Locable

In response to "What are some of your impressions of home-based businesses versus commercial businesses?"

More freedom in terms of legal things you can do + more control of time + the fact that i dont need to sacrifice my paying job! Moreover, commerical business also needs alot of approval from governments, that home-based business dont need to have the hassle of gg through!

In response to "How do you think we can support youth in starting their own home-based business better?"

Definitely monetary support, plenty of youths are broke students. Perhaps a mentorship programme where new home-based businesses can pair up w more established home-based mentors - acting as a support system for them too (on top of the other partnerships you mentioned above)

In response to "Would you be interested in purchasing from home businesses in the future?"

Yes

In response to "What are some of your impressions of home-based businesses versus commercial businesses?"

Well suited for e-commerce

In response to "How do you think we can support youth in starting their own home-based business better?"

Seed funding

In response to "Would you be interested in purchasing from home businesses in the future?"

Yes

In response to "What are some of your impressions of home-based businesses versus commercial businesses?"

Lesser startup cost

In response to "How do you think we can support youth in starting their own home-based business better?"

Providing feedbacks on better promoting products

In response to "Would you be interested in purchasing from home businesses in the future?"

Yes

In response to "What are some of your impressions of home-based businesses versus commercial businesses?"

HBB puts in more time, effort to produce high-quality and innovative products. They are more responsive to customers\' feedback.

In response to "How do you think we can support youth in starting their own home-based business better?"

Provide Mentorship Programme - allow youths to join as interns in the HBB.

In response to "Would you be interested in purchasing from home businesses in the future?"

Yes

In response to "What are some of your impressions of home-based businesses versus commercial businesses?"

Poorer quality products

In response to "How do you think we can support youth in starting their own home-based business better?"

Business mentors whom they can seek advice from.

In response to "Would you be interested in purchasing from home businesses in the future?"

Yes

In response to "What are some of your impressions of home-based businesses versus commercial businesses?"

Home based business might not be scalable as much as commercial business. Home based businesses are usually for food based businesses and only for those who clear certain criteria by certain government boards.

In response to "How do you think we can support youth in starting their own home-based business better?"

1. Give youth an incubator for home based business 2. Before kicking off, youth can provide their ideas with and projected timeline to meet key deliverables with help of project coordinators. 3. Match funding for home based business that youth can get through their own funding .

In response to "Would you be interested in purchasing from home businesses in the future?"

Yes

In response to "What are some of your impressions of home-based businesses versus commercial businesses?"

More advertising is required for more people to know its existance

In response to "How do you think we can support youth in starting their own home-based business better?"

In depth calculation or how much capital is required, manpower, projected sales or if the project is even marketable or profitable or even worth venturing in

In response to "Would you be interested in purchasing from home businesses in the future?"

Yes

In response to "What are some of your impressions of home-based businesses versus commercial businesses?"

home-based businesses put in more effort for great customer service such as nice packaging, sometimes add in a free gift and a hand written note. These efforts can give me a great impression on the business. Commercial businesses tend to have a profit minded which makes the business less honest and sustainable. For example, using cheap/ child labour, quantity > quality, less eco friendly as well.

In response to "How do you think we can support youth in starting their own home-based business better?"

Helping them secure resources from reliable sources, teach some foundational management/ business skills ( how to set budgets, how much they should aim to produce, how much they should sell products for so that they can profit ), giving them opportunities to advertise their business

In response to "Would you be interested in purchasing from home businesses in the future?"

Yes

In response to "What are some of your impressions of home-based businesses versus commercial businesses?"

Home based businesses are more expensive then commercial ones.

In response to "How do you think we can support youth in starting their own home-based business better?"

Maybe you guys could provide these youths with detailed information and some links on how to create and run their own business.

In response to "Would you be interested in purchasing from home businesses in the future?"

Yes

In response to "What are some of your impressions of home-based businesses versus commercial businesses?"

high risk but personal touch

In response to "How do you think we can support youth in starting their own home-based business better?"

provide them the platform to seek help

In response to "Would you be interested in purchasing from home businesses in the future?"

Yes

In response to "What are some of your impressions of home-based businesses versus commercial businesses?"

innovative, experimental but may not be of commercial business level in terms on experience and skills.

In response to "How do you think we can support youth in starting their own home-based business better?"

Offer then a incubation program so that they can validate their business with actual business mentors before launching, it would also help if there is pre seed funding to help kick start any good potential ideas.

In response to "Would you be interested in purchasing from home businesses in the future?"

Yes

In response to "What are some of your impressions of home-based businesses versus commercial businesses?"

