by Rosemary Loop

Why Starting A Business In Singapore This Year Is A Smart Choice

When people hear the word “Singapore,” the first thing that comes into their mind are tall skyscrapers and a weird lion statue. But this rising financial center is more than that. It has recently become a haven for entrepreneurial upstarts as well as experienced corporate executives due to its reputation for being welcoming to businesses. Here are some reasons why you should start investing in a business in Singapore:

Ease of Doing Business

Singapore ranks high in a number of lists of countries where doing business is the easiest. In the 2016 rankings of the organization Doing Business, the city-state placed first in protecting minority investors, second in enforcing contracts, sixth in easy process of starting a business, as well as eighth in tax collection efficiency. You will see just how great Singapore is for business as early as registration. Famously, it takes only 1-2 days to incorporate a company in Singapore. To start a business, you only need to go online in the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) to file for the approval of your company name and tax number.

Stable Politics, Economy and Government

In order for a business to succeed, it needs to operate in a country with a stable government and economy. Thankfully, Singapore is consistently touted as Asia’s most stable politically so you do not have to worry about revolts and armed conflict in the territory. It also helps that it has one of the most transparent, honest and open governments in the world, with a lot of reasonable, pro-business regulations. It is also ranked as the third most globalized economy in the world in the 2011 Globalization Index by Ernst and Young.

Excellent Tax System

Singaporeans enjoy one of the most outstanding tax systems in the world. Income tax is charged according to tiers which go up to 20 percent for those who earn above $320,000. Singapore is also known all over the globe for having one of the lowest Goods and Services Tax at seven percent, almost ten percent lower than the global average. The corporate tax in the country is also reasonable, capped at 17 percent for profit above $300,000. It also helps that you are assured that your taxes actually go into social services and infrastructure.

Quality Labor Force and Facilities

With the high quality of education and health care, starting a business in Singapore will give you access to one of the top labor forces in the world. Being the location of a few of the region’s top educational institutions also helps as it means that the employees and workers are qualified. Singapore’s reputation also attracts educated graduates from neighboring countries like the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, China, and India.

Strategic Location for Global Businesses

Singapore’s strategic location at the tip of the Malayan Peninsula is a great factor for business as it means easier access to one of the fastest growing regions in the world. Get into a plane in Changi Airport and you can get into Hong Kong, Tokyo, Dubai, Seoul as well as Beijing in less than eight hours. For businesses that need raw materials, on the other hand, you can also save much more due to Singapore’s proximity to supply-heavy countries such as Indonesia, the Philippines as well as Malaysia.

Pro-Business Climate

Singapore is heavily praised in the financial world because of its attractive climate for foreign investment as well as entrepreneurship. Its government is also known for being unabashedly pro-business because of the sector’s huge contribution to Singapore’s gross domestic product. The island nation also takes its copyright, trademark as well as intellectual property laws seriously.

High Per Capita Income

With a population of barely above 5 million, Singapore has one of the highest GDP per capita in the world, with about $51,855. The median monthly household income in the state is also at $8,292 in the year 2014, which opens an opportunity for businesses to do well as employees and students will be spending that money. Singaporeans have never been known to hold back on spending due to the various arrays of recreational, cultural as well as educational outlets in the city.

More than anything, the biggest reason for people to establish their own business is profit. Singapore is as good as any place in the world to start as it has a proven stature for its pro-business environment.

by Rosemary Loop

The Golden Ideas Of Customer Retention

If you want to form a long-term relationship with a client that will lead to repeat business, Partnering opportunities, and Joint Ventures, you need to develop a wide platform on which to base your sales contacts.

Customer retention has a vital role in this aspect; it determines the fate of the business. Victory in business is not dependent only on getting various new customers; you also require to retain the customers as well. Note that this aspect is not an easy, there are some basics, which should not be ignored. This article explains various ways of improving customer retention in business.

With client retention, you have two types of customers; those who care about service and those who care about price. So, how do you retain customers with such disparate needs? The answer is leveling. Create tiered service packages; the higher the price, the more personalized the service. A base package may offer a cut-rate price, but feature no perks, like on-site service. A deluxe package may be pricey, but includes the best service your company can provide. By creating a leveling system you can finally make everyone happy, and a happy customer is one who sticks around.

  • You must make sure you have the vision and believe in your company if you are going to be convincing in your marketing efforts. If you are looking to secure tender packages from a potential client without the vision to create a long-term sales pipeline, you are simply in the numbers game and unlikely to develop a healthy client base.
  • Offer step by step strategies that offer solutions to your clients. Your potential clients are in business to build a better future, but many of them will not have thought through strategy for achieving their goals. Imagine what would happen if you were instrumental in helping them to realize some of their potentials. Sound a bit far-fetched? Not at all!
  • Assess the viability of your client’s status. It is in your best attention to ascertain this, especially if you intend developing a marketing strategy that embraces relationship building.
  • Be infectious in the way you sell the vision! It is possible at a very early stage of speaking with people, to open various options, suggestions and recommendations that would be attractive to your potential client and would enable them to see beyond the horizon of the immediate business relationship to a wider and more long-term finance strategy that could prove lucrative to all parties concerned. Most developers, housing associations, and entrepreneurial business people, have ambitions which exceed their current budgets. It’s good to have a dream!
  • It may seem a little presumptuous, but small to medium size companies may well struggle in their push to make healthy profits and meet business plan targets. With a little incremental planning, you may be able to help them achieve most of what they want over time. I’m not suggesting formal advice on financial planning, but I am suggesting that we get into the position where we can talk frankly with them about their budget and help them make the right trade-off decisions. This can more easily be accomplished in a negotiated contract position, where interaction between contractor and client on these issues is more acceptable.
  • Strive to earn the trust of your customer at every hurdle. You must get past the suspicion that you are trying to push as much product as quickly as possible. If you can’t find out what their budgets are, let them know what the lifecycle costs of various approaches are and let them steer.
  • Provide the client with options that solve their problems. By doing this, you will build a solid foundation for the business growth and client retention. Remember, you are always there for your client. And your client is always there for you.
  • Look beyond the sale. We often never progress beyond the chase for the next lucrative tender package. Look beyond it, to the bigger picture. We need the vision to build trusting relationships with the decision makers, business builders, entrepreneurs and industry professionals that will enable us to build an infrastructure for mutual growth and profitability.

Retaining customers is one of the best ways of encouraging growth, so heed this advice. Pamper your customers, treat them well, and hopefully, you’ll be able to see them coming back for more.