southsea wrote:Plavt wrote:southsea wrote:=So what do I do now - can I appeal,is there some way of pulling some strings ??
I thought I had a well constructed business plan - is there anyway I can
find out why I was turned down or do they not have to supply me this
information ?
I My advice would be to seek professional advice on how to construct both your plan and your business.
.
Does anyone know who can supply this "professional" advice ?
There are supposedly a number of businesses in Singapore that specialize in setting up new businesses but I have no idea if they really know some secrets or they are just paper pushers.
With respect to your rejected application, you can file an appeal with new facts relevant to your situation.
In creating your business plan, did you:
a) Keep it to 10 pages?
b) Fully describe your business? Did you identify your vision, mission, and keys to success (for example, large experience in the trade and/or innovative technology).
c) Describe your products and services, and what they would cost? Did you specify why your products would be of interest to your customers?
d) Indentify potential customers and propose your sales mechanisms for reaching those customers? What is your pricing strategy? What are your sales forecasts for three years out?
e) Detail your company plan? Including type of company (pte ltd, etc), ownership and investment, your startup summary proposal, and key milestones you intend to achieve?
f) Did you provide a market analysis demonstrating a need for your product and your ability to provide it?
f) Detail your marketing plan? What are your plans for building brand? For advertising? For customer outreach? What are your plans for growth?
g) Identify your competitors and your plans for dealing with them? Did you differentiate yourself?
h) Did you specify a workforce strategy? For example, you are going to ship stuff to Europe. Did you allow for that fact that as you grow someone besides you might need to pack boxes? As a parenthetical sidenote: If you have forecast volume numbers that look larger than you could support singly, you could have been rejected because you are not realistic in running a company and being the shipping boy.
i) Did you provide three years of CONSISTENT pro forma statements including your break even to profitability? Were your start up assumptions faulty, for example, not enough captial to cover your own expenses to profitability?
j) Did you have adequate capital for all startup costs, including your own maintenance? Were you going to invest real money or just create a $2 company?
k) Did you compute the amount of Singapore corporate tax you would pay in your pro forma statements?
l) Did you indicate that your funds would be kept in Singapore banks?
m) Did you indicate that you will be using local Singaporean firms to handle your tax, audit, legal, and web needs?
n) Does your CV show successful business experience that would suggest you have what it takes to make your new business grow? Do you have a degree and is there anything relevant about it re your new business?
NOBODY really knows the criteria that MOM/Spring uses in evaluating a plan but from my own experience and gut feel, I think it includes at least the following:
a) If your business is high tech or imparts business skills such as finance or project management to Singapore, then you don't need much in the way of staff because you are satisfying Singapore's needs to develop top talent in leading areas. For example, I know of a guy that starting a business as a securities trader... a one man show.
b) If your business is low tech, then you need to contribute to the economy in some way. How many people will you hire? How much of your expense goes back into the Singapore economy? I know a guy who started a restuarant... his plan emphasizes the job creation of his business.
c) Does it look like you are in the business for the long haul? Is your business plan written in a way that it looks like it was written by someone who knows what he is talking about? Did you file as a sole proprietor or do something more substantial like form a private limited? Did you specify sufficient start up capital, and how much of that were you willing to invest as shares as opposed to loans?
d) Did you name potential suppliers and have potential customers already in the pipeline or is this more of an unresearched pipe dream that you hope will work out?
e) Were your pro forma statements detailed enough for someone to understand the economics of the business? Were they consistent, that is, did sales forecasts, cost of sales, etc, tie back into your P&L and balance sheet? Were your assumptions behind the pro formas clearly stated? Were your sales projections realistic or wildly speculative?
My guess is that MOM is inundated with people from all over the region wanting to start one man shows. They get eliminated because of lack of experience, perceived lack of business acumen (as demonstrated by a poor business plan), no long term growth objectives, no real contribution to the Singapore economy, and low tech business without a differentiating idea that would separate them from the many locals doing the same thing.
In short, your application gets granted because your plans for a business come across as creating a net economic improvement for Singapore. You use local suppliers. You hire local people. You bring in revenues from other countries that are spent here. You pay corporate tax. You contribute to the overall business climate. If you didn't demonstrate some or all of these items, then your business has no real value to Singapore.
