Committee 2021 Roundup: Startup, Entrepreneur & Small Business

Extract from the British Chamber of Commerce Singapore Membership Directory 2021/22, available now to download

As a start-up, entrepreneur or small business, 2021 has proved, for some, to be even more difficult to navigate than 2020. 

For many, 2021 was going to be the year for expansion, whether in Singapore or overseas. However, the continued closure of international borders and various restrictions has meant that many businesses have had to consolidate, downsize or even close.

Within the SESB committee, the support of our fellow committee members has been invaluable. The stress of being an SESB is enormous during these uncertain times and with many of our members being solopreneurs, having the support of the committee has been extremely important for many. The committee is experienced in various different businesses and industries, each able to bring help and advice, or a new perspective, to issues or challenges that our members may be experiencing.

One of the biggest issues that our committee members continue to face is hiring and this is a subject that we regularly help each other on. However, we are also delighted to report that many of our members have thrived during this year, being able to take advantage of the new opportunities that this pandemic has allowed. Our members have been able to adapt their business models to enable them to work and prosper within the new normal. It is also with great pride that we can report that many of our members are collaborating on various projects together and many introductions have been made during the year.

The committee managed a couple of face-to-face meet-ups before new restrictions came in force. These meet-ups proved invaluable, especially when the Committee has been able to welcome many new members during 2021.

During the rest of the year, our monthly virtual meetings provided support, advice and an opportunity to celebrate the enormous successes our committee members achieve. This is certainly a group full of high achieving small businesses owners!

During 2021, we were able to run the following events:

• ‘Company Registration for Key Information for New Business Owners’ event – a hugely successful webinar to help educate on key areas of good business practice, compliance and ideas to maximise your tax liabilities.
• Collaborating with the H&LS Committee with a ‘Stress Busting Tips to Boost Mental Resilience’ webinar which offered tools to improve mental strength, measure stress levels and educated on proven biohacks.
• A well attended ‘Virtual Speed Networking’ event! Using Zoom technology, we enabled 15 minute conversations to share and find future collaborations and partnerships.
• An article on “Starting Your Own Company” written in an interview format.

Moving into 2022, we are looking forward to collaborating more with some of the other British Chamber committees and events are already being planned with the M&C Committee, Sustainability Committee and ICT Committee.

As always, we remain committed to supporting our members and helping them navigate these challenging times so that we can all thrive in 2022 and beyond.

Watch the Committee's playlist of BritCham webinars on YouTube:

Listen to the Committee's playlist of BritCham Singapore Podcast episodes on Spotify: