Maybe, it’s your dream to be an entrepreneur in Singapore, or you have a unique business idea and want to set up a startup in Singapore. It’s time to fulfill your dream and start a business. Singapore is one of the leading countries to start a business because of its great economic policies, pro-business environment, and competitive market.
Nevertheless, executing a business idea is not easy for anyone. The prospective business owners need to do some homework and hard work to achieve their goals. Here are some tips to help you give an idea about starting a business in Singapore.
Walk through the process and start your entrepreneurial journey and become your boss!
Check if you are ready to start a business
Many people dream of becoming entrepreneurs to escape from jobs they do not like. However, running a business is not easy, and it involves a lot of challenges. You need to have enthusiasm and motivation for it and check your real intention of starting a business.
If you want to start a business for reasons that you want to earn more money, you hate your present job, or you think running a business is easy, you are not ready for this. You need to ensure having a good strategy, business plan, experience, capital, and guidance before starting a business.
Write your business plan
A business will not survive on dreams alone; for this, you should make your dream into reality through a plan of action. Write your dreams on paper and formulate a good business plan before starting your business. It works as a blueprint and gives you a complete idea about your business. Also, you have to agree on a plan of action that tells about your business goals, marketing plans, capital raising, financing needs, and how you will achieve your goals. Have the essentials in the first stage and add to it as your business grows.
Choose the right business structure
To start your business, you have five different types of structures like Sole Proprietorship, Partnership, Limited Liability Partnership (LLP), Limited Liability Partnership (LLP), Limited Partnership (LP) to choose from. You need to choose the right business structure based on factors such as:
- The capital you wish to invest
- The number of partners or owners in the business
- The liabilities and responsibilities you planned to assume
- The risks you are ready to take
- Types of business structures
Know the grants available for SMEs
Singapore is the best place to do business because of the availability of startup loans, grants, and government assistant schemes for small businesses. A Singapore government agency, the SPRING provides funds for everything from skill development to innovation enhancement and new product development to overseas business development.
Apart from this, several financial institutions offer Startups Grant to help fund blooming entrepreneurs in Singapore to start their first enterprise.
Know how to register a Business in Singapore
For registering a business in Singapore, you should apply to ACRA’s BizFile service online. You can log on to the website by entering your identification number and SingPass at one of ACRA’s BizFile Kiosks premises or on your computer or at CitizenConnect Centres located at Community Centers.
Apart from this, you can seek the assistance of professionals such as lawyers, accountants, or a chartered secretary to submit the online application. After paying the registration fees, it will take 15 minutes to register your business. In some cases, if your application requires any verification, it may take up to 15 days to two months based on the verification process, approval, and review of the relevant verifying authority.
You will get a Business Registration Number (BRN) for your business from ACRA, which acts as a unique identifier of your business.
Apply for a business or corporate internet bank account online
Once you have registered your business, you are required to maintain a corporate account to aid your daily business operations. You can open a DBS Corporate Account online in five minutes and get all benefits.