Category: Singapore East Government Grant

There are various startup schemes and government grants provided by the government in Marine Parade Singapore that you can benefit from. There are a number of business support grants for companies to help them overcome obstacles in their growth. Overall aim of these grants is to help businesses in capability upgrading and internationalization.

Government knows the important role that its startups and SMEs play in its economy and hence support these entities with business support grants. Financing is one of the most fundamental aspects of starting and growing your business. There are hundreds of government grants available for small businesses that help in saving money, lowering startup costs and helping grow your business.

Business support grants are small amount of seed money that further the goals of federal, state, or non-profit organizations. Unlike a loan, you don’t have to repay it. Most business support grants in Marine Parade are awarded to help launch a start-up or new business, with the aim to generate jobs and stimulate the economy. There are fewer grants available for established businesses.

The Importance Of Developing A Training Program For Your Company

Government can assist businesses in two ways- financial help and administrative support. Understand what government grants are available to businesses. Grants are available to sole traders, partnership, limited companies and social enterprises.

Now grants aren’t just government funded as more and more organizations develop grants program in Marine Parade. Grants are now offered by government, private agencies, universities, corporations and humanitarians.

Business grants are available in all kinds of forms. Generally, business support grants are either a direct grant, equity finance or a soft loan. Direct grant is money given to your new business to cover startup essentials such as investment in equipment, training or reaching new markets. Equity finance, not strictly a grant, offers reduction in income tax on investment made in new businesses. Soft loans are actually loans with lower interest rates and more generous terms than other lending.

Suzie was a new hire business-to-business sales representative. She had just completed the company's two-week basic training course. After the training, her sales manager met with her.

"Suzie, congratulations on completing the training," he said. "Remember, you have three months to make your quota. We have provided base salary, cell phone, laptop, desk and car allowance. Now go sell something!

What does Suzie do next? She probably will run around like crazy, trying to find anyone who might have the slightest interest in buying her product, while the quota clock relentlessly ticks. What did the company that employed Suzie miss? It failed to understand the fundamental difference between marketing and sales. This misunderstanding may cause Suzie to waste a lot of time, the company to incur unnecessary expense, and adversely impact operations. Here is what every business should know:

• Marketing is about finding prospective buyers with a need, want or desire to which you can sell. Marketing is finding.
• Sales is about helping an identified prospective buyer fill a need, want or desire from which they benefit. Sales is filling.

If this distinction didn't hit, go back and read it again. It's that important.
By having Suzie find her own prospects (someone that may have interest in buying), the company has placed the marketing responsibility on her shoulders. You may think, well that's what salespeople are supposed to do.

That's the common misconception. About 50 percent to 70 percent of a salesperson's time is spent trying to find a prospect. That's mostly wasted time. If Suzie's "finding time" could be re-allocated to "filling time" - being in front of more prospects, selling, she probably would close more business.
Without any certainty that Suzie will make a sale, the company will invest at least $3,000 in hiring, time, salary, equipment and car allowance before Suzie begins seeking sales prospects. If she's fired after three months, the company will have to go through the entire process again, resulting in additional expenses.

Here is a quick example on how expenses can add up. By placing the "finding" burden on the sales rep, a company will wind up replacing 30 percent of its sales force every three months.

Suppose there are 10 sales people on staff. That means spending $36,000 to hire new sales people in a 12-month period. Perhaps that company may be better off taking that $36,000 and investing it into marketing to find new customers.

Without business owners or executives realizing it, the sales / marketing misconception can cause flaws in a business plan as well as operational issues.

Here's an example. In the 1990's, telecommunications was exploding. Many new companies hired armies of sales reps, who had to find perspective customers and sell them.
They were given three months to make quota or be fired. Each day, they had to bring back 50 business cards - walking into businesses where they didn't know anyone - to prove they had satisfied their cold-calling requirement.

Sure enough, every three months, 30 percent of the sales force was fired.
What happened to these companies? Some went bankrupt while others eventually were rescued in buyouts. These were all well-funded companies. But the top executives failed to understand the distinction between marketing and sales.

What was the Marketing Department doing if the sales reps were doing marketing? Well, it thought it was doing marketing. In one case, it spent a lot of money hiring a well-known sports figure and holding fancy parties for big customers to attend, where they could hobnob and get an autograph.

