"Made in China", does is sound familiar to you? In today's competitive world, you can hardly manufacture anything if you live in an expensive part of the world like Singapore.

Since many Singaporeans cannot be a supplier for physical products, many try to produce intellectual properties instead. These products include educational materials such as books, cds, magazines and other intellectual properties that are harder to be produced by lower skilled workers from China and India.

I can still vividly recall a meeting with my university professor immediately after I graduated from Nanyang technological unversity (NTU). During that time, I was a member of some network marketing business [A waste of time actually]. During our meeting, he told me "not to become any part of the distribution channel, become the source instead." It was a great lesson, how true it was. I learnt that to make the most money, you need to be in control and manufacture products so that you can sell to the whole world, if possible.

Yet, its not easily done in Singapore due to the high cost of labour, and of course, the small market size. Singaporeans can produce high quality products/services, but not any items that can be easily produced in China.

So, what can you sell if you operate a business in Singapore?

a) Uniquely designed Handmade jewelries and handicrafts

There are many online  stores selling uniquely made handicrafts. Since there is no fix price or standard market rate for handmade products like handicrafts, there's a chance for you to sell even though Singaporeans are costly. The world is your market.

b)  Imported goods from China or other developing countries

Singaporeans are at least 2 times more expensive than a Chinese. So, it really makes sense if you import goods from China and sell regionally to Asean countries. There are many distributors who sell products from China indeed.

c)  Selling high quality services

Singapore is an advanced country and No.2 competitive in the world, after U.S.A. If you want to sell your services, make sure its something valubale that requires high level of expertise and not easily achieved by others in the developing world. Consultancy, education services sells very well.

d) Selling Intellectual Properties 

As discussed earlier, the only thing that moves are ideas, thoughts that educates. Singaporeans are becoming too expensive, and the only way to remain competitive is for Singapore to become a fully developed knowledgebase economy.

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With inflation rate at 6% and cost of everything rising now, survey shows that Singaporeans feel much more stressful now. While certain industries such as construction and tourism may continue to do well, many other industries are feeling the pinch. 

If you plan to sell products/services through an online store, do feel free to consult us!