can describe who you are, what you do and perhaps include a portfolio of your work. Unless you are a highly experienced web developer, it is likely best to start with a simple site, such as those offered by Weebly or Wix, which have ready to go-templates.

If you don’t already have a LinkedIn page then consider setting one of those up too, directing visitors to your flashy new website. After this you can look to the innumerable freelancer platforms that are now available, including Upwork, Freelancer, People Per Hour, and Singapore-specific Cult Jobs for creative freelancers, as well as the Singapore government’s own My Careers Future . Whether it’s your website, LinkedIn profile or on-site profile, though, remember to use those all important keywords to make sure potential clients can find you. Also give a thought to where you are physically going to work: co-working spaces like those offered by Dr Biz client Work Buddy are great environments for freelancers, allowing for greater focus and abundant networking opportunities.

Set a freelance rate and a budget

Perhaps even trickier than setting-up your online presence is establishing how much you will charge for your services! Money can be a notoriously tricky talking point and so it is best to establish a range of price points that work for you first. You can begin by looking at your expenses and expenditures, establish how much you need to earn per month to meet them, then divide that by how many hours per month you are willing to work.

To make sure you are not underselling yourself, also take a look at the competition. This is fairly easy on freelancer platforms, but you can also explore job sites and the websites of colleagues or people you know in your industry to see what the average rate is. As well as making sure you are charging the right rate, this will also ensure you are not low-balling too much, which can have a negative impact on the whole industry.

Freelance business licenses and taxes

Last but not least, make sure that you have any permit that you need to freelance in Singapore and understand how and when to pay taxes. Importantly, you can only freelance in Singapore if you are a citizen or permanent resident: foreigners can only work in Singapore with an Employment Pass, S-Pass, Entrepass or Work Permit, or if they open a company.

If you can freelance legally, most industries do not require you to have a business license, however you will need one if you plan to drive for a ride-sharing service, run a real estate company or open a food stall. Visit the Land Transport Authority, Council of Estate Agents and the National Environmental Agency, respectively.

As for taxes, freelancers in Singapore are considered self-employed by the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS). This means that a number of expenses are tax deductible - great news! You will then pay tax on a sliding scale of between 2% and 22% depending on your tax residency status and how much you earn. For more on taxes feel free to send us a message: there is nothing we don’t know!

To find out more, please feel free to contact us .

How to make a mid-career switch into another sector

sharonchch@hotmail.com (Dr Biz) — Mon, 28 Dec 2020 02:51:43 GMT

Many of us have dreamed about making a mid-career switch, perhaps to start our own company or move into an industry or role where we could feel more challenged, or where the business’s activities are more aligned with our principles. While this prospect is appealing, however, many worry about what it could mean for their finances, long-term job prospects and perhaps even their families if a big pay-cut or drastic change of working hours is involved.

However, while change is always difficult, it is not impossible. Making a mid-career switch is a big decision, and can seem daunting, however there is plenty of help and support out there for those that need it. Alongside government support and retraining programs, you can leverage your personal networks and refer to a wealth of online material to help you plan for your next career. To help you make the move you have always dreamed of, below we have put together a few helpful hints and tips.

1. Imagine yourself in the role

While we all love to fantasise about how great our lives would be in a different job, it’s important to take a realistic look at what life might be like for us in that new role before making a mid-career switch. Many Singaporeans are moving into the healthcare sector , for example. However, while becoming a nurse is an admirable pursuit, it does require a huge commitment of time, energy and perhaps even a pay-cut to achieve, and so anyone considering it should think carefully.

If, as many of us do, you have dreams of opening and running your own company you should make yourself aware of all the different aspects of running a business. For example, you will need a solid business plan, potentially a partner or staff, as well as premises and products – and then you will need to constantly manage it all! Professional service providers like Dr Biz can help with the administrative burden of incorporation , corporate secretarial , accounting and payroll , but as a business owner, you might still find you are busier than you thought!

2. Get first-hand advice

No matter which career you are considering, it is likely that you know someone, or someone who knows someone, in that profession. This is often the best place to go to get an accurate picture of what life would be like in the role of your dreams, as well as advice on how to get into it. Make sure that your interviewee knows that you are looking for an honest picture, though: ask for a “warts-and-all” account of a day in the life of their job, including anything they really don’t like about it.

After that, you can fill-in any gaps in their experience or knowledge with online research. A good approach is to start with the most authoritative source: perhaps the trade body of your chosen industry, or information from a university or other institute of higher learning that runs training courses for your profession or industry of choice. If you are an entrepreneur looking to start your own business there are a myriad of networks and platforms to reach out to, including the Startup SG network run by Enterprise Singapore.

3. Run the numbers and stash some cash

If, after all of your research, you are still 100% sure you want to make that mid-career switch, then it might be helpful to take a look at your finances and run some numbers. This is especially the case if you are taking a job that requires a long training period, perhaps training you also have to pay for, as well as for roles where you might be taking a pay cut. If you can, it will likely be useful to seek out the help of a financial adviser to assist with this process.

However, you can also take a quick assessment on your own, starting perhaps with your savings, levels of debt and an assessment of your monthly expenditure. This will be particularly useful If you are going into a long period of training, as you will need to ensure that you can cover all of your expenses while studying. If you are starting your own business, a healthy pot of savings will be essential to cover any unexpected events, of which there are usually many!

4. Find out what support is available to you

You won’t necessarily be all on your own in your big career move, though, as the Singapore government runs a number of different programmes to help mid-career switchers. This includes the SG United Mid-Career Pathways Programme , as well as the new SkillsFuture Mid-Career Support Package . Both aim to create more career transition opportunities for locals aged between 40 and 60. In-fact, by 2025, the government aims to double the annual placements for this group through reskilling programmes to 5,500.

The support package includes the Professional Conversion Programme , through which the government will co-pay the salaries of those actively re-training in a job placement, either full time (place and train) or while also studying (attach and train). Sector-specific programmes such as the TechSkills Accelerator Company-Led Training for ICT jobs (see a full list of current ICT job opportunities here ) are also available, which will again ensure that you receive a salary and industry leading support as you retrain.

To find out more, please feel free to contact us .

Singapore’s healthcare sector is creating growing job opportunities

sharonchch@hotmail.com (Dr Biz) — Thu, 24 Dec 2020 00:11:44 GMT

The healthcare sector is one of Singapore’s strongest, with the market expected to grow to S $21.4 billion in 2020 , an increase of 9% compared to $19.6 billion in 2019, while it is predicted to more than double to $49.4 billion by 2029, according to the latest market insight report from Fitch Solutions.

The strength of the sector has led to a number healthcare accolades for Singapore. This includes the fifth highest life expectancy in the world while it is among the group of countries with the lowest infant mortality rate in the world, with just 2 deaths per 1,000 live births.

Growth has been supported by high levels of government spending, which is estimated to top $13.2 billion in 2020 , and triple to $36 billion by 2029. In-fact, private and public spending in the healthcare sector combined accounts for close to 6% of Singapore’s GDP, rising to a predicted 9% by 2029.

Top-notch services have also led to Singapore being a top destination for healthcare tourism , attracting more than 500,000 medical tourists annually who account for just under 4% of overall tourism spending ($1.3 billion). Notably, two thirds of patients (60%) are from neighboring Indonesia.

A strong and growing workforce

With such strong rates of growth, healthcare has been among those offering the most jobs and opportunities in Singapore. Currently, more than 100,000 workers are employed in the healthcare sector, accounting for just under 3% of the City-State’s total workforce . Around 70% are healthcare professionals such as doctors, nurses and dentists, while the remaining 30% are support care, administrative and ancillary workers.

The outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic has seen a swell in numbers of support workers, particularly swabbers and care ambassadors to assist hospital nurses re-deployed to care for Covid-19 patients. In-fact, according to the Ministry of Manpower, 8,350 people were placed into jobs and training positions in the healthcare sector between April and November 2020.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the vast majority of these new roles were for shorter-term positions to help support the Covid-19 relief effort, which included front of house and administrative staff and community care organisers, as well as swabbers and swab assistants. However, the MoM reports that while some workers are still in their current roles, many have already transitioned to longer-term positions.

Mid-career switchers head for healthcare

The healthcare sector, in-fact, is becoming a highly desirable industry to work in, especially for mid-career switchers. This group has shown a rising interest during the pandemic, with the number of applications for the Professional Conversion Programme (PCP) for registered nurses three times higher in October this year than it was in April, according to the MoM.

At a virtual media conference reported in the Straits Times , Manpower Minister Josephine Teo said this could be inspired by people looking for ‘meaning’: “When people think about whether they will take up a career in healthcare, they see themselves not just as taking on any job. They see the meaning part of it, but they also know that it is a profession that demands a very high level of commitment.”

There remains, however, a strong need for more boots on the ground in the healthcare sector. The MOM reports that there are currently close to 5,500 healthcare jobs on offer , with 75% of roles available in long-term positions such as nurses, allied health professionals, therapy assistants and finance and HR executives. Meanwhile, short-term openings are largely for support and administrative roles.

Long term drivers will sustain growth

This current boom is not entirely dependent on Covid-19, either. In-fact, the biggest driver for growth in Singapore’s healthcare sector is an ageing population - one of the fastest aging populations in Asia. According to the International Trade Administration, this will translate to a greater demand for specialized elderly care amid rising costs, which will further drive market growth and job creation in the sector.

In response to this growing need for greater healthcare, the government has introduced a number of programmes to support fresh graduates and mid-career switchers to transition to healthcare roles. In addition to the PCP programme, the government has worked closely with higher learning institutes to introduce new undergraduate programmes such as dietetics and nutrition and speech and language therapy. This has helped to swell local nursing intake by 50% over five years, from 1,500 in 2014 to 2,200 in 2019.

As Singapore, like the rest of the world, faces a challenging economic recovery post Covid-19, the healthcare sector looks to be an exceptional ray of light. While other sectors might struggle to rebound, both short and long term drivers should ensure the growth and prosperity of the healthcare sector, boosting long-term job creation and ever-widening opportunities.

To find out more, please feel free to contact us .

Digital banking set to take-off in Singapore

sharonchch@hotmail.com (Dr Biz) — Mon, 21 Dec 2020 15:10:14 GMT

Digital banking has been given the green light in Singapore, with four banks approved for licences in December. This is in response to the huge demand that exists for digital banking in the city-state, with a recent survey conducted by PwC revealing that 72% of Singaporeans aged between 18 and 39 are interested or very interested in digital banking services, with the more affluent 25-39 age group showing the most interest.

This potential has been a key factor in the Monetary Authority Authorities’ (MAS’s) decision to allow Sea Ltd. and a Grab-Singtel consortium full, market-wide digital banking licences and Chinese firms Ant Financial and a consortium headed by Greenland Financial Holdings limited wholesale licences to launch digital banks for SMEs. Expected to begin operations in 2022, these four firms will provide the first digital-only banking services in Singapore, which will mirror the services offered by traditional banks, but without physical premises.

Digital banking demand and potential

Banking is already big business throughout Asia, which has been the world’s largest regional market for a decade, according to McKinsey research . With pre-tax profits of more than USD $700 billion, Asia accounts for 37% of global banking profits. As incomes continue to rise throughout the region, by 2025 it is estimated that three quarters (75%) of all personal financial assets in the world will be in Asia. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the region is also leading in digital payments, with China alone accounting for approximately 45% of all digital payments in the world.

Currently valued at USD $8 trillion, the global digital banking market is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8%, putting it at $12 trillion by 2026. According to a study by Global Market Insights , Asia Pacific is expected to hold above 65% of the digital banking market by 2026 due to extensive digitization and developments in financial technologies. In addition to Singapore, banking institutes across India are also embracing digital banking solutions, with the expansive spending power of banks and a large population expected to fuel market growth.

Benefits for Singapore workers and SMEs

Singapore’s job sector is already seeing the benefits of the upcoming digital banking boom, with Grab-Singatel having already announced that it will look to fill around 200 roles by the end of 2021. Hires will include positions in product, data, technology, risk, finance, and compliance as the company prepares for the launch of its digital banks. Speaking to the Straits Times, MAS also indicated that it expects digital banks will hire a ‘sizable number of people’ in Singapore, including key roles in leadership and management, as well as sales and marketing, business development, compliance and human resources.

Small businesses are also likely to benefit from the two ‘wholesale licences’ granted to Ant Financial and Greenland Financial Holdings, which will enable them to provide banking services to SMEs and other non-retail customers. SMEs have frequently complained of inadequate and high cost funding from risk averse banks in the past, with a recent SME Finance Accessibility Survey and Research showing that only 39% of SMEs were eligible for business financing in 2019. The introduction of digital banking could therefore prove a huge boon to Singapore’s SMEs: a vital part of our economy.

Greater speed and efficiency

The speed and efficiency offered by digital banking could also prove to be a huge win for retail and business customers alike. More than 70% of PwC’s survey respondents reported at least one pain point with their current bank , with 42% singling out long queue times as a key grievance and 23% reporting long wait times when they call their banks’ hotlines. The introduction of fully digital services should make these issues a thing of the past. Without having physical premises and property to pay for, new providers will be able to plough far more investment into leading user experience platforms and customer services.

For business, the loan application process should be greatly improved. Currently, a loan application for a small business can take months from application to approval, however examples in other countries such as the UK and Europe suggest this could take as little as 15 minutes with a digital bank. This is because traditional loan applications require several human interactions at various different agencies to process them, whereas digital banks use artificial intelligence and data analytics to do the same job at greater speed with less human error.

The launch of digital banking in Singapore will mark a big shift toward a more fully digital economy, and a further step toward the government’s ambition for Singapore to become a ‘smart-nation’ . It will likely have myriad benefits for consumers, workers and businesses alike, not least micro businesses that have in the past struggled to find the funding they need. For this segment of the economy, access to funding through a digital bank could make all the difference between surviving and thriving, or shutting its doors.

To find out more, please feel free to contact us .

Why technology in Singapore is booming and will continue to thrive

sharonchch@hotmail.com (Dr Biz) — Fri, 18 Dec 2020 05:16:56 GMT

For a number of years technology in Singapore has been a strong and thriving sector, bolstered by long standing support from the government that continues to attract businesses big and small to the city-state, which is fast becoming South-East Asia’s technology hub. These businesses include one of technology’s heaviest hitters, Microsoft, which in December announced it would be offering up to 1,000 training and placement opportunities to Singaporeans.

The initiative is part of the SGUnited Jobs and Skills Package , which will support close to 100,000 jobseekers affected by the economic impact of Covid-19 by providing skills training opportunities for new graduates and mid-career professionals alike. The Microsoft initiative, dubbed #GetReadySG, will be a huge boost for Singapore’s technology-skills base as participants will be trained for in-demand tech roles including full-stack developer, data engineer and data analyst.

Microsoft is by no means the only big-tech company interested in Singapore’s tech-savvy workforce, either, with IBM also announcing a partnership with Singapore’s Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) to hire and train 300 Singaporeans. The recruits will be trained between now and 2025, with the programme aiming to meet demand for deep technical skills needed to support the acceleration of digital transformation across all sectors and industries.

Cutting edge technology in Singapore

IBM has also been heavily involved in the development of blockchain technology in Singapore, founding its groundbreaking Blockchain Innovation Centre here, where it is developing security innovations for the finance and logistics sectors based on blockchain technology. The blockchain sector, in-fact, is becoming one of Singapore’s fastest growing tech sectors, with a report published in December ranking it in 1st place among ASEAN nations for blockchain research and 15th in the world.

Such is the fervour in the blockchain sector that it has also gained a further boost from a S $12 million investment from Singapore’s National Research Foundation (NRF). The funding is part of a programme jointly launched by the NRF, Enterprise Singapore (ESG) and the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA). It will engage 75 diverse companies in order to come-up with 17 blockchain projects that can provide solutions for areas such as trade and logistics that will support technology in Singapore over the next three years.

Singapore also has a fast growing gaming sector, with players spending a total of US $327.2 million on games in 2019 , making it a key player in South East Asia’s games market. The sector is well supported by games giant Sea Ltd: now South East Asia’s most valuable company with a market valuation of over US $100 million. Sea shot to fame thanks to a mobile battle game called Free Fire, which attracted tens of millions of players with its gameplay is now one of YouTube's most-watched features. The firm, which recently raised an extra US $2.57 billion from markets, is also the owner of the Shopee e-commerce platform and is set to move into digital banking.

A Smart Nation for the future

The Smart Nation initiative , first announced by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in 2014, has been a driver of Singapore’s ascendance as a technological and digital leader in South East Asia. With an aim to make Singapore “an outstanding city in the world… for people to live, work and play in, where the human spirit flourishes”, the Smart Nation initiative has attempted to take a 360 degree view of Singapore’s infrastructure. This is in order to prepare it for the “fourth industrial revolution”, in which more menial tasks are expected to be automated, leaving more time for citizens to undertake “enriching activities”.

This forward thinking take on our technological future has been pivotal for Singapore’s adoption of technology, not least in government. From digital payments to digital solutions for traditional “wet-ink” services, Singapore’s government has aimed to move the bulk of its services online while targeting at least 75% user satisfaction. Digital solutions rolled out for areas like death registration and automated meter reading infrastructure that enables near real-time information on water consumption patterns have also significantly improved services.

Continued financial support provided by the government is also likely to further propel the development of technology in Singapore into the future. In addition to the initiatives outlined above, the Research, Innovation and Enterprise Council has announced a S$25 billion plan entitled RIE 2025 to invest in research, innovation and enterprise in science and technology over the next five years. With such a strong focus on creating opportunities for Singaporeans in cutting-edge technology coming from both government and business, there seems little doubt that Singapore will emerge stronger and more economically resilient in a post-Covid world.

To find out more, please feel free to contact us .

How to find start-up investors for your new business

sharonchch@hotmail.com (Dr Biz) — Tue, 15 Dec 2020 00:33:52 GMT

Singapore has one of the healthiest, most active communities of start-up investors in the world. With a reputation as leaders in innovation, start-ups in the city-state consistently attract large levels of funding from investors at home and abroad, with many venture capital firms and angel investor networks queuing up to provide start-up investment.

In-fact, according to a report published by Enterprise Singapore (ESG) last year, start-up investors poured S$13.8 billion into new businesses in Singapore in the first quarters of 2019, up 36% compared to the previous year. In the early stage segment funding also doubled to S$886.1 million across more than 300 deals while growth stage funding grew 33%.

Hot sectors for start-up investors

Areas that attract lots of start-up investors include digital technology, which last year accounted for a staggering 93.2% of total start-up investments, with the number of deals climbing to 280 from 145 in Q1-3 2018. While Grab’s huge $6.6 billion funding round certainly made an impact on these figures, they nonetheless reflect a growing appetite for investment into companies seizing opportunities in the new online marketplace.

So-called “deep technology” is another area gaining significant traction in the start-up funding market, with ESG noting last year that investment into deep-tech grew by 25% to reach S$416.4 million. The specific sectors to gain funding were advanced manufacturing, urban solutions and sustainability and healthcare and biomedical sciences.

Deep technology a growing trend

Interest in deep tech has grown in 2020, not least in the healthcare and biomedical segment thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic, which has prompted the greatest global race for a vaccine ever seen. To support this sector, ESG’s investment arm Seeds Capital this month launched an initiative calling for private partners to help it plough S$150 million into early-stage, deep tech start-ups in the three key sectors highlighted above.

The initiative will use funds from the Startup SG Equity Scheme, which allows the government to invest in funds or third-parties that are funding eligible startup sectors. The deep tech sector is gaining support as the high risk nature of their businesses mean private investors often shy away. Through the new scheme Seeds will match each joint investment dollar between S$500,000 and S$4 million, or up to 70% of up to an S$8 million investment in deep tech start-ups.

Innovation attracts investment

It has, then, perhaps never been such a good time to be looking for funding from a start-up investor in Singapore - not least if you are an innovative company providing new solutions. The fintech sector, for example, continues to thrive, with investments reaching S$371 million in the second quarter of this year, up 400% from the S$68 million recorded between January and March.

While investment in fintech companies is still down compared to 2019 due to Covid-19, Singapore is much less volatile than other countries in Asia, with funding across the region in-fact falling to S$3.2 billion in Q2 from S$4.18 billion in Q1. More than 40% of South-East Asia’s fintech firms are based in Singapore thanks to strong government support, with the Monetary Authority of Singapore pledging S$250 million to fintech just this year.

Startup resources and funding options

Resources abound in Singapore for companies seeking start-up investors. With all the government support available, the first place for any new company to start looking is Startup Singapore . Launched in 2017, this is a great resource hub that aims to create a place where entrepreneurs, investors and mentors can come together to support each other. To date, there are 3,764 startups, 522 investors and 216 incubators and accelerators registered on the network.

