Starting a Golf Business in Singapore ?

If you search www.google.com  on subject such as “Turning your hobby into a profitable business”, “Making golf my business”, you will probably find endless list of articles telling you how good it will be if you were to do a business that you truly enjoyed.  The passion for golf, I think, is the main reason why there are always brave souls out there who are willing to enter this notoriously competitive golf business in Singapore. Likewise for me, when I started my small golf business 8 years ago, I have never done analysis. I came in solely because I love the game. The fact that I was holding quite a comfortable job then was perhaps another factor. 8 years into the business and I have seen numerous golf businesses went belly up every year. I was fortunate enough to stay afloat and learnt from the mistakes these failed businesses made. 

As we all know, Singapore has a small population of slightly above 5 million. The last statistics which I got shows that there are about 75,000 active golfers here and 13 golf clubs with full 18 holes courses. It’s a small pond filled with big and small fishes! Just because you enjoy a hobby doesn't mean that your enthusiasm for this activity will translate into a viable business. Before you take the plunge to start this hobby business, I think the most fundamental question to answer is “What are your comparative and competitive advantages to win the race?” If you do not have a clear answer to this question, it is best that you re-strategize before starting your hobby business. I am quite certain the hobby will turns into a nightmare if it continuously bleeds despite your hard work.

There is no lack of brave souls out there to enter this notoriously competitive golf business in Singapore. Picture above is a new golf store opening at Far East Shopping Center soon

A SGX public listed company with a chain of golf stores in Singapore and Malaysia last year announced that they are scaling down their investment in the golf retail division, while another golf chain here, incidentally also public listed, also reported that while the focus is still on golf and lifestyle business, the company is constantly looking out for opportunities to diversify. Indeed, it has diversified into property development and apparently, that yields better return. Ironically, despite being public listed with sizable shareholder funds, the company seldom attained a profit exceeding 2 million a year, reading from the annual reports. That shows how difficult this business is!

Having said all these, is there a future for golf business in Singapore? Yes, I think. Ultimately there are 75,000 active golfers here and this number is constantly increasing as we become more affluent. Remember our target population size is 6.9 million in 2030. These golfers need golf equipment, accessories, apparels, shoes and repair services and somebody needs to serve them.

If you are planning to start a golf business and are discouraged by what you have read so far, you may find some comfort reading my other blog post

http://www.empowernetwork.com/tohsk8/blog/golf-direct-the-rising-star-in-singapore-golf-retail-scene/ .

By adopting a low cost, low price and high volume strategy, Golf Direct is able to grow fast, win the competition and create a major threat to the incumbents. We too, regardless of financial strength and size, can create a niche if we do a proper analysis before stepping in. Sometimes, borrowing ideas which we learnt from business schools, SWOT, BCG, Porter 5 Forces, whatsoever, will help in formulating our thoughts into a concrete action plan.

If I am new to golf business and if I were to start, I would first equip myself with sound knowledge on Internet Marketing and e-commerce rather than golf.  Internet is the future for businesses. Businesses without internet presence will probably disappear from this planet in no time. Internet is going to remove the constraint of market size that most Singapore businesses are facing and solve partly the manpower shortage problems. The way business is going to be conducted will look drastically different. Social media will probably be the mainstream marketing tool and online buying will become the norm. When our internet savvy next generations grow up to become the major spending group, businesses without an internet presence will lose out a huge part of the pie.

I have been working in the information technology industry for the past 20 years and always arrogantly self-proclaimed an expert in e-Commerce. Not until I met this young “internet marketer” (a very cool job title indeed) who reminded me how outdated I am. E-commerce sites, Facebook, Twitter, blog, mobile devices are now sophisticatedly interlinked, creating ample opportunities for businesses to ride on and create low cost and yet effective marketing strategies.  Having an internet presence is no longer about hosting a web site, it about reaching out to customers and potential customers which we traditionally find hard to. There are many good resources out there pointing you to the right direction.

All businesses need a strategy and unique winning formula to stay ahead of competition. For me, I will make Internet my winning formula. Aspiring golf business owners out there, what is yours?