Home base business are small scale as they cannot take large orders and they are more customised as the business will take pre-orders only.

In response to "How do you think we can support youth in starting their own home-based business better?"

The logistic of running a business. E.g Delivery and Pushing out the marketing of their business on a single platform.

In response to "Would you be interested in purchasing from home businesses in the future?"

Yes

In response to "What are some of your impressions of home-based businesses versus commercial businesses?"

Personally, HBBs are better gift ideas as they are hand-made and unique.

In response to "How do you think we can support youth in starting their own home-based business better?"

Provide online resources/platform on relevant topics of starting a home-based business.

In response to "Would you be interested in purchasing from home businesses in the future?"

Yes

In response to "What are some of your impressions of home-based businesses versus commercial businesses?"

Possibly the ability to deliver

In response to "How do you think we can support youth in starting their own home-based business better?"

Education and support

In response to "Would you be interested in purchasing from home businesses in the future?"

Yes

In response to "What are some of your impressions of home-based businesses versus commercial businesses?"

May have doubts in terms of quality as they may not be as reputable as commercial business and may cost more due to lower economies of scale.

In response to "How do you think we can support youth in starting their own home-based business better?"

Besides logistics and knowledge, finance seems to be another obstacle new entrepreneurs have to overcome so introducing some form of financing avenue would be good.

In response to "Would you be interested in purchasing from home businesses in the future?"

Yes

In response to "What are some of your impressions of home-based businesses versus commercial businesses?"

Might be tastier, but also risk in terms of quality of their products.

In response to "How do you think we can support youth in starting their own home-based business better?"

You can support them better by providing them a clear understanding of what it really takes (all the hard work and skill of actually having a great product) that it takes to be successful in a home-based business.

In response to "Would you be interested in purchasing from home businesses in the future?"

Yes

In response to "What are some of your impressions of home-based businesses versus commercial businesses?"

Low setup cost and cost saving as no need for rental, commute and license expenses.

In response to "How do you think we can support youth in starting their own home-based business better?"

Provides guidelines for resources, information and cooperate partnership to help convert home space to support home-based business, prep for change in mindset and maximise productivity.

In response to "Would you be interested in purchasing from home businesses in the future?"

Yes

In response to "What are some of your impressions of home-based businesses versus commercial businesses?"

Home-based businesses provides a starting platform for individuals with entrepreneurship. With less regulations and factors, entrepreneurs can be more focused. Commercial Businesses may have more regulations to adhere and require more capital but its regulations are more clearly defined compared to home-based businesses.

In response to "How do you think we can support youth in starting their own home-based business better?"

More awareness, knowledge and exposure to home-based entrepreneurship such as workshops, seminars and dialogues with current home-based businesses. Additionally, more defined knowledge on the law regulations (for e.g., tax, regulation act, etc.)

In response to "Would you be interested in purchasing from home businesses in the future?"

Yes

In response to "What are some of your impressions of home-based businesses versus commercial businesses?"

Home-based businesses feel more personal and engaging as compared to commercial businesses. There is a better connection between the owner and the consumer as there will be more interactions involved.

In response to "How do you think we can support youth in starting their own home-based business better?"

Providing youths with knowledge on starting a business would be useful, especially knowledge on logistics and supply chain. Offering such business courses would definitely be helpful in embarking their business start-up journey.

In response to "Would you be interested in purchasing from home businesses in the future?"

Yes

In response to "What are some of your impressions of home-based businesses versus commercial businesses?"

Home based businesses may not have the same quality checks in place as compared to commercial businesses e.g. hygiene checks or quality assurance. With commercial businesses, due to their larger size and regulatory requirements, there is more of a quality guarantee especially when buying from well-known brands because of their reputation, and customers can even return for exchanges. Logistics wise, commercial business may be able to deliver goods faster than home based businesses due to their scale of operations. So typically home based businesses might specialize in customized or niche goods that cater to a targeted audience.

In response to "How do you think we can support youth in starting their own home-based business better?"

Having a fast-track program to pair youths with mentors in the relevant industries so that the mentors can provide advice and guidance within a time frame to get them started with their home-based businesses. Additionally, have a quick start guide for different industries in terms of the best practices and regulatory requirements or standard procedures e.g. how to ship the products without damaging them, can also be beneficial to the youth.

In response to "Would you be interested in purchasing from home businesses in the future?"

Yes

In response to "What are some of your impressions of home-based businesses versus commercial businesses?"

their scale of business is different, and the impact too!