Through the website you can find details of all the funding options available to start-ups in Singapore, including the Startup SG Equity scheme mentioned above, as well as the Startup SG founder program, which provides funding and business guidance for first-time entrepreneurs. As a branch of Enterprise Singapore, Startup SG is supported by over 100 government agencies, key industry players and experts all with significant sector-specific experience.

Network, network, network

Small businesses that sign up to the Startup SG Network will also have access to a wide database of companies and people to connect with to find opportunities. Once connected, you will be able to see their latest activity or message them directly. You can also expand your network through recommendations generated by the SG Singapore machine learning system and profile your company on a global stage. Startups looking to raise funds can also upload pitch materials and present to investors through the platform.

Singapore also boasts one of the world’s strongest networks of angel investors, many of which are happy to receive pitches directly. You can find out more about that in a previous Dr Biz blog . Moreover, networking events are plentiful, including Deal Friday , an investor matchmaking program in the lead-up to the Singapore Fintech Festival and Switch 2020 - which is behind held between 7 and 11 December 2020. So don’t delay: now is a great time to find a start-up investor in Singapore.

To find out more, please feel free to contact us .

Should Singapore SMEs invest in business growth right now?

sharonchch@hotmail.com (Dr Biz) — Wed, 09 Dec 2020 01:37:56 GMT

With the many challenges facing Singapore’s SME sector as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, a move to invest in business growth may not seem like the wisest decision right now. Unquestionably, in times of crisis it is important to prioritise core business activities that generate revenue, as well as supporting your staff and maintaining your premises. These should always be top of the list.

However, while these are the most essential priorities, a crisis is also an opportunity to explore new ways of doing things that could support your current core activities and lead to growth. To invest in business doesn’t always have to mean huge swathes of cash or entirely new systems, either. Rather, it can mean small injections of either time or capital or both that can be both cost effective and transformative.

Focus on efficiency

When any business owner decides to invest in business growth, the first area of focus should be business efficiency. Are there ways you can make the business run more smoothly, ideally with little to no new capital investment? As most Singapore business owners will be aware, in recent years the government has been pushing businesses across the city-state to invest in their digital capacity: from online retailing to digital supply chain management and internationalisation through global ecommerce platforms.

As we covered in a previous blog on digitalisation , there is a huge opportunity for businesses who embrace digital ways of working. According to DBS research , Singapore’s emerging digital economy has the potential to add over US $10 billion to Singapore’s GDP by 2021 and increase its growth rate by 0.6% per year. Around 60% of Singapore’s GDP is expected to be digitised by 2021, with growth in almost every industry driven by digitally enhanced offerings, operations and relationships.

Day-to-day management

Local SMEs are embracing this opportunity, with 2,700 food services and retail businesses in Singapore receiving a total of S$6.8 million in Digital Resilience Bonus (DRB) payments since August: an extension of Enterprise Singapore’s ‘Go Digital’ program to help support small businesses through the Covid period. Companies can receive up to $10,000 as part of the scheme and access the Productivity Solutions Grant for adopting pre-approved digital solutions in areas including e-commerce, logistics, human resources and e-payments - among many, many more.

When thinking about how a grant or an investment in digital solutions might benefit your business, start by identifying the tasks that cost you the most time, but generate little to no financial revenue. Typically, these will be administrative processes. Areas such as recruitment, human resources, payroll and accounting take up a huge amount of time that could be better spent on generating revenue for your business. This is why it is important to balance the cost of outsourcing with the time cost involved in taking a DIY approach.

Especially in areas like accounting , compliance and financial reporting, unless you have specialist training yourself, it is almost always most cost efficient to employ the services of a trusted and experienced professional services firm like Dr. Biz to help out. Additionally, numerous digital solutions have emerged that can make everything from payroll to invoicing and banking an easy, integrated digital process that cuts time spent on admin in half. Check out our blogs on accounting and payroll for more. The investment you make in this area is typically the most time saving, worthwhile one you will make.

Technology in the workplace

For SMEs in the food and beverage sector especially, supply chain and storage management is another great area to invest in business operations. In food management, for example, smart technology in kitchens and other storage areas that can log expiry dates and temperatures of stock combined with automated re-stocking processes can help business owners to improve safety and cut waste. Meanwhile, using tablets for self-service ordering at the till point, as well app-based pre ordering, can increase orders during busy periods.

Big technological advancements in warehousing are also helping business owners to drastically increase their stock turnover. These include automated storage and retrieval solutions that can move around warehouses automatically to keep inventory stocked and sorted, with stages sequenced to quickly restock shelves on the same day. Voice recognition technology is also helping to cut processing times significantly, particularly in the order packing sector where voice recognition is reportedly 40% faster than using handheld devices, while the number of mispacking errors were halved.

Choosing to invest in business growth during a time of economic upheaval is not an easy decision. While the potential benefits might be clear, implementing new systems and processes can be a time consuming and stressful experience and it’s easy to see why so many businesses shy away from it. However, if you can find a way to turn a challenge into an opportunity, you may find your small business reaping the rewards.

To find out more, please feel free to contact us .

Essential human resources for small businesses in Singapore

sharonchch@hotmail.com (Dr Biz) — Mon, 07 Dec 2020 01:25:33 GMT

Human resources, or ‘HR’, is an essential department for any business, but for small businesses effective HR really can mean the difference between success and failure. While often overlooked and even sometimes the butt of jokes, a strong HR department will ensure that you make the right hires and then support your staff throughout their time with your company.

Not only will this lead to more productive employees that stay with your business for longer, but successful referrals of new employees. Supporting your staff will also lend your firm a reputation as a top employer and, in a city like Singapore where reputation is everything, a good name can not only boost your company’s standing, but even it’s profits.

Put employees first

At its core, human resources is about looking after the people that work for your company and employers that view HR this way, rather than simply a box ticking exercise, are most likely to succeed in building a strong and happy workforce.

According to one US study , 75% of employees would stay longer at an organization that listens to and addresses their concerns. How an organization treats it people also mattered two times more to employees than its mission and goals. As such, when thinking about your approach to HR, ensure you put employees at the very heart of every policy and practice you implement.

Effective compliance

Having said that HR shouldn’t be a box ticking exercise, as far as the authorities are concerned, you do need to make sure that your company is complying with all of Singapore’s labour rules and regulations. These include a maximum working week of 44 hours for those earning S$2,000 or less, as well as mandatory annual leave of between seven and 14 days, depending on length of service.

Employers must also provide sick leave and cover some or all costs as well as provide leave for parents. Your human resources department will be responsible for making sure all of these legal requirements are met, so be sure they familiarise themselves with every requirement of the Singapore Employment Act .

Make the right hiring choices

Crucially, a strong HR department will ensure that you bring the right people into your company. As any experienced business owner will tell you, hiring the right people that fit with your company’s culture and who are aligned with your long term goals really is worth its weight in gold. Making the wrong choice can also be an expensive mistake, with a survey from CareerBuilder finding that the average cost of a bad hire is around US $17,000 annually in lost productivity, time, and the cost of hiring and training a replacement.

Make sure this doesn’t happen by implementing a thorough hiring process in your human resources department that focuses on the personality fit of the employee, rather than simply qualifications or salary requirements.

Salaries and benefits

Payroll is, perhaps, the most important function of any HR department: after all, few employees are working purely for the fun of it! As another compliance function, this involves gathering accurate data and details on your employees to ensure both you and they are paying the right taxes and state contributions, as well as receiving the right benefits and payments.

Today, there are software programs available to help make the payroll process easier, including Talenox , an Asia based service that can be linked with online accounting software Xero. Dr Biz is a Xero bronze partner and certified advisor, which means we can link our services with these programs for a seamless accounting and payroll experience.

Onboarding and communication

Just as important, if not more so, than making the right hire is making sure that your human resources department properly supports employees that join you. A 2017 report suggests that disengaged employees are almost twice as likely as engaged employees to seek new jobs, so meeting employees needs and expectations is very important.

The foundation for this is a solid onboarding process in which your company’s HR procedures are clearly communicated to new employees, while social events can help to build a strong team. Effective online platforms that foster timely, clear and open communication between employees and managers are a great tool too, with options including Slack, Trello and Google Hangouts.

Performance reviews

Finally, make sure that you are regularly checking in with your staff through performance reviews. This might be every three months for the first year, and then perhaps annually. However, don’t wait to reward exceptional work. Hard working employees should be recognised and rewarded, particularly if they have helped your company to hit a key target.

We all like to be given a pat on the back for a job well done, and your employees are no different. Effective human resources will ensure that your staff are happy and secure, and this will ensure the success of your business and the strength of your company’s brand. People, after all, are the most important resource any company has.

To find out more, please feel free to contact us .

Incorporating a business in Singapore in a few easy steps

sharonchch@hotmail.com (Dr Biz) — Tue, 01 Dec 2020 05:34:30 GMT

Incorporating a business in Singapore involves administration like corporate secretarial and appointing shareholders that is, perhaps, less exciting than rolling out your company’s first groundbreaking product or service. It is, however, an essential part of doing business in Singapore and, as we are usually keen to stress here on the Dr Biz blog, not as difficult as it might first seem - especially with the help of a trusted adviser (wink, wink!).

In-fact, Singapore boasts one of the smoothest systems in the world when it comes to incorporating a business , with far fewer barriers to entry than many developed economies. This, combined with the city-state’s reputation for innovation and international collaboration, is one of the leading factors behind Singapore’s ranking as one of the best places in the world to do business . Lucky us!

What’s in a company name?

Incorporating a business in Singapore is a simple, straightforward process. Indeed, once your new company is up and running, you will likely long for the early days of simply filling out a few forms. To get started, you will first need to think about what many entrepreneurs overlook, but then remember as the most difficult and time consuming part of starting their companies: coming up with the name!

For companies in Singapore, it is important to choose a business name that does not use any words or phrases that might be considered vulgar or lewd, or any national symbols, like Merlion, for example. Industries with governing bodies may also require you to get approval first, too. If you want to use the word ‘architects’ for example, you will need approval from the Board of Architects Singapore. You can find a full list of Referral Authorities on the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) website.

Next, you can think about the type of activities that your business undertakes as you can register a maximum of two principal activities with the authorities. You can find a list of Singapore’s Standard Industrial Classifications at SingStat.gov.sg . After this, you will need to make sure that you have enough share capital to open the business. In Singapore, the minimum is just S$1, though typically it will be more than this!

Directors and shareholders

The next step in incorporating a business in Singapore will be to register your company at a local address and then specify at least one company director that is a local or permanent resident here and at least one shareholder. These people will normally be the company founder or founders, however if the firm has larger operations there will perhaps be more. If this is the case for you, you should ensure that everyone is clear on their roles and responsibilities.

The local director must fulfill a number of criteria stipulated in the Companies’ Act in order to qualify for the positions. Namely, they must:

● Be over 18 and of sound mind

● Not be currently bankrupt

● Not be an ‘unfit’ director of an insolvent company or a company recently wound up on grounds of national security

● Not have been convicted of fraud or any offence connected to incorporating a business

● Not been found guilty of three or more offences in the past five years connected to the Companies Act

● Not subject to a disqualification order under section 34, 35, 36 of the Limited Liability Partnerships Act

Foreigners are allowed to register and be directors of a business in Singapore through the EntrePass system, which is for eligible foreign entrepreneurs who want to start and operate a new business in Singapore. Candidates can apply directly to the Ministry of Manpower for an EntrePass , which is valid first for one year with subsequent renewals of two years. Foreign business owners can also simplify this process by appointing a registered filing agent in Singapore such as Dr Biz to help them when incorporating a business.

Corporate Secretarial

The final requirement for incorporating a business in Singapore is that every private limited company must appoint a qualified company secretary within six months of incorporation. If there is only one company director, perhaps the founder, the same person will not be allowed to act as the company secretary as well. Company secretary is a statutory role, which should not be confused with a personal assistant for company directors or executives.

The company secretary must, ordinarily, be a resident in Singapore. The scope of the role is quite broad and includes preparation and maintenance of minutes and resolutions in respect of opening bank accounts as well as recording any changes in the officers and/or shareholders of the company. In addition, the company secretary must:

● Prepare and archive minutes of all annual general meetings

● Prepare and file all statutory annual returns to ACRA

● Take custody of and use of the common seal

● Take custody of and maintain the company's statutory registers, minute books and other statutory records

● Regularly update minute books and statutory registers

● Ensure that the company complies with relevant laws and regulations

To find out more, please feel free to contact us .

Accounting for small businesses in Singapore in 7 easy steps

sharonchch@hotmail.com (Dr Biz) — Tue, 24 Nov 2020 02:10:31 GMT

Running a small business is challenging, not least when it comes to accounting. Bookkeeping and keeping track of expenses can be intimidating, especially for those not used to dealing with numbers, which is most of us! It need not be such a frightening task, though. While hiring a professional is always recommended for those small businesses that can, the basic principles of accounting are fairly easy to grasp and are important to understand, even when you do use a trusted accountant. Below we have broken down what you need to know in seven easy steps.

1. Open a business account

The logical first step for company accounting is to open a business account as, without one, you will not be able to legally receive income and pay bills. You’ll need to register your business first, and then it’s often useful to seek out recommendations from friends and colleagues. Look for providers that match your way of doing business. If your company does everything digitally, for example, you will likely need a bank account that can accommodate that. Company credit cards are often essential for purchases, too, so it might be useful if your banking provider offers one.

2. Keep track of your expenses

While it often gets forgotten in the melee of day to day business, accurate record keeping really is the cornerstone of running an organized, efficient business, and this includes expenses. Rather than allowing receipts to pile up in a dusty corner, these days you can use online software to track expenses in real time. Dr Biz is an approved partner of Xero , for example, a popular application that allows small businesses to instantly track their expenses, as well as monitor bank transactions and issue and pay invoices instantly from their mobile device.

3. Organise your bookkeeping system

While the two terms are often used interchangeably, bookkeeping and accounting are in-fact two different things. Accounting is the higher level process of annual reporting that includes preparing and paying annual taxes to the authorities, including calculating profits and losses. Bookkeeping, on the other hand, refers to the day-to-day running of your business finances: recording transactions, keeping a track of inflows and outflows, reconciling bank statements and the above mentioned expenses. Accounting can’t be done without bookkeeping, so make sure you get a good system in place!

4. Set up a payroll system

Payroll is very, very important: paying your staff on time and correctly is the recipe for a happy, successful business. The first thing is to decide how often you will pay your employees, which can be weekly, fortnightly or monthly, but no periods longer than one month (in Singapore). You will also need to make sure you have all of your staff’s details, including any deductions or contributions that should be applied to their paychecks. You can find out more in our blog post all about payroll, here .

5. Payment processes

While opening a bank account is the first step to getting your income, deciding how you will get paid by your customers is the second. If you are not selling products, this might simply involve issuing invoices that ask your client to remit into your business bank account. If you do sell products, however, you may need to look into payment services that will allow you to accept card payments. For physical premises, you will likely need to find a Visa or Mastercard service provider, while for online payments you could look at PayPal or other applications that allow your customers to pay you online.

6. Figure out your import taxes

Taxes on profits are not the only taxes a business needs to pay. If you are importing products, for example, you may need to consider import tax such as Singapore’s Goods and Services Tax (GST). There are a few exemptions, including investment precious metals, the provision of most financial services and the sale and lease of residential properties. However, most imports incur some form of duty unless they qualify for import relief. You may also need to register your business to pay GST. It is compulsory to register GST if the revenue is more than 1 million. Your customers will pay GST on your products and services, too, which means at the end of the filing quarter you can claim some back. Find answers to all of the above by visiting the IRAS website .

7. Regular reviews of your methods

As your business grows and changes, your accounting needs will also likely change, too. That’s why it is very important to make sure you are keeping a close eye on your methods to make sure they continue to do the job. Ideally, you will be working with an experienced partner like Dr Biz that understands the administrative needs of small businesses in Singapore. Alongside solid bookkeeping, expenses and payroll methods, this is the best way to ensure you are always paying the right amount of tax and running your business as efficiently as possible.

To find out more, please feel free to contact us .

How to do payroll for a small business in 5 easy steps

sharonchch@hotmail.com (Dr Biz) — Wed, 18 Nov 2020 13:54:13 GMT

Payroll is one of the least exciting aspects of running a small business. Nonetheless, it is perhaps the most important administrative task you have to undertake as not paying your staff correctly could foster distrust, and even resignations. And, after-all, no staff means no business operations! While payroll can be a complex area, though, understanding your obligations as an employer and then finding a good system to manage the process can help to take the heavy lifting out of it. To help, below we have set out the most important things to consider when setting up or transferring your company payroll.

1. Organise your business details

First things first: incorporate your business ! This is important as you will not be able to set-up a payroll without your registered business number, which you will need to include on all of your payroll documentation sent to employees as well as the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS). At the beginning of the payroll process you should also familiarise yourself with the statutory contributions you will have to make as an employer. Besides Central Provident Fund (CPF) contributions, you may also be required to contribute to ethnic funds such as CDAC, ECF, MBMF and SINDA and the Skills Development Levy. In addition, employers hiring foreigner workers have to pay the monthly Foreign Worker Levy for each employee with a Work Permit.

2. Know payroll filing rules

There are a number of rules about how you must run and file payroll in Singapore which it’s essential to know. Since 2016, for example, the Ministry of Manpower has required all employers to issue itemised payslips to employees that are covered by the Employment Act. These should include the date of payment, basic salary and allowances, overtime pay, salary period, as well as any deductions made. Since 2020, employers with 6 or more workers (or otherwise notified to do so) have also had to submit their employees’ income information to IRAS electronically by 1 March every year. Employers with foreign employees must also get tax clearance by filing form IR21 at least one month before the employee leaves the company or goes overseas for three months or more.

3. Record your employees' data

It is important to ensure that you have all of the correct information for all of your staff, including their current and former names, address and contact details as well as any contributions they must make or are entitled to. Also ensure that you have accurately calculated all of your employees’ salaries, which legally must be paid at least once per month, but can be paid weekly or bi-monthly, as you prefer. Be aware of paid annual leave entitlements too, which range from 7 days up to a maximum of 14 days per year depending on length of service. Sick leave allowance is between 14 days and 60 days for hospitalisation, with the employer expected to bear all or some costs.

4. Find a good system

Once you have the finer details covered, perhaps most important is to put a good system in place that can help you to manage your payroll every month. The most effective strategy is to combine the services of a professional that can help you navigate the many different legal and government requirements with an online, automated system that will make the day-to-day running easy. New online payroll services include Talenox , an Asia based service that can be linked with online accounting software Xero . Dr Biz is a Xero bronze partner and certified advisor, which means we can seamlessly link our services with Xero’s processes, including linked banking streams and online automatic invoicing.

5. Keep up to date and archive

Finally, once you have everything up and running, make sure you regularly update your payroll information, including any relevant changes to your or your business’s circumstances, as well as to your employees’ information. You will also need to archive your payroll information for at least five years for current employees and five years for ex-employees for one year after they have left the company. Make sure you also keep a record of correspondence with IRAS for at least that long as well. Again, you can do this yourself or hire a trusted professional to help you keep good records. If you need any help in that department, don’t hesitate to give Dr Biz a call.

To find out more, please feel free to contact us .

Top debt management tools for SMEs in Singapore

sharonchch@hotmail.com (Dr Biz) — Mon, 16 Nov 2020 14:45:21 GMT

Arguably, debt management has not been such a hot topic for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in Singapore since the financial crisis and swine flu epidemic of 2009. The global Covid-19 pandemic has posed multiple challenges for small businesses in the city-state, many of whom have been heavily impacted by circuit breaker measures. While necessary to keep Singaporeans safe, nationwide shutdowns put a stop to normal business trading for many months, with normal activities yet to resume.

This has led many SMEs to take on more debt to keep their businesses afloat this year. Help has been at hand in the form of government assistance, with Enterprise Singapore increasing the Enterprise Financing Scheme SME Working Capital Loan (EFS-WCL) from a maximum of S$300,000 to $1 million in the 2020 Solidarity Budget. Risk share was also increased from 50% to 90% (70% for younger companies) for new applications initiated from 8 April 2020 until 31 March 2021 in order to give small businesses greater access to working capital.

Accessing debt

According to Singapore bank DBS, since the start of March 2020 it has approved close to 9,700 loans totalling over S$5 billion to SMEs through schemes including the Enhanced Working Capital Loan, with over 85% of loans worth more than S$2.2 billion given to micro and small businesses. This and lending at other institutions has been supported by the lower interest rates introduced by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). In April MAS, in partnership with Enterprise Singapore, began lending to financial institutions at a rate of just 0.1% per year provided they then lend to SMEs under the government loan schemes.

