Housewives in Singapore: Passive Before, Progressive Today and Tomorrow
Asian women always encounter misconceptions of having the submissive role in a patriarchal society. While such notions were truly evident during the traditional era, the 21st century has been showing significant changes. For instance, more women have been stepping up the corporate ladder, while stay-at-home moms actively seek online jobs. Housewives in Singapore are also joining the bandwagon to supplement their family income further.
There are hundreds, if not thousands, of job and business opportunities in Singapore. Regardless of age, gender, skill, location, and education, you can succeed if you’re passionate and consistent.
Many housewives in Singapore may have opted to devote their precious time to taking care of kids and housework. However, it doesn’t mean they can’t earn money anymore. If you’re one of them, read further as we explore the possibilities you can capitalize. Each business opportunity is strengthened by passion and drive. This is the reason why we aim to rejuvenate your craving to earn money successfully with these examples.
Baking and Catering Business
It’s quite cliché to say that housewives in Singapore, or in any country, are good cooks or bakers. However, it’s a usual tradition for mothers to pass on knowledge to their daughters. This prepares daughters in becoming better homemakers in the future. Some of these tasks include a lot of cooking at home. You probably have mastered a couple of recipes or developed some signature dishes during your “internship to womanhood”. This is the perfect chance to exhibit your cooking prowess and gain profit from it.
Start your business with generosity. Maybe bake a few sample goodies as gifts to friends and neighbors. Running taste tests is also a simple yet effective market research approach. Don’t force them to fill out survey forms though — you’d want a genuine feedback as much as possible. You’ll know that you’ve piqued your prospects’ tastes when they start spreading the word to their family, friends, and acquaintances. This will commence your business operations. Additionally, you can set up a blog or a social media page to showcase your skills and products.
Expanding into a full-blown catering business is not a bad idea if you’ve created a respectable following already. There’s a good chance of clients contacting you for special events such as birthdays, anniversaries, parties, seminars and many more. Individuals and companies always have a reason to celebrate after all, and they need someone to cater to them.
Event Planning
If you have a knack for planning and organizing events, then this one’s for you. The key qualities you need to possess are versatility, meticulousness, preparation and organization skills, and communicability. People hold out events for various purposes and reasons, so you must know the right theme, venue, and setup for each occasion. A keen eye to detail is also vital since many events only happen once in a lifetime. It might be brutal to say, but messing up a party could damage your reputation as an event planner.
Further, you must be prepared for the worst possible outcome. Mishaps can occur at any party, and the last thing you want to do is let it happen and ruin the event. Lastly, you must be able to communicate articulately with your clients. A radiating confidence enables your customers to feel comfortable.
Generally, you can still plan these events at home. However, you may be required to meet your clients every now and then. Of course, you need to attend the event itself as well. If you have kids with you, make sure you entrust them with a relative or a reliable babysitter. Hiring assistants could speed up your work, lessening the odds of screwing up events.
Daycare Business
Many parents are looking for someone to look after or take care of their children while they go to work. This growing demand unlocks opportunities for a daycare business. Open your home to friends or neighbors who are willing to leave their kids behind temporarily. Alternatively, you can set up the business on another property just near your house to accommodate more children.
Basically, you can start with a few kids for a fixed amount of time daily. That would give you a practical income already. Arrange payments on terms most comfortable to you; it could be on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. Overall, this business is perfect for a long time.
It’s fun to have kids around the house, but their lively and sprightly nature will test your patience. If you have kids already, then you’ll understand this better. In any case, you’d want to keep things interesting and engaging instead of being boring. To achieve this, you may turn your center into a learning atmosphere. Invest in educational materials and tools. For an additional fun element, you may conduct games and tell stories as well.
Making and Selling Crafts
This business opportunity is ideal for housewives in Singapore who love arts and crafts. You can make a wide variety of crafts, from scrapbooks to jewelry to pottery. Others include beading, embroidery, crocheting, cross stitching, knitting, candle making, basket weaving, painting, and more.
What’s great about this business is that you can start it as a hobby. Once you’ve made a decent collection, you can open up an online store or a social media account. People treasure personalized trinkets. In fact, celebrations like weddings and christenings prefer handcrafts as souvenirs for their guests. Take note though that large-scale orders might be too hard and timely to handle. You would want to hire manpower to help you out.
