Entrepreneurship in Singapore
The government likes to bemoan the fact that Singapore lacks entrepreneurs. Yet, chatting to the common man on the street yields an opinion that many want to make it rich, but lack the knowledge and resources.
Yes, there are many self-employed people in Singapore, but are they entrepreneurs? Are they even entrepreneurial? I would caution any hasty conclusion, since many are forced into that position (being self-employed) not because they have a genuinely good business idea, but because they have fallen through the employment net and no longer seem employable to HR departments in Singapore.
These people are quite different from genuine entrepreneurs who quit well-paid corporate jobs to start their own businesses. Yet, we persist in pooling the two groups, this presenting a rather pessimistic view of entrepreneurship in Singapore.
We should also look at how Singaporean society has transformed to change perspectives. After all, we are mostly the descendants of highly-entrepreneurial migrants, who came from China and India to make a better living for themselves and their loved ones. What has happened along the way?
Perhaps it is the perceived risk on jumping into the great unknown. For many of our forefathers, they had little or no choice, for opportunities were scarce and there were mouths to feed. While it was a great unknown, there were stories of jobs being available. It is kind of the same force that drives the thousands of migrant workers to arrive on our shores today.
We, brought up in Singapore, tend to stay at home until we move out after marriage (or after a conscious decision to move out). For most, this is a very comfortable existence, with food on the table and a bed to sleep on. This is quite unlike the West, where children are expected to move out once they get to university. While it is costly to the youngster, the concept of debt becomes a reality far sooner, for most live on some form of a student loan until graduation. It is a sink-or-swim environment that they get thrust into, and doing a business, is then not too far-fetched. Returning to the Singaporean youngster, most still depend on their parents through university and have little or no debts. So, the idea of borrowing money to start a business is far more daunting.
The second fact is that most entrepreneurial ideas in Singapore revolve around retail and food, which presents the problem of rent (which is very expensive) and staff (also expensive). Web-based businesses that can be run from home may be easier to manage, but the support infrastructure for such businesses are still difficult to come by, and food businesses are difficult to realize based on a web-model.
So it seems like the risk of stepping out seems great. Coupled with the fact that there are not many well-publicized entrepreneurial successes, and little-known access to angel investors, most potential business people are at a loss.
Whatever it is, could the lack of tolerance for failure, and the subsequent fear of failure be the biggest stumbling block?
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