Change your mindset to grow your SME

THE 2016 Singapore Budget was balanced, provident and visionary. Changes to corporate taxation were sensibly encouraging; for personal tax, edging towards more fairness without any violent swings was socially prudent. Most importantly, the recognition that Singapore SMEs need help and support to grow into regional and international MNCs will be welcomed by those who see Singapore as needing to be more self-sustaining.

Growing a local business into an MNC is something I did when I took the tiny SME Brands Essence of Chicken and built it into Cerebos Pacific Ltd. I had two key assets working for me in this challenge.

Firstly, strong cash flow is a huge advantage when floating your business, funding research and development and acquiring new ventures. In all these negotiations, strong cash flow puts you firmly in the driving seat.