How to set up an E-commerce store in Singapore – eCommerce is something that has become very popular with the starting up community in Singapore. Singapore is a small country, going to the mall is not that difficult for most people. But eCommerce is still a very popular form of business in Singapore because of the convenience it brings to the retailer and also the shopper who is able to buy the items they need in the convenience of their home.
eCommerce store are also great for first time business owners because the starting up cost of this types of businesses are minimal and you are able to try and learn new things at your own pace since you out lay of cash is not as stressful as a big investment into a more traditional form of business.
So what are some of the items that an eCommerce startup founder can take note of and how do you actually go about starting something like this in Singapore.
Find out what product you want to sell
This sounds easy but is actually the hardest part of the business. Many a times, people think that accessories shops are the best way to start an online shop business. Most do not realize that everyone else has the same thinking and end up every first timer i know starts an accessories shop that is crowded out by the rest of the world.
Find a product that does not have too much competition. Probably something that you have passion about would be good since you will be able to pay more attention to yourself instead of doing it purely because you want the money.
Make sure the items are not too bulky, bulky items are hard and expensive to ship.
2. Set-up your company for identification purposes
Most buyers want to know that they are buying from a reasonable and identifiable business. If you take their money and decide to run away, they are able to track you down and get their money back or get a refund for bad products.
In Singapore there are many forms of businesses that you can register. If you are running a business alone, the most preferred would be Pte Ltd, you reduce the risk of any legal attacks if something goes wrong and you are able to sell the business easily by transferring your shares.
The cost of Pte Ltd companies are high though, if you are starting up and not having much cash, you might want to consider LLP. LLP will require you to have a partner for the business which many may not need or have.
Choose one that will be able to help you better. Or find out more in our article on http://www.shkoh.com.sg/whats-difference-sp-llp-pte-ltd/
3. Learn marketing methods
This is one thing that many online store owners lack. They believe they use facebook and therefore know how to do marketing. But there are many methods and dimensions of marketing on just Facebook alone. Also there are many online marketing platforms. Spend some time to learn how to run SEO campaigns, adword campaigns, Facebook, youtube.
There are many things that you can learn and there is a lot of trial and error to figure out what works best for your product and what has the highest return on investment for such spending.
SEO classes are great ways to learn SEO methods and they provide a good return when it comes to the time spend and also the resources placed into this form of marketing.