1 SELL TO THE WORLD, EVEN WITH A TIGHT BUDGET
If you want to start a small online business but lack the funds, dropshipping is a relatively low-risk and fuss-free way to start a side hustle.
Basically, there’s no need to fork out any money upfront to invest in an inventory of items. Instead, you can trawl websites like Alibaba.com and Amazon.com (through its Fulfillment by Amazon programme) for drop-shipping manufacturers, and choose what you want to sell from their catalogues.
All you have to do is to set up a website with an e-commerce store and promote the things that you’re selling online. When a sale is made on your website, you simply act as a middleman to transfer the customer’s orders and shipment details to the manufacturer, who will ship the items directly to the customer. You earn a cut out of each sale.
Cherie Lim, a 22-year-old business and marketing undergraduate, dabbled in dropshipping for four years.
“I found the cheapest ways to set up my website,” she recalls. “I experimented with Shopify, Wix, WooCommerce, and I’m still exploring other platforms.”
She worked fast as a one-woman show, capitalising on the free two-week trial on e-commerce platforms to launch the site to save costs, and test if the products were saleable. If they were, she would continue subscribing to the e-commerce service. Cherie spent about $100 a month on social media ads to promote the products that she was selling.
With its low entry barriers, she says that drop-shipping is one of the best ways for students or those with low capital to start a business.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der September 2020-Ausgabe von Her World Singapore.
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Diese Geschichte stammt aus der September 2020-Ausgabe von Her World Singapore.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
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TREASURE ISLAND
When plans to demolish the Merlion Tower on Sentosa were announced in 2019, some Singaporeans were sad to see one of the island's most iconic attractions go. After all, the quirky creature – with the head of a lion and the body of a fish – had been a significant part of their memories of Sentosa.The 37m-tall, 12-storey structure, completed in 1996 and designed by Australian sculptor James Martin, was a focal point for laser light shows and projections that transformed its ivory facade into a vibrant display of colours.The Merlion Tower was a popular attraction for families. Singaporean couple Anand and Vrunda Patel would often take their children there for outings. Vrunda, now 50, fondly recalls climbing the structure and admiring the views of Sentosa from the Merlion's mouth. “Outside the Merlion, there was a beautiful step garden with flowing water. I used to love walking there,” she shares.Years later, the statue, covered in dirt and grime, required a refresh. The demolition was not only part of a larger vision to connect Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) in the north to the three beaches (Palawan, Tanjong and Siloso) on the island's south, it was also the start of a massive rebranding project to transform Sentosa from a recreational family destination to a premier lifestyle attraction.Today, Sentosa Sensoryscape stands in its place. Set within a lush landscape, the 30,000 sqm attraction features a 350m-long connector that leads visitors to six sensory gardens – where they can explore the gardens’ massive vessel-like sculptures, observe the various flora and fauna inhabiting the space, and interact with Instagrammable light displays through an augmented reality app after nightfall.“To attract younger visitors, our additional focus is on creating more authentic and immersive experiences, recognising that this demographic seeks deeper, more engaging interactions with the places they visit,” says Thien Kwee Eng, CEO, Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC).Just as Sensoryscape is designed to create an otherworldly atmosphere after dark, the Sentosa Night Mode campaign, launched in August, aims to introduce the island as a day-to-night destination for both locals and tourists, who would typically only make day trips to Sentosa. In addition to more nightlife events – such as the recent Waterbomb Festival, which saw about 10,000 revellers partying to a live K-pop line-up – the initiative includes extended operating hours at key attractions, along with street performances and dining promotions.It’s a move that has boosted visitorship to the island, with total numbers reaching 16 million this year.“This is a 20 per cent increase in the number of visitors as compared to the same period last year,” reveals Kwee Eng.
TAKING THE LEAP
It’s 10 am on a Monday, and Gan Guoyi, 40, walks into Jigger & Pony with a set of dry-cleaned clothes – a picture of calm amid the aftermath of last night’s chaos. The Singapore bar recently secured a spot in the Top 5 of The World’s 50 Best Bars 2024 list, announced in Madrid on Oct 23. To celebrate, she threw a three-night promotion from Nov 10, where customers enjoyed five premium cocktails for just $5 each at select bars like Gibson, Live Twice, Sugarhall, Como Pony Jakarta, and Jigger & Pony.Naturally, the event was a hit, and Guoyi, who was manning the guest list at Sugarhall, only managed a few hours of sleep the night before. Still, she arrives promptly to our photo shoot without complaints.
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