Pinched by the pennies?

To get the right talents and advice, you have to be prepared to pay.

Business conditions are likely to remain tough this year, but SMEs will still need to spend on the essentials — talents, professional services, membership fees of business associations, etc — if they are to successfully negotiate the pitfalls and opportunities.

LAST year was a difficult year for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Many — even the more established ones — had hard time dealing with the challenges brought about by the implementation of the 6% GST in April 2015, as well as the unexpected ringgit plunge and the political instability.