All of this means that, right now, Enterprise Singapore is likely the best place for small businesses in Singapore to start looking for loans and grants . If your business needs more help with debt management, however, consider looking to personal sources, such as loans from trusted family and friends. Beyond this, using credit cards with low APRs is often a useful short-term strategy, as are commercial loans offered with banks and smaller lenders. Specialist SME lenders have cropped up in recent years, including Grab Finance: the financial arm of the famous ride hailing app. For more on this take a look at our previous blog post, ‘Managing cash-flow like a small business pro’ .

Restructuring debt

In recognition of the need for further debt management assistance for SMEs, this month the government launched two further schemes to help small businesses in Singapore that owe money to multiple creditors due to the Covid-19 epidemic. A partnership between MAS, the Association of Banks in Singapore and the Finance Houses Association of Singapore, from 2 November qualifying companies can access the Sole Proprietors and Partnerships (SPP) Scheme and Extended Support Scheme - Customised (ESS-C) to restructure what they owe to lenders.

The SPP scheme is for sole proprietors and partnerships that are, at the moment, struggling to pay their debts but who could maintain payments in the future if they get support now. If such businesses owe money to two or more of the banks and lenders participating in the scheme then Credit Counselling Singapore will help them to restructure their unsecured business debts. SMEs in Singapore can use this facility to extend repayment periods up to eight years with a maxim interest rate of 7% per year as long as they don’t have unsecured debt of more than S$1 million.

Re-organizing and insolvency

Those that don’t qualify for the SPP, particularly larger businesses with greater debt management needs, can look to the ESS-C to potentially restructure the credit facilities they have with their lenders. This option is for SMEs with viable ongoing businesses and allows the participating lenders to work together to re-organise a business’s current access to credit. This might include loans from Enterprise Singapore's Temporary Bridging Loan Programme as well as the Enhanced Working Capital Loan Scheme. Outside of government backed schemes, businesses can also work with their lenders to find more favourable credit terms, with many now more willing to come to favourable terms.

Finally, if all avenues for debt management have been exhausted, it may be more cost efficient to wind up the business through insolvency. Again, the government has made this process simpler in the face of the current Covid-19 crisis with a Simplified Insolvency Programme . The scheme helps micro and small companies to potentially save their businesses as well as close them more cost efficiently by increasing access to credit, freezing creditor repayments and simplifying legal procedures. With effective debt management combined with increased government support, however, there is every chance an SME can avoid this fate, survive and thrive in the future.

To find out more, please feel free to contact us .

Are pop-ups a good marketing strategy for Singapore SMEs?

sharonchch@hotmail.com (Dr Biz) — Thu, 12 Nov 2020 04:14:14 GMT

Pop-ups have been grabbing headlines of late following Singapore Airlines’ decision to open up two of its jumbo jets as restaurants. Within 30 minutes of opening up booking , Singapore Airlines said that all of the seats on its Airbus SE A380 pop-up restaurant were reserved, despite the fact that prices for a seat range from S $53 for economy, to $321 for business class to $642 for a private suite.

Of course, much of this can be explained by growing wanderlust among Singapore’s travel-starved populace, many of whom are also rushing to book ‘stay-cations’ at some of the city’s most exclusive hotels. These include ‘wildlife’ experiences at the Marriott that feature a zoo visit and ‘panda safari’, as well as a Miffy themed staycation at the Fairmont Hotel that includes bags of Miffy swag for $375 a night.

Pop-ups, pop-ups everywhere

However, the appeal of pop-ups is not purely a result of border controls: it has been a growing trend across different sectors for years. Aside from Singapore Airlines’ record breaking pop-up eatery, the city’s latest high profile event comes from Korean boy-band BTS, who are launching the ‘Map of the Soul’ pop-up store at the Plaza Singapura. Open from 14 November to 14 February 2021, this will be one of only three physical stores globally, the other two located in Seoul and Tokyo.

You don’t have to be an international airline or boy-band to launch a successful pop-up, though. In-fact, SMEs in Singapore have been turning to pop-up markets for years to reach more customers and promote their products and services. The Orchard Road Urban Green Rooms initiative that began in April 2019 is a great example of an ongoing pop-up in Singapore. This allows SMEs from across the retail sector to set-up shop within malls and pedestrian areas, with activities potentially ranging from retail, food and beverage sites to arts and entertainment events.

Orchard Road also plays host to the Workgreat initiative, where health and fitness SMEs can offer services like rooftop Yoga, wellness talks and health screenings for employees of companies based in the area. Things are not quite back in full swing yet, but you can still join an online Zumba or workout class. Over at the ION Sky, though, parents desperate to entertain bored children can check out the Jurassic World Cafe pop-up where jungle foliage, a full size lego Velociraptor and volcanic mini beef burgers make for an exciting recent pop-up.

Getting started with pop-ups

While growing in pop-ularity (hehe...), pop-ups are not always easy to just, well, “pop up” and so SMEs often need a helping hand to get their concept off the ground. Thankfully, there are a few organisations in Singapore that can help out, including TGIF Bazaars, which offers a range of services for venues, merchants and sellers alike. These include design and creative for logos and branding as well as online communities for connecting business owners and buyers.

The TGIF “ pop-up market academy ” also includes a range of online resources to help SMEs new to the scene learn all about how to set up a pop-up and market themselves effectively, with retailer “pop-up personas” helping businesses to find their groove. TGIF has also been running successful online events of late, including its “Zoombazzar”: a virtual marketplace where shoppers get to meet, chat, bargain and transact with sellers or merchants face-to-face in real time using Zoom video conferencing.

Finding your pop-up space

Other organisations that help SMEs to set up a pop-up include Popup Angels, which allows SMEs across Singapore to search, book and set-up pop-up spaces. SMEs can book space using their online directory, connect with events organisers and landlords, with experienced agents on hand to answer questions and give advice, and finally to set up pop-ups in spaces across the city. The team can help businesses find shops, showrooms, roadshow, and gallery spaces including Marina One, Kinex Mall, Visual Art Centre (Dhoby Ghaut) and Tiong Bahru pop-up event space.

Finding your pop-up niche might not be as simple as setting up a stall: different shoppers have a range of habits and desires that today’s savvy SMEs need to be sure to meet. With a little imagination and vision, though, a pop-up can be a great way to showcase a different side of your brand or product line, giving you more freedom to have fun and even experiment with a new approach, design or flavour. As Singapore and the world begins to recover from recent circuit breakers and lockdowns the appetite for pop-ups is likely to grow further, too, so make sure you get a head start today.

At Dr Biz, we provide tailored and comprehensive solutions for all entrepreneurs’ business needs. From incorporation to accountancy, tax and payroll, to professional advisory services, we help businesses in Singapore assess potential risks and become more cost effective and efficient.

To find out more, please feel free to contact us .

What do property prices in Singapore mean for SMEs?

sharonchch@hotmail.com (Dr Biz) — Tue, 10 Nov 2020 01:52:25 GMT

Property prices in Singapore have been on a seemingly relentless upward trend for a number of years. So much so, in-fact, that the city-state is the second most expensive region for housing in the world, just behind Hong Kong. According to data published in 2019 , the average cost of a home in Singapore is US $874,000, or $1,063 per square metre, with average growth of 1.1% per year.

While property prices in Singapore seem intimidating, though, it should be noted that the city’s average house price is significantly below the US $1.2 million an average home in Hong Kong costs. Moreover, Singapore’s rate of price growth is in-fact comparatively small, ranking 27th in the world in 2019 and well behind the fastest growing cities of Barcelona, Dublin and Shanghai, which had 16.9%, 11.9% and 11.2% annual price growth, respectively.

Property prices in Singapore stabilise

As such, while relatively high, property prices in Singapore were in an arguably vulnerable position when the Covid-19 pandemic hit, and growth has shrunk this year. In the residential market, data released in April showed that prices fell 1% in Q2 compared to Q1, which was the first downturn in price growth after three consecutive quarters of increases (although it should be noted they were still up 2.4% year-on-year).

More recent data shows a slightly different picture. Between July and September, prices fell steeply by 3.8% in the non-landed segment of Singapore’s Core Central Region, reversing growth of 2.7% seen in Q2. However, the landed segment of the market saw prices increase by 2.7% over the same time period, resulting in an overall average gain of 0.8% for residential property in Q3 following an increase of 0.3% in Q2.

Upward price trends

Is it possible then, that property prices in Singapore have been left relatively unscathed by the Covid-19 pandemic? Some believe that the worst is yet to come, with some analysts predicting that prices could fall by as much as 8% in 2020 overall. This is due to weaker demand and a poor economic outlook created by the pandemic, while government measures to dampen the property market could also have an effect.

In-fact, the most recent Real Estate Index published by the National University of Singapore Real Estate showed that 19.2% of industry executives were concerned about the impact government intervention to cool the residential property market could have over the next six months. The University said that this was the highest ever quarter-on-quarter increase for concerns about risks to property market sentiment, up from less than 6% of executives in Q2.

The picture is not too rosy in the commercial sector either, with a recent study from Oxford Economics showing that, globally, commercial real estate prices had fallen 6% compared to last year. The firm noted that commercial property tended to suffer the most during economic downturns due to business closures. It predicts that Asia is likely to suffer the sharpest downturn, noting that in Singapore office rents saw their steepest decline in 11 years in Q3, falling 4.5%.

Tailwinds for developers

It’s not all doom and gloom for property prices in Singapore, though. In-fact, the sustained average growth of 0.8% in the residential market over the third quarter of this year – building on Q2 growth – is cause for celebration for some and indicates better things to come. Commenting on the latest figures, Ms Christine Sun, head of research and consultancy at OrangeTee & Tie said:

"Although the pandemic has ravaged economies worldwide and severely affected businesses in many sectors, the skies seem brighter for Singapore’s property sector that saw a surge of buyer interest and an uptick in sales volume.” Ms Sun added that: “Investors were scouring for gems in the market while owner-occupiers were snapping up ‘star-buy’ units released by property developers."

Construction and lending to benefit

The latest data shows that Singapore developers sold 3,517 homes between July and September, more than double the 1,713 homes sold between April and June. More homes are coming on-line too, with developers launching 3,791 uncompleted residential properties in Q3 compared to just 1,852 in between April and June. This suggests a real boom time for small businesses in Singapore’s property sector, a vital part of the economy.

The circuit breaker period put immense pressure on Singapore's construction industry, for example, which is expected to lose around $10 billion in revenue in 2020 as projects were postponed and foreign workers forced to stay home. However, a sustained uptick in the property market will likely spell good news for firms like Dr Biz client ATA Building Materials , the country’s leading supplier of rockwool insulations.

Meanwhile, other areas to benefit from sustained property price growth includes lenders and brokers in the property industry, such as fellow Dr Biz client Investor SG , which helps to arrange both residential and commercial loans in Singapore, including bridging and equity loans. Firms like these should benefit from increased developing and buying activity, as well as potential refinancing among property owners.

To find out more, please feel free to contact us .

How important is interior design in Singapore companies?

sharonchch@hotmail.com (Dr Biz) — Thu, 05 Nov 2020 07:58:18 GMT

In today’s challenging business environment, interior design in Singapore has never been more important for big and small companies alike. While businesses keen to cut costs might see updating or renovating their premises as less of a priority, in-fact, ensuring that you are adequately communicating your brand’s unique offering will likely be key to success and growth.

Design is also becoming more important for discerning customers, particularly in the service and leisure spaces. Trends like biophilic design, which incorporates elements of nature into the exterior and interior of buildings are particularly pertinent in today’s sustainability conscious world. Moreover, using natural elements in your building design can win big points for savvy companies.

For example, UOL Group’s Parkroyal Collection Pickering Hotel was recently praised by respected naturalist, broadcaster and environmental campaigner Sir David Attenborough. In October, the British icon posted a picture of the five-star hotel on Facebook, commenting: “This is an urban forest. An eco-building in Singapore”. Awash with green, the 367-room hotel has energy-saving features throughout the building, including Singapore’s first “zero-energy sky gardens” powered by solar panels.

Other Singapore hotels pushing the design boat out include the former Marina Mandarin, whose $45 million renovation will include an urban farm with a “farm-to-table” concept that it will deploy in its rooftop restaurant when it reopens as the Parkroyal Collection Marina Bay in December. The Pan Pacific Orchard also secured a $120 million green loan for its redevelopment by architectural firm WOHA, which includes biophilic design elements and three curated sky gardens.

Form and functionality

Ensuring that a space works well while also being beautiful is another crucial element of successful interior design in Singapore, if not everywhere. For example, not only will the Orchard Sky Garden’s three sky gardens be a visual feast for guests and onlookers all over the city, but they will also be self-sustaining as they use rainwater for the irrigation system and energy from the sun to power the area via solar panels.

For founder of DAS Interior Anders Foo, form and functionality are ever evolving: “At DAS Interior, we believe that interior design is never static. It can carry different meanings or reveal itself through discoveries. We wanted to start a business that could deliver highly personalised design work that reflects bespoke quality and functionality.”

Combining style and utility is, arguably, important for all interior design in Singapore - even residential. Here, balancing the needs of family life with style can be most challenging, and so can present some of the biggest interior design obstacles. As in the hotel space, incorporating elements of nature such as green spaces, natural roofs and wood materials is becoming more popular, as is increased natural light. However, ensuring there is space for granny when she stays over is equally important.

Dr Biz client Nexxinterior focuses on these complex needs for its full-service interior design concept. It says: “We create homes that are beautiful, comfortable, and aesthetically attractive with the highest degree of perfection. Attention to detail and a commitment to excellent customer service are important to us and we pride ourselves on ensuring a stress-free and enjoyable experience for our clients across Singapore.”

Combining ambience with full flavours

The food and beverage world is another where a healthy combination of form and functionality is essential for interior design in Singapore. Today, even diners in small independent restaurants expect both delicious flavours and warm, inviting surroundings. The extent of that warmth is important for business owners as, crucially, the more comfortable and visually stimulated customers are, the more likely they are to stay, spend and recommend.

Singapore restaurants that have won plaudits for their design include New York pizza restaurant Lucali, which has opened a branch in Kampong Bugis. Its industrial interior reflects its US roots, while contemporary artworks and long, candle lit wooden dining tables backed by a fully open kitchen from which diners can watch their pizzas being cooked gives an entirely modern feel. Meanwhile, Bar Milano on Keong Saik Road hired a movie set designer to renovate its 38 seat space with hand painted tiles from Italy, vintage wooden furniture and a well stocked bar.

Interior design in Singapore is taking on exciting new dimensions, helping businesses of all shapes and sizes to express who they are and what they offer to an ever more discerning customer and client base. This will become more important as business competition becomes fiercer, and a well thought out, beautiful yet functional space will help companies to stand out from the crowd.

To find out more, please feel free to contact us .

Is remote work the end of office life in Singapore?

sharonchch@hotmail.com (Dr Biz) — Mon, 02 Nov 2020 13:34:18 GMT

Remote work has taken-off in Singapore, in a big way. According to a survey conducted by polling agency YouGov, this year Singapore saw the biggest move to remote working in the Asia Pacific region and the second highest in the world. The data showed a 59% uptick in the number of Singapore companies that have more than half of their employees working remotely compared with before the Covid-19 pandemic hit. Only the UK had more staff working from home, which is yet to get a grip on the outbreak.

The growth in remote work in Singapore is also reflected in job postings across Asia Pacific, where again Singapore shows dominance with the largest growth in the share of applications for remote work positions. Indeed, such is the strong trend towards working remotely that Morgan Stanley has predicted that office rents will decline by around 10% over the next three years as more and more workers begin to connect to their corporate networks outside traditional office environments.

Notably, Morgan Stanley also observed that desk space per person has been declining across Asia for some time, suggesting that the remote working trend is not just related to the Covid-19 pandemic. This is also reflected globally, with some of the world’s biggest tech companies recently announcing permanent moves to remote working including Twitter and Facebook , which will allow employees to work from home indefinitely. US-based outdoor retailer REI has gone one step further, announcing a plan to sell its new, unused 8-acre campus and have staff work remotely for good.

Remote work pluses and pitfalls

The benefits of remote work are manifold. For workers, a greater work-life balance is among them, with studies showing that workers are collectively saving millions of hours per month by cutting out the daily commute. As a chief source of unhappiness, this has a positive impact on mental health, while also relieving overburdened public infrastructure in cities that struggle to cope with the demand on their road and rail networks. With this also comes a drastic decline in carbon emissions, which is positive for the environment and the urgent battle against climate change.

Of course, the move to remote working is not all good news. Firstly, the trend favours higher paid workers that can work from a computer, with lower paid manual and service workers unable to work from home. Moreover, the absence of office workers in traditional commercial areas is hurting the many restaurants, cafes and bars that have established themselves in these districts to serve them over the years. There is also a greater cyber security risk, with 60% of Singaporean businesses surveyed by American tech giant Cisco reporting at least a 25% increase in cyber threats since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. Some CEOs are also concerned that a lack of interaction with colleagues could harm corporate culture and dynamism.

Making remote work work

There are potential solutions to these pitfalls, however. According to Noah Smith, former assistant professor of finance at Stony Brook University, governments could help to ease the transition to remote work by changing zoning areas to facilitate the conversion of commercial areas into residential areas. This would help commercial real estate owners to recoup losses, while proving citizens with greater access to housing. Governments could also help service companies and retailers to move to new neighbourhoods where high income workers reside and perhaps even provide retraining for those working in industries in systemic decline, like cinemas.

Workers and companies missing the activity and vivacity of office life could also look to co-working spaces for regular meetings or team working sessions. In Singapore, Dr Biz client Workbuddy boasts over 30 locations for co-working in the city, with rolling monthly contracts allowing for five monthly visits or unlimited access, offering total flexibility. This is a potential solution for lonely remote workers and small businesses alike, the latter able to save significant sums on renting office space while still maintaining regular team interaction.

The world of work, business and trade will likely see more change in coming months and years, with the trend toward remote working set to continue. This presents challenges, especially for small retailers and food and beverage companies. However it also presents opportunities, and with the right government support the shift to working from home and communal areas like co-working spaces could be a net benefit for society and the environment. We are entering exciting new times.

To find out more, please feel free to contact us .

Flexibility is key for new generation of coworking in Singapore

Wed, 28 Oct 2020 13:08:02 GMT

Coworking in Singapore is growing as more and more workers choose to go freelance and smaller companies choose to cut expensive business premises in favour of more cost effective office space. As part of Dr Biz’s new series celebrating our vibrant, dynamic and diverse client base, we spoke to the founders of one of Singapore’s most successful coworking spaces, workbuddy , who explained that – for their diverse customer base – total flexibility is the most important thing.

How did you get started?

The number of spaces offering coworking in Singapore have tripled since 2015, partly due to rising office rents and partly to meet the need for flexible working. However, we discovered that despite the proliferation of coworking space options, many people were still sticking to their local café or working from home, because coworking space memberships still required them to commute or commit to year-long contracts. People don’t want to pay for unused space. We thought that there must be a way to enjoy all the benefits of coworking spaces AND get the flexibility people need. That’s when we thought of a monthly membership that offers an all-access pass to a variety of locations – and workbuddy was born.

What does workbuddy offer members?

We found that what most professionals really value nowadays is flexibility. Having the choice to work close to home one day, close to their child’s school the next, or to be near their clients or their gym, makes a big difference. It helps with work-life balance and productivity (less time commuting). Our members are people who thrive when they have the autonomy and flexibility to design their day around what’s important to them. We offer five visits a month for $129, or unlimited visits for $299. With that, members can choose from more than 30 beautiful spaces for coworking in Singapore, book a hot desk, check in and get to work! The membership is on a rolling monthly basis, so they can cancel anytime.

What is the biggest benefit of a co-working space?

Freelancers love workbuddy because they can say goodbye – once and for all – to noisy cafés with shaky Wi-Fi, distracting home offices with attention-seeking cats, and long commutes to client meetings. Time is money! But one of the benefits they love most is having a community to connect with. Their workbuddy pass gives them access to networks of people coworking in Singapore all over town, so they can meet fellow freelancers, new partners and new clients easily.

What other groups do you support?

For expats, settling into a new country is stressful because they’re taking their kids into school while setting up their house while learning the ropes at their new company. Work-life balance goes out the window. A workbuddy pass makes the process a whole lot smoother, because they can stay productive in a professional workspace near home, and still pop out quickly to watch their washing machine being installed. And when dropping their kids off at a brand new school, they can reassure them that they’re working right nearby. They can also build their social and professional networks quickly by attending coworking in Singapore events across town.

What sorts of office spaces can people get access to with Workbuddy?

