There are some truths to your statement as i used to think that Singapore is only for Big Business Corporations with huge funds. I know of a fellow Singaporean, who is as entrepreneur as you, started many businesses for the past many years, but all failed. But if you take a close look, business needs planning and all his businesses failed because he failed to do that. He likes to go into `Fade ' businesses, for example bubble tea, medicure , pedicure etc, as he thinks these businesses can earn him money due to its popularity. At the same time, he believes that these businesses has proven itself to be money spinning, thus the risks he's taking is so much lesser. But by the time he goes into these businesses, these businesses are fading out, on its down trend.
Business is about taking risk, some risks can be managed while others cannot. There are still some businesses that can be done in singapore, but one needs to know how to manage risk and do proper planning. In Singapore, we know the culture, language , rules etc, thus we are at an advantage. Vietnam is a huge market and is developing, but its not as simple as most Singaporeans think it is. I mentioned before about the government red tapes, different culture, languages etc, all these will prove to be tough for a normal Singaporean with limited resources. For example, i know of a company that deals with construction machinaries for rental / leasing. It went into VN, thinking that its a big market. After 3 years there, it closed down. One of the biggest hurdle is the culture there which the company cannot handle. For example, they leased a huge machinary to a local construction company, but after some months, the local company refused to pay them and even tore down the machines into spare parts, refusing to return it back to them. They reported it to VN police, but the police cannot do anything. After 3 years there and losing 3 Million USD, close door.
In a foreign land, we are at a disadvantage. If our businesses face problems, its difficult to solve unless we are well connected at government level. In VN now, big businesses with huge capital are making big bucks, but small businesses are often crowded out. This is the same situation as in Singapore. But there are often still some areas that can be tapped, just like Singapore. We just need to know the place well, be connected and have lots of patience.