In response to "How do you think we can support youth in starting their own home-based business better?"

encouagement, success stories, ideas, resources

In response to "Would you be interested in purchasing from home businesses in the future?"

Yes

In response to "What are some of your impressions of home-based businesses versus commercial businesses?"

Managed by individuals, run their own sales, can find them on Instagram and FB. Great for gifts! Home based businesses are more personal and friendly to me. Commercial business just sells more of their brand and have a brick and mortar shop.

In response to "How do you think we can support youth in starting their own home-based business better?"

I am not sure if there is a big market for youths selling their stuff/home-based business. Most of the home-based businesses I know are food related and usually managed by older women. Youths that are in the home-based business I usually see them doing more jewellery related or art work. I am not sure if they want to even expand - because they still have their school committments

In response to "Would you be interested in purchasing from home businesses in the future?"

Yes

In response to "What are some of your impressions of home-based businesses versus commercial businesses?"

less professional but cheaper

In response to "How do you think we can support youth in starting their own home-based business better?"

business, technical knowledge

In response to "Would you be interested in purchasing from home businesses in the future?"

Yes

In response to "What are some of your impressions of home-based businesses versus commercial businesses?"

Home-based businesses are more casual and may not have the licences needed. Additionally, unless I know the person owning the business personally, I may not find them reliable. Commercial businesses are more established and structured.

In response to "How do you think we can support youth in starting their own home-based business better?"

Can provide guides like starting steps and licences and resources etc needed to start a business.

In response to "Would you be interested in purchasing from home businesses in the future?"

Yes

In response to "What are some of your impressions of home-based businesses versus commercial businesses?"

Home based businesses are easier to start and requires less capital and costs and can be borne out of passion and turning it into something profitable

In response to "How do you think we can support youth in starting their own home-based business better?"

I think you guys can have more offerings to guide and teach youths on how and where to start as well as having dedicated mentors who have successfully pioneered their own home-based business in the same industry so that others can follow in the same footsteps

In response to "Would you be interested in purchasing from home businesses in the future?"

Yes

In response to "How Can We Improve?"

Given the great number and varieties of home-based businesses, I would say that you can easily increase the reach of your idea and grow to become a social enterprise. A business model where you can charge a % of profits by home-based business after a year in the running (if successful of course) is something you can explore. You can think of it as though youre a headhunter for a job where you\'re commission for each succesful job posting filled.

In response to "How Can We Improve?"

This is a useful proposal for an emerging area, and the resources will enable youth to venture into this relatively new field. Team may wish to consider how to avoid duplication with existing information platforms like Seedly etc.

In response to "How Can We Improve?"

Hi Abel, I\'m proud that you\'ve made Locable come to fruition - journey is tough since uni days ideating it but many will support u!! I propose 3 suggestions for the team to consider: 1. Matching Programme Match likeminded Individuals to join together to form a HBB. For example, an individual sign up with Locable but do not want to start a HBB him/herself. Locable can source other individuals with complementary skills or same interest to embark on a business idea together. 2. Internship opportunities Allow youths to help/observe the work and effort required to run a HBB. Let them to learn skills on the job too! 3. Allow HBB x HBB collaborations Suggest to HBB within near proximity or complementary products to collaborate together to sell bundled promotion. This increases visibility for HBBs to a wider customer pool. All the best to Abel and Team!! - Joelle Soe

In response to "How Can We Improve?"

There are more important things to learn besides getting the money to start the business; idea validation, MVP, market validation, business models etc. Maybe can start with the particular group of home businesses and grow before helping other groups of home businesses starters.

In response to "How Can We Improve?"

1. Other than matching with suppliers and education, we should also work a method to help them get funding for kick off.

In response to "How Can We Improve?"

Home based business face challenges in having people to know their existance. It will be good if there is sharing or direct help for them to know how they should build up their social network or social media. I believe sponsored ads help to brig awareness.

In response to "How Can We Improve?"

I’m just curious if you are trying to profit from this program. You mention that you are give support to these youths. But what if they their startup fails even after given help, and gives up on it. Will you be at a loss? Are your partners still willing to support youths even though they will not profit, in fact be at a loss.

In response to "How Can We Improve?"

This is definitely relevant to our society where taking initiative is a heavy aspect of everyone’s lives. Though there are numerous online resources that show some directions , they are often very unclear and at times makes us wonder whether they are reliable. So you guys could maybe think about including vetted information that is proven reliable or something like that.

In response to "How Can We Improve?"

Can design a website/App where partners can promote their skills (business) and link to logistic side e.g delivery riders and also payment platform online for easier business operations.