We’ve partnered with a variety of awesome spaces offering coworking in Singapore. Members can centre themselves in the CBD at Servcorp’s lush Marina Bay location, or The Executive Centre’s swanky space in Frasers Tower, for example. Or they can enjoy the peaceful, minimalist designs at SPACES in the Paya Lebar Quarter or the charming shophouse neighbourhood around The Working Capitol in Chinatown. The views from the Hive Carpenter’s rooftop café are pretty sensational, too. There’s so much to choose from! With workbuddy, you can get the best of Singapore’s co-working spaces and work where you want, when you want, without having to commit to a long contract. It’s a pretty sweet deal.

Do you think coworking in Singapore will get bigger?

The way we work is changing. There are more part-time employees, freelancers and remote workers than ever before. Fixed office spaces are no longer appropriate for companies with fluctuating headcounts who need to keep costs down and stay agile. It’s all about innovation and collaboration – which co-working spaces are great for. We think all this is summed up nicely in Forbes Magazine’s article “Flexible Working: The Way of the Future” article. It says: “Gone are the days of working in a traditional office setting from 9 to 5, where cubicles separate colleagues and the only social interactions occur around the water cooler. The rise in co-working spaces around the world have left more people yearning for work environments that are collaborative, inspiring, and stimulating.”

How to choose business premises in Singapore

Mon, 26 Oct 2020 15:28:11 GMT

Good business premises, like good business partners, can be hard to find. Like so much of Singapore’s economy in 2020, the commercial property market has also been radically transformed by the Covid-19 pandemic, with sales and rents down as businesses have been forced to close for short or extended periods.

According to recent data , Singapore office rents saw their steepest decline in 11 years between July and September, down 4.5%. On the flip side, however, commercial sales are picking up, with a Knight Frank report showing a strong uptick in sales in Q3, with transactions totalling around $4.4 billion (although this is still down 55% year-on-year). There are also some bright spots in Singapore’s shophouse market , with recent sales recorded in River Valley, Bugis and Telok Ayer as the market recovers after months in the pandemic doldrums.

For the canny business owner, this period of falling rents and rising investment demand for commercial property could present an opportunity to find the ideal business premises, perhaps in a bigger space or better location. If that sounds like you, we’ve outlined a few key things to consider when looking for the perfect place to host your business operations in Singapore.

1. Location, location, location

Much like choosing your home, choosing the right business premises has a lot to do with where it is located. Access to public transportation like an MRT station is a key consideration, and is in fact one of the prime criteria for a commercial property investor. Of course, the better the location, the higher the rent, so there may be a trade-off to be made here, but even if you are not a retailer relying on footfall, access will be important to staff and visiting clients so choose wisely!

2. Do your research

Whichever location you choose, it is essential that you do your research: don’t just take your agent’s word for it! Make sure to take a good look around and get to know local business owners. Not only can you (hopefully) pick their brains to find out how much rent they are paying, but you can try to get a sense of the type of customers that frequent the area to see if your business matches up. Again, this isn’t just important for retailers: if you are a young tech start-up, being surrounded by similar companies and entrepreneurs could lead to valuable future partnerships.

3. Condition of the building

A big mistake some business owners make is to be over ambitious when it comes to renovations. While every company wants to make their mark on their space, doing a lot of work on a building can be extremely costly and typically always runs over time and budget. And so, when you are looking at new business premises, unless you have endless funds you should ensure that it is structurally sound and does not have any major issues with pipework or water access. While some of these issues may fall under the responsibility of the owner, you will have to live with them as you wait for repairs.

4. Mind the taxes

Few business owners buy their business premises these days. If you do, however, there are a number of taxes that you might need to pay. These include Property Tax of 10% of rental value per year. For 2020, the government is giving a Property Tax rebate of up to 100% for many Singaporean businesses, but this is likely to remain a temporary measure. Other taxes to watch out for include Goods and Services Tax (GST) of 7% on the purchase of the property if your company is not GST registered, as well as Stamp Duty of 15% on the sale of industrial properties. If in doubt, get in touch with Dr Biz - we do taxes !

5. Plan a good party

There are so many things to consider and plan for when moving into new business premises - especially if this coincides with the launch of a new business. This means it’s important to take care of the details, and again this is certainly something Dr Biz can help with, whether it be incorporation , accounting, payroll or corporate secretarial . However, it is also important to have fun and celebrate all of your hard work and future success, so make sure you throw an opening party to rem e mber.

The fusion restaurant with a simple recipe for success

Fri, 23 Oct 2020 01:06:01 GMT

It can be difficult to find a good fusion restaurant in Singapore. It’s challenging enough to cook one cuisine well, so to find a chef that does two, and then combines them to create something even tastier, is pretty close to magic. Farangse, however, does just that. The brainchild of a classically trained chef and a northern Thai foodie, Farangse combines French and Issan (northern Thai) food to delicious effect.

As part of Dr Biz’s new series celebrating our vibrant, dynamic and diverse client base, we spoke to the founders of Farangse Emma Suwajanee Apamatho, 38, and Eric Tan, 30. They explained the challenges involved in running a restaurant in Singapore and why “Six Legged-Cow” didn’t make it as their final restaurant concept.

How did you get started?

We were presented with the opportunity to buy out a small business from a friend in a condo clubhouse back in 2016, and from that we thought that it would be nice to have a place of our own. Our original concept was focussed on steaks and bistro French food, which we imagined under the name 'O boeuf a 6 pattes' (six-legged cow). Of course things have evolved a little from there! Eric is from Malaysia, but he was trained in French cuisine and has worked at some really big restaurants like the Ritz Carlton and L’Absinthe. I’m from North East Thailand which is known for its raw, spicy and sour salads, grilled fish and meat and sweet desserts, and I just love it! So instead of just a French place, we decided to combine the two and launch a great fusion restaurant.

Why did you start working with Dr Biz?

We were referred to Dr Biz by the previous owner of our location, and we have been working with them since day 1 of opening our restaurant. Sharon and her team are such nice people! They are really knowledgeable in all the things we need help with, like accounting , payroll and corporate secretarial and they are always supportive, reactive, helpful and prompt.

What is the biggest challenge you have overcome as a business?

The first year after we opened really was dreadful. Trying to get a business off the ground is not easy and things were really, really tough. It took two years to break even. However, thanks to the hard work and dedication of our team we stuck to it and survived. The Covid-19 pandemic has presented us with another challenge, but thankfully that tough initial period taught us a lot and we were better prepared to face it than we would have been at the very beginning. We have found that resilience and commitment really are the key words when it comes to running a fusion restaurant!

Tell us a funny story about something that happened at work

There are no major funny stories, only that working with other people can be really difficult! It always seemed that whoever we hired, it was rarely that successful, and the business and working environment was always better when we were the only two people involved. When you are working for your own business – especially a fusion restaurant inspired by your own heritage and passions – no-one will have the same drive that you do, so you have to bear that in mind and try to do what you can to inspire and motivate your staff.

What is your top tip for any new business owner in your sector?

We would say that a business owner shouldn’t venture out if they are only doing it for fun. Running a business is really tough and you do need to make a living to make it work. You need to have passion, but you must also be cool headed and practical. Most importantly, you must be prepared for the peaks and troughs that will inevitably come.

To find out more, please feel free to contact us .

The future is hybrid for Singapore events companies

Tue, 20 Oct 2020 01:41:23 GMT

Historically, Singapore events companies have been an important and thriving part of the city-state’s economy. With internationally renowned events in diverse sectors from yachting to fintech, the Singapore Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) market was valued at $3.8 billion in 2019, or 1% of Singapore’s GDP .

In January it was projected that the Singapore events industry would reach a value of US $5.2 billion by the end of 2027 , representing a compound annual growth rate of 8.4% - one of the strongest in Singapore. Some of the key drivers included increasing numbers of international visitors due to easy access to the country, and high numbers of high spending business travellers.

As we know, though, the global travel and business landscape has changed drastically over the course of 2020 thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic. Lockdown and social distancing measures have changed the way we live our lives significantly, and Singapore events companies have been some of the biggest casualties.

Losses for Singapore events companies

The events industry supported more than 34,000 jobs before the pandemic hit, however many have had to cut staff. This includes one of the country’s largest events centre’s, the SUNTEC Singapore Convention and Exhibition Centre, which cut 85 staff from its workforce in August while cancelled large scale events like the Formula One night race and the Singapore Yacht show have meant millions in lost earnings for organisers and staff.

In a survey conducted by #SaveEventsSG in May , many Singapore events companies reported that they planned to implement staff pay cuts of between 20% and 30% while more than a third of respondents said they would be implementing unpaid leave and called for more aid from the government’s Covid-19 Job Support Scheme (JSS) .

More than half of the respondents (56%) said they expected revenue projections for 2021 to plunge by an astonishing 90% or more, while just under a third (30%) said they were planning for income to decline by more than three quarters (75%).

The new virtual events reality

As most office workers have experienced first hand, the pandemic has been a huge boon for online meetings platforms - Zoom in particular. Indeed, Zoom has seen its share price swell by an almost unbelievable 650% in 2020, with the company claiming that it now hosts around 300 million users every day.

Previously identified as a strongly growing trend for Singapore events companies, online events have been forced to evolve at the speed of light, with some of the world’s largest organizations and events rising to the online challenge.

This includes the The Asia Pacific Medical Technology Association forum, which on 24 September was one of the first so-called “hybrid conventions” held in Singapore. The format saw a total of 50 delegates allowed into a physical centre who were temperature checked and separated into zones, with around 1,400 more joining online.

Hybrids and the new online city

The government hopes this new format, devised by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), will help to save Singapore events companies and ensure that the country maintains its reputation as a global events hub.

As infection rates remain under control, the STB announced that the physical delegate cap would be raised to 250 people from October . This is just in time for the Singapore Fintech Festival – one of the industry’s most widely attended global events – which will go hybrid in December.

In 2019 the Singapore Fintech Festival hosted 60,000 delegates from 140 different countries, however under the new hybrid structure it could host thousands more. The week-long event will see delegates attend in person at a handful of physical locations around the world while being connected in an innovative “online city” experience.

The future is augmented

As it evolves virtually, augmented reality (AR) could be the next logical step for the events industry. Made famous by the “Pokemon Go” game, which overlaid characters from the Japanese anime show onto real-world settings, AR is set to be the next big thing in events as tech’s heavy hitters Microsoft, Apple and Facebook are reportedly developing their own AR headsets.

According to founder of Singapore media technology company Hiverlab Ender Jiang, soon AR could be a common sight at large events, particularly for speakers giving their keynotes speeches over an online platform like Zoom. The founder says these people could use AR to be more than “just a talking head” on screen.

Jiang says: “Whether it's a 3D model of a Formula 1 racing car engine floating next to the presenter, or a PowerPoint slide showing graphs and data, AR can create more engaging experiences for audiences. As with any emerging technology, this space will blossom as more awareness of the possibilities becomes available and mainstream.”

Singapore events companies are resilient and are facing-off the hurdles that the global Covid-19 pandemic is presenting, utilising hybrid structures and new online capabilities to create exciting new formats. In the new global “normal” change is inevitable, and innovation is crucial.

To find out more, please feel free to contact us .

How to turn retrenchment into your first start-up business

Fri, 16 Oct 2020 05:04:00 GMT

Necessity, as the saying goes, is the mother of invention, and so a start-up business is often the result of necessity. The current Covid-19 pandemic is wreaking havoc on the global economy, with workers everywhere facing new challenges as businesses struggle to keep their heads above water. In Singapore alone, a total of 11,350 people faced retrenchment , or redundancy, in the first half of 2020, which is higher than the number of job losses recorded during the SARS epidemic of 2002-04.

The crisis has, however, also presented opportunities. Between January and September, for example, a total of 40,011 new businesses were registered - a net gain of nearly 7,000 after closures were counted, with even hard hit sectors like food and beverage growing during the Covid-19 period. The challenges presented by the circuit breaker measures, as well as the increased hygiene requirements that are now part of our daily lives, have also prompted the launch of start-up businesses in sectors from healthcare to beauty .

From laid-off to start-up business

Retrenchment, while a difficult time for most, can present a unique opportunity to launch the start-up business you have always dreamed of, but never had the time or money to actually do. According to the Ministry of Manpower, nine out of ten eligible Singaporean employees received retrenchment payouts between April and September. Around 84% of those workers were typically given at least two weeks salary per year of service, with others enjoying further retrenchment benefits depending on the length of their service.

For some workers, a retrenchment payment might be a significant sum of money potentially totalling months’ worth of wages. For others, of course, it may be much less. The good news, though, is that a start-up business today actually requires very little capital to get going. Rachel Lim, founder of Love, Bonito, for example, invested just $400 in her online fashion business to start with, yet today her business boasts operations in four countries and recently raised USD $13 million in its latest investment round.

It’s all about (start-up) ideas

Even with a large amount of capital to start, ask any entrepreneur and they will tell you that – actually – the most important thing when it comes to launching a business is the idea. Rather than simply open a cafe or restaurant, for example, successful owners think about the stories they want to tell through their products. Dr Biz client Sushi Koike , for example, is a Japanese restaurant that specialises in Edomae-sushi, a special type of the national dish that runs in Chef Koji Koike’s family. Every dish served is an attempt to communicate the story of the founder’s childhood and his love and passion for his family business.

Similarly, knowing your “why”, is also important, according to founder of Olsen Bakery Phua Jiamin. As Jiamin explained in a recent interview with us , having a firm grasp on the reason why you launched your business, what it stands for and why you keep going will help a start-up business in the long-term. She says: “There will be tough times: times when you lose money, lose people you thought were your friends and lose things that you thought were important. Knowing your why will help you through even your lowest moments!”

Deal with the details

While big ideas are important for a start-up business, though, facts, figures and finer details are important too. Indeed, recent research suggests that start-ups that launch with a business plan are twice as likely to succeed than those that don’t. Important components of a business plan include a company description that features your “why”; a market, customer and competition analysis; your management breakdown; a marketing and sales plan; and, finally, some financial projections. You will likely deviate from this plan and you grow and develop, but it’s a great starting point. New founders can head over to Enterprise Singapore’s Business Toolkit for help and guidance.

While not the most exciting part of launching a start-up business, administration is also important. Singapore is one of the more friendly places to start a business in the world, however there is still plenty of paperwork to do. This includes incorporation, the appointment of shareholders, corporate secretarial and - of course - accounting, among other tasks. Busy founders can be tempted to rush through these tasks, but this can cause problems later on. Instead, consider hiring a start-up business specialist like Dr Biz who can guide you through the smallprint while you focus on turning retrenchment into the start-up business of your dreams.

To find out more, please feel free to cont ac t us .

The Singapore bakery that makes memories, not just cakes

Tue, 13 Oct 2020 01:14:06 GMT

Those looking for a special Singapore bakery often call on family owned Olsen Bakehouse in Singapore’s Lavender district, which makes some of the city’s most delicious and inventive chiffon celebration cakes. As part of Dr Biz’s new series celebrating our vibrant, dynamic and diverse client base, we spoke to co-founder of Olsen Bakehouse, 32-year-old Phua Jiamin, who revealed the inspiration behind the cakes she and her husband create for the customers new and old at their beloved bakery.

Why did you start your business?

For the love of “siew dai” (less sweet) and fluffy cakes that I just couldn’t find anywhere else! Most importantly, I wanted freshly made cakes that were made with natural, whole ingredients like fresh pandan, instead of bottled essences. Later, as we grew the brand, our purpose became clearer. The most important thing to us is to spread cheer through our bakes, to bond with our community that is filled with so many families, and to share our stories and listen to theirs. The stories of our customers inspire our cakes, which we bake for them, helping us to celebrate their milestones alongside them. This became our greater purpose, and as we find more like-minded people who enjoy the same bakes and our philosophy in life and parenthood, our lives are made so much richer.

How did you get started?

It all started with a big party that my husband’s best friend had. She had a whole month of celebrations and we baked lots of cakes for her different events. We had so much fun doing it and we got so much positive feedback that we thought: “why not do this all the time?” We haven’t looked back since!

Why did you start working with Dr Biz?

We were one of Dr Biz’s first customers! Founder Sharon is efficient, super helpful and always goes the extra mile to help us with any accounting questions we might have. Sharon was also one of our first supporters and still regularly enjoys our cakes. It is one of our greatest joys to build relationships with our customers and vice versa, which helps to make our community stronger. We work closely with many of our customers, either through collaborations with their businesses or by simply baking for all of their and their loved ones’ special occasions. Because we are often like-minded, there is a lot of trust between us all.

What is the biggest challenge you have overcome as a business?

The biggest challenge is always managing people: from landlords to customers to partners to team members, people are the most important part of our business and so must be handled the most delicately. We spend a lot of time on people and building relationships because it is so important to us. Moving locations is always challenging, too, and we have had to do that a few times due to changing circumstances. Turning those moments around and forging ahead, we have come to see them as blessings eventually. Most often it takes a lot of mind over matter and surrounding ourselves with people that can help to get us through these challenges.

Tell us a funny story about something that happened at work

Oh, wow - there are so many! Work is always filled with laughter. One of the most memorable stories is the time we were selling waffles and a customer wanted to order savoury waffles, but ended up saying “slavery” waffles instead. We were shocked, and when he realised his mistake, we were all trying hard not to giggle!

What is your top tip for any new business owner?

The most important thing is to know your “why”. Like, why are you running this business? When you have a very, very solid reason for why you launched your business, more so than just for the money, you will find this will help you through the hardest times. And there will be tough times: times when you lose money, lose people you thought were your friends and lose things that you thought were important. Knowing your why will help you through even your lowest moments!

To find out more, please feel free t o contact us .

How the Singapore beauty and wellness industry is fighting back

Fri, 09 Oct 2020 03:46:24 GMT

Along with food and beverage , the Singapore beauty and wellness sector has been one of the hardest-hit by the Covid-19 pandemic. As more and more Singaporeans have been working from home and not socialising as frequently as they were before, the need for immaculate skin, hair and make-up has shrunk. As such, salons around Singapore have felt the pinch.

According to the Spa and Wellness Association of Singapore, the city-state’s beauty and wellness industry contains more than 18,000 businesses that employ around 100,000 staff, while the market is valued at US $1,040 million . Indeed, so valuable is the industry to Singapore that in June 12,000 people signed a petition calling for beauty salons to be allowed to reopen along with hair salons after the end of the circuit breaker period.

Support for Singapore beauty

The impact that the pandemic has had on the industry was also recently recognised by Enterprise Singapore, which launched new industry body The Beauty Services Alliance (BSA). Representing 6,000 businesses across the industry, the BSA brings together five large trade bodies within the sector and includes large chain operators as well as independent salons and freelance therapists.

In order to help spur growth and development in the sector post-Covid-19, BSA launched the Beauty Services Competency Framework (BSCF), a new framework of career progression pathways that covers 45 job roles across the Singapore beauty services industry. The BSCF is aiming to grow the number of positions for local Singaporeans in the sector by 30% come 2025.

Speaking to the Business Times, Enterprise Singapore’s executive director for lifestyle and consumer Kee Ai Nah said: "While Covid-19 has given rise to challenges for the industry, there remains strong demand for beauty services and leisure activities, which will potentially generate new and attractive opportunities for jobs and skills upgrading for Singaporeans.”

Strong sector growth

Despite the struggles the beauty and wellness sector has faced, though, according to the latest statistics it contracted by just 1.4% so far in 2020, with revenue falling only slightly from US $1,055 million in 2019. Moreover, it is one of the fastest growing sectors in Singapore, boasting a compound annual growth rate of around 2% before the pandemic. Within that, the Singapore beauty services sector is growing even faster, around 10% per year according to Ms. Nah, while Singapore’s cosmetics market saw growth of around 5% between 2016 and 2020.

In a recent interview, Dylan Cheang, senior strategist at investment house DBS in-fact labelled the sector a “sleeping beauty” , that is set for a big rebound following the end of the crisis, particularly when a vaccine is found. He noted that, currently, consumers are diverting their spending from cosmetics to skincare, but that once life returns to normal in Singapore and around the world, the global cosmetics and personal care industry is likely to rebound strongly. According to Cheang, "pamper yourself" will become the new mantra in the post-Covid-19 world.

Innovation through crisis

As with so many other areas of the economy, the pandemic has also brought innovation to the Singapore beauty sector, with start-ups launched to address consumers’ growing concern over hygiene when receiving beauty services. These include mobile massage app Theraply , which was launched in February by professional therapist Valerie De Costa, who says she hopes to eventually become "the Grab of massages". As well as providing a solution for those less willing to travel to a salon, Theraply also aims to improve working conditions for Singapore’s masseuse’s, many of whom De Costa says have previously had to work under questionable conditions.

