250. "Lots of business opportunities" to make money from puppies?

Toilet Training Your First Puppy in Singapore

"Lots of business opportunities," a dog lover and computer expert said at the end of a tour of a top dog breeder farm, a top dog boarding kennel and a younger dog breeders in Pasir Ris.

I wanted him to be my webmaster for an internet marketing of Singapore puppies to all over the world. But he must see the players in the dog breeding industry, to appreciate its idiosyncracies, needs and problems. Otherwise, this project would just be another one of the meaningless projects he had worked for the government.

I introduced him to a top breeder who could not speak English. Wearing shorts and sometimes bare chested, he was extremely successful in the industry. Low profile. He said to me in the Hokkien dialect, "How come he has an English name but look Chinese?"

"Well," I explained. "His father is English."

I know that this breeder needs a website to sell his puppies globally. He invests large amounts of money in buy high quality male dogs. But the Singapore buyer has a "cheap and lowest price" puppy buying mindset generally.

So, it will be good if I can help him to sell his puppies globally. When he gets high quality buyers, he gets better paid for his 7-day-a-week-no-holiday hard work. He can recoup his investment and buy more better quality breeding stock. He will become very successful because he has income to invest further. This will be good for him and elevates the standards for the dog breeding industry in Singapore.

He does not realise the usefulness of the internet marketing potential. Probably never uses e-mails or short-message texts. Sometimes I scold him for not spelling the breed of the puppies correctly in the vaccination cards. But Singapore webmasters are expensive and unreliable. Here today and gone tomorrow type of webmasters, in my observation.

So, this is where my computer expert and dog lover comes in. This "Englishman" is ideal for my concept of starting a internet global sales for this top breeder. There will be no money from him. The internet is useless, he had said to me sometime ago.

Many Singapore dog breeders cannot sell their puppies by themselves. Newspapers advertisements are costly. The selling prices of puppies are low and production is also low.

So, the internet marketing of puppies as a group is the best option in the long-term for Singapore professional dog breeders. There needs to be an experienced webmaster to execute my concept for a internet puppy marketing website. "Lots of business opportunities," I told him. Will this "Englishman" take my bait and be self-motivated?

Whether this project will make money or not is hard to say. I view this as a giving back to the community, a community project for the puppies to find a good home and for dog breeders to reach a wider audience. Presently, they have to ask the pet shop operators to sell their puppies. No doubt, pet shop operators are still necessary. But top breeders need a global audience to sustain their profitability and upgrade their industry.

This is where the "Englishman" who cannot speak Chinese but loves dogs will be most important. "Lots of business opportunities," he said to me at the end of the tour.

"Think more as a community service," I replied. "Build the website to help the puppies find new homes or good homes. Nobody wants to do it because there is no money and no collective support from the breeders. Or they cannot do it because they have no trust from Singapore dog breeders and no perseverance. This project takes 2 - 3 years to show.

Money will come some years later. If you do not think of it as a money-making venture, you will enjoy this project as you get to see puppies going to good homes all over the world."

I am prepared to put money where my mouth is. So, is the "Englishman" willing to execute my concept for me? Can this concept of internet marketing of puppies be successful? Nobody knows. Money burns fast in any internet project. So, an experienced webmaster who stays the course to execute the project for the next 2-3 years is an important partner.

I am sure the successful fruit seller you see in this picture did not know that he would have a variety of fruits from all over the world to sell to me when he just had a concept of starting a fruit stall in a suburban smelly market place where youngsters are seldom seen. You can see that he is successful personally, in his smiles, in his girth and in the attractive fruits he sell.



His best selling strategy when he recommends the best fruits to to me: "Very sweet fruits. I give them to my best customers. The only complaint from my customers is that these fruits are expensive."

I would buy some of these fruits. My wife would complain about the sour grapes because not every of the fruits would be sweet.

Another time, he would use the same sales talk. I would buy the strawberries. They would be tasteless at the worst. My wife would say, "Sweetheart, you are so gullible!"