Since September 15, two months ago, with the fall of the Lehman Brothers, the entire economy climate has changed, and recession is inevitable. Existing jobs are at risk, and new jobs are rare. Bonus will no longer be the norm, but life has to go on for everyone. Christmas, New Year and Chinese New Year are arriving, but where will the finance for these festive spending be coming from? And will there be jobs for the new batch of graduates?
With the current job market’s prospect, the alternative option would be to become an entrepreneur. As the saying of the Chinese proverb, “The times and circumstances create the hero”, and it seems like this inevitable recession will force many to make a choice, just as decades ago, when the Chinese educated graduates were unable to find a job.
However, being a budding entrepreneur does not mean that one will be disadvantaged, as the sudden change in economy climate, has shifted the consumers’ attitude, where thrift is now the mandate of many, and the previous boom years strategy of mindless consumption will no longer works as well. New business strategies will be needed, and a nimble entrepreneur who is able to implement new strategies are at an advantage.
Moreover, Singapore government strongly supports entrepreneur. For the uninitiated, there is lots of funding from various departments and many events are available. For example, in less than a week, starting from 17-23 November 2008, we have the Global Entrepreneurship week, where those interested can attend events such as
1) Business Commercialisation and Innovation Seminar (RSVP by 14 Nov 2008),
2) Technology Commercialisation Forum 2008 (Early bird discount by 14 Nov 2008), and
3) The Big Pitch (RSVP by 14 Nov 2008).
In addition, a nimble entrepreneur can benefit his or her business with the employment of IT. The expansion of market through the use of internet, can greatly increase sales. While accounting, book-keeping, and tracking of sales can be managed through enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, to lower business expenditure and provide instant stock count for online sales. Moreover, for a technological business, internet provide a wealth of freewares and opensource, which can be integreted into their marketable software and hardware depending on the licensing.
Therefore, through the time is pressing, the choice is yours. To be or not to be an entrepreneur?
Would the job be spared? Would your choice be an entrepreneur?
Global Entrepreneurship week
17-23 November 2008