Also, the Marketing Department was busy analyzing the kinds of customers that sales was selling.
Marketing is a vast area. But at it core, it needs to find people to turn into customers. Otherwise, marketing has probably drifted off into analysis dreamland.

Here's an example in which marketing hit a home run for a startup company.

To kick off sales efforts, the marketing manager found a shopping mall that was hosting a local business day. Space was purchased at the mall show for $500. A mailer was sent just before the show, inviting residents and business owners to stop by the table to enter a drawing for a free gift. The mailer cost $400. Sales reps greeted people who stopped by the table. The result was 30 new customers. The event was a big success.

Go through all the business cards that sales representatives have given you and look at their titles. If it says "sales representative," call the rep and ask them if they have to find their own prospects.

But if it says "marketing representative," you can bet the company is confused about the distinction between sales and marketing. Make sure that the mixed-up company isn't yours, whether you're a one-person operation, small business or large organization.

Reintegrating Back To Society - Veteran Job Training Program

Many programs can assist small business to access professional advice and support in critical early stages of establishing a business. While there are a lot of grants available, getting a business support grant from the government can be a challenge. Government grants are often complex with lots of processes and stages, and each grant will have its own requirements and criteria for applying.

While being awarded a grant is winning, they are notoriously hard to acquire. Not only are grants programs highly competitive, they can take months to process. Aside from finding one you’d be eligible for, you have to compete with other companies for the same. The other downside is that grants usually come with specific instructions on how you can use the money.

A grant for companies in Marine Parade Singapore can give your business a huge leg up and can be a great alternative to traditional finance. To apply for grants, first become familiar with the process. Eligibility for grants will vary depending on the grant in question.

Do your research. Identify programs that are a match for your business. Apply for the grant and submit eligibility requirements. Keep in mind that you’ll need to meet certain criteria to be eligible.

How does someone qualify as a veteran? What jobs await these veterans when they return home injured and disabled for life? What benefits does a veteran qualify for? What is Veteran job training and can it help a veteran? These questions may have bothered you while watching that news about soldiers, medics, engineers, and other military personnel going to war and then getting disabled for life.

You might have pitied their situation and wished there was something you could do for them. The fact is, it is not unusual that a veteran who returned from the war would have post-war trauma. In some cases, because of the trauma that the war causes, the veteran becomes homeless and sometimes completely disabled physically and mentally.

The Veteran
Any military service member who served the army for 180 days during both peace and war-time is entitled to have the veteran status as long he or she was given an honorable or general discharge. Upon receiving the veteran status, this person can avail of the different benefits that the government offers for this war heroes and heroines.

The Benefits
Veteran benefits vary greatly from one veteran to another depending on the degree of disability, time served, number of dependents and other factors. Here is a list of different benefits that a veteran will receive once he or she returns home:

• Disability Benefits. A veteran who was injured during active duty is entitled to receive disability benefits. The amount is tax-free and is dependent on the degree of disability received by the veteran.

• Health Care. The Department of Veteran Affairs will provide veterans low-cost health care packages once they enroll themselves in the VA Health Care System. The benefit includes free dental treatment, counseling sessions, for post war trauma and other neurological disorder because of the war, and more.

• Pension. This is usually for veterans who are over 65 years old or those who were totally disabled because of active duty. The amount may vary on the number of the veteran's dependents.

Jobs for Veterans
Sometimes instead of providing pensions and monthly stipends, the VA resort to providing Veteran job training. The Veteran job training program is also a way to encourage those veterans who were partly disabled by the war to return to society. The Veteran job training program was created to encourage veterans to try to live their lives normally despite of the injury, trauma or disability they have received. The VA focuses on skills that neglect the use of the veteran's disabled part. Here is a short list of different programs that the VA Veteran job training program offers:

• Basic Computer Literacy
• Computer related courses such computer repair, application, network and computer systems, support, office and administration support and database administrators
• Culinary Arts Training Program
• Healthcare training programs such EMT basic training, medical support specialists and medical assistant.
• Specialist for Inventory Control Training Program
• Basic Website Designs Training Program

After the veteran successfully finished one or a few of these training programs; they will not be left alone. The VA also promises to help the veterans search for jobs and job placement. The VA also ensures that veterans who choose to reintegrate themselves to the society are constantly followed up for the next nine months.

Each scheme is different. Check you meet the general terms and conditions. Talk to the grant body to assess chances of success. Read grant objectives carefully. Have a great business plan.