Hello guys, just a quick update here and a little information for you if you are interested in getting some new furnitures for your home or office. I have complied a list of Singapore Furniture Retailers and contains about 76 listings for you to choose from. If you have purchased furnitures before, I am pretty sure that you know it can be a real hassle. I mean you need to find the right colour, right type (plastic, wood, metal or some other material), quality and style. Look at the interior styling of houses these days, we get a lot of mish-mesh of different furnitures, making the house look out of place and ugly. Of course, it is easier for you to get everything from one store or from one manufacturer, but sometimes it is just not possible or it could be out of your budget. Or the designs are too outdated and may not be in production anymore. So you are forced to source around.

We are also very sick of looking at furnitures from Ikea or Courts. Basically these two big retailers control a large portion of the furniture retail market and well, they are very convenient. Not to say that their designs are bad (in fact, some of which are pretty good) but there are common place. If everybody buys the same furniture from the same store, we are going to see every house in Singapore looking identical to each other. Why spend so much money on your furniture and interior designing and renovation, just to look exactly like your neighbour’s house/flat? I am all for uniformity, but come on, we are not the military.

And furnitures can really make your house look unique and in many ways very stylish. That is if you do it well.

What would life be in Singapore without maids? I guess most of us living in Singapore do hire maids to do for us our household chores. They have become an important part of our lives. Although it is my opinion that maids are not necessary but apparently a lot of Singaporeans think otherwise.  Sure there are cases where maids are absolutely necessary, especially if we have elderly or the young to take care of at home. In that case, we will definitely need someone to help out when we are working. In Singapore, most people are busy working since very few of us can afford not to work as the cost of living in Singapore is very high. So, we are left to hiring maids to take care of our children and do our household chores for us. I am not saying that this is a good thing, but it’s a necessary “evil”.

I guess our children are also often spoiled by we having maids in the house. They have maids to bring them food, they have maids to clean the house for them and basically, they have maids to do everything for them. I wonder whether they can survive without a maid? I am pretty sure that we have youngsters nowadays who have never pick up a broom in their life. And cooking? Most of them never cooked in their life. However, I am a realist and I know that no matter what complains I have, maids are here to stay.

It is also important that we choose the correct maid. And a good maid agency can help you find a good maid and get “replacements” if necessary. The reason why we hire maids is to make life easier for us and hiring the wrong maid could spell a lot of trouble, not to mention financial headaches as we need to pay fines for any wrongdoing our maids have done during their employment here. So I have created a list of Singapore Maid Agencies for you. Hope that it will be useful for your hunt.

Planning to get married soon? Or perhaps it’s your first anniversary and you want something special for your better half? Or you are just thinking of pampering yourself with some very expensive jewellery? Well, I have created  a list of jewellery retailers just for you guys (or girls). It’s not as comprehensive as I would like to it be, but I think it does list down some of the big and small jewellery stores in Singapore. Not to worry, I will soon be adding more to the list. Anyway, I have also created another listing of speciality jewellery stores which caters to a different group of people. I am sure that there are people out there who appreciates something different from the “regular” jewellery.

The thing about women is that they really like shopping for jewellery. I don’t understand how they can spend hours and hours looking at small pieces of metal and find it very exciting. To me, a piece of gold is just a piece of gold. Sure, it looks good but seriously, it is just a piece of gold. Nothing more. If I need to buy jewellery, I would go to the nearest store I can find, choose one and be off in no time.

Singapore Jewellery Stores

Singapore Speciality Jewellery Stores

If you know any stores which sells jewellery and has a website, please submit to my business directory. Isn’t that excatly what the Internet is all about - helping others? I really hope to improve on my Singapore Business Directory and attract more visitors to it. 

Yup, it seems that time flies by as fast sometimes doesn’t it? And suddenly it is the school holidays. This will be great if I am in school but I am not. I am working and we working adults know that there aren’t exactly holidays when we are working right? Man, I just took one day leave from work the other day and I was bombarded with phone calls every hour. Okay, it wasn’t that bad, but they did call and bother me when I am on leave. Hey, don’t they bother me enough at work already?

Anyway, if you are a parent, this is definitely a good time for you to go on  a vacation with your children. Parents need a holiday as well and what better way to take a break then to go on a holiday with your family members? I mean if you are stressed taking care of your children in Singapore, I am sure you will feel more relaxed when you are taking care of your children in another country which you are not familiar with. And the best part, you get to see stuff which you have never seen before in your life. For the kids, it’s probably the best feeling there is. No need to worry about tuition or some stupid music lesson or drama class which you are never interested in. And you get to stay up late at night to watch TV!

So if you are into holidays and stuff, please take a look at our list of Singapore Tour/Travel Agencies. I can imagine that picking out a good tour agency can also be very stressful for you. Well, in Singapore everything is stressful, that’s why we need to travel out of Singapore to relief that stress, even if it makes us even more stressful in the process. Ironic? Very. But if you don’t get out of the country, you can go insane with all those stress building up inside you.

