5 Tips for Hiring a Business Broker

Posted by Editor in Finance on Oct 30th, 2013 | 0 comments

To sell business, there are two options for you: 1) to sell business yourself or 2) hire a business broker. Though it’s still possible to sell your company on your own, having a business broker to do all the sales negotiation guarantees a faster sale.

Unlike owners of small-sized businesses, brokers are knowledgeable with years of experience in selling small businesses. They know exactly what is best and what’s not in the buy and sell business industry, making them very helpful in handling business-related tasks such as advertising, business valuation, negotiation, prospect interviews, and due diligence. Hiring a business broker will also allow you, the business owner, to focus more on running the business and increasing its value.

If and when you choose to hire a broker or decide whether your current broker is the best one for you, here are the key points you should address:

1. Certifications Are Not Enough

Business owners think that the more authorizations and certifications the eton associates business brokerage from Singapore has the better broker he or she is. This isn’t necessarily the case. It’s more beneficial to ask the broker what associations he or she belongs to, as reputable brokers often voluntarily join legitimate associations that uphold ethical standards of professionalism and conduct. Also, look for a Singapore broker accredited as a Certified Business Intermediary, which necessitates brokers to undergo an extensive training on certain aspects of business for sale matters.

2. Relevant Business Selling Experience

While most business brokers in Singapore have years of experience, it is important to hire someone with experience in business selling in your local market and specific type of industry. Remember that no two markets and industries are the same, and unless the broker is knowledgeable of what’s important for that particular sector to buy business, he won’t be able to connect successfully and negotiate clearly with them.

Ask and verify how many businesses in the same industry and market the broker has sold in the last two years, and compare the number to different brokers of your choice. If the number of successful business for sale transactions is low, it could mean that the industry you’re in is not his forte.

3. Discuss About the Preparation Method

Ideally, a reputable business broker should voluntarily discuss his step-by-step business selling preparations, such as the vendor and customer lists, preparation of recent tax returns, and essential enhancements that need to be done to improve the physical value of the company. If the broker appears to be in the hurry or doesn’t pay much attention on the preparation process, it might be best to look for another business broker.

4. The Valuation Process

Usually, a business owner will ask the broker for an initial valuation of the business. To fully understand the broker’s estimation, be sure to agree with the broker’s valuation process. Let the broker explain how he came up with that value. Experienced brokers know that pricing your business a bit lower than reasonable value will make business selling a lot faster. Make sure that you’re not overpricing as this will only shoo away potential clients to buy business and drag the selling process for years.

5. Comfortable Rapport

A successful business for sale transaction won’t happen if you’re not comfortable working with him. This could be a bit difficult if your business broker is carrying a large client load, as the possibility of creating a close bond drops dramatically. Your business broker should be someone that you can trust and work comfortably with on a regular basis.

Watch Out for the Dolphin Island

Posted by Editor in News Channel on Oct 9th, 2013 | 0 comments

Good news for dolphin fans out there! Finally, the Dolphin Island will open on the end of September. You can now see bottlenose dolphins swimming and frolicking at the Resorts World Sentosa. The huge marine park will cater to small groups of people from five (or fewer) to up to eighty people every day. This will give people a chance to get up close and personal with these delightful marine mammals.

Each group will be accompanied by a professional trainer and given thirty minutes to interact with Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins. The interaction will happen in the shallow boundary of the interconnecting lagoons. This is open to non swimmers but you should be above 122cm tall to join. Dolphin Island is the new addition to the Marine Life Park. If you are going to  visit there, might as well go to:

• S.E.A Aquarium – Be awed with the largest aquarium in the world. You will see more that eight hundred species of marine animals from the manta rays to the goliath grouper and many others. There are also about 200 sharks that you will see there.
• Ultimate Marine Encounters – You can experience the world below together with thousands of marine animals. You can get up close and personal with the giant fishes. If you want, you can also stroll while manta rays swim beside you.
• Adventure Cove Waterpark – If you want to bring your family here, you will surely enjoy this aquatic themed adventure park. You will be happy with the waterslides, hydro magnetic coaster, wave pool and tubing in their adventure river. You will also enjoy snorkelling.

What better way to spend your spare time? You can visit RWS any time you like. Your family will surely love the experience.

Singapore to Face 100% Water Independence

Posted by Editor in News Channel on Oct 5th, 2013 | 0 comments

Despite of limited natural water resources, a small city Singapore is regarded as the world’s leader in water recycling. Rapid population growth and water shortage due to drought has been a critical issue and problem at the heart of environment advocates focusing on water conservation.

Singapore, the only city in Southeast Asia that literally depends its water supply from Malaysia, thereby the city state is in the process to contrive model towards sustainable and yet sufficient water supply by 2016. With this, Singapore will be facing 100% independence on water sharing with Malaysia. However, in 2011, 99-year water contract agreement with Malaysia has ‘expire’. Singapore failed to renew such contract.

Singapore belongs to the wealthiest country in Asia in terms of business enterprise, real estate ownership, in a sad track; the city state is lack of natural water resources.

