r/smeSingapore

Hi everyone

Am an Engineer in the mechanical sector.
Recently have been asked to take over my family business as my parents want to retire.

The company is in electronics and communications. It is small (6 employees) but it is stable, no debt, annual net profit is in the six digit realm. There is a defensible moat (regulatory) and switching cost is high hence customers tend to stay. The company has secured multi-year contracts and has predictable revenue up to 2031.

I am ok to take over although it means a career pivot into a field I am totally new in. Part of me is abit sad to leave my own field but also abit nervous because there is a technical part to this business that I am not familiar with. I don’t know if I can earn the respect of the current workers because I’m coming in not knowing anything but also to eventually take over. Also somewhat scared if I cannot maintain the company business past the next 5 years.

Any advice for someone in my situation?

Hi all, I'm 21, Singaporean, and waiting to start school next year. I'm doing IT support for SME in the meantime. I've worked in Wi-Fi sales, I've built automations for clients, and I'm comfortable with email setup, Microsoft 365 accounts, laptops, printers, basic networking, and website hosting. Basically its just what you would expect from someone selling IT support services!

If you run a SME and something keeps going wrong, I can be on-site within 24 hours and i promise ill be there! Happy to answer questions here or by DM about what's covered and what isn't.

We stopped doing them last year. Revenue dipped for about 4 months then recovered.

Recently just lost a $200k retainer to a competitor who spec'd out a full campaign for free. found out later they billed the client 30% higher than our quote to recover the pitch cost. client has since complained to me at event about their invoices.

Still think we made the right call but the 4 months were not fun lol

Hi bosses,

Wanted to understand what should be the proper steps taken for DD when wanting to investing in a company as a minority shareholder?

- Latest ACRA profile to check latest ownership structure

- Audited financial statements and latest unaudited if have. Addn check with audit company to ensure FS are true

- Investment contract. (what should the main terms cover?)

- How should payment be done if it's a lump sum investment? Paid only to the actual company name.

- How about the change of shareholdings in a company? When should it be reflected? How can i shorten the window between paying the lump sum and getting the shareholdings updated to reflect myself/my company as new minority shareholder?

I understand investments will always have risk but want to understand best DD one can take when investing in a company.

Thx!

Running an e-commerce brand

Hello! So I've been thinking of running a side hustle (running a brand via e-commerce platforms). And I've some concerns regarding it since I'm working FT.

1. do I need to register is as a business entity?

2. do I need to disclose it to my employers?

3. will having this side hustle affect my future job opportunities?

FYI, both fields are unrelated.