Singapore American • September 2015CRCE &

BUSINESS

5

Ten Reasons I Love Doing Business in SingaporeBy Chris J. Reed, Black Marketing

Having been in Singapore for six years now, I truly believe it’s great to do business in Singapore and Asia

compared to doing business in London and the UK. Here are ten reasons why:1. People think regionally, not locally.One of the first things I noticed about doing business here is that people don’t just think about one country or one city. They think regionally. 2. People think locally when it comes to creative execution.Clients may target and operate in Asia Pacific countries. However, clients also tend to believe in country-specific and even city-specific creative execution, acknowledging every city and every country has different a customer profile.3. Every city in Asia is both different and fascinating.Asia Pacific is vastly different to Europe. While culturally different, every country in Europe has similar broadband speeds, infrastructure, religion and politics. There are no military dictatorships in Europe. There are no alcohol-free countries in Europe. There are no typhoons. Practices are less corrupt. Asia, on the other hand, is the complete opposite. When doing business in each city in Asia, you have to constantly learn and embrace local cultures and customs. 4. People will meet you.One of the great things I noticed about setting up meetings in Asia is that virtually every time I reach out to people on LinkedIn, they generally agree to a meeting. 5. Singapore is an easy place to get together.In Singapore, I can walk to most meetings or my meetings can walk to me. People can decide to meet you tomorrow and it will take five minutes to get there. Even meetings in places like Kuala Lampur and Jakarta can take less time to reach from Singapore than it took me to cross London or use the regional or national rail stations to reach potential clients in the UK.

6. People make decisions.One of the things I do love about Singapore, Australia, Hong Kong and Shanghai is that my clients tend to be very open and straight-talking. If they think we’re too expensive, they tell us. Of course, there are exceptions. Sometimes Asians don’t wish to lose face and, therefore, when they realize that they can’t afford our services, they say they will think about it and will get back to us in a week, a month or a year when actually they mean never.7. There is an expat/foreigner/internationalist network.Whether people like it or not, expats buy expats, foreigners buy from foreigners and locals buy from locals. This works to your advantage if you have a great network of contacts and are good at enhancing this network to grow it further.8. You get out what you put in.More than anywhere in the world, I think Asia rewards hard work. The governments in any of the Asia Pacific nations do not come to your aid if you are in trouble. There is no fall back; no

unemployment or disability benefit. Therefore, the emphasis is on working and providing for yourself and your family. If you do not, no one else will. This is a great motivator to work hard. The harder you work, the more you succeed.9. Asia rewards entrepreneurs.I believe that Asia rewards entrepreneurs more than Europe. Certainly, it’s easier to create and set up a company in Singapore than in London. The environment is more pro-business. Anyone can be an entrepreneur in Asia. It’s also easier to reach out to potential clients here, to network and to work with other entrepreneurs. It’s just basically a more positive business environment in which to do business.10. Business events are plentiful.There are more business events in Singapore than in any other place I have ever worked. This includes amazing business and marketing happenings as well as some fantastic networking events. I could literally go to an event three times a day, every day in Singapore.

Yes, I really do love doing business in Asia, but I especially love doing business in Singapore.

Corporate Partners