Starting A Business in Singapore : Hack Your Startup With These Service Providers

We receive numerous emails, requests, messages asking about our journey in building The New Savvy. My background is in Banking and Finance and when I started, I was clueless. I didn’t know how to start a business, much less build one. We all learn from mistakes and boy, do we make lots of them!

We’ve burnt our fingers badly so I hope this will help you lessen your painful rite of passage. This is the comprehensive list of service providers to start a business but we are using the ones below. 🙂

For those of you thinking of making the leap, here’s a list of useful providers we use at The New Savvy.

Hosting Service Provider: Vodien

We can’t stress enough how important proper hosting is to the success of your business.

If you are in Singapore, Vodien provides a hosting platform that is efficient and reliable. Vodien has a SuperSupport service to add a personal touch to their clients. With 24/7 SuperSupport provided through various platforms, the Vodien SuperSupport team is reachable, responsive, and ready to resolve any issues faced by our clients.

Vodien’s clients include Infocomm Authority of Singapore, XiaXue, and LadyIronChef among others. If they are good enough for the top bloggers in our Lion City, it is good enough for you.

I have to add that we have been immensely impressed by the quality of their customer service. I have nothing but praises for them. While we have met with some technical issues which were frustrating, I can personally attest that their service is top-notch. They were patient, understanding and issues were resolved swiftly.

Corporate Service Provider: Smaths Corporate Services

Smaths offers comprehensive services for any start-ups. They waive their professional fees for the first year to ensure that you focus on achieving your business goals.

What they offer: Business Incorporation, Corporate Secretary, Annual General Meeting & Annual Returns, Book-keeping & Compilation of Financial Statements, Business Consulting & Training, Tax Computation.

Their service of Smaths’ staff has been outstanding. Most entrepreneurs hate cumbersome paperwork and Smaths have been understanding and responsible.

More: Business Structures in Singapore  and Opening A Business Bank Account in Singapore

Job Portals for Freelancers, Interns & Full-Time Employees

Upwork

Upwork is a product of two giants merging: eLance and oDesk. It has close to 2 million clients today, with a wide base of freelancers already and willing to work for you. The skillsets on Upwork vary and can range from simple data entry and transcription up to constructing complex CAD models.

You can customize the kind of experience, salary range, location, and skillset that you’re looking for in a freelancer, and Upwork filters them out for you. What’s more, you can hire them on a temporary or full-time basis, with the option of paying them on an hourly or fixed price basis.

Upwork is great if you’re just starting out and looking for a relatively low-priced service that offers good results.

Startup Jobs Asia

Startup Jobs Asia is a hybrid between a freelancer platform and a jobseeker’s board and is considered one of South East Asia’s more prominent sites for new startup owners looking to hire the right talent. This is a useful site if you ever need someone to fill in an ongoing role in your company.

Startup Jobs Asia places greater emphasis on mostly software-based skill sets, such as developers, software administrators, and coders in general.  It also maintains a modest field of skillsets for anything that startup owners need for their business, like designers and marketers.

Networking Community: CRIB Society

Creating Responsible and Innovative Businesses (CRIB) Society is a Singapore-based social enterprise that aims to help women attain career fulfilment and financial independence as well as build strong family ties and contribute to the economy. With this mindset, CRIB acknowledges the importance of work-life balance. Through activities such as the CRIB Society, CRIB Match and CRIB Incubation, the community addresses these issues and empowers female entrepreneurs.

CRIB provides two options for membership. The basic membership costs SGD80 per annum. This includes access to CRIB Society events at discounted prices, access to members-only events, access to the members-only online community, and an opportunity to submit business proposals for feedback.

The pro membership costs SGD180 per annum. The benefits include the basic membership benefits as well as access to exclusive VIP events, eligibility for CRIB Match pitching and co-founder pairing, access to a specialist mentor for on-business guidance, and eligibility for CRIB Incubator.

Aptly named, CRIB addresses the need for women to successfully establish their careers as well as to raise their families.

Check out: Networking groups in Singapore and Female Networking Groups in Singapore

Coworking Space: Trehaus

Trehaus is Singapore’s first co-working space for working parents, equipped with adjoining child-minding and learning facility. Trehaus offers you the option of bringing your children to work at a conducive workspace, complete with child-minding assistance and play-based learning activities – so that while you build your career, your little ones can build their minds too.

I am not a parent but working at Trehaus has been a lot of fun! They hold weekly yoga practices, meditation sessions, breakfast on Mondays and more. The ladies I work with are supportive, kind and they brighten up my days.