Budget for Marketing

Today we shall talk about one of the most important aspect of business, and that is marketing. People often compare between banking finance and marketing, trying to come to a conclusion which is more important for a business. And the politically correct answer to this question would be, it depends, and it can be both as well.

However, if you are talking about a small business that you are starting up, marketing would definitely be the MOST IMPORTANT thing that you be bothered about. It will be what makes or kills your business. 

Let's see this in another simpler way. Suppose you have only a hundred dollars in your only single bank account, would you be bothered to constantly check that the sum of money that you have in your bank? The answer would be most likely be no.

On the other hand, suppose that you have multiple bank accounts, and in each account, there is at least a few thousand dollars, will you be more inclined to check regularly that the sum of money in your accounts tally to the correct amount? The answer would most likely be yes, since now we are talking about a larger amount of money here.

So the point that I am trying to get across here is that, if you are starting a small business on your own, chances are the finances that you are dealing with in the initial stages would not be large enough to warrant so much attention to the point it overshadows the emphasis that you are placing on marketing. Not that I am saying the finances should not be looked after, it is still important, but it would not be at the level of a MNC, if you know what I am saying.

Marketing is extremely important for a startup to build a customer base. With the onset of social media such as facebook and twitter, you might be hoping that marketing cost can be cut to virtually zero. But, i would beg to differ.

Through the use of Facebook, you must have come across contest posts whereby businesses/stores giveaway free products when participants likes and shares their posts. By giving away items, it is already spending money on Marketing. But, the good side of this, is that usually, this move creates a lot of publicity. I mean, who doesn't like free stuff right =)

What Business to Register

Today I came across this topic regarding which is the best type of business to register as. There are two main categories of business registration, sole proprietorship and company.

Most of you would have heard of companies, and it seems like something that is unreachable by the common folks and only achievable by those who are rich or exceptionally smart and business savvy. This statement is not really true, start your business small and slowly build up your experience if you have to, it's do-able.

Lets talk about sole proprietorship.

Sole proprietorship

Pros
- this business type is the easiest and most hassle free to register, you can register for it at a small fee of around $20 at Singapore's ACRA website. And the time it takes to activate is just a short 1-2 weeks, and voila! You have a registered business and your customers will feel much more secured.

- No filing of accounts is needed.

- Free from corporate tax, and hence double taxation. Double taxation will be explained later on.

Cons
- There is UNLIMITED liability for this business model, and this means that should anything happen and you have to compensate to customers or legal authorities etc, you are liable to pay for all the expenses using the assets that is under your name, meaning your house, car, etc.

- There is limited lifespan for this business model as it difficult for one person to pass on the business to another compared to that of a registered company.

Company

Pros
- The main advantage that a company (i.e private limited) has over sole proprietorship is that of limited liability. Limited liability means that your company is registered as a separate company and hence, any compensation of any sort is only limited to using up the assets of your company and not those that is personal to you.

- Transfer of ownership is easy and hassle free, for example when someone wants to buy over your business and you find that it is wise to sell your business for a hefty sum of money.

Cons
- Double Taxation. Being a company subjects it to corporate tax, and following which is income tax. Hence, you are essentially being taxed twice.

- A certified accountant has to be hired as accounts needs to be filed and audited once a year.

Conclusion

The above descriptions are the bare minimal of the distinctive points of the two different types of business models. You should do more readings on this topic before deciding which is a better choice. For example, this webpage will be a good start, www.singaporelaw.sg/content/BA.html

In most cases, unless you come from a rich background, or is extremely business-savvy with a well established network. Chances are high that you will embark on sole proprietorship first like me before gaining the necessary specialties and money to move on to bigger entities. 

Investopedia

Its past midnight and I am still thinking of ways to make money, to be more exact, passive income.
I am sure many of you have come across methods such as buying stocks, forex, online shop, doing paid survey etc.

And I have to be honest, my aim of setting up this blog is to try out the method of blogging to create passive income. And the contents of this blog will revolve around the ways and methods of making money/passive income. This is quite a good thing as this blog will also serve as my personal journal as I continue on my journey to achieve passive income. Even one dollar a month of passive income is also considered a success in its own rights. How many people in the world can have achieve a one dollar passive income each month? Definitely not all people can.

Today's topic will be on Investopedia, check out http://www.investopedia.com/

This is quite an established website from the looks of it. I came across it when I was looking for a good read online on the basics of buying and selling of stocks. The introduction and explanation of the basics on stocks here, http://www.investopedia.com/university/stocks/#axzz2IDZ63Z7V
is quite well done. However, at the end of the day, I was still not able to know where should I start to buy stocks, simply because this is not an article based on Singapore, but rather more relevant to the States.

The amount of information and topics available on this website is massive, so I would recommend this site as a good starting point for all the money-making wannabes out there. Next post will be coming up soon, so look forward to it.