Are you guys retired or business owners or workers ?

[Pagey]

Hi All

Looking for some advice on 'retiring' to Thailand/Hua Hin. I have been there 6 times in 2 years and rented a house for a while on the Soi alongside Grand Hotel.

Currently working in Saudi, early 40's, so not yet saved a fortune. The threads on cost of living were useful, thanks to all posted on that.

My Q is are you all retired and live on interest (no idea of your ages), or are you business owners?

What is the viability of buying a business other than a bar and what income can I expect ? eg Internet Cafe.

I am not expecting a fortune as income, enough for rent and food, so my capital does not deplete too quickly.

Grateful for any advice/information/experiences good or bad !!

[Pagey]

There was plenty of useful comments and debate on renting or buying property in Thailand so why doesn't anyone want to comment on the pros and cons of running a business in Thailand ??

I just need some advice from people with experience of doing it.

Thanks.

[Jaime]

I can't offer any advice on your question as I am an occassional visitor but I think your post has only been on the board a couple of days. Be patient and I'm sure you will get some response to your questions from the ex-pat business community.

[Bamboo Grove]

Could be that other kinds of businesses are fairly rare amongst the westerners here. All the internet cafes seem to be owned by Thais. I think it would be tough to make a living from it as the cheapest prices are 20 baht/hour. However, if you have a special skill and there is not much competition in that particular area and you have plenty of time and cash available to wait for a while before the business kicks in, it might be possible.
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[buksida]

I was going to reply to this the day you posted it but since it seemed to be aimed at retirees I gave it a swerve.

There was a similar thread about it a while back:
http://www.huahinafterdark.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1636

Without divulging too much I'm far too young to retire, so I work and do business here full time. This pretty much funds my rock and roll lifestyle

If you want a list of pros and cons of doing business in Thailand I can give it a shot but it would be purely my opinion.
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[miked]

The first rule of business is if you have a good idea keep it to yourself. If not then very soon you have competion. For that reason this post will not get replies of any value.

[tonychang]

<<My Q is are you all retired and live on interest (no idea of your ages), or are you business owners?>>

usually to be the latter you already have to be the former

[lomuamart]

It's not easy to make good money as a forigner running your own busuness over here. Those, particularly in BKK, who work with ex-pat status do OK, thank you very much, but for a self employed entrepreneur, life is not so easy.
There is a raft of employment legislation for starters that will preclude you from doing all sorts of employment - look at the Thai government web site for the full list. If you're caught working over here, without a work permit, you'll be deported. The Thais are not much different from other nations in as much as they are very protective of their own peoples' employment.
A lot of the ex-pats in town run businesses as a sideline/hobby. They will generally have a Thai partner/girlfriend/wife/husband etc who will front the business and take care of all the red tape. They, quite often, will have a "proper" job elsewhere. Hence, they're not too fussed about the business as long as it breaks even.
There, I think is the crux of the matter. If you do start a business here, don't expect to make a fortune. It probably won't happen.
Sorry to sound negative, but I think that's the reality of the situation.
FYI, I'm sort of semi-retired, living off rental income back in the UK.

[Pagey]

Thanks for replies.

Buksida : Yes I am interested in your story. Read the other thread now, I was in Vietnam for most of June and missed that one but useful.

Miked : Think you misunderstood the Q. I wasn't touting for ideas, I was asking if a Farang running a business was viable.

Judging by the replies to this and the other thread it seems I am better off saving more capital and delaying my 'retirement'.

Also do have the obligatory Thai girlfriend who speaks and writes and teaches English.

Quoted internet cafe as an example as I do not want to work 8 hours a day just oversee the business and I know I can get local Thai girls to 'run' something like a cafe for reasonable rates.

[buksida]

Okay, I'll give you a quick pros and cons of doing business in Hua Hin. These are just my thoughts and are not to be taken as anything but that.

Pros

1) Living here fulltime - blue skies and sunshine beats dreary cold, grey and damp anytime.
2) Lots of new business opportunities (depending on what you're doing).
3) Boom town effect - Hua Hin is rapidly expanding attracting more business.
4) New people - as it is a transient town people come and go and you're not stuck with the same old faces as you are in the UK.
5) Cost of living - far cheaper than in the west, you need a lot less to live comfortably.

Cons

1) Red tape, this has to be the worse, immigration, visas, work permits, tax, accounting, staff, insurances, police .... this list never ends and the mountain of mindless paperwork is obscene.
2) Variable income - you never know from month to month how much you will make so there goes your security.
3) Underhanded tactics - your competitors here are ruthless as there are no laws that protect you as a foreigner. Someone (usually other farangs) will not think twice about ripping off your ideas, undercutting you and doing it themselves and theres nothing you can do about it (its scary how often this happens)
4) Small town factor - Hua Hin is essentially still a village and everyone will know what you are doing before you've even done it.
5) Pricing - this again depends on the services you're offering, Thai clients will want a discount just because they are Thai and foreigners will want discounts because "we should stick together".

These are just a few thoughts.
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Luctor et Emergo

[ajarnfrank]

I don't think you can get sufficient information to make a true business decision until you've been here for at least a year. Even then, there are no reliable statistics. The laws are different, and they are indifferently enforced. Small businesses do not use generally accepted accounting principles. Thais don't tell the truth the same way that Westerners do (in other words, we lie at different times). You might get a small business to break even, but not to support you.

First rule: be ready to lose whatever cash and time you 'invest.' It might not even qualify as an 'investment.' Thais can live on 100 baht a day - can you compete in that market? Maybe so.

If you just want an activity that will keep the little lady busy and happy, she might break even in retail/services businesses. Just don't expect to be saving and banking more than 50 euros per month.

Don't take my word for it, though, because I've never been self-employed. If you've made a profit in the past, legally, in twice as many businesses as George W. Bush ever did, you might be able to do it here. Most people don't make a profit, though.

[Randy Cornhole]

When I came here I intended to buy a house a car and start a business.
Thank god I waited a bit, now I have decided to rent and have only purchased a motorbike and as for a business I personally would not even concider it! Working with Thais will drive you round the bend.
I am 43 and semi retired. I can earn enough money working in England for 4/5 months to fund the rest of the year out here.
The golden rule here seems to be 'never invest any money here you can not afford to loose at the drop of a hat'
My advise would be to come over here and rent for about 6 months then make a decision based on what you have expericenced.
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[Rider]

All I will add to this is the following falang proverb:

If you want to make a small fortune in Thailand be prepared to invest a vast one!
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[Guess]

I believe that the Internet Cafe is a good Idea but you need the right location and you need to offer something that the others do not. The things that I have found lacking are, coffee (strangely), other beverages, good quality printing and CD writing drives.

If you live in the premises that you use for the cafe the business expenses can be reduced significantly.

[Pagey]

Resurrecting this thread as I have been looking more at business and living in Thailand and getting more pi**ed of with work over here and getting close to a financial goal which I think will sustain me in LOS anyway.

Although I originally ruled out the bar business after reading about so many problems involved I have just spent 2 weeks in Phuket looking at a half share in a bar/'restaurant'. The food actually is cooked in the next door restaurant and a %age taken by the bar. One owner is 72 and retiring. I thought this a good opportunity as there is an existing partner who knows the ropes and contacts for supplies etc. I went with a negative attitude thinking this would put me off buying a bar altogether and I would look for something else. I visited the bar 2 or 3 times every day and walked past it several times a day to get a feel for it.

The upshot is that it hasn't put me off. The owners do work long hours 7 days a week which is not what I had in mind as I want to semi retire. Does every bar owner have to spend nearly every hour that the bar is open in the bar ? Is this to keep an eye on the staff or to be there to chat to customers/regulars ?

In answer to some of the cons posted previously in this and other threads;
I do have an investment income of around 70,000 Baht per month so I am not relying on the bar but would like to turn a small profit to make life more comfortable. I am not expecting a fortune.
I could afford to lose or I will only spend on a bar what I think I can afford to lose as a worst case scenario.

So where is this leading ........................

First of all any more info, esp from bar owners current or past would be gratefully received.

Secondly anyone out there wanting a partner for investment or willing to go into partnership in a business. This isn't a step I would take lightly however and will do my homework as I did in Phuket. Maybe you have made a comfortable living and want to share the time you have to sit in your own bar and have days off ? just an idea..................

Hua Hin is my preferred destination, I only went to Phuket as it seemed a genuine offer of a partnership but it had its cons.

I realise it's a long post so I hope you all stayed with it to the end !


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