There are plenty of beauty consumers, though, that are in-fact itching to get out of the house, and having a beauty treatment at a new salon is the perfect excuse. Newly launched Tropika Club is the answer to such cravings. Founded by ex-banker Louis Lye, Tropika Club is a platform listing more than 4,000 beauty, wellness and fitness offerings from more than 200 businesses often at attractive off-peak discounts. Launched in July, the platform now has over 1,000 sign ups and saw 700 bookings in its first month alone. According to Lye, the Covid pandemic was a big boost for the business, as it prompted many beauty providers to finally digitalise and list their services online.

As we like to mention on the Dr Biz blog, Singapore is home to some of the most vibrant and innovative small companies in the world, and those in the Singapore beauty and wellness sector are no different. Along with its famous food outlets, the City-state’s many massage and beauty services are world class and deserve the support they are receiving from the government. With innovation also playing a leading role in the sector’s recovery, it is likely we’ll soon see business booming at our favourite beauty spots.

To find out more, please feel free to contact u s .

Empowering women in Singapore through business

Mon, 05 Oct 2020 14:46:05 GMT

Women in Singapore enjoy one of the most encouraging environments for female entrepreneurs in Asia, with the city ranked highly in areas like technology when it comes to the representation of women. The last election also saw an impressive 27 female ministers elected to parliament, an increase from 21 in 2015 and bringing the percentage of women in government up to 29% - very close to Singapore’s target for 30% female ministers set by Unesco in 1990.

In our women in business blog series, we have covered the many inspiring stories of women in Singapore, including the business leaders that have founded successful start-ups that address women’s issues such as caring for elderly parents, raising children and finding business funding. We have even featured the many studies that show that women statistically make better bosses and leaders than men (it seems that honesty is the key!).

However, among this celebration of female talent it is important to remember that women still have a long way to go to reach complete equality in Singapore, and also around the world. This was underlined only last week through the announcement that the government will undertake a comprehensive review of issues that affect women , which aims to bring about a “mindset change” on values like gender equality and respect for women.

The announcement follows some high profile attacks on women, including the case of a 23-year-old student who assaulted his girlfriend because she refused to get back together with him, after which he received just a five day sentence. Speaking to the Straits Times, Minister for Home Affairs and Law K. Shanmugam said that, in the future, cases such as these should not be seen just as a crime, but a violation of Singapore’s “fundamental values.” He added: "The starting point should be that this should not have happened. No excuses, period."

Women in Singapore at work

As well as addressing fundamental rights and liberties for women in Singapore, the government’s review will also look at how women are treated differently at work and in the office, and where changes can be made. This is a very important issue for women, as a proven route to equality has typically been employment. Finding an independent source of income, as well as purpose and value outside of the home has historically been the driving force of women’s liberation, helping to boost economies and enrich the lives of society.

Equality in the workplace is of particular importance in Singapore due to the higher proportion of women now representing Singapore in parliament. In contrast, in the business world the City-State’s 100 biggest companies have just 16% female participation , falling well behind the government Diversity Action Committee target for 20% women in business now, and 30% by 2030. Women is Singapore, like women all over the world, still face strong discrimination when it comes to an assessment of their professional abilities, with beliefs shaped by the gender roles historically performed in certain parts of society that have seen women stay at home to raise children, and men go out to work.

Breaking unconscious bias

While sometimes active and viscous, such biases against women in the workplace are often unconscious, with a recent study from the University of Exeter in the UK suggesting that even having more women in a sector doesn’t create less bias. This conclusion came from a review of the veterinary sector, which now has a high proportion of female representation. As part of the study 252 managers of mixed gender were given an identical performance review of a junior vet, with half told the report was for a male and the other half told it was for a female. The managers gave higher scores and salary increases to the reports that were given a male name.

Even in sectors like retail, fashion and beauty where women typically take a higher interest than men, and indeed hold more jobs in lower-paid roles, females are underrepresented at the corporate level all over the world. In Europe, for example, only 3% of the 87 biggest retail and consumer brands are led by women , while in the UK not one retail company among the country’s 350 largest firms is run by a woman. For women in Singapore, female participation on the boards of consumer companies is currently 15% (numbers are not given for female CEO’s specifically).

The business world clearly has a long way to go to reach anything like gender equality, however with awareness growing at a rapid pace and government initiatives aimed at tackling the fundamental causes of gender bias underway, there is more hope than ever. In the words of Shanmugam, in order for women in Singapore to take their rightful place in the business world, we must think “not in differentials, then seeing what can be done about that. We must instead start with accepting equality, and any differential treatment then has to be justifi ed.”

Running an interior design company in Singapore

Fri, 02 Oct 2020 08:38:25 GMT

At Dr Biz, we are lucky enough to boast a vibrant, dynamic and diverse client base full of Singapore’s most exciting and innovative small and medium sized enterprises. As part of our new series celebrating the hard work that drives our clients and their businesses, we spoke to 32-year-old founder of DAS Interior Design , Anders Foo. The director shares with us the ups and downs of running his company, founded in 2018, which delivers bespoke interior and renovation services for homes and businesses that aim to bring dreams alive.

Why did you start your business?

At DAS Interior, we believe that interior design is never a static profession. It can carry different meanings or reveal itself through discoveries. I wanted to start a business that could deliver highly personalised design work that reflects bespoke quality and functionality. On a personal level, I had also always wanted to be a business owner as well. Being an employee forever was not an appealing prospect! Instead, I wanted to try to find professional and financial stability and freedom through running my own business.

How did you get started?

Well, I’ve been interested in interior design for a long time. I’m really passionate about creating beautiful and functional spaces for people to live and work in. Our surroundings have such an impact on our mental and emotional wellbeing. So, one day, I was discussing all of this with two of my friends who are in the carpentry industry and we came up with the idea of setting up an interior design firm of our own. And the rest is history!

How long have you been working with Dr Biz?

I have been working with Dr Biz for almost three years. Sharon, the founder, is my wife’s good friend and so I felt comfortable and confident from the start. As a small business owner, I don’t have a lot of time for administrative tasks - even though these are often the most important things to do! Sharon is very knowledgeable and always gives good advice and she is a fast worker too! I know my business accounts are in safe hands with Dr Biz, and that is a huge reassurance that helps me to get on with building a great interior design company.

What is the biggest challenge you have overcome as a business?

Starting a business is not easy. There’s a lot of work that happens in-between having the big idea, getting your first client and then filing your first year of accounts. For us as an interior design business especially, the initial starting up stage was tough. We didn’t really have credentials and building up a portfolio of work and clients was one of the hardest tasks. We overcame it by focussing on our vision, and communicating that through engaging content that we published on social media, as well as using targeted advertisements to attract potential clients.

Tell us a funny story about something that happened at work

Not too long ago I made a big order for quartz for a kitchen worktop that, in the end, turned out to be the wrong colour. Fortunately, the material supplier who is on very good terms with us was willing to do an exchange for us on a cost-to-cost basis. That was a big relief as quartz for interior design is very, very expensive so this is a mistake that I won’t be making again!

What is your top tip for any new business owner?

Never give up!

To find out more, please feel free to contact us .

The startups in Singapore by women, for women

Thu, 01 Oct 2020 04:02:13 GMT

As any reader of the Dr Biz blog will know, we like startups in Singapore . This is not least because the city-state happens to be one of the world’s hotspots for startups that are breaking the mould and boldly going where no new business has gone before. Moreover, Singapore is also Asia’s leader for female-led startups, with Dell’s 2019 Women Entrepreneur Cities Index rating Singapore as the best city in the region for women founders, and 21st globally.

Female founders have a unique perspective on issues related to women and families, and are often better able to understand the specific challenges that face them, and find solutions that male entrepreneurs may miss. As part of our women in business series, we have put together a list of startups in Singapore founded by women, for women, to celebrate the unique talents and entrepreneurial drive of Singapore’s female business leaders.

SoGal Ventures

SoGal Ventures is setting out to solve one of the biggest problems in the startup world: the fact that new businesses led by women attract, on average, less than half the funding that those led by men do. Founded by Chinese-born Pocket Sun, SoGal Ventures is a Singapore-based venture capital fund for women and other “undervalued entrepreneurs” worldwide that aims to be “the strongest ally” of the companies it invests in.

Sun founded SoGal when she was at university in the US and was one of the youngest people ever to be featured on Forbes 30 under 30 list in 2016 at the age of just 24. Co-founder Elizabeth Galbut, who also founded the first student-led venture capital firm powered by Johns Hopkins students, A-Level Capital, was also featured on Forbes 30 Under 30 in 2018. Today, the duo have a portfolio of over 70 startups through SoGal Ventures, investing in companies in the US, Asia Pacific, Europe and Africa.

Homage

Often, women bear the responsibility of caregiving for elderly family members, putting pressure on many that have to juggle work, children and caregiving. Gillian Tee, founder of one of the most socially innovative startups in Singapore – Homage – saw this clearly when she returned from studying in the US to find her elderly mother had a number of care needs that were difficult to meet. Thus, Tee put her software engineering expertise to use to found Homage, an app that connects professional caregivers, nurses and doctors with elderly patients.

From daily essentials like showering and eating to more complex medical requirements, Homage provides opportunities for independent caregivers while relieving the pressure on family caregivers and ensuring the city’s elderly are well cared for. Founded before the COVID-19 epidemic, Tee in-fact rolled-out the service faster to meet the needs of so many elderly unable to reach doctors during the circuit breaker period.

Style Theory

Have you ever looked at your wardrobe in despair, hating everything in there but not wanting to spend a fortune on new clothes and waste the old ones? We know we have! Taking her queue from the rapidly growing sharing economy, Raena Lim decided to invent the ‘Netflix of fashion’ with her startup Style Theory , which gives its members access to designer clothing at the click of a button for a monthly subscription fee.

The StyleTheory wardrobe boasts over 20,000 items to rent while members can also buy pre-loved items and even earn commission renting or selling their own handbags. Lim and her co-founder Chris Halim initially invested just S $40,000 into the business, which has since received multiple VC funding to become one of the quirkier startups in Singapore to find a foothold in both Hong Kong and Indonesia.

Tickled Media

Singapore based Tickled Media has become one of Asia’s leading champions for women, with a stable of brands and products that includes TheAsianParent.com, AsianMoneyGuide.com, HerStyleAsia.com and Nonila.com. Led by founder Roshni Mahtani, Tickled Media has seen its user base mushroom since 2013, from 1 million users a month to more than 25 million per month today.

TheAsianParent.com is now the number one parenting and pregnancy app in the ASEAN region, available in more than 13 countries and 11 languages for news, information and support groups for those expecting their first child to experienced parents. In 2019 Tickled Media raised S $6.7 million to fund its expansion into SouthEast Asia and to develop two new media assets also aimed at Asian women. In July Mahtani also launched Project Sidekicks , an initiative aiming to reduce the number of stillbirths in SouthEast Asia by 10% by 2023.

Women’s Register

Launched in 2007 by Singapore’s former Minister of State for Community Development, Youth and Sports, Yu-Foo Shoon, Women’s Register is a female networking platform that aims to reach, inspire and lead women into top positions in Singapore’s business world. It offers interactive workshops that emphasize specific skills aimed at boosting both professional and personal growth as well as the opportunity to connect with women across Singapore’s business community.

Women’s Register also collaborates with local universities to co-organize a yearly debate tournament that focuses on topics related to issues that affect women. Chaired by Jacqueline Chua, president of the Financial Women’s Association Of Singapore and co-chaired by Cheryl Chong, business analyst at Willis Towers Watson, Womens Register also regularly partners with industry to organize events to empower women to achieve greater salaries, career development, and flexible working arrangements.

To find out more, please feel free to contact us .

New business opportunities in Singapore post-Covid-19

Fri, 25 Sep 2020 05:20:01 GMT

There has never been a dearth of business opportunities in Singapore, and today is no exception. The global Covid-19 pandemic has hit the local economy hard, with an estimated 1 in 4 Singaporeans losing their jobs due to the crisis, particularly within heavily affected industries such as construction, services, accommodation and food. However, even during these dark times we have seen green shoots of business growth, with 1,132 firms joining the food and beverage sector alone in the first half of 2020 - a net gain of nearly 100 in one of the worst affected sectors of the economy.

With challenge also comes opportunity, though, and the Covid-19 pandemic is one of the biggest challenges the world has faced for close to a century. The pandemic is re-shaping the way that we all live our lives, with social distancing measures likely to herald a ‘new normal’ that is going to transform many business practices and services. Not least, the digital economy has been given a super-charged shot in the arm, with trends that were slowly coming to the fore before the pandemic, such as online meetings and remote working, now fully integrated into many business models.

The new, digital world

According to the World Economic Forum, an estimated 70% of new value created in the global economy over the next decade will be based on digitally enabled platform business models. The unprecedented disruption created by Covid-19 has accelerated the urgency for agility, adaptability and transformation in the digital world and business opportunities in Singapore abound for digital companies that lead the way in areas like education. Companies like Singapore’s Swords and Stationary , the world’s first game-based educational therapy programme, are well suited to meeting the unique needs of children with special educational requirements who may be suffering particularly from isolation.

As 47% of the world’s population remains unconnected to the internet, even just basic connectivity is an area ripe for innovation in the post-Covid world. With its advanced fibre-optic and 5g network capability, Singapore is well placed to find and disseminate solutions in this area. Local innovators include Mozark, an AI-based platform that helps enterprises and business owners monitor their networks across their branch office, buildings, and spaces from a single centralised console - a technology that has huge application potential. Pushing the envelope even further is Spacechain and NuSpace , who are taking advantage of satellites in space to build new digital platforms for supply chain and logistics, cybersecurity, AI, data, and payments and banking, and more.

Boutique gifting and retail

Finding new business opportunities in Singapore isn’t all about digital or space-aged solutions, though. In-fact, with so many people unable to be physically with their loved ones on special occasions now, sending gifts has become ever more important. Florists like local provider Bloomeys , which offers exquisite hand tied bouquets, have an opportunity to really differentiate themselves in the new post-Covid world. There are few times in life that a bunch of freshly cut flowers is not a welcome gift, but perhaps now more than ever.

Social distancing has also been a huge driver of ecommerce, with home-grown platforms like Lazada making record breaking sales in recent months as people have been unable to shop outside. While many may be fearing for the survival of small boutiques, this could in-fact be one of many business opportunities in Singapore for smaller brands that could make big cost savings on property rent that could instead be put into online marketing to create awareness of their offering. Singapore’s hugely successful boutique fashion brand Love, Bonito, for example, began as a blog for founder Rachel Lim . This meant she had little to no overheads, allowing her to grow a S $400 initial investment into a multi-million dollar franchise.

Home services

With people spending more and more time at home, tasks and chores that perhaps were once not so difficult have become more-so. This will create strong business opportunities in Singapore for established firms with long track records in providing the best services in areas such as cleaning and renovation. Local firm Mdm Chew , for example, has offered one of the city’s premier cleaning services for more than 10 years and with the need for good cleanliness and hygiene now paramount, a professional touch is ideal. Those that prefer to do their own cleaning are also well served by Mensch , a local firm with an innovative indoor laundry system that makes trying to time laundry in between rain showers and a busy day a thing of the past.

Navigating life in the new, post-Covid 19 world will not be easy. All over the globe people and businesses are having to adjust to an environment and situation not encountered in living memory. Through struggle, though, comes resilience and innovation. Those looking for a business opportunity in Singapore will not be disappointed. The City State’s reputation as a forward thinking leader in areas including science, technology and innovation, as well as a haven for good food and excellent service, will mean any business willing to change should find good opportunities here.

To find out more, please feel free to contact us .

Doing business management like a successful woman

Tue, 22 Sep 2020 00:53:29 GMT

Women often face unique challenges in business management. In what is still a male dominated world, getting a business off the ground is not always easy. A recent study from Boston Consulting Group, for example, found that business women in the US tend to attract significantly less investment than men, with female-led start-ups winning an average of USD $935,000 in initial funding compared to $2.1 million for their male-led counterparts.

Interestingly, however, the same study found that once the business was running, new companies led by women tended to generate more than double the revenue of those led by men, at 78 cents on the dollar compared to just 31 cents for men. So, could it be that women are better business managers than men? As lower risk takers with a more conservative and considered approach, women are proving to be some of the business world’s most effective managers.

Time management like a boss-woman

Search ‘business management for women’ and you are likely to face a barrage of articles explaining how difficult it is for women to manage their busy lives and run a business at the same time. This, according to the Harvard Business School, is one of the many myths that still pervades when it comes to women in business, which is often a result of the idea that - as birth-givers typically shouldering the responsibility of raising children - women have much less time for business than men.

Again, though, the results don’t back this assumption up. In a 360 degree review of businesses in the US, Harvard found that women leaders scored higher than men in a number of categories pertaining to time management, including establishing and stretching goals (women scored 52.6 compared to 49.7 for men), solving problems and analysing issues (51.5 vs. 50.4) and leadership speed (51.5 vs. 50.5). As the old saying goes: if you want something done, give it to a busy woman!

Honesty and patience win the day

Now, no-one is saying that men are liars - of course not! However, the Boston Consulting Group did find that one of the reasons women tend to attract less investment than men is because they tend to be much more conservative (some might say ‘realistic’) when it comes to projecting revenue and growth. While not impressing as much as the big ball-park figures thrown around by their male counterparts, this honesty and patience did, as we saw above, lead to better business management results - much better, in-fact.

Similarly, Harvard found that honesty can hold women back at the start of their careers, with women less likely than men to apply for a role they are not fully qualified for. While females will wait until they have the qualifications, skills and experience a role requires before going for it, men are more likely to ‘have a go’ anyway. Again, though, women's honesty and patience tends to lead to better results. In-fact, in the Harvard study mentioned above, women leaders scored higher than male leaders in 17 out of the 19 categories covered in the review, with ‘displays high honesty and integrity’ an area female bosses had one of the strongest leads (4.9 points) over male bosses.

Take the lead and inspire others

Considering the above, many might be surprised to learn the category that female bosses took the strongest lead in business management over their male colleagues: taking initiative. That’s right! It turns-out that being more cautious, realistic, honest and patient, doesn’t prevent bold leadership and initiative taking. Quite the opposite! We need only look to some of Singapore’s most inspiring female entrepreneurs for evidence of this: when it comes to championing a new idea or new way of doing business, women are more likely to find innovative ways to tackle past problems and fresh challenges.

Developing, inspiring and motivating others is another area that women take a strong lead, with female bosses tending to spend more time searching out and developing the strengths of their employees. Indeed, the only area that women tend to score poorly is confidence. The Harvard study found that, when women were asked to assess themselves, they actually gave lower ratings than their male colleagues, who consistently rated their female coworkers highly in almost every category.

The biggest difference in confidence is among women under 25, who are statistically much less bold than their male counterparts. This does, however, start to change around the age of 40. Those women that do succeed in business management, report the same levels of confidence in their abilities as men do around middle age. Then at age 60, womens’ belief in their abilities actually starts to out-pace mens’, whose confidence begins to decline. It could be possible, then, that starting out with lower confidence is a woman’s superpower - leading to caution, honesty and patience that ends in stronger long-term results.

To find out more, please feel free to contact us .

Stars of Singapore’s new food and beverage world

Fri, 18 Sep 2020 01:20:24 GMT

The food and beverage sector, or F&B as those in the business refer to it, is a vital component of Singapore’s economy, contributing around 2.1% of the City-State’s total S$507 billion GDP in 2019 along with the accommodation industry. Known world-over for its delicious food, Singapore’s F&B scene boasts everything from cheap, mouth-watering street food to the most luxurious restaurants and boutique eateries.

The food and beverage sector is also, however, one of the hardest hit by the Covid-19 crisis, with the sector shedding close to 23,000 jobs between April and June 2020 as the impact of circuit-breaker measures hit hard. All is certainly not lost, though, with the sector in-fact adding 96 new businesses over the first half of the year according to data from the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority.

Government support for F&B is also strong, with the sector attracting a larger chunk of support from its $48 billion Resilience Budget. This includes wage subsidies through the Jobs Support Scheme that will fund 30% of wages for local workers in food services until the end of March 2021. Meanwhile, those F&B businesses occupying commercial properties in areas hardest hit by the lockdown will not have to pay any property tax for all of 2020.

Supporting Singapore F&B

The food and beverage industry itself has also rallied to support its many businesses, with the creation of ‘ Savefnbsg ’, an informal coalition of over 500 restaurants ranging from independent operators to franchises that have banded together to support each other in this Covid-19 crisis. Facebook groups like Singapore Restaurant Rescue , which has more than 82,000 members, are also raising awareness of the huge commissions charged by online delivery platforms like Deliveroo, GrabFood and Foodpanda, and support independent delivery services.

In recognition of the above issue, in April this year Enterprise Singapore introduced a support package that would cover 5% of the commission charged by online delivery platforms, however with most charging somewhere in the region of 30%, many argue this simply isn’t enough to help struggling F&B firms. Some have also called for the government to move beyond cutting property tax, and mandate landlords to calculate rent as a fixed proportion of gross turnover in these straightened times.

