Whats the chances for an ex-pat Web Designer?

[PhoenixGB]

Hi all

My GF has been offered a good position in Singapore - good salary etc.

We currently live in Dubai and I'm doing OK here (which is nice.. ). I am a web designer who specialises in Joomla CMS websites.

The question i have is this..

In Dubai, the majority of my work comes from ex-pats cheesed off with trying to deal with Indian/Filipino/Chinese designers, who may be technically brilliant but have different ethics, standards and 'design' ideas to westerners.

Don't get me wrong, I am not racist in the slightest, I have a good friend here who is Indian and we work great together (different skill sets; me creative, him technical) and we are very close to starting a new business here with one of the AD Ministry of Trades senior directors as our partner and sponsor (I have mentored him on some of the Abu Dhabi Ministry of Trade websites they are re-developing using Joomla and have actually been told we can use my tradename - http://www.joomlaholics.com on their sites because of this tie up (which is nice.. )

I get 90% of my work thru referalls and it's taken 12-18 months to get where I am now and the thought of starting again from scratch is a real bummer.

So the six million dollar question is... how much work can a Brit web designer expect to get (assuming his work is good) in the Singapore market?

I need to make a decision regarding upping sticks and moving to Singapore in the next day or so (GF's new job is very high profile and they need her urgently).

Hope that someone can give me good feedback on this sector ASAP.

Thanks

Kev

[nakatago]

search first here in the forums on how to get an employment pass. loads of threads about that which you will need to read up on.

[PhoenixGB]

Hi

Its not the getting the work permits, its about the amount of work available I want to know about.

Thanks

[Strong Eagle]

Hi

Its not the getting the work permits, its about the amount of work available I want to know about.

Thanks

You will need to consider both equally. Unless you can show a common law marriage with your GF, you cannot get a DP, only a LTSVP which does not allow you to work. With a DP, you can form a company and work for it.

The requirements for the Entrepass, necessary for starting your own business in Singapore, have been seriously tightened up because of abuses. If you have S$50K to put in a bank, you'll probably be OK but stuck with hiring issues, and what have you.

If you have a demonstrated, income earning business, and a client list that you will bring with you, then you may be able to bypass the Entrepass, form a company, and apply for an EP for yourself. A few others have done this, and it appears to be the way the SG gahmen is allowing self employed professionals into the country.

As for work, the majority of small business in SG is not web aware... there are some websites, most quite simple. There are a million web coders and designers who will work for nothing, and even if you have superior design skills, developing the program to differentiate yourself and get your message out will be difficult.

I used a Brit working in SG to design my company website. But in reality he did a lot more, from branding and message definition, to brochures, letterheads, etc. You might want to consider holding yourself out as something more than a Joomla developer.

My guess? Most of your business will come from outside Singapore via Elance and such.

[PhoenixGB]

HI SE

Thanks for that, I didnt actually mention that i also do email shots, print ready artwork, copywriting etc too.

Cheers

[nakatago]

You can try looking for a job while still there---you may get lucky. But frankly, it can be discouraging.

[PhoenixGB]

Hi

I'm definitley not the working for someone else type, been self employed for over twenty years.

Do ex-pat run businesses want local designers and developers or ex-pat guys?

Cheers

[Royston]

Hi Phoenix

As a self employed for over 20 years, are you able to bring in business or sales in addition to the things you have listed as skillsets?

We are looking for a Business Development Manager to lead the company.

We are a boutique VC that has invested in this company 2 years ago, it's services are limited to web design and software development.

If you are interested, do let me know.

Royston

[PhoenixGB]

Hi Royston

Can u give me your contact details, email and tel. (Skype if poss), so we can have a chat off forum?

Thanks

Kev

[Royston]

Hi Kev,

You can email me at [email protected] probably post all the queries you have pertaining to the post of Business Development Manager.
Do list down your preferred working hours (if any)

My contacts are in the email signature when I reply to you subsequently.

Cheers!

Royston

[InTheBlue]

Phoenix, I know a guy who has moved here from Dubai and is in the same business as you. He is doing very well as are most people in business in Singapore. It's a booming economy.

Let me know how you get on as I'm looking for a designer for a new website.

Good luck.

[bethnalgreen]

Hi Phoenix,

I work in digital as well and I have to say that whilst there may be loads of people in Singapore with dev skills, finding talented web designers is difficult. In fact the state of creative web design here is shocking, as is digital overall TBH. Don't even get me started on UX!!! You'll find that social/digital is very much lagging behind what you would find in UK, Scandinavia, Australia, US, etc., but perhaps similar to UAE.

With Joomla on top of good design I would say you have differentiated yourself. You'll definitely need to network as it would take a while to make contacts, but certainly way less than 12-18 months. If you have a good experience I'd suspect you'll do fine. If you can get a Dependant's Pass it is fairly straightforward to set up a sole-proprietorship and then to work contract or freelance. Overall, my experience has been that digital skills are highly in demand (especially if you are also creative or have leadership/management experience).

Feel free to send me a message.

[PhoenixGB]

Hi all

I came over to SG in Dec and set the wheels in motion to register a Ltd co.

All seems straightforward, my thanks to whoever posted the link to ..

I spent a few days talking to people and trying to get a feel for the market and there definitely seems to be a niche for professionally designed sites, most of the sites i saw had some lovely whistles and bells but werent user friendly or thought out too well.

One of the things that i didnt found out was what the costs of a site development were, I know its practically impossible to quote for a site without a brief but i womndered does anyone have any information , either anecdotal or factual for the sites they know and use?

edited by moderator

Cheers

[prkravi]

Huh?? What's Pancakes got to do with Web Designing??

SMS!! Where art thou?

[sundaymorningstaple]

Can't a guy earn a crust of bread around here!