Retailing of Fashion and Cosmetic Goods
Singaporean retail stores are all over the place, in the name of keeping up with the latest trends. In the city alone, you’ll find designer boutiques and foreign brands like Levi’s, Zara, and H&M. These selections of goods are often costly, so offering an alternative or a practical solution would be your best bet. Many housewives in Singapore have been retailing apparel at a cheaper cost, so you can follow their example as well. All you need is an inclination towards sales and marketing.
In addition, you can join a trustworthy direct selling company that manufactures different products. These include health supplements, cosmetics, fragrances and other goods you can sell to your family, friends, and neighbors. To participate, you need to pay a membership fee as well as the products you will market. Examples of direct selling companies you can join are Amway, Herbalife, Forever Living, Nu Skin, and more.
Hairstylist
It has been established already that Singaporeans love style and glamour. On the previous entry, we discussed the opportunities for retailing apparel and cosmetic products. This time, we’ll talk about hairstyling, as every woman (and man) wants their crowning glory to stand out.
Recently, hair salons and beauty shops have been getting an exponential demand for their services. Regular salon treatments and maintenance can provide you with a great income. While these establishments are more common in the city, you can start your business at home too. You just have to devote a space for your salon. Also, make sure that your equipment, tools, and amenities are complete. Taking up cosmetology training and earning a license would definitely improve your skills and reputation.
Blogging and Freelance Writing
This business is probably the most common one among many housewives in Singapore. While writing requires conceptual wit and impressive grammar to ensnare readers, blogging doesn’t necessitate that much technical skill. Any person can post a blog, as long as the stories are catchy, relatable, and fun to read.
There are millions of stories and topics you can talk about in your blog. The good news is that you can make money out of them. Unfortunately, competition for viewership is very tight; you have to consistently post interesting stuff to keep your audience at bay. Also, you need to focus on a specific niche to avoid confusing your readers.
Whether you are proficient enough to do professional writing or quirky enough to blog, profit will always come to you. Heck, you can even do both. Other opportunities related to the field are copywriting, ghostwriting, affiliate marketing, advertising, and selling information products. There are actually more you can choose from, but these are the most prevalent ones.
Pet Service
There’s so much you can say about your pets. They are members of the family and a man’s best friend, after all. Singaporeans, just like everyone else, love and treasure their pets so much. Dogs and cats are the most adored of course, but there are some who’d prefer birds, hamsters, rabbits, and even snakes.
If you’re a pet lover by nature, then you can develop your passion and kindness with this business. As such, there is an increasing need for pet-related products and services. These include pet training and walking, doggy daycare, grooming, and many others. Your children could involve themselves in the process as well provided that they are old enough to handle responsibility.
Pet Breeder
Providing simple pet amenities are nothing compared to breeding, although both are necessary. Breeding can be either an enjoyable activity or a terrible investment to deal with. It’s supposed to be fun and nurturing, but knowledge and expertise in animal care are vital for these babies to survive.
Every animal and breed have a unique lifestyle, and this pretty much determines their value. For instance, purebred dogs have a high value, especially when they are from a rare breed. Consequently, they follow very strict specifications in many aspects, like food, shelter, and amount of care. Every handler must take these criteria seriously. If possible, consult a professional breeder before you pursue.
As with any business, you must start small to test the waters. Buy only the necessary materials and equipment. Determine which animal or species are you breeding, and focus on that one alone. Research everything about your chosen breed or pet, then adjust your surroundings to adapt to its lifestyle.
You will be devoting most of your time on this business, which can affect your family time. Housewives in Singapore like you might be consumed by too much housework as well. If you’re planning to push through with pet breeding, it’s best to hire assistants to lift your burden.
Farming Herbs or Crops
Gardening is fun, interactive, and economical for any family. Vegetable prices in supermarkets are sometimes unreasonable, so planting your own crops will definitely save you a ton of money. Actually, you can overdo the job and sell the excess to your neighbors and friends! Since these crops and herbs are homegrown, they are guaranteed GMO-free and organic.
The tradeoff for this business, however, is you may need space. A lot of space, in fact. Also, weather can either be your trusted ally or your cursed adversary. The good news is that it only gets tough when you’re going large-scale. Small-time farmers and gardeners rarely encounter these mishaps, so there’s no need to worry. In other words, housewives in Singapore can utilize their small space to start planting crops and herbs immediately.