Three Singapore food stars

But it’s not all doom and gloom. As food and beverage retailers re-emerge from the circuit breaker period, many will begin to look closer at their businesses models, perhaps seeing where they can strengthen their propositions to provide more unique offerings. With consumers now likely to be focussed on value in all of their post-Covid-19 purchases, it is essential that F&B businesses showcase what their product brings to the table - literally! Below we highlight three exciting independent Singaporean food retailers doing just that.

Farangse, 24 Greenwood Avenue, Singapore 289221

The brainchild of a classically trained chef and a Thai foodie, Farangse restaurant offers a unique ‘French-Issan’ dining experience that blends French and Thai cuisines. Malaysian born chef Eric Tan was trained in Switzerland and has worked in several well-known establishments including the Ritz Carlton and French restaurants L’Absinthe and Bar-a-Thym under the guidance of Chef Francois Mermilliod. Tan’s business partner, chef ‘Emma’ is a native of North-East Thailand (also known as ‘Issan’), a region known for its raw, spicy and sour salads, grilled fish and meat and its sweet desserts. Emma demonstrates her passion for Thailand through her cooking, and is skilled at balancing the delicate flavours of Thai dishes. Everything the team serves is freshly made in-house, according to traditional cooking techniques and using only the best available ingredients.

Sushi Koike, 36 Circular road Singapore 049392

Japanese restaurant Sushi Koike serves one of Tokyo’s most celebrated delicacies: Edomae-sushi, which uses a rich assortment of fresh seafood and which originated during the Edo period (1603-1868) in Tokyo. At Sushi Koike, the team uses only the finest seasonal ingredients sourced directly from trusted wholesalers at the Tuskiji Fish Market in Japan’s capital city. Master Chef Koji Koike was raised at this legendary market, learning the trade from the tender age of six from his father and grandfather, who were also both sushi masters. Following this tradition, Sushi Koike offers quality authentic sushi cuisine that it claims will “transport you back to the time and place of its birth.” With its minimal woodgrain interior and refined, intimate setting, the food and beverage star makes for a stylish place to enjoy a serene lunch, or celebrate a special occasion.

Olsen Bakehouse, 462A Crawford Lane #01-73 Singapore 191462

Formerly known as intheBrickyard Bakery, Olsen Bakehouse has been turning out some of Singapore’s most delicious Chiffon cakes for more than six years. The product of a husband and wife team, Olsen Bakery specialises in traditional Chiffon cakes made with local flavours, often with an innovative and exciting twist. These include offerings such as the ‘Milo’, which combines traditional Chiffon cake craft with one of Asia’s most beloved household staples: Milo chocolate flavoured drink powder. Others include the Orh Nee, a traditional wedding cake made using yams, as well as a range of vegan options such as the Sliced Chocolate Oreo Cake. Having grown up on the island, the couple says their stories and lives are baked into each cake, for which they use less sugar, all natural flavours and colours.

To find out more, please feel free to contact us .

5 inspiring female entrepreneurs in Singapore

Wed, 16 Sep 2020 03:54:33 GMT

Singapore is Asia’s most hospitable city for female entrepreneurs , ranking ahead of Hong Kong, Taipei and even Tokyo when it comes to its ability to attract and support high-potential business women. According to Dell’s 2019 Women Entrepreneur Cities Index, talent and technology are Singapore’s strongest pillars for women in business, with the city ranking 11th for talent and 6th in technology.

The vast pool of successful business women that Singapore has launched into the world is testament to the strength of its female talent pool. Indeed, last year the city moved up Dell’s rankings for talent thanks to increasing its top school rankings as well as its business school rankings, while also increasing the pool of professionals needed to help scale businesses. To celebrate Singapore’s female entrepreneurs, we have highlighted just a handful of the city’s most inspiring women.

Jenny Lee, managing partner at GGV Capital

The top name on Forbes’ current ‘Asia’s Power Business Women ’ list, Jenny Lee is one of Singapore’s most famous female entrepreneurs. A former aviation engineer for Singapore’s ST Aerospace, Lee joined venture capital firm GGV in 2005 to open the company’s office in Shanghai. Since then, she has built up an investment portfolio that includes 11 ‘unicorns’ (unlisted companies valued at USD $1 billion) and one firm valued at a whopping $56 billion. In April last year she brought GGV back to Singapore, re-opening its office here, which had been closed since 2000. Lee has built up a reputation for spotting winners, with her investment in Chinese social media firm YY generating a 15x return. She told Forbes that, these days, she is focusing on ‘the sci-fi stuff’: companies in machine learning and robotics.

Rachel Lim, co-founder at Love, Bonito

Singaporean Rachel Lim makes a frequent appearance on Asia’s top women in business lists, and with good reason. Her fashion brand, Love, Bonito , is now one of the most successful to come out of SouthEast Asia for some time, with branches now spanning the region, from Singapore, to Hong Kong, to Jakarta to Ho Chi Minh City. Its success is built on an understanding of its market: Asian women looking for high quality, whimsical fashion in smaller sizes not catered for by international brands with products for bigger Western women. Born from a blog Lim and her friends started ten years ago, Love, Bonito has gone from an initial investment of just US $400 to raising USD $13 million in funding in 2018. A truly inspiring success story!

Jaelle Ang, co-founder and CEO, The Great Room

Professionally trained architect and former banker Jaelle Ang founded luxury coworking franchise The Great Room in 2016 with a vision to transform the workplace. Spotting a gap in the market for flexible office space that catered for higher-end corporates, Ang focuses on bringing 5 star luxury to the office. It’s a formula that works, with The Great Room opening its sixth location inside Singapore’s Raffles Hotel in August. Other locations include a 24,000-sq.ft. flagship site at Hong Kong’s One Taikoo Place, as well as spaces in Bangkok, where Ang also developed a sprawling complex for the Four Seasons group. Initially self-funding The Great Room, Ang is an example for ambitious female entrepreneurs, having now raised US $29 million from investors. As if that wasn’t enough, she’s also currently the youngest and only female board member of Thailand’s Country Group Development PCL.

Gillian Tan, founder of Clicknetwork and Monkey Superstar Pictures

Online TV pioneer Gillian Tan is well known for the company she founded in 2007, Clicknetwork , which was the first YouTube channel in Singapore to get 1 million subscribers. This is not least due to the channels’s controversial content, including its most famous video: “Xiaxue’s Guide to Life EP56 – Kissing a Girl”, which featured a same sex kiss. The video is no longer on the network as it was banned by the MDA (now the IMDA, or Infocomm Media Development Authority) who considered such content too risque for the internet. Today Clicknetwork viewers are more likely to find educational content on Tan’s channel, often produced with the help of the IMDA. The entrepreneur has also since founded reality and lifestyle TV production company Monkey Superstar Pictures , adding to the budding media mogul’s stable.

Hazel Kweh, Founder of BloomBack

Sometimes, life’s challenges throw-up opportunities. Such was the case for Hazel Kweh, who, having been raised in a single parent family with a disabled sibling, founded online flower company BloomBack to help those struggling to find economic opportunities, particularly low-income female entrepreneurs. A beneficiary of DBS’s Social Enterprise Support Programme , BloomBack provides skills training and employment to people in marginalised communities, helping them to find both emotional and financial stability. Kweh, formerly an executive at Prudential, founded BloomBack after attending a wedding with her sister, who was saddened to learn that the beautiful flowers at the event would go to waste at the end of the day. As such, one of BloomBack’s services includes ‘upcycling’ flowers from events into unique, preserved arrangements for homes and hospices, as well as its main range of stunning ‘everlasting’ floral products.

To find out more, please feel free to contact us .

A simple guide to corporate tax for Singapore startups

Mon, 07 Sep 2020 16:08:07 GMT

Singapore has one of the most hospitable corporate tax regimes in the world. Its many attractions include a highly competitive flat rate of 17%, no capital gains tax at all, and a comprehensive double taxation treaty that means companies do not have to pay tax in more than one jurisdiction. On top of that, Singapore offers some highly attractive tax incentives to startups which, combined with Singapore’s position as a gateway to Asian markets, makes the city state truly one of the best places in the world to launch a new business.

Startup-specific tax breaks

To help new businesses channel more of their income toward growth and development, the Singapore government offers startups big tax breaks in their first three years of operation. During this period, new companies incorporated in Singapore pay corporate tax on just a quarter of the first S$100,000 of income they earn and then they pay tax on just half of the next S$100,000.

This means that a startup in Singapore would pay corporate tax on just $75,000 of the first $200,000 they earn, which works out to $12,750 at the current flat rate of 17%. This applies to each of the first three years of operation as long as the startup is incorporated in Singapore, a tax resident in Singapore and has no more than 20 shareholders with one individual owning 10% of the total share capital alone.

For a startup with an income of S$1 million per year, the above tax breaks work out to the following effective tax rates:

If, for some reason, you missed the startup tax breaks the first time around, businesses incorporated in Singapore that have not previously claimed the three year exemptions listed above are able to claim a Partial Tax Exemption for Companies . This allows businesses to apply for exemption of up to $102,500 on the first $200,000 of their taxable income.

Fully deductible expenses, including dividends

Another big benefit of the corporate tax system in Singapore for startups and established businesses alike is that tax is taken from income after all expenses that have been incurred generating that income have been deducted. This includes any business costs that contribute directly to the income of the company (see IRAS for more), such as the salaries paid to staff as well as other operational costs. Moreover, the dividends that Singapore companies pay to shareholders are completely tax free. This is potentially a big bonus for small business owners who could choose to be paid in dividends to make their personal income as tax efficient as possible.

Tax breaks on international income

To make sure Singaporean companies are not penalised for doing business abroad, Singapore also employs a comprehensive double taxation system. Under the Avoidance of Double Taxation Agreement (DTA), the city state has tax treaties with more than 80 countries that mean that, if a company pays tax in that country, it does not have to pay tax in Singapore and vice-versa.

In 2009, the government boosted this support further by awarding Unilateral Tax Credits to companies doing business in countries not covered by the tax treaty, which they can apply to the foreign-sourced income they paid tax on in another country. In addition to this, a company that is resident for tax in Singapore is also exempt from paying taxes on certain foreign income altogether, such as foreign dividends, foreign branch profits and service income, (with certain conditions ).

No capital gains tax

Finally, one of the biggest boons for startups incorporated in Singapore is that they do not have to pay tax on the profit they make from selling part or all of their businesses. This compares to jurisdictions like the UK, where business owners have to pay up to 20% tax on a portion of the profits they make on the sale of any part of their business. This is a big, big bonus for startups with their eye on a fairly quick sale of the company, or asset rich businesses that might look to dispose of property in the future.

Of course, that tax tail should never wag the business dog, however; Singapore’s highly attractive corporate tax system is certainly a big bonus for any company that does decide to set-up shop in Singapore. Regular readers of the Dr Biz blog will also know tax is just one of many, many factors that makes Singapore one of the world’s leading startup hubs.

To find out more, please feel free to contact us .

Why Singapore is one of the best cities for startups

Fri, 04 Sep 2020 05:58:00 GMT

Some of the best cities for startups know exactly who they are, and how they want to grow and develop. This is why Singapore consistently comes out on top as a location for startups. A fast moving, forward thinking destination with its eye on becoming a digital leader since 2014, Singapore is one of the most dynamic places for startups in the world. Infact, last year Singapore ranked as one of the top ten startup cities in the world , joining destinations including San Francisco, home of Silicon Valley, as well as New York, Shanghai and London. Moreover, Singapore was named the most hospitable city for female entrepreneurs in Asia . All in all, the city state has a lot going for it!

Strong government support

One of the biggest drivers of Singapore’s startup success is the strong and consistent support shown by the government, which offers a plethora of training and funding opportunities to startups in the city state. Programs range from startup incubators that put entrepreneurs in touch with world-class contacts and investors, to extensive grant packages for innovative digital startups, to helping businesses to go digital and upskill their workforce. Responding to the current crisis, the government has also doubled down on this support, pledging millions more for startup programmes. Check out Startup.sg and Enterprise Singapore for more details.

Easy to incorporate

Singapore is one of the best cities for startups not least thanks to the fact it is one of the easiest places to register a business, with the incorporation process taking just a few days. It is also particularly friendly to foreign owned businesses who can register their business and obtain a business visa with far less paperwork and expense than other countries (providing they are able to employ Singaporeans). There remain, however, a few hoops to jump through - including needing to appoint a company secretary within six months - and so it always pays to have a local expert on-hand. Dr Biz offers a range of professional services to startups, including incorporation .

Lots of funding

Along with numerous funding options from the government, Singapore is also a hotspot for private investment in startups. Such is the supportive environment that there are more jobs for software engineers at startups in Singapore than there are to fill them! In 2019, Singapore cemented its reputation as one of the best cities for startups by levels of investment when it announced that early stage companies in the city had raised 50% more funding than they expected , with levels topping S$15 billion. An active VC sector is a key contributor, with some of the biggest funds including Golden Gate Ventures, Sequoia Capital, Saison Capital and FutureLabs - among many, many more.

Inspiring colleagues

When launching your own business, especially in today’s fast paced, highly competitive marketplace, it matters who you have around you. This is why new businesses tend to flock to the best cities for startups: to be among inspiring people with the same drive and passion. This is particularly true for tech startups, and why San Francisco's ‘Silicon Valley’ has become an iconic destination for all things digital. Singapore, however, boasts some of Asia’s most well known digital startups, including Grab, Lazada and Sea - which together have raised more than S$12 billion in funding - as well as PropertyGuru, Ninja Van and leading cryptocurrency exchanges TenX and KyberNetwork.

Competitive taxation

A big factor that makes Singapore one of the best cities for startups is its highly attractive corporate tax regime . For the first three years of operation, startups incorporated in Singapore pay tax on just one quarter (25%) of their income up to $100,000, and then on half (50%) of their further income up to $200,000. This means that a startup would pay taxes on just $75,000 of a $200,000 income. Singapore also only charges taxes on profits - not revenue - at a flat rate of 17%. In addition, the city state does not levy any capital gains tax on the sale of a business - a huge bonus compared to jurisdictions including the US, China, UK and Europe. Singapore also has a comprehensive double taxation exemption which helps businesses to avoid paying tax in more than one country, while some foreign income is exempt altogether.

Legal protections

As any new business owner will tell you, particularly those with innovative products and services, being able to protect your intellectual property and defend against legal challenges are hugely important factors when launching a startup. Again, Singapore comes out as one of the best cities for startups in this regard. Intellectual property is vigorously defended through the IP Hub Master Plan , a government initiative that provides a robust framework for trademark, patent and copyright protections. Moreover, corruption in the country is extremely low, with Transparency International ranking Singapore as the fourth least corrupt country in the world (tying with Switzerland and Sweden), and is the only Asian country to rank in the top 10.

Top 6 startup mistakes to avoid from the very beginning

Thu, 27 Aug 2020 04:23:31 GMT

Avoiding startup mistakes isn’t easy. It’s well known that around half of new businesses don’t make it past the first year of trading, and it’s not surprising: it’s tough out there! Making ideas a reality is not as simple as it might first seem: it takes hard work, dedication and a willingness to lose sleep for at least the first few years. Success is, however, entirely possible. While many startups end up on the scrap heap, some make it all the way to the top, with Singapore’s new mobile-technology leaders Grab and Lazada shining examples. Below we set out some of the top mistakes to avoid to keep your startup dream alive.

1. Under preparing for the challenge

As mentioned above, launching a business can be tough. Yet, while many new owners know this, they fail to properly prepare themselves for the challenge ahead. Caught up in the excitement of their vision, entrepreneurs don’t adequately plan for the impact that launching a business will have on their lives. Typically, this means long days and late nights, as well as disagreements with co-founders and challenges finding and keeping loyal, motivated staff. In the beginning, most new owners feel like Energiser bunnies, but as time wears on, the battery drains. Make sure you are mentally, physically and emotionally ready to take on a big workload over a sustained period.

2. Going to hard, too fast

One of the most common startup mistakes is to throw too much time, energy and money at the project in the early days, which will quickly lead to burnout. The money point is particularly important. Many entrepreneurs come out of the startup stalls with a “more money, the better” mentality. However, as one wise man once said: “mo’ money, mo’ problems.” Investment is easy to find in the current pro-startup environment, yet taking all the cash on offer is not always wise. Some of the most successful entrepreneurs start small, taking their time to try and test their product or service with small groups before rolling it out. This is also a better long-term growth strategy than over stretching yourself with high overheads from the start.

3. Giving away all your power

Another pitfall with accepting too much investment too early is that, usually, founders will have to forfeit a large chunk of their own share of the company. This is not only potentially devastating if the firm makes it really big, but could also lead to short-termism if larger investors are more concerned with turning a quick profit than growing the company. Those that have given large amounts of starting capital will likely have significant sway in the management of the firm, meaning you might find yourself unable to fulfil the vision you have worked so hard to make come true.

4. Not getting good help

This might seem contradictory to the above, however: not having the right expertise on hand in the early days is among the biggest startup mistakes. This is especially true when it comes to the smaller administrative tasks that can take up a lot of time, but are not a driving force of your business’s growth and development. Make sure you have an experienced, trusted partner on hand to help with professional services such as registering your business, managing company secretarial and - most importantly - accounting. These are the types of expenses not worth skimping on: the last thing you need is for a filing or tax mistake to derail all of your hard work. Check out Dr Biz’s service page for more.

5. Sticking too firmly to the plan

Anyone giving you good advice will tell you that all startups need a business plan , and the more detailed, the better. While this is absolutely true, it is important to remember that rules are made to be broken. We live in a fast moving world in which change is coming increasingly thick and fast. For startups especially, this means staying open and flexible to adjustments to your products, services and business model. In a few short years, target audiences can change their preferences entirely: as we all did for music and television consumption, for example. Being ready to adapt to these changes is crucial to the success of a startup - if not all businesses.

6. Hanging on too long

While being flexible and adaptable is important, though, one of the final key startup mistakes to avoid is not having an end-goal in mind. Coming back to our first point that starting a business is a big (and tiring) challenge, having an exit strategy at least roughly planned out is advisable. For some startups, this might come quite early on – with the first big bid for the company, for example. For others, there might be a specific growth or profit target they want to hit before walking away and taking a well-deserved holiday. Whatever success looks like for you, make sure you draw a line in the sand, because – trust us – you’ll need it!

Attracting top talent to startup jobs in Singapore

Mon, 24 Aug 2020 14:43:57 GMT

As we are keen to point out here on the Dr Biz blog, Singapore is a great place for startups and startup jobs – one of the world’s top ranked cities, in-fact. As such, investment has been flowing into startups in the city-state, with data from Singapore’s Economic Development Board (EDB) showing that last year, startups raised 50% more funding than they had anticipated. In 2019, the EDB predicted that between S$8 and $10 billion would flow into startups in Singapore, yet investment actually exceeded S$15 billion.

This wave of funding is testament to the attractiveness of Singapore. The city is a highly competitive global business destination and a hub for manufacturing, innovation and digital startups. The startup sector has also seen strong support from the government over the years, who as far back as 2014 launched its Smart Nation Drive, with the aim to position Singapore as a global leader in smart technology for healthcare, transportation and more. Since then, it has introduced numerous programmes focused on the digital and startup sectors.

Desperately seeking startup staff

Despite all this, though, startup jobs in Singapore are going unfilled. While investment floods into the sector, a lack of talent means that the number of vacancies at startups in the city is growing, even as investment continues to flood-in. One reason for this is suggested by data from recruiter Indeed , who in February last year reported that the top positions searched for in Singapore were in customer services and teaching, while the number one advertised job – software engineers – had the fewest applicants.

Singapore, like many developed nations, has an ageing population and a shrinking workforce, something government ministers have long voiced concerns about. One solution to the problem could be to allow more talent from overseas to enter the workforce. However, the Singapore government’s current position is to nurture home-grown talent, and has placed some restrictions on hiring foreign workers. While admirable in its support of Singaporeans, this is contributing to the mismatch between government ambitions to be a Smart Nation, and a disengaged workforce.

Growing – and keeping – tech talent

Singapore’s position as a business gateway to the East combined with ever growing government support for innovation, however, means that demand for both startup investment opportunities and top talent is only likely to grow. To tackle the increasing number of vacant startup jobs, Singapore has expanded the number of university places available to study tech-related subjects. Educating aspiring tech stars is less of an issue, however. Rather, it’s keeping top talent in the country and out of the hands of high paying tech giants in Silicon Valley and Shanghai that is the problem. And with companies like China’s ByteDance Technology offering up to USD $3 million per year to the most gifted staff, that may not be easy.

