According to the World Bank, Taiwan is ranked at the 15th position on the Ease of Doing Business Rank and 16th position on Starting a Business.Doing a business in Taiwan has its own advantages, so we prepared this article for you so you can know more about doing business in Taiwan, first-hand from entrepreneurs.
If you are planning to start a new business in Taiwan, and you do not know where and how to begin, no worries at all. We have brought you some of the amazing experiences and advice provided by the great entrepreneurs based in Taiwan quoted from the book How to Start a Business in Taiwan by Elias Ek.
Small-scale operations
Thomas Siegers, is a German electrical engineer who arrived in Taiwan in 2004 and established a company, Songfuli Co Ltd, with his wife. The company does import and export of dietary goods. Siegers said, “The business landscape of Taiwan is dominated by small enterprises. The regulatory framework is relatively uncomplicated. The financial barrier to starting a business is low. All this combined makes it easy to open and run a company on a small scale – in any case much easier than in most Western countries.”
Hardware culture
Laurent Renard established a mobile payment platform application in Taiwan known as Toro Ltd. According to him, building one of the largest companies in Taiwan was the hardest thing he has ever done in his life. Starting a business may first seem quite easy and fantastic but in reality, it’s not. Even though Taiwan is a great tech country but it is all about the culture of building hardware.
Speak the language
Jake Morrison has been living in Taiwan for more than 20 years and has been working in a software, product developing and consulting company. He stated that it is essential to learn Mandarin Chinese as it enables to conduct businesses with the locals easily. In order to represent a company in Taiwan as a foreigner, one has to provide the local customers with the feeling that he or she will be around for a while.
Sam Lee also has similar experience. He established one of the largest Korean language center called Victoria Korean Education Center. Hailing from a middle-class family, he had a strong social conscience and was always aware of the difficulties if the low socioeconomic people. He stated,” Respect the culture and make the most of your skills. My key skill was language.”
Quality you can trust
Thomas Tol is the president of EyE-Q Asia Ltd, a company that manufactures electronic software and hardware and cabinets. Tol stated, “When you have gained the knowledge and are used to the business environment, Taiwan is one of the world’s best countries to do business. People can be trusted and the quality levels are going up and up, so Taiwan is now ready for markets like Japan and Germany even though these countries require top quality products only.”
Practical business environment
Park Gi Tae has an import and export company based in Taiwanese products. According to Park, Taiwan is one of the best countries in the world to do business. It is a country that provides several advantages such as economic freedom, affordable prices of the manufactured goods and much more. Taiwanese are known to be quite practical in the business world and that is exactly how he developed his business.
Low rate of taxes
Darren Roberts established a company, MangoPublic that provides SEO &Online marketing, E-commerce, and other services. According to him, Taiwan has a great weather. One of the advantages of starting a business in Taiwan is the low rate of taxes.
Adapt to the local taste
Ben Bartlett opened a Mexican takeaway restaurant known as BeMo’s. While local Taiwanese restaurants sell less spicy foods, Ben introduced a completely new cuisine that has been popular among the local customers. Ben’s goal is to one day become a manager and operate his business without any day-to-day problems.
Logistics is convenient
Revital Golan has a boutique management consulting company called Anemone Ventures. She stated, “While doing business in Taiwan may not be as straightforward as Singapore and HK, the benefits of an open and educated society, convenient logistics and geographic location, make it a worthwhile location to establish your business.”
Relationships matter
Olivier Boutet is the owner of a design firm, A plan b. He stated, “For Taiwanese companies, it is hard to buy something you cannot see. Don’t think about business the same way as you would think of in Europe or in North America. It’s all about Guanxi, indeed. It’s even better to be introduced by someone.”
Starting a business is an exciting adventure; it is not for everybody, but those who have gone through it reap the benefits.
Read on more about starting a business in Taiwan at this site.