Singapore Entrepreneurs Network & Startup Organization

Hi everyone at Project:Senso!

I am really glad to have found such a great resource to improve my financial literacy.

In endeavouring to put into practice what I had learnt about increasing my networth, I encountered numerous roadblocks.

Due to my age (I am 19), I am unable to invest in stocks through online stock trading firms like POEMS, fundsupermart, and DollarDEX. I can be a joint applicant instead, but my parents are extremely risk-adverse. Does that mean my only option is to wait till I am 21?

I am serving National Service now, hence I am unable to set up my own business or earn money (moonlight). According to ACRA, I am unable to register a business until I am 21.

My question is whether there are other avenues whereby I can start a business or invest without facing age discrimination? This is a question on the minds of many of my peers as well.

I'll start. I think being a social entrepreneur could be a starting point. It is a means to get acquainted with the business scene and tap into valuable networks and gain contacts for the future. SYINC seeks to groom social entrepreneurs. Through SYINConnect I found inspiring role models in Elim Chew, founder of 77th Street; Jack Sim, founder of WTO; Alfie Othman, founder of PERTAPIS.

Where does the young entrepreneur start?

I am still learning...
Investment is a game that should be done after you have setup a busines that can give you continuous recurring income.  Only upon you always have
continuous cashflow, investment will deem as a last resort for cash rich.

Risk adverse, for parents, becos money is not easy to earn...
So as a 19 year old, learn how to earn before you invest, and dont dump into
any outragreous program that give outragrous earning value.

Money is not easy to earn.  Start from small, Bill Gates start his business from 1000 usd. Only when pple are able to understand and use your value can you prosper.   

the more I know the more I realise that I dont really know. The world is too big to dump all the knowledge in the tiny head of mine.   Leverage the resources from others.

Leverage the resources from others. 
and do what you are best at...

Start a business, you dont need to control everything, just control the core value that you are able to give to your supplier and consumer. and outsource most of the things, if possible.

Hi Edwin,

I do agree with the earlier post of trying your hand at an online business, considering your age.

Before you do that, don't go jumping on the first thing (product or service) that you lay eyes on. Whatever you do, you want to do it not just for the money, but be and remain happy doing it for the long run. So you gotta be able to sustain it and pace yourself emotionally. I'm talking about finding your right product/service/niche/calling.

What would you be happy and passionate about after 6 months or 1 year doing it, even with little or no success?

A few of questions to guide you along to determine your calling/product/service:
1) What do you do really well? (I'm not talking about what you want to do well, but what you REALLY do well for a fact, whether you like it or not.)

2) What are you really passionate about and are at peace with it? (It's like you're really in love with your gf and can just be contented staring at her for hours on end, no need to have a conversation. You can't stop thinking about her or talk about her and in your heart, you feel right, at peace. Now, find that girlfriend as a business, because that can become your 'wife' as a business entity).

3) Once you can answer the above 2 questions and decided on what you want to do, Visualise what you want to come true. This may sound like the rest of the personal development yada, but it holds true. What you're most attracted to, think about and are passionate about, comes about. You want to do this everyday. It's not the length of time that matters, but the intensity of your feeling towards it that matters.

I wasn't clear about what we wanted to do or sell when I started my first with 3 other guys and we ended up folding up after 1 year. Waste of time and energy, but gained good experience setting up a company.

I wish you well in your online business, if you're doing it.

Oh yes, whatever you do, have an international perspective about it. It should be able to cater or sell to the rest of the world. Being able to cater to our local Sg market alone is just too small to grow in this ever homogenous market.