Added to this is the challenge posed by the global Covid-19 pandemic, which has hit small companies across Southeast Asia particularly hard, leading to the loss of numerous startup jobs. A recent Tech in Asia survey revealed that a staggering 80% of startups in the region have been negatively affected by the pandemic, often meaning that they have had to lay off staff. In April The Monetary Authority of Singapore said it expects more job losses and fewer pay rises in 2020.

Plugging the startup job gap

Programs including the recently extended Jobs Support Scheme , in which the government covers up to 75% of the salaries of workers in some of the hardest hit industries, should provide some immediate relief for all employees in Singapore, including those in the startup sector. Initiatives are also popping-up among venture capital funds aimed at helping startup employees find new roles. These include SEAcosystem, a community database run on a Google sheet that helps to connect employees directly with startups that is moderated by leading VCs in the region including Saison Capital and FutureLabs.

Over the longer-term, there are a number of initiatives being run by the Singapore Government to grow staffing for startups, including the SG StartUp Founder programme , which matches startups with funding and talent. Moreover, as part of its Covid19 relief efforts, on 17 August the government announced an extra S$150 million for the programme. The TechSkills Accelerator and Professional Conversion Programmes (PCP) are tools to help IT employees and companies alike to upskill and expand their talents, with the PCP placing emphasis on training software developers and IT systems support engineers. Meanwhile the Tech@SG programme allows fast growing companies to employ more skilled foreign workers.

There are, undeniably, huge opportunities for early stage companies in Singapore, with the ever growing number of vacant startup jobs testament to this fact. However, filling these roles may take a little more ambition. Both the government and startups alike need to focus on growing the talent pool in Singapore, which in coming years should benefit from the support currently being shown to it. If our city-state is able to find the right formula to train, keep and hold onto our top tech workers, there is no reason Singapore should not rise to be one of the leading Smart Nation’s in Asia, if not the world.

To find out more, please feel free to contact us .

Job Support Scheme

Sun, 23 Aug 2020 15:05:13 GMT

We have summarized the job support scheme with the extension for continued support announced on 17 Aug 2020 in the Ministerial Statement . If you have any questions, feel free to contact us .

For full details, please visit: go.gov/sg/jss .

Launch a Singapore startup in 8 easy steps

Wed, 19 Aug 2020 16:55:35 GMT

Launching a Singapore startup is an exciting prospect. This is one of the most accommodating cities in the world for new companies, with a plethora of government support and easy administration making Singapore a startup hotspot. Even in these uncertain times, programmes like the newly extended Job Support Scheme – which covers up to 50 percent of the wages of workers in key sectors – are ensuring that small businesses in Singapore can continue to survive and thrive.

So don’t be discouraged from making your startup dreams come true: in the post-Covid world a hard working entrepreneur can still find success with the right startup strategy.

1. What’s the problem?

Startups are all about finding solutions, but if you don’t fully understand the problem first, solving it will be tricky. For example, Grab or Lazada might be the solutions, but the problems are far more important: unsafe and unreliable transport and delivery services, and a lack of access to ecommerce in Southeast Asia. Solutions will change and evolve over time, and if you have a firm grasp of the problem, you can constantly adapt and offer new products and services.

2. Ask for advice

Think of an entrepreneur and you may picture an Elon Musk-like eccentric visionary: a maverick bravely going it alone in the face of constant criticism. The reality, though, is that launching a business – especially a Singapore startup – is usually best done after taking careful advice from experienced business owners. Startup SG Founder provides a platform for matching mentors to startups, as well as grants of up to S$30,000 to first-time entrepreneurs.

3. Buddy-up

Starting a business can be a lonely journey involving late nights and working weekends in the first few years. Having a partner there to share the “startups and downs” (excuse the pun) can help to lighten the load, keep you inspired and make sure there is always another head to bounce ideas off. Look for someone as passionate and knowledgeable in your business area as you, and be careful when considering friends and lovers - especially if you want to keep them that way!

4. Make a business plan

Despite being one of the world’s top cities for new businesses, around 30 percent of Singapore startups fail in the first three years. To avoid this, you should put together a solid business plan, with studies showing that startups with a business plan are twice as likely to grow their company and gain funding than those that don’t have one. Check out Enterprise Singapore’s Business Toolkit for guidance.

5. Beta-testing

While not every startup is a tech startup, quite a lot are! Whether it be more efficient taxis, shopping or TV viewing, a digital platform - usually app-based - is often crucial to modern business operations. In these cases, it can be extremely useful to launch a beta-model into the market as soon as possible to get feedback on your product and how to improve it. Again, be sure to explore the many digital grants and programmes offered by Enterprise Singapore.

6. Get an MVP

Similarly, an MVP - or minimal viable product - will help you to figure out whether your product really does have the market and audience that you anticipated. This can apply just as easily to non-tech startups too, if not more so. Try to get a prototype of your product or service up and running and then test that with a small group of even just 10 people to begin with. The feedback you get in these early days can be invaluable to your future growth.

7. Make it official

Now the fun is over, it's time to focus on the serious stuff. All new businesses in Singapore must be registered and incorporated with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA). Once you’ve registered, you’ll get your UEN number, which gives you the right to operate as a business. Dr Biz can help you with all of your incorporation needs , as well as the many requirements that follow, including company secretarial functions, accounting and tax.

8. Have fun!

With all of the stresses and strains of launching a Singapore startup, it can be easy to forget why you did it in the first place! Stay true to your vision and maintain your energy and drive by always having as much fun as possible. Whether it be regular company team-building days, staff treats or customer giveaways – be sure to keep enjoying the startup process. While tiring, launching a new business gives you the opportunity to do things differently and, with any luck, more successfully than your competitors.

To find out more, please feel free to contact us .

How to be an effective entrepreneur in Singapore

sharonchch@hotmail.com (Dr Biz) — Mon, 17 Aug 2020 14:56:13 GMT

An entrepreneur in Singapore will enjoy one of the world’s most nurturing environments for start-up talent. The city-state’s pro-business government makes it easy for both locals and foreigners to set up a company, while a pool of top tech talent and accessible investment and funding are other attractions. In-fact, Singapore has been ranked one of the world’s top destinations for start-ups , while it is the top city in Asia for female entrepreneurs .

However, as encouraging as any business environment might be, launching a business is never easy. There are any number of factors to consider; from whether there is truly a market for your product or service, to finding the right operational and tech models, to staffing and maintaining growth. To help aspiring entrepreneurs navigate these obstacles, Dr Biz has compiled a few top tips on how to make bright ideas an everyday reality here in Singapore.

Explore the competition

One of the biggest potential pitfalls for any entrepreneur in Singapore is overestimating the marketplace. Understanding where your business might fit in the economic landscape is essential, particularly if the sector you want to get into is crowded. Around 40 percent of restaurants in Singapore close every year due to a lack of demand , for example, making food and beverage one of the toughest nuts to crack for start-ups in the region.

Typically, the best new businesses are those that answer an unmet need: that solve a problem that no other business or product has yet solved. Recently launched Singapore start-up Gill Masks , which is producing high quality reusable face masks that can help to prevent the spread of Covid-19 while also reducing waste and preserving the natural environment, is a great example of this.

How will it work?

Often, entrepreneurs will leave the finer details of a business plan until last, assuming that operations can be worked out later. In some cases, this may be true, and certainly it is better for an entrepreneur in Singapore to do thorough market research before anything else. However, those businesses that do think about operations early on will likely have a big head start on those that don’t.

As technology is a fundamental part of any modern business, it may be helpful to first consider what type of systems you need and perhaps the staff required to build and maintain them. Singapore is blessed with a wealth of technology experts, whether you need crack-coders of social media gurus. The Startup SG network, backed by Enterprise Singapore, runs a number of programmes and initiatives that can help entrepreneurs and start-ups to find the right tech talent for their business ambitions.

Find funding

An entrepreneur in Singapore is also blessed with a well established pool of investment and funding opportunities. Not only are there a plethora of grants and loans available from the government through Enterprise Singapore , but there are a number of investment and venture capitalist funds that specialise in providing funding to early stage businesses, particularly in the cutting-edge technology field.

These include Golden Gate Ventures , a venture capital firm investing in internet and mobile startups across Southeast Asia. Those with a taste for competition can also consider Slingshot 2020 , an Asian deep-tech startup contest now in its fourth year where 500 start-ups can compete for cash prizes of up to S$200,000. Eligible sectors include health, manufacturing, energy, food and consumer technology and, new this year: ‘Creating the New Normal’, for start-ups helping businesses and society adapt in the post-COVID world.

Get the paperwork in order

As mentioned earlier, Singapore has some of the world’s most favourable conditions for starting a business. It can take less than a few days to incorporate your company and open a business bank account, with much lower administrative costs than in many other countries. An entrepreneur in Singapore can also quickly recruit staff, pay suppliers and invoice all over the world.

However, while it’s easier here than in many other countries, there are still things to look out for when starting a business in Singapore. For example, you will only be granted a working visa if your business can hire Singaporeans. Moreover, all firms in the state are required to appoint a company secretary within six months of opening. With these and other small details to look out for, consider hiring a local partner like Dr Biz to help you navigate the process.

Singapore is, undeniably, a start-up hotspot, Entrepreneurs here enjoy some of the best access to funding, talent and administration in the world, all combined with a pro-business government keen to foster talent at home and abroad. Still, to ensure your dreams become a reality, make sure to do your research and, crucially, find the right local support to power your start-up into the future.

To find out more, please feel free to contact us .

How outsourcing can save your business time, money and stress

Thu, 13 Aug 2020 01:03:50 GMT

In recent years, outsourcing has become recognised as the main way for a business to save both time and money. From traditionally outsourced services such as accounting and employee benefits, to more cutting-edge digital solutions around IT services: farming-out the jobs that take the most time often makes good financial sense for a business.

This is especially the case for smaller businesses, for whom time really is their most precious commodity, particularly in the initial launch phase when getting ideas off the ground is so crucial. Not only can outsourcing save these early stage small and medium sized businesses time and money, but provide peace of mind at an important time.

IT outsourcing

One of the most popular areas for outsourcing today is IT systems, with a recent survey conducted by Udemy suggesting that up to 60% of businesses now use off-site hardware and software solutions. This is largely due to the significant cost savings associated with IT outsourcing: according to one US study, IT outsourcing can save a business up to 20 percent on its overall costs.

Network-heavy businesses that require a lot of server capacity stand to benefit most from IT outsourcing as maintaining large IT systems takes not only man power, but a lot of space. This means that a business that outsources their IT could choose smaller and more cost efficient premises while also avoiding all of the fire and security risks associated with storing servers on site.

Accounting

Accounting has traditionally been outsourced due to its complexity and the significant amount of time that balancing the books and filing tax returns can take. Surveys show that the majority of firms spend more than 41 hours per year - or a whole working week - on tax preparation, while 40 percent lose more than 80 hours per year. In-fact, four out of ten small business owners rank bookkeeping and tax preparation as the worst part of running a business.

At Dr Biz, we offer a full accounting service, taking the headache out of those dreaded tax returns. Having filed a few returns ourselves, we can also vouch for how technical and time consuming this process is, and so having an experienced partner is essential. Thanks to the advent of the internet, every-day accounting is also now much easier, with apps like Xero helping you to log and manage invoices and payments in real time. Dr Biz is a Xero Bronze Partner and Xero Certified Advisor, meaning we can integrate our services with the app for an even smoother, stress-free accounting experience.

Legal matters

Perhaps even more confusing and stressful than accounting are the many legal hoops a company must jump through. From incorporation to company secretarial services, ensuring that you have the right legal paperwork in place is essential to ensuring the smooth running of the company. Again, this is a service Dr Biz has plenty of experience in. We can help newly launched companies in Singapore with all of the paperwork they need, allowing entrepreneurs and business owners to focus on making the company a success.

Legalities don’t only matter when launching a business, though. As a company grows and expands it is likely that the positions of key directors will change, while shareholders may need to be added or removed from the company register. This is an area where a professional services firm like Dr Biz can really add value, helping a company to avoid making what can often be costly mistakes, both financially and reputationally.

HR and Payroll

For companies with a lot of staff, managing payroll and human resources can be a time intensive process, often requiring entire departments to manage. While big corporations may be able to justify these costs, smaller businesses may struggle to find the resources needed to ensure staff matters are managed effectively. This is somewhat of a bind, as looking after staff is perhaps most important for small companies.

If a full HR solution isn’t viable, businesses could consider simply outsourcing elements of the process. Payroll is often the best place to start as, not only is it the easiest process for an external company to manage, but is often the most important to the staff! Our payroll services cover monthly administration, including bonus and overtime; payroll reports; preparation and filing of monthly CPF contribution; and regular payslips.

Good advice

As many of us know, good advice is worth its weight in gold. As such, one of the most valuable targets for outsourcing could be decision making - particularly on areas relating to administration. A good adviser can also spot areas where risk can be managed more effectively in business operations, or where costs could be cut and output maximised.

Solid professional advice should also be sought-out before taking a big decision on the direction of a business. Almost every decision, from introducing a new product to changing marketing materials, may have unanticipated legal or financial consequences. Having a partner that can help you to navigate these potholes is another way to save time, money and potentially costly reputational mistakes.

To find out more, please feel free to contact us .

Managing cash flow like a small business pro

sharonchch@hotmail.com (Dr Biz) — Tue, 11 Aug 2020 01:38:18 GMT

Running a small business is no mean-feat, not least when it comes to cash-flow. While coming up with a concept and launching your idea may have seemed like the hard part, the real challenge often comes with managing accounts and continuing to stimulate growth, and having adequate cash-flow for that is absolutely essential.

Despite this, though, many of Singapore’s SMEs struggle to find the financing they need. According to figures from insurer Aon , more than 60 percent of SMEs are seeking external funding through bank loans to help with cash flow financing. Yet, data from Entrepreneurs Digest shows that only 22 percent of bank loans are actually given to small and medium sized businesses, leading to a financing gap of S$20 billion.

In recent years the Singapore government has shown huge support for SMEs, from helping them to go digital and to expand into new markets . Nonetheless, financing remains one of the biggest hurdles for smaller businesses, who must continue to be creative when it comes to cash-flow.

Fix the roof while the sun is shining

As much as we all like to make bad-guys of the banks, they are only doing their jobs by managing risk as best they can. SMEs are typically riskier prospects than larger businesses and so it can be harder to justify lending to them, particularly if the business happens to be in financial distress. Thus, while it may seem counter-intuitive, it is usually better to look for a loan when business is actually going well.

Wary of accumulating debt, many SME owners often only seek-out financing when cash flow becomes stretched; however taking out a loan when you don’t need to can make much more sense. Not only is the bank more likely to accept your application, but you can also put that cash to work by investing for your future growth, or holding it in a high interest, low risk instrument. Either way, you’ll be fixing the roof when the sun is shining, rather than when the rain is pouring in.

Digital financing

The relaxation of restrictions by the Monetary Authority of Singapore has paved the way for the creation of a number of digital financing companies that target lending to SMEs. These online lenders are able to offer smaller, uncollateralized loans that banks would typically not consider. Some of the most well known names in the space include Grab Finance, the lending arm of ride hailing service Grab.

In 2019 Grab launched a service offering loans of up to $100,000 to SMEs in South-East Asia. Applications are made online in as little as two minutes, with the funds available in three days or less. Another option is Lending Bee , which also offers unsecured loans of up to $100,000 over three years; or SeedIn , which provides businesses with up to S$2 million for periods between 3 and 12 months.

Peer pressure

Breaking even more innovative financing ground than the digital financiers are Singapore’s peer-to-peer (P2P) lenders. These are online platforms where lenders can borrow from users who deposit funds in exchange for a regular yield, or interest. These users will often be individual investors, meaning financing companies are cut-out of the lending process all-together.

P2P lenders will often accept SMEs that may struggle to find financing elsewhere; however to compensate their users for taking this extra risk, interest rates will often be higher. Some of the original pioneers in the space include Moolahsense, which provides loans of up to S$600,000 at around 18 percent APR, and Funding Societies, which offers loans of up to S$2 million at variable rates.

Protect your cash flow

Managing cash flow isn’t all about getting more if it, though. In-fact, one of the key ways to ensure sustainable growth is to protect your business income and cash holdings from unexpected events through risk transfer products. These might include trade credit insurance, which covers businesses if customers pay debts late (or not at all) giving them confidence to extend credit to new clients without fear of shrinking balance sheets.

Working cash flows can also be improved using surety guarantees, or surety bonds, issued by insurers. These protect lenders against losses when transacting with a company by protecting a certain amount of the debt, up to the limit of the bond, from non-payment. While not cheap, such policies can be useful when considering a particularly large transaction - especially if it could make or break your business.

As SMEs look to grow and thrive beyond the current Covid-19 pandemic , strengthening cash flows and securing financing will be crucial. Whether it be shoring-up cash buffers, funding expansion, or getting the guarantees you need to make that big deal, make sure your business is set up for long-term, sustainable growth.

To find out more, please feel free to contact us .

Boost your business productivity in 5 easy steps

sharonchch@hotmail.com (Dr Biz) — Thu, 06 Aug 2020 16:11:32 GMT

Singaporeans are famously content. Since independence in 1965, the country has seen consistently strong wage growth, rising living standards and increasing life expectancy, Indeed, today Singapore boasts the fourth highest adjusted GDP per capita in the world, just behind Luxembourg. Along with many other developed nations, however, Singapore has – admittedly – faced somewhat of a productivity problem in recent years.

According to the Department of Statistics Singapore , the growth in value added per worker in the country has been in steady decline since the fourth quarter of 2018, shrinking -2.1 percent last quarter. This was the steepest fall since the financial crisis of 2008. Meanwhile, real value-added per actual hour worked declined by -1.5 percent, the first negative reading since the series began in 2010.

While recent figures reflect the huge impact that the Covid-19 pandemic is having on every country in the world, Singapore’s businesses have been struggling to consistently boost productivity since at least 2013 . All is not lost, though. With strong and growing support from the Government , many companies now have a big opportunity to boost operations in the post-Covid era. Below we highlight some of the best ways to boost productivity and spur growth in your business.

1. Focus on cultural change

Companies, like people, can get a little set in their ways. After perhaps decades of proven experience, implementing change can be tricky. That’s why management consultancy Oliver Wyman recommends embedding cultural change as a first step to boosting productivity. The firm says companies should first become aware of new modes of behaviour and the need to change, closely monitoring competitors for a lead and then leading educational sessions with staff.

After this, businesses should focus on implementing changes slowly and steadily, reinforcing the positive aspects of change. This might include action learning seminars, live feedback sessions and leadership coaching over the first crucial three months of implementation. Following that, the focus should be on sustaining change and, perhaps most importantly, measuring the positive impact it is having on your staff and business.

2. Use time saving tools

Anyone that has run a business knows how time consuming administration can be. From HR, to payroll , to accounting: these essential tasks not only take a lot of time, but can also slow recruitment and onboarding processes, both of which are crucial to maintaining high productivity. To remedy this, businesses can consider one of the many online tools that now exist to help companies manage and streamline these processes.

At Dr Biz, we support Xero : a fully integrated, online accounting software that allows clients to monitor payments, invoices and even log expenses digitally. When linked with professional accountancy services, this can give business owners more time to focus on growing their businesses. Smooth HR and payroll services can also save time, but, more importantly, they can lead to increasingly satisfied - and so more productive - employees.

3. Reach for the cloud

Digitalisation is an important part of increasing productivity, and one of the first actions a business can take is to move their internal IT systems onto the cloud. This can be particularly effective for resource-tight SMEs, as it frees them-up from maintaining costly servers and software programmes, while also helping to streamline supply and product lines, again cutting unnecessary costs.

Cloud-based IT systems can also help managers and staff to communicate more effectively with each other: an essential component of a harmonious, productive team. Moreover, easy access to data on business operations will allow key decision makers to make those all-important decisions much faster, and with more information to base them on. Combined, the benefits of cloud computing lead to reduced costs and increased productivity .

4. Automate and reorganise

Labour intensive processes should be the first that any business targets when it comes to increasing productivity. For more than ten years, for example, Aljunied-based Thai grocer Siam Coconut Pte Ltd. hand-wrapped all of the coconuts the company stored in its warehouse. However, in 2016 the company automated this process , cutting the number of staff needed to perform this task from five to two.

Rather than lose those employees, though, the canny grocer retrained and redistributed them to the marketing department, aiming to help the company to reach new customers and grow. This provides a valuable model for how Singapore’s smaller businesses can reorganise themselves to seize new technological opportunities, while maintaining and even enhancing the capabilities of their existing members of staff.