The Three Models of Water Recycling

Singapore’s water recycling initiative is composed of three fundamental models: “rain collection, seawater desalination, and recycling wastewater.” This model has won the 2007 Stockholm Industry Water Award.

1. Collection of Water. Singapore uses 17 tanks to collect running water from the rain strategically located in sidewalks, rooftops, streets, open land and major waterways among others. Planting trees around city-state will provide Singaporeans better opportunity to contribute 20% of the required water.
2. Seawater Desalination. Establishing infrastructural equipment requires huge amount of money and yet durable water conversion. In 2005, the first plant was successfully opened and two more will open soon. This method can provide 30% water requirement.
3. Recycling Wastewater. In order to generate 50% water requirement, Singapore currently building five “NEWater” to recycle wastewater to a portable or drinking water. This process is common for industrial needs, thus producing drinking water is its core objective.

The Circle of Blue spokesman Brett Walton from the United States considers Singapore as the “world leader in recycling water.” With its inception in 2000, Circle of Blue is an American-based organization, the powerhouse of journalists and scholars working together specializing towards issues in relation to water abuse and usage.

Water shortage in Singapore is getting more serious. Singapore’s estimated water needs by 2030 hit 6,900 billion cubic meters, in contrast to 4,500 billion today. Therefore, 40% above current levels is required to reserve water supply for environmental consumption.

Variations of Art Halls

Posted by Editor in Arts on Jul 22nd, 2013 | 0 comments

Art halls, such as art museums art galleries, generally contain different art pieces that highlight the beauty and culture of different places in the world. The type of art found in art halls can vary a wide variety of medium, such as paintings, drawings, sculpture, and photography. The purpose of these galleries is to compile and show off the greatness of local and national artists in a way that the audiences will want to buy them.

If there are works that can be sold, others are for viewing purposes only. Because of this, variations are formed for the people to know where to go for what purpose. To know more about these, here are the two major variations of art halls.

Art Museum
Art museums are usually owned by the government and are not for making profits, but rather preserving and displaying art works from different local and national artists. They are the most common destinations for school field trips and educational tours, where lecturers further discuss the different things that lie behind every piece. The main reason why art museums exist is to educate people about the things that links the past and the present through works of art, such as painting, sculptures, and literary pieces. Unlike art galleries, the pieces displayed in art museums are purely for viewing purposes alone.

Art Galleries
Art galleries serve the purpose of selling artworks rather than just displaying it. The type of galleries has almost the same count as there are types of art. Though many art galleries such as Vinci abstract painting singapore are in the business to offer pretty much whatever kind of art is available, there are also others that specialize in one type of art. Some galleries in Singapore offer only modern art or local art. Some offer themed art, such as wildlife art or historical art. There are also some that specialize in national or regional art and some that only offer religious art pieces. For example, Gajah Gallery is an art gallery Singapore that specializes in the diverse socio-cultural interests of Asia.

Furthermore, there are also different types of commercial art galleries, which are the co-op galleries and rental galleries. Rental galleries are paid spaces by artists who want to sell their art pieces, while co-op gallery is usually owned by a group of artists who share expenses in order for the gallery to operate in exchange for the chance to exhibit their work in it.

Regardless of the type of art gallery, the main purpose of art galleries is not just to have the pieces viewed by the public, nor done for art appreciation or purely educational purposes, but to sell, make income and profits.
They are not made to sound overly insensitive and obtuse, but to support the artists by exhibiting their work, make a living, and further preserve the beauty of their culture through paintings and art works. With all these, it has been concluded by many that art museums are the places for arts of the past and art galleries are the places for the art of the future.

How to Take Care of Your Skin

Posted by Editor in News Channel on Jul 22nd, 2013 | 0 comments

Your skin will be with you until the end of time so the least thing that you can do is take care of it. There are many people that are very conscious of their skin. If you belong to this group, there is nothing wrong with that. You can do the following steps to pamper your skin:

Hydrate

Make sure to drink a lot of water. 8 or more glasses a day can do the trick. It can give the skin a healthy and glowing effect. Aside from that, water can reduce chances of heatstroke.

Bath and apply lotion

Taking a bath will do your skin good. If you have tea bags, you can choose to add at least three teabags to your water. After your bath, don’t forget to apply your lotion.

Skin regime  

Establish a skin regime. It is up to you if you want it before or after you sleep. You need to put cleansing toner and moisturizers. When going outside, you need to put sun block. Whatever happens, stick to your routine for better results.

Shave

Shave unnecessary hairs. The hair will soften if you shave while bathing. When shaving, use a foaming gel as a replacement for soap. Soaps can dry the skin and it can cause irritation.

Good news for Singaporeans because the National Skin Centre launched the Patient Health Portal. If you have concerns other than skin maintenance and pampering, you can always refer to the portal. The portal is an online system which permits patients to access some portion of their health records. Patients will now know remotely doctor’s schedules, prescriptions, diagnosis, allergies and more importantly the courses of action of National Skin Centre. The portal also allows the patients to email questions to the healthcare team. It is said that the response is without delay.