In response to "How Can We Improve?"

HBB is a unique community and products/services are made by local entrepreneurs, it would be great if this market can get more awareness.

In response to "How Can We Improve?"

As with all business, every goal is different Instead of trying to help every single business why not focus on a particular area. Maybe home based cooks, maybe home based arts and craft etc This way u can get the right support, education and knowledge for these business more effectively. And they can also support each other more closely

In response to "How Can We Improve?"

Besides connecting to partner network, the best way to learn would probably be to get some hands on experience or to hear from first hand experience so it would be good if they can be match to existing home-based entrepreneurs to gain more insights about the operation and for advices in the future. Through connecting to various other home-based businesses, it can open up avenues for partnership and cooperation which might be able to help boost such businesses.

In response to "How Can We Improve?"

The team has to realise that almost every (I generalise) youth wants to be an ‘entrepreneur’ these days. I think it’s less of trying to help every one of these youth, but being able to identify the ones who really mean it PLUS have a real skill in baking/cooking/marketing or whatever other ability that will help in the success of the home-based business, especially in terms of the end product and deliverable to customers. Other than that, paid marketing to really scale up a business takes testing, time, skill and capital. The team can improve by having ONE superb case study of actually helping a home-based business owner really succeed in their business: ie. going from a dream and making a couple hundred bucks per month to actually scaling and hitting 5-6 figures per month with the home-based business. Logistics issues are not the primary root problem but a ‘good-to-have’ problem when the business really takes off. The root problem, in my opinion, would be getting initial traction and getting the word out, and also being able to find a comfortable price point that remunerates the business owner fairly for the work they put into producing the goods while still remaining a reasonable price point for buyers.

In response to "How Can We Improve?"

Provide a list of assistance, grants, funding and subidies channels as well as training courses that youth can look out for or apply to help setup their home business

In response to "How Can We Improve?"

Provide more dialogues, workshops and platforms for entrepreneurs to share their concerns while current home-based businesses to address them. Business networking is a fundamentally and crucial step in any kind of businesses of any sectors.

In response to "How Can We Improve?"

Perhaps focus on the type of home-based business would be helpful as the term may be a bit too broad. Example, for home-based businesses that offers food and beverage, their marketing strategy and logistics may not necessarily be the same as a business that is in the fashion industry.

In response to "How Can We Improve?"

Find out what the specific concerns of the youth home business owners are regarding marketing and optimizing logistics and then approach different industry experts for their advice. Perhaps you could also reach out to some government bodies e.g. Enterprise Singapore for their expertise or e-commerce platforms like Shopee to tap on their wide reach as part of a program to amplify these youth home-based businesses. Maybe think about a criteria for selecting the youth businesses as well as the mentors for this program. Great initiative, all the best!

In response to "How Can We Improve?"

being able to find people with like-mind home business ideas, allowing them to talk and share, maybe even partner up.

In response to "How Can We Improve?"

I think home based businesses is a good market! I would love to be able to have a platform where I can easily find all the home based businesses so I can find what I want to buy. Youth wise - I think engaging them with guidance to teach them more about entrepreneurship when they are actually starting out is a good learning experience for them

In response to "How Can We Improve?"

The ideas of helping them with logistics and marketing is perfect!! maybe another target group you can consider are single parents and the elderly. the social benefits would be cognitive and physical for the elderly and flexible employment and income for the single parents. this target group also typically have skills and experience such as in cooking, etc !! maybe the team can focus on specific types of home based businesses - eg F&B. this is because different types of businesses would require different permits and assistance. food may need to be delivered within a specific time frame whereas non-perishable goods do not. also, they could potentially share resources. eg for F&B, if they scale up operations, they could potentially rent a shared kitchen. another thing to consider is whether youths have mental barriers to starting a business. most youths in Singapore are risk-adverse and tend to go with the majority. perhaps understanding the deeper narratives at play might help with shifting that impression. also, maybe introducing the concept of try-fail-learn, repeat cycle which is popular in design thinking/lean startup might be helpful as most will encounter failure.

In response to "How Can We Improve?"

I believe Locable can improve significantly by partnering with government bodies to seek grants which are accessible to youths who are interested in entrepreneurship and seeking to start their own business in the local scene. Costs and capital is the number one huge obstacle stopping many youths from chasing their dreams and I believe this will be a good step forward as you guys remove that hurdle and obstacle for youths to take the plunge. Also, guides can be written on your website to show users the steps to apply for these grants and incentives so that it would be more effective and efficient for users to process their applications in future.