Don’t you just love the convenience of being in Singapore? I mean, everything is nearby. If you want something, the longest you need to travel is just an hour or 2 hours tops to get the things you want. For example, if you live in Jurong and you would like to buy some fancy high tech gizmo, all you need to do is to travel to Sim Lim Square. It takes about 20 minutes by car or if you are poor like me, it will take maybe an hour or so by public transport. Well, that’s why Singapore being so small is great. Of course, we do have our own problems like lack of space, overcrowding, lack of a proper public transport and so on, but we all can live with that, can’t we?

Anyway, the same thing goes if you are looking for furnitures, either for your new home or just to replace your old worn out furniture. However, where do you go in order to get your furniture? Well, most people will think courts right? Or Ikea. But these are just two big furniture showrooms. There are a lot of other furniture shops offering other models and designs which you don’t know about. Perhaps you are thinking of setting up your home with a certain theme, and since Ikea or Courts are meant for the mass market, they won’t have the style you want. You need some furniture shops that offer these kind of models. Well guys, I have created a little list for you. These are furniture retail shops that have an office or a showroom right here in Singapore.

Singapore Home Furnishings / Furniture shops. These are links to the retailer’s website and you can take a look at what they are offering before you go down. Oh, I am sure that there many more furniture shops than these, but these are the ones which have websites and thus you will be able to check out what they have. I know that finding the right furniture for your home can be really tough. Design, colour, style, material, price and quality are all the things to look out for when choosing the right furniture and sometimes it can be rather frustrating, especially if you are a new home owner. I know from experience that even if you find the perfect one, they may not even have stock for the particular model and colour! I hope that this list will help you in finding the perfect furniture for your home. Good luck!

As the weather gets warmer and warmer in Singapore, what better way to cool off by eating ice cream? As you guys know, I am a real ice cream lover but the problem in Singapore is that we only get Walls or Nestle Ice Cream available in the local stores. Yes, they don’t really taste great and in fact, you usually get them in hard icy blocks. Yucks. Worse of all, sometimes you get the ice cream which is kept on the shelf for ages and they ain’t fresh at all. But surprisingly in Singapore, everyone still eats those crappy brands. I am sure that if we all start tasting better ice cream, we will start to ditch those crappy brands and eat the real ice cream.

Anyway, if you are looking for good ice cream, let me introduce to you Ice Cream Chefs. They made their ice cream in house, which means that it is not made from somewhere else and flown to Singapore. It will probably take a few days to get the ice cream delivered to the store. However, if the ice cream is made locally, then it will almost certainly be fresh. Plus, Ice Cream Chefs claim that they made the ice cream fresh daily! Wow, how about that? Won’t it be great to eat fresh ice cream as compared to the block of ice we buy from the local stores? Here in Singapore, we seldom do get the chance to eat fresh stuff and thus this should be a great opportunity to do so. And it’s my favourite - ice cream! You can also get mix-ins with your ice cream. It’s sort of like a variety of different ingredients like nuts, candies, chocolate and with ice cream mixed together. Yes, just like Stone Cold Creamery but it’s based primarily in Singapore! I am always supportive of Singapore brands, especially when they produce very good and high quality stuff.

And Ice Cream Chefs also delivers to offices and parties. You can order their premium ice cream in pint sizes or shot (3oz) sizes. You can also find Ice Cream Chefs at different shops in Singapore and not just at their outlet. Take a look at their website for a list of participating shops and cafes. You can also check out on their website what flavours and “mix-ins” they have.

Yes, setting up a business in Singapore is very easy. If you are a Singaporean, all you need to have is a Singpass (sort of like a ID for all government services) and an Internet access to setup a business. Well, of course, you need a credit card or a cash card and reader to pay for the business incorporation. But it’s very simple. Just login to the BizFile and start filling some information on your new business and whether it is a sole proprietor or partnership and you are done. It takes like 15 minutes and S$65. I never expected it to be so easy. In just under 15 minutes and with all the necessary information, you will have setup your brand new business. Well, Singapore is like that. They make it very easy to do business in Singapore.

However, if you are planning to setup a company like a Private Limited Company, you would very likely need the services of a Corporate Secretary unless you go and hire one yourself. Most company don’t since the services of a Corporate Secretary is very limited, thus most companies would hire the services of a professional business incoporation company. What they do is do all the paperwork for you, provide you with the Corporate Secretary service and advice you on company matters. Some even provide bookkeeping services for a fee Most of these companies do everything like auditing, consultancy, corporate secretarial services, company registration, assistance in getting employment pass, foreigner workers, lodging and many more. They do make life easier for small companies and at a very low cost. In fact, even big companies outsource these services to these companies to help them on corporate consultancy and guide them  through Singapore’s statutory obligation and compliance matters. I think for a basic package (which includes corporate secretarial services, company registration, bookkeeping, auditing and so on) it cost about S$2000 for the first year. I think it’s quite reasonable considering what it cost in other countries to setup a company.

