7 pages / 2100 words, Both must meet. excluding graphs, pictures, title page, table of content, references Need within 24 hours from now

New Business Startup Growth

Kenneth Farley

Excelsior College

International Business

BUS 435

December 14, 2017

Table of Contents Introduction 3 Market 3 Legislation 3 Business registration 4 Taxation and government incentives 4 What I did for my business to stand 5 Product quality 6 Fair pricing 7 After-sales service 7 Philanthropy 8 Conclusion 9 References 10

Autofocus Lenses for Eye Wear

Whenever a person thinks about a business, the first thing that comes to one’s mind is capital. This is however not the only consideration for a new business starter. There are several other requirements for any business to grow. When I came up with the idea of my Autofocus Lens business, I had to consider all requirements and the most suitable location to invest. After an in-depth research, I eventually settled on Singapore. It has been two years and the business is showing signs of growth. The choice of an investment destination is not automatic. There are factors that make one destination more suitable for business than the other. One has therefore to consider factors such as markers, government legislation, tax regimes as well as the process of setting up business (Bosakova, Kubak, Andrejkovic, & Hajduova. 2015).

Market is as important a factor to consider as capital. No business can grow without sufficient market for its products. With Singapore having the highest rate of eye sight problems in the world, this was a clear indication that for a business dealing with eye glasses, there was a potentially high market for my product. Research has shown that about 30 per cent of children are shortsighted which greatly raises the demand for eye glasses (2017 Index of Economic Freedom, 2017).

Unlike in the United States where new businesses have to undergo an exhausting process of seeking authorization, the situation is different in Singapore. New investments are highly encouraged in Singapore and almost every sector is open to foreign investments. Unlike many counties where foreign investors are required by law to enter into joint ventures with local investors or cede management control to locals, Singapore maintains a relatively open economy. Foreign investors are subject to the same economic laws as locals and this was a huge motivation for my business (Sedláček & Sterk, 2017). There is however some government control on some sectors like banking, broadcasting and telecommunication. This was however not the problem for me because my business did not fall under any of the government restricted sectors. The judicial system in Singapore is very committed to upholding the sanctity of contracts and this goes a long way in ensuring that decisions are upheld with utmost transparency.

In Singapore, there is a seamless online platform for business registration. This applies to all businesses, whether owned by locals or foreigners. The online platform is very effective and unlike in most countries where one has to do a lot of paper work and this also attracted me to Singapore. With the registration process taking minutes to complete, there is too much time saved and this is clearly a reason I am among the many foreign investors who choose Singapore (Huat & Kuen-Chor, 2014).

Taxation is one of the most inhibitors of investments in most countries. Most countries place high restriction on foreign goods so as to protect local investors. This is however not the case in Singapore. With a few exceptions like tobacco and alcoholic products, most goods enter Singapore duty free. This means that it is very easy for foreign goods to be sold in Singapore at prices that are relatively low and this enables them to fairly compete with local goods.

Another unique incentive that the Singaporean government gives to new startups is a tax exemption of up to three years. This according to the government is to encourage investors as they try to set their feet in the market. Mine being a startup, there was no way I was going to let this opportunity pass. I have operated without paying taxes for the past two years, which has greatly reduced my running costs. The money I have saved from this incentive have been going to stock expansion so as to meet the growing demand.

In addition to doing research on the requirements to invest in Singapore, I had to ensure that my new business had the right foundation so as to grow to what it is today. A combination of strategies ensured that the business not only grew but also became one of the most known in the country and worldwide. Some of the strategies include; marketing, product quality, fair pricing and excellent after sales service.

Marketing

For any business to gain footing in the market, there has to be adequate consumer awareness of its products which comes from marketing. Since my business was young in Singapore, I had to invest in marketing to make sure that the product gets the right penetration in the market, especially considering that other companies had already established themselves in the country. The main selling point of my eye glasses was their unique autofocus features. This was a new concept in the country and for people to know what it really means to have autofocus lens, an intensive marketing campaign had to be done.

Marketing is however not an easy endeavor and the best way to go about it particularly in a new market is to contract an established local marketing agency. With a majority of the population of Singapore being digitally connected, digital marketing was the best bet and this is why I decided to use a digital marketing company. Although it was hard at first, this marketing strategy gained momentum very first and raised our sales significantly.

With several other firms being involved in the eye glasses business, marketing was not enough to get a breakthrough in Singapore. This prompted me to research on other factors such as quality of eye lenses that my competitors had. The results of the research showed that there was still a gap that needed to be filled in terms of product quality. One major complaint by most consumers of eyeglasses was durability. Most of the lenses lost power after a short time, which required a replacement. These replacements were becoming too expensive and inconvenient to the consumers and my team set up on a journey to solve the problem.

At first, we thought of coming up with lenses that would last long, but this could not be possible because they needed a power source. Being a device that a user has to wear most of the time, designing an auto-recharging lens was the way to go. This proved to be not only safe to the user but also convenient. There was no need for the wearer of the glasses to take them off and connect to a power source. Instead, all a person needed was to expose the glasses to light for at least three hours and their solar power converter could keep them powered for a whole day.

