What Type of Home Business in Singapore Should You Start?

Part 1: How To Choose The Right Type of Business
You've made the decision to start a business. Now you're asking
yourself, "What type of home business in Singapore should
I start?"

You already know that there's a world of possibilities out there
for anyone who wants to start a business. How can you possibly
widdle them down to find the type of business that's right for
you? The approach outlined in this article will help. Once you've
worked your way through these five decisions, you will have a much
better idea of exactly what type of home business in Singapore
business you want to start.

1) Retail or wholesale type of business?

Where do you want to be positioned on the supply chain? Retail
businesses sell goods directly to consumers, usually in small
quantities. Wholesalers buy goods (often in large quantities)
from manufacturers or importers and then sell them to retailers
and other distributors.

2) Franchise or independent type of business?

Many established companies offer franchises, which are basically
copies of their companies.

If you buy a franchise, you are buying the right to sell the parent
company's goods and/or services in a specific area. Besides paying
a franchise fee, you will also have to pay royalties and perhaps
additional fees to the franchisor. You will also be expected to
abide by the terms of the franchise agreement, which will often lay
out exactly the way you will do business. Buying A Franchise explains
the advantages and disadvantages of franchises and what to expect.

An independent Singapore home business is one that you create
and nurture on your own. Starting a independent business allows you
the control and freedom that you won't get from a franchise operation.

3) Product or service (or mix of both) type of business?

If you are a trained professional, such as a dentist, accountant or
realtor, your business is going to revolve around the professional
services you can provide. But there are many professionals that also
have the opportunity to offer related products, if they choose to do
so. If you're a photographer, for example, you may decide to sell
cameras, picture frames, and photo paper.

If you're not a trained professional, the key to deciding whether to
focus on products or services when you're thinking about starting a
home business in Singapore is determining where your true talents
lie and what you most enjoy doing. Would you be happiest telling
someone how to do something, doing something for them or offering
them the products they would need to do the job themselves?

DO NOT base this decision on whether or not you enjoy selling or
are good at it. No matter what type of business you start, you will
be involved in sales.

Now you've made three decisions about the type of home business in Singapore
that you actually want to start. There are two more decisions to make
that will make choosing a business to start much easier.

Part 2: How To Choose The Right Type of Business

Going through business opportunities and finding the right
Singapore home business to start becomes much easier when you know
exactly what you're looking for. The previous page of this article led
you through three decisions to narrow down your choices. Two more
decisions you need to make to determine what type of business is the
most suitable for you are:

4) Storefront or non-storefront type of business operation?

If you have decided to start a business selling products, you need a
storefront of some kind, whether bricks-and-mortar, such as a retail
store, or virtual, such as an e-commerce site. Many successful
businesses have both, expanding their customers beyond their locale.
Others "borrow" a storefront, so to speak, by getting their products
distributed by other businesses, selling their products through
markets and fairs, or by using available e-commerce venues.

If you have decided to start a home business in Singapore selling
services, you may or may not want a storefront. Many different services
are actually performed at a customer's home, from cleaning through
landscaping. While you would still need an office (either in your home
or elsewhere), an actual storefront is unnecessary.

Some services can be offered over the phone or the Internet, such as
the services offered by Virtual Assistants or some business coaches.
These businesses often depend on virtual storefronts (business web sites)
to attract clients. Learn more about business web sites in How To
Build A Web Site That Works.

Another option is to use your home as a storefront. While B&Bs are
the obvious example of this, there are many other services that can
operate successfully as home-based businesses, from travel agents
through hairdressing. (Note: If you are considering this, be aware
that home-based businesses are subject to Zoning bylaws and may or
may not be allowed in your particular area. See Before You Start A
Home-Based Business for more information.)

5) In which industry/topic?

To make it easier on yourself, choose an industry or topic that you
are not only interested in but have some expertise or experience.
Otherwise, you're going to have to spend a lot of time and money
educating yourself that you could be putting into your new business,
or worse, making costly mistakes because you don't have the necessary
knowledge.

And The Winning Type of Business Is...

Now you're ready to look for a Singapore home business that fits
the bill. Let's suppose, for instance, that you've decided that you want
to start a business that's retail, independent, product based, has a
storefront and is related to gardening. Then the businesses that you
might start (or look to buy) would include nurseries, garden shops,
or a business specializing in gardening-related products, such as
greenhouses or hydroponic equipment.

You can see that this still gives you a really broad range of choices,
but has narrowed these choices down to the types of businesses you are
most interested in owning or operating, as opposed to wandering through
the whole bewildering array of possibilities.

Once you've broken it down this far, it's time to let research be your
guide, searching for the "matching" home business in Singapore
opportunities in your area, and if none exist, Doing The Market
Research that will show you specifically what type of business in
the topic area or industry you're interested in has the most potential.

The next step? Writing A Business Plan, of course. You'll need one,
if you're trying to get any kind of financing, but a business plan
is also a great way to test the feasibility of a business idea before
you spend a lot of time and money on it.