Start Your Online Business | E Commerce Business in Singapore

Business | Singapore

As retail stores were closed and dining in was prohibited, many local companies switched their activities online. Cafes began to supply cold brew coffee, home bakers sold out of croissants, and new food delivery platforms emerged. Live commerce, often known as live shopping or Livestream shopping, is becoming increasingly popular. In this blog, we talk about how to start your online business in Singapore?

You’re not alone if you’re considering getting on this bandwagon. Nowadays, almost anyone may open an internet store and sell goods and services.

Start Your Online Business in Singapore

Save money on website development and hosting costs

So you’ve come up with a wonderful company idea. You now require a platform to exhibit your products as well as an easy-to-use and secure payment mechanism. But these should not be prohibitively expensive to operate. Let’s start with professional websites. You can either hire a web developer or set up a shop on a platform that provides templates and hosting, such as Shopify or Wix, to create a website. Also, you can become a vendor on a full-service e-commerce platform. For example, Amazon, Shopee, Lazada, or Qoo10. However, when you’re just starting out, that requires money, and you might not have a lot of it hanging around.

Get your Social Media going!

Consider creating a Facebook business profile and customizing it to seem professional. So, you can use it to display your products in the same way you would a website. You may also utilize Facebook live to entice your audience to look forward to these ‘exclusive’ events. Orders can even be taken during the event.

Of course, Instagram is another famous and free site. Furthermore, because it is a visual platform, it is an excellent place to present your beautiful products in order to increase sales and marketing exposure. Consider the success of basque burned cheesecakes and other home bakers selling their wares on Instagram.

No need to get Delivery Vendors

Even if your business is mostly conducted online, you must nevertheless deliver things to your clients. Businesses typically use a distributor or rent or buy cars, as well as hire delivery drivers. Such overhead expenditures can increase your operating costs (even when demand is low or drivers are idle), lowering your profitability. Aspiring entrepreneurs frequently resort to delivery outsourcing since it saves them the time and stress of managing and maintaining their own fleet, as well as provides them the option to choose when and how frequently they need to hire the service.

Learn the laws so you don’t have to pay extra fees or (gasp!) fines!

We all know Singapore is a “fine” country, therefore you don’t want to get penalized for breaking the rules. For business owners who legally register their company, there are only a few formalities to consider. According to ACRA, “you must register a business if you are carrying out any profit-making activity on an ongoing basis unless you are excluded.”

The exception applies if and only if the following conditions are met:

• “You choose to conduct business under your complete name, as it appears on your NRIC.”
• You decide to do business with one or more partners using their complete names as they appear on their NRICs.
• The act of registering a business qualifies you as LEGIT. 

Make use of Available Grants

And that’s why registering a firm has advantages: you’ll be eligible for government grants! Because the government is particularly supportive of firms going digital, if yours is already an e-commerce operation, you’re already halfway there. There are a few more business initiatives that the government supports, and you can apply for a grant if your company qualifies:

Productivity Solutions Grant (PSG) – “aids businesses interested in implementing IT solutions and equipment to improve business processes.”
Enterprise Development Grant (EDG) – “supports programs that assist you to update your firm, innovate, or expand internationally.”

For your office, use a co-working facility

As your team grows, you may require your own office space for meetings or talks. If you decide to rent your own office space, you’ll also need to invest in furniture, pay utility costs, stock your pantry, and other necessities. You could wish to investigate a co-working facility to reduce those overhead expenditures.

These often include everything from roomy work desks, chairs, WiFi, conference rooms, air conditioning, and pantries outfitted with a coffee maker, tea, and water. Many co-working spaces also host activities such as wellness or networking workshops, which are excellent opportunities for team bonding and networking. With these tips, you can easily start your online business as a newbie.

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