Our lenses were also unique in terms of their auto-focus feature. This means that the lenses adjusted themselves automatically depending on the eye condition of the user. Unlike most lenses that are designed specifically for shortsighted people and others for longsighted people, my lenses could be worn by both categories of people. This eliminated the need for different pairs of eye glasses for the different eye condition. This is an innovation that I came up with by use of a computerized microchip that senses the light requirements of an individual and focuses it based on their needs and it really gave me an edge over other companies. Although it seemed impossible at first, repeated trials proved that indeed the lenses could adjust themselves automatically and also recharge themselves by solar power.

The unique feature of my lenses created a lot of excitement among Singaporeans and many bought them just to try. Within no time, my products had made a name for themselves not only within Singapore but in other areas I the Asian region as well. This greatly contributed to the growth and development of my business as a result of increased sales volumes.

In a market with an ever growing competition, marketing and product quality alone are not enough to grow a business. Although the quality of a product is a key consideration for customers, price also plays an important part in influencing consumer decisions. This is a factor is carefully considered for my products and it paid off in the end. Initially, I started with market research to establish the prevailing rates for the eye glasses in the market. This was prices for normal eye glasses with no special features as mine and after a careful analysis of the cost of production. I came to the conclusion that I could still make a reasonable profit by selling at prices similar to my competitors. This is despite my glasses having additional features like the autofocus and solar power features.

The thinking behind price cutting was that since I was benefitting from tax exemptions by virtue of being a startup, I could cut my prices, get a lower profit per unit output but recover the profit on sales volume. Pricing is one element I had to include in my marketing program so that consumers could notice the uniqueness of my glasses and the advantage they had over others in terms of price and quality.

Having a competitive advantage in business is one of the contributors of growth. However, the biggest challenge is knowing how to outdo your competitors. My long time in business had taught me that selling at a good price and selling a good quality product is not enough to create loyal customers. Customer satisfaction comes from the relationship that a business person establishes with their client. For me, my relationship with my clients went beyond the time of selling. My glasses have a genuine two-year warranty where a customer can return their faulty eyeglasses for repair at no cost. For those that could not be repaired, the customer is assured of a new pair of glasses, also at no cost (Shrivastava. 2016).

This unique after-sales service has created a lot of confidence in my customers because they do not have to worry about repairing faulty glasses within the warranty period. In the two years I have been in business, there have been less than five percent warranty claims. This shows that my glasses are of top quality and the free service incentive to my customers does not in any way eat into my profits. The service has not only resulted to a high number of satisfied clients but also more referrals from satisfied customers.

The aim of any business is to maximize profits while keeping costs at minimum. This is the reason firms adopt all means of cutting cost and unfortunately, this ends up hurting them in the end. A company that is solely driven by profits is often at the risk of being affected by market forces. This is where the aspect of giving back to the community comes in. it is very important to demonstrate that one cares for the people who contribute to the growth of the business. This involves taking part in programs that are purely aimed at benefitting the society.

Having this principle in mind, I established a social welfare program that was aimed at supporting people who had no ability to purchase my eyeglasses. This program included provision of free eye tests and a significantly low price of glass compared to other clients. There was however a difficulty in the implementation of this program because just like any other country, it is not that easy to establish a genuine needy case. This drove me to partnering with the government to obtain statistics of the neighborhoods where people’s income is comparatively lower and purchasing power low.

Even though this program involves selling at lower prices and offering free services, it has significantly helped increase our sales because it has brought on board a section of the population that other businesses have overlooked. The broadening of the market base has greatly raised my sales and since its inception, profits have risen significantly. There has also been recognition by the government and this has come with tax incentives.

It is no doubt that starting a business and making it grow to compete with others is no mean fete. Stringent measures have to be put in place. For new businesses in a foreign country, it is even harder to establish and pick up. This therefore calls for adequate research and analysis of associated risks. Having established my business and gained success, I am confident that anyone seeking to succeed can do so as long as they pay attention to the basics (Sedláček, Sterk, 2017).

Ahmed, M. U., Kristal, M. M., & Pagell, M. (2014). Impact of operational and marketing capabilities on firm performance: Evidence from economic growth and downturns. International Journal of Production Economics, 154, 59-71.

Bosakova, L., Kubak, M., Andrejkovic, M., & Hajduova, Z. (2015). Doing Business Abroad: Utility function model for country selection in preliminary screening phase. Central European Journal of Operations Research, 23(1), 53. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10100-013-0328-1

Huat, T. C., & Kuen-Chor, K. (Eds.). (2014). Handbook of Singapore—Malaysian Corporate Finance. Butterworth-Heinemann.

Sedláček, P., & Sterk, V. (2017). The growth potential of startups over the business cycle. American Economic Review, 107(10), 3182-3210.

Shrivastava, P. (2016). House of quality: an effective approach to achieve customer satisfaction & business growth in industries. International Journal of Science and Research, 5(9).