5. Productivity says: relax!

Introducing new processes can be exciting, but it’s important not to get too carried away. When implementing a big culture change, for example, monitoring success through training and feedback sessions is important; however keeping too-close-tabs on staff is likely to make them feel you don’t trust or value them. The same goes for asking staff to complete lengthy timesheets or expense claims. This often breeds resentment and, in turn, can lead to a drop-off in productivity.

Instead of micromanaging every process, focus instead on fostering a stronger community spirit among your staff. Even for those companies focussing on cutting costs, organising the occasional team building day at a fun venue can pay for itself several times over through stronger bonds between staff and goodwill towards the company. Remember: happy workers make loyal and productive workers!

To find out more, please feel free to contact us .

How Singapore SMEs are embracing internationalisation

sharonchch@hotmail.com (Dr Biz) — Wed, 05 Aug 2020 15:44:03 GMT

Internationalisation has been a challenge for many of Singapore’s small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), who have historically been reluctant to expand their operations abroad. In a 2018 survey from QBE, for example, only 14 percent of the country’s SMEs said that they planned to go global, with more than half (56 per cent) stating they had no plans at all to internationalise.

This attitude is, however, changing. With business conditions at home growing more competitive and greater opportunities opening-up abroad, more and more of Singapore’s businesses are going global. According to the Enterprise Singapore, 2,600 businesses expanded overseas in 2019 , with over half from the wholesale trade, professional services, IT and communications, and retail sectors.

QBE’s most recent poll, infact, shows that 22 percent of SMEs are now looking at internationalisation - up an incredible 10 percent from just two years ago. This is supported by data from the Singapore Business Federation (SBF), which found that eight in 10 businesses in Singapore now have an international footprint. This is an increase of 9 percent in just one year and demonstrates the appetite for expansion that is now growing among Singapore’s SMEs.

Even more encouraging is that it is Singapore’s smaller businesses leading the global charge. QBE reports that, among those that had not yet internationalised, smaller SMEs were more willing to seek out international opportunities than their medium and larger-sized counterparts. This underlines the tenacity of the country’s start-up sector, which is internationally recognised as one of the most vibrant in the world .

ASEAN and Hong Kong lead global destinations

Perhaps unsurprisingly, those Singapore SMEs considering internationalisation are most keen to explore opportunities in neighboring markets, with Malaysia the standout destination of choice for local businesses looking to go global. This is closely followed by Indonesia and Thailand. In-fact, the SBF reports that 82 percent of Singapore’s businesses that do business abroad have a presence in ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations).

Outside of the region, China’s megalithic market takes up the lion’s share of Singapore’s international business activity. There is also growing interest in expanding into Hong Kong, with 34 percent of Singapore’s larger businesses surveyed by QBE choosing the region as their second favourite for expansion, after Malaysia. This is, perhaps, unsurprising given the current economic and political situation in Hong Kong, which is making it difficult for businesses in the formerly autonomous region to operate.

Indeed, according to Bloomberg , the unrest in Hong Kong could create a number of opportunities for businesses in Singapore, who can look not only to provide services in the region, but also to capture some of its global market share. The benefits of a stable, supportive government combined with favourable business conditions and international reach make Singapore a strong contender for Hong Kong’s crown as Asia’s first global city.

Reluctance to internationalise remains

Despite this clear trend toward greater internationalisation, however, fears remain among Singapore’s SMEs over expanding their operations abroad. Some of the key barriers reported include different business practices in neighboring ASEAN countries, as well as in India and China. For example, Myanmar and Cambodia do not operate under common-English law, which can make it harder to do business.

Other barriers include financing, with some SMEs less confident about cash-flows and financing options for internationalisation, while currency fluctuations – especially in frontier markets inside Asia and Africa – are also a big concern. Finding trusted local partners is seen as another potential problem, with cultural and also language barriers featuring among SMEs’ top fears.

In answer to these concerns, the government has introduced a number of schemes and measures to help Singapore’s SMEs internationalise. These include the Double Tax Deduction for Internationalisation (DTDi), which offers a generous 200% tax deduction on eligible expenses for international market expansion and investment development activities, helping to offset the cost-related risks.

Overcoming global barriers

Singapore SMEs with international ambitions can also access funding through the Market Readiness Assistance (MRA) grant, which allows businesses to claim up to 70 percent of eligible costs up to S$100,000 for activities such as overseas market promotion and business development. As part of the Enterprise Grow Package introduced in Budget 2020, companies using the MRA can also consult the government on how to utilise the free trade agreements Singapore has agreed with other countries.

The Enterprise Development Grant complements the MRA with assistance for mergers and acquisition (M&A) activity, pilot projects as well as all important standards adoption, allowing companies to understand and implement key standards and certifications in other regions. Recent figures show that, in 2019, these and other government grants provided assistance to 600 projects that are expected to generate S$8.8 billion of overseas sales and S$8.9 billion of overseas investments.

Further government initiatives include Enterprise Singapore Overseas Centres, where businesses can find information and business leads for over 35 international locations; the Global Ready Talent Programme, which helps businesses to find the right international talent; the LEAD International Fairs & Missions, which provides funding for SMEs to attend overseas missions and trade fairs; and the Grow Digital programme, which can connect SMEs directly with e-commerce platforms abroad. Check out Enterprise Singapore for more.

Accessing new markets and customers can be tough for any business, and many have good reason to be cautious. After all: sometimes it’s better to do one thing well rather than do many not quite so well! However, in an increasingly global and digital world, it is becoming more and more important to consider overseas markets. Internationalisation, while perhaps daunting, contains significant opportunities for Singapore’s dynamic and diverse SMEs. It is now up to more of the country’s smaller businesses to seize them, and thrive.

To find out more, please feel free to contact us .

Digitalisation leads Singapore’s businesses into the future

sharonchch@hotmail.com (Dr Biz) — Tue, 04 Aug 2020 14:34:54 GMT

Digitalisation is one of the most important business trends to emerge in recent years, particularly among small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in Singapore, where the implementation of new technology has led to game changing efficiencies and innovations. In-fact, Singapore has long taken a lead in the digital field, with the government employing initiatives to help businesses go digital as far back as the year 2000 with the “e-government Action Plan.”

Globally, there is enormous opportunity in digitalisation, with a recent report from international research firm McKinsey and Company revealing that governments alone could generate over S$1.34 trillion of cost savings worldwide just by better using existing technology. In Singapore, it is estimated that digital improvements could add S$13.8 billion to the economy by 2021, with the country’s world-class fixed connectivity combined with its fibre-optic and 4G network penetration making it a front runner in the global digital race.

In-fact, in 2017 Singapore was ranked the most advanced digital economy in Asia in a study by Tufts University and Mastercard. Meanwhile, consultancy firm A.T. Kearney predicts that Singapore, along with Malaysia and Thailand, will be among the world’s top 20 countries for digitalisation come 2025. It adds that if the entire region grasps the opportunity presented by the digital economy, ASEAN could collectively enjoy a S$275 billion boost over the next five years.

World class digital businesses

Singapore’s position as a digital leader has prompted internationally renowned companies to locate cutting-edge technological operations in the country. This includes IT systems giant IBM, which founded its groundbreaking Blockchain Innovation Centre here in Singapore, where it is developing security innovations for the finance and logistics sectors based on blockchain technology.

Ireland-based sustainable building firm Johnson Controls also recently announced its decision to establish a S$50 million lab in Singapore to research and develop artificial intelligence solutions for the built-environment industry. The lab will focus on integrating machine learning and data analytics into smart buildings systems, which can monitor temperatures constantly, helping to optimise energy usage and reduce buildings’ emissions.

Digitalisation isn’t just about state-of-the-art technology, though. In-fact, it can be as simple as improving administrative processes. Accounting is a key pain-point for many business owners and solutions such as Xero , which offers fully integrated, mobile accounting software, can help to automate everyday business tasks. Xero’s features include mobile invoicing, with automatic reminders and online payments, instant reconciliation of bank statements and instant expense management. Accountancy and professional service firms all over the world, including us at Dr Biz, now also integrate their services with Xero, making tax filings a breeze.

Transforming local enterprises

Marketing and food management are other areas that can benefit from digital solutions, helping Singapore’s SMEs to shine. For example, launching an online store through Facebook, or using digital marketing tools provided by WhatsApp and Zalo, can help small businesses to connect with a bigger customer base. These also allow entrepreneurs to launch new businesses from home, without the need for premises. In food management, smart technology in storage areas combined with automated processes can help business owners to improve safety and cut waste.

In recognition of the many benefits that digitalisation presents to Singapore’s SMEs, the government has launched the “SMEs Go Digital” programme, which aims to help businesses build stronger digital capabilities and seize growth opportunities in the new, digital-first economy. Businesses in Singapore can use an online self assessment tool to discover their digital needs and then build an “Industry Digital Plan” to identify the technology solutions and training packages they need.

The Start Digital Pack provides foundational digital solutions in areas including hum an resources, payroll, digital marketing, digital transactions and cybersecurity, while the “Grow Digital” scheme gives SMEs access to a number of b2b platforms providing groundbreaking solutions. These include eezee.sg, which allows companies to digitise across processes such as approval workflows, contract management and data analytics, as well as SellinAll, which helps Singapore SMEs to connect with customers on e-marketplaces all over the world.

Digitalisation post-Covid-19

Improving digital processes will be key for SMEs whe n it comes to bouncing back from Covid-19 , particularly in the hard-hit food and beverage and retail industries. Companies that can implement increased automation in customer service, payment and food processing, for example, are set to thrive in the post-pandemic environment, where distancing and cleanliness will be paramount. The Digital Resilience Bonus (DRB) , another government initiative, is designed to help SMEs in these sectors to emerge stronger after the circuit breaker period.

The DRB is given on top of enhanced digitalisation assistance provided under the SMEs Go Digital programme, and allows for payments of up to S$10,000 to food services and retail enterprises that already use digital solutions for business processes (including PayNow Corporate and e-invoicing), digital presence and data mining and analytics. The DRB bonus is available to most food and beverage outlets, from cafes, restaurants and pubs as well as food, fashion, electronics and homewares retailers. See www.imda.gov for full details of eligibility.

Digitalisation, whether implemented out of necessity or novelty, is an essential and exciting part of growing a business today, and SMEs in Singapore shouldn’t shy away. As highlighted above, the digital economy is providing myriad opportunities to help businesses save time and money while connecting with their customers and boosting their brand. And with all the support available, there is little excuse for companies not to take advantage of these new avenues for growth and development. From accounting to advanced data analytics, the digital world is offering new business solutions every day.

Innovation in Singapore: Top 5 tips for SME transformation

sharonchch@hotmail.com (Dr Biz) — Wed, 29 Jul 2020 08:53:49 GMT

Having been accused of lagging other global business destinations, innovation in Singapore is now on the rise, especially among the most important segment of Singapore’s economy: small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). Increasingly, Singapore’s smaller businesses - the lifeblood of the country’s growth and development - are finding new and more exciting ways to do business. However, there is always room for improvement! Below are some of the top techniques Singapore SMEs can employ to embed innovation into their business models for growth today and tomorrow.

1. Don't be afraid of change

Change, as most of us know, can be disruptive and disturbing, and so many avoid it altogether. This includes the managers of Singapore SMEs, who in a number of recent surveys have reported an unwillingness to embrace innovation. The reasons for this are often understandable and include high overheads, risk of failure and fear that a firm may not be able to break into a new market.

However, while understandable, such fears will inevitably hold a business back, and are weighing on SME managers’ minds. According to global insurer Aon’s latest Inpoint report , Singapore SMEs are finding it more and more difficult to know what their customers need and want, and see the inability to innovate as a big risk factor. As many are coming to realise, fostering innovation in Singapore must involve embracing change: a necessary part of life, especially in the business world.

Consumer facing businesses must be especially nimble, particularly in fast moving areas like entertainment, retail and leisure. Here, examples are already piling up of once successful businesses that did not move with the times and so ultimately met extinction, including music retailers and once dominant high-street fashion brands. Avoid the scrapheap by paying attention to how your customer and client needs are evolving and matching those needs with cutting-edge products and services.

2. Develop your strengths

Innovation doesn’t always have to be about throwing out the old for the new, though. In fact, figuring out how to build on your current strengths is really the first place to start. In order to cultivate innovation in Singapore SMEs, Enterprise Singapore has developed the Centres of Innovation (COIs) : ten specialised centres across the region dedicated to helping businesses to develop and grow. Run in partnership with local colleges and research institutes, each COI centre is a “one-stop shop” specialising in a different industry.

The ten COIs include Supply Chain Management, where businesses can learn how to improve value stream and supply mapping and implement new processing and automation solutions. In the Food Innovation Resource centre, food and beverage companies will find resources to improve product and process development, as well as all important sensory and consumer studies to help them stay ahead of the consumer trend curve. The other eight COI centres cover Aquaculture, Energy, Electronics, Environment and Water, Marine And Offshore, Materials, and Precision Engineering Industries.

3. Access “deep tech” solutions

On the other hand, in today’s digital-first world, innovation in Singapore SMEs will inevitably involve technology. The great news is that there are now a whole host of products and services that can truly transform how a business is run. At SG Innovate , the firm invests in young companies in Singapore that are providing “significant” solutions to “hard problems” using deep tech that has the potential to transform industries.

These include AIDA Technologies , an advanced artificial intelligence platform that uses data from the finance world to streamline processes and improve outcomes in banking, digital lending and insurance claims management. AIDA now works with financial service providers across Singapore to reduce costs and improve customer outcomes through its cutting edge technology, which can predict customer behaviour. Implementing deep tech solutions like these has the potential to give any SME a lead in the innovation race.

4. Embrace the IOT

The internet of things, or ‘IOT’, has been one of the most exciting global innovations of recent years, giving rise to products and services many of us now use daily: from our fitbits to our interconnected laptops and phones and even home security systems we can monitor from work. With an estimated 50 billion devices expected to be connected to each other this year alone, the IOT is set to be the next big global technology growth story, and Singapore is positioned to lead.

With its advanced computing capability, abundant connectivity and mission to be a ‘Smart Nation’, the IOT is an area where Singapore can thrive, and where all sorts of solutions are being found for SMEs. In the medical field, a partnership between international microchip manufacturer Intel and local start-up ConnectedLife led to the development of wearable technology that can constantly monitor elderly people in their homes and respond to abnormalities. These sorts of IOT innovations are set to transform the way Singaporeans work and live, and those SMEs that embrace the technology early will gain an edge.

5. Invest in talent

A company is, after all, only ever as good as its people. Thus, one of the most important areas for innovation for any SME is its talent pool. Singapore SMEs can count on support in this area through the SkillsFuture Enterprise Credit (SFEC) programme , which encourages employers to invest in training and developing the capabilities of their employees. Through the scheme, eligible employers can claim a one-off S$10,000 credit to cover up to 90% of out-of-pocket expenses on qualifying costs for supportable initiatives.

These initiatives include some top re-training programmes, including the Enterprise Leadership for Transformation Programme (ELT) as well as Skills-Framework aligned courses in areas including Digital Advertising, Content Marketing and key IT software skills. Professional Conversion programmes and Job-Redesign initiatives are also available for those looking to really overhaul their staff skill set.

Innovation doesn’t have to be frightening. As the above demonstrates, there are some truly exciting and engaging opportunities for innovation in Singapore available right now that SMEs can seize. Whether it be retraining staff to take the company in a new direction, or embracing a deep tech or IOT solution, the key for any business looking to innovate is to ensure it is aligning its products and services with the needs of its customers and clients. Those SMEs that do that will find innovation not only commercially beneficial, but enjoyable.

How Singapore’s SME’s can survive and thrive through Covid-19

sharonchch@hotmail.com (Dr Biz) — Mon, 27 Jul 2020 01:05:42 GMT

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are the backbone of Singapore’s economy, generating close to half of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and employing more than 65 percent of its workforce. This sector contains some of our brightest stars, including a thriving start-up community that in 2019 posted revenue gains of up to six times the previous year. Indeed, Singapore was listed as a top ten global city for start-ups in 2020.

However, like every other area of the economy, the Covid-19 pandemic has taken its toll on Singapore’s SME sector. According to the quarterly SBF-Experian SME Index , sentiment fell to an all time low reading of 48.3 among Singapore’s SMEs in April, down from 50.4 in January and the lowest since the index's inception in 2009. While tough times loom large, though, there is still hope on the horizon. Singapore SMEs able to take advantage of key opportunities are likely not only to survive the current economic downturn, but thrive.

Use government support

In an effort to support its most valuable sector, Singapore’s government has announced a number of measures designed to ensure SMEs can weather the Covid-19 storm. These include the Job Support Scheme , through which the government will co-fund between 25 percent to 75 percent of the first S$4,600 of gross monthly wages paid to each local employee in a ten-month period.

The Wage Credit Scheme , originally introduced in 2013, has also been enhanced to further support salary increases for local employees. In 2020 the government will co-fund up to 15 percent of wage increases, with the monthly gross wage ceiling raised from S$4,000 to S$5,000, while wage increases dating from 2019 will be co-funded up to 20 percent.

There are also a number of tax breaks available to Singapore businesses, including a 25 percent corporate income tax rebate, as well as a full rebate on property tax for companies hit hardest by the Covid-19 outbreak such as hotels, serviced apartments, tourist attractions, shops and restaurants. Singapore’s SMEs should take full advantage of these and all other government support measures. Find out more at: www.covid.gobusiness.gov.sg

Lead with innovation

Innovation is a central pillar of growth for SMEs, particularly in today’s fast moving economy where companies must keep up with the shifting needs and preferences of their customers. Those that fail to do so are unlikely to survive. Examples include HMV: once Singapore’s biggest music retailer, HMV closed its last outlet in 2015 after failing to keep up with the changes caused by digital disruption in the music industry.

As the above demonstrates, one of the most important tasks for SMEs is to ensure they understand what their customers need and want and how to meet those desires. Those companies able to do this will always be ahead of the game. One great example is Singapore start-up Gill Lab, an SME that has answered the need for reliable, reusable face masks in the current health crisis with its innovative new Gill Mask .

Again, firms can access government support to develop new ideas and innovate. Initiatives include the Enterprise Development Grant , which aims to support Singapore businesses to grow and transform by funding up to 80 percent of costs for qualifying expenditures such as consultancy fees, manpower costs and software purchases. This rises to 90 percent for businesses most severely impacted by Covid-19.

The Startup SG Equity Scheme is another initiative aimed specifically at technology start-ups that can apply for an investment of up to S$8 million from the government in partnership with third party investors. The scheme has a strong focus on the advanced manufacturing, pharma/biotech/medtech and agri-food technology sectors.

Enhance productivity

Productivity has long been an area of focus for Singapore’s SMEs, which have been accused of dragging their feet when it comes to implementing solutions to improve performance. In-fact, of the 615 Singapore SMEs surveyed by United Overseas Bank (UOB) in January this year, 51 percent said that implementing productivity measures is a top priority - even more so than reducing costs and increasing revenues.

One of the main target areas these SMEs identified for increasing productivity was technology, with a number of firms keen to digitise more of their services to speed up processing and transaction times. Accounting, payroll and marketing were all areas of focus, while looking ahead many SMEs are investigating how to digitise expense management, customer relationship management and sales.

Digitalisation is another key focus for the government, who this year introduced the Productivity Solutions Grant, an extension of the SMEs Go Digital programme that allows Singapore SMEs to offset the costs of adopting digital solutions offered in the programme up to a maximum support level of 80 percent. In June UOB also launched “The FinLab” : an online platform to help SMEs and startups across Asean to digitalise.

Of course, productivity is also about people, which is why the government is also supporting businesses to invest in their staff with the SkillsFuture Enterprise Credit programme through which eligible employers will receive a one-off S$10,000 credit to upskill their workers. To get the best from their staff, SMEs can look to job redesign initiatives as well as curated training programmes.

Go global

For Singapore SMEs, growth can be challenging if it is limited to the domestic market. With larger markets such as China, Indonesia and Vietnam on the doorstep, smaller companies from Singapore need to focus on expanding into Asia and, eventually, globally. This is particularly true for those that have already established themselves at home and so are in a stronger position. Despite this, though, less than 25 percent of Singapore SMEs with a turnover of less than S$1 million have an overseas footprint.

As such, expansion is another key area of focus for Singapore SMEs, with a 2019 survey conducted by global insurer Aon revealing that half of SMEs in Singapore are considering expanding their operations overseas. Encouragingly, a more recent survey conducted by QBE showed that smaller SMEs in Singapore that had not yet expanded overseas were more eager to internationalise compared to their medium and larger-sized peers.

While the first phase of the Covid-19 pandemic is now thankfully behind us, there are undoubtedly still dark days ahead for businesses and individuals alike. However, Singapore’s SMEs remain a vibrant and essential part of our economy and society and with the right vision, drive and support, they will no doubt emerge from Covid-19 ready to seize the new challenges that lie ahead.