So if you are planning to setup a company, please take a look at Singapore Business /Company Incorporation Listings. Hope that they will help you in finding a suitable corporate secretary for your company. And of course, good luck to your new business!

For the past few years, there have been a resurgence of the construction sector in Singapore. And how fast it has suddenly grown! I remembered just a few days back, this industry was down in the dumps. A lot of civil and construction companies went out of business due to the slowdown they experienced last time. In fact, even big companies are not spared and I saw a few of them winding down or switch to other industries. But that was then. Now, the scenario is very different. This could be due to the mega projects our government has started like the two Integrated Resorts, the MRT line extensions and HDB flats upgrading. The private sector too is banking in on the construction boom. Private housing, shopping malls and offices are leading the charge as well. We have seen a lot of construction going on in Singapore nowadays. Everywhere we turn, we will see a crane or some cement mixer doing some very important mixing on the street.

And that market is getting hotter. Why you may ask. Well, first of all, look at the rising population in Singapore. We are importing foreigners by the thousands every year and this means that there is a greater demand for housing. We could see nearly 5 to 6 million people living in our little island. This will certainly put a strain on our living space and thus prices and demand for construction materials and labour will increase. Plus Singapore is encouraging rich foreigners to retire in Singapore. Again, this another strain on our already very limited space. I am not sure whether Singapore will be able to handle the load. The price of housing in Singapore is already so high. How much higher will it get as it is already unaffordable for most Singaporeans? I am sure that the government is not really interested in the welfare of the people. They seem to only care if money is coming in and their coffers are bulging.

Anyway, if you have just purchased your house or if you are looking to renovate your flat, I have complied a list of Interior Designers and Contractors in Singapore. I hope this list will help you find the most suitable housing renovation contractor for your home. I am sure you have heard horror stories about some contractors, so you must always be careful when dealing with these people.

Are you thinking of renting a vehicle instead of owning one? Or is your company is hiring someone from overseas and he/she needs a vehicle to commute? Hey, we don’t expect our foreign talent to take the bus like everyone else do we? Then they won’t be called Foreign Talent in the first place. Even if the person will be in Singapore for maybe over a year, it would be more worthwhile to rent a vehicle instead of buying one. For Singaporeans, perhaps the reason to rent a vehicle is because the capital cost of buying a car can be very high. Not to mention all the hassle of buying a vehicle and having to worry about loans, insurance, repair and servicing and so on. If you rent a vehicle, all you need to do is to hand the company a copy of your driving license and drive off with your dream car. That’s it! Well, if the hirer is a foreigner, the work permit is needed as well. Probably save you hours and hours of hassle and needless worry.

And from what I heard, the market for vehicle rental is very hot. And the price of renting a vehicle has gone down. In the past, I have seen cars being rented out for several hundred dollars per day, now you can get a 1.6 litre vehicle for as low as 50 to 60 bucks per day. Ha, if you are willing to settle for an old car that it. But this downward pressure would be just temporary. As the number of people living and working in Singapore is increasing, and expected to hit 5 to 6 million, the need for transport has increased. And looking at how terrible our public transport situation currently is, I am sure that there will be more demands for cars. And this will definitely affect the vehicle rental business. I expect prices of rental rates to increase very soon. Add this to the increasing number of tourists coming to Singapore, plus the opening of the Integrated Resorts (IR) in Singapore in 2010, we will see the market booming like nobody’s business. Not to mention the limousine services. Singapore hopes to attract rich players to the casinos in the IRs and what better way to attract them by providing the players with smooth and comfortable transport to and from the airports. Unlike most of us Singaporeans having to crowd ourselves into over-packed sardine buses and trains to work everyday.

I have complied a list of Singapore Car/Vehicle Rental Companies. Please take a look if you are interested.

I guess for most Singaporeans, growing up in this hyper competitive society, all of us need a little help now and then. The problem is always time and the fact that we Singaporeans are always overwhelmed with work. So how about our little ones in school? Do we have enough time to spend coaching them? How about their lessons? Do we have enough time to know what subjects they have and how to help them? The most likely answer is no. Even for those lucky few who have time to teach their children, you could always get some more help from people who are more experienced in teaching.

And nowadays, if you look at Singapore schools, they are very different from before. During my time, the lessons are just lessons. The teachers teach their students from the blackboard and from the book. However, now lessons are no longer mundane and boring. The lessons now teaches students to think out of the box and creative problem solving. You get very interactive classrooms and everyday there is something new to learn. But this also increases the pressure on students. They have a lot to absorb in a very short period of time. I know the feeling. When I was at that age, I feel lost sometimes too. Thus, the students too need help. Of course, I am not talking about spoonfeeding, but basically coaching and support from someone other than their teachers and parents. This is where tuition centres can come in and help out.

Well, I have complied a list of Tuition Centres in Singapore for you. If your child is weak in certain subjects, there are tution centres which specialized in these topics or subjects.