farangman Posted June 16, 2001 Report Share Posted June 16, 2001 "Don't wanna bitch or nothin' ..but, who are you FARANGMAN??? Give the guy the benefit of the doubt. Learning takes place in many forms. What's the matter? you got the short end of the stick somewhere? Explain in detail if you wish. later dan " Dear Dan, Ok - you want me to explain in detail: As Flashermac explained I live and work here in Thailand, doing moderately well thank you. Now I have nowhere near the experience he has of this country or many other people on this board come to that. What I do know however is that business here in Thailand is unlike any other business environment. This is not the place to go about learning! The dice is loaded against you from day one. First of all there are the restrictions placed on farangs in the commercial world. For a start you cannot be the majority share holder in a company - a Thai person(s) has to be. Therefore if the original poster has never even visited here before, is he going to trust the first Thai person who asks him to invest some money. Secondly, lets say he does find someone he trusts, this is not a level playing field. The locals are not going to sit back and watch him clean up. It just doesn't work that way. Yes there are ways around the company registration, but you have to be an experienced, knowledgeable person on Thailand to do so. If I sounded harsh and outspoken, I make no apologies whatsoever if in the long run he saves his money and doesn't lose it through some pipe dream. This country seems to have the effect of removing the common sense from a lot of people as soon as they pass through customs. Just answer me one question - would you ever consider investing in a business in Lithuania if you had never even visited there before, knew anything about the culture or business environment. No of course you wouldn't. I have seen and heard of many people coming here with a dream of starting a business only to lose the lot and more on top of that. If my post has challenged the poster's thought process, then maybe my aim was achieved. Cheers Farangman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soongmak Posted June 16, 2001 Report Share Posted June 16, 2001 quote: Originally posted by getonup: Don't wanna bitch or nothin' ..but, who are you FARANGMAN??? Give the guy the benefit of the doubt. dan Getonup, If I hear a guy say that he will be shagging girls at night and looking for business opportunities during the day and all in the same sentence, I get this picture of a guy who's only looking for a way to finance his shagging. That's not really the way to be succesfull in business. If he could spell the word "opertunities" right, I might have given him the benefit of the doubt.... Cheers, SOONGMAK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 16, 2001 Report Share Posted June 16, 2001 Farangman and others, Please repeat your posts on this subject every three months. It will be an important reminder to me and others like me that we should follow our heads not our dicks!!! I am just about to start a new venture in the UK moving myself away from corporate comfort for the first time. I know the language, culture, geography etc. I have a good support network, well established banking contacts and a good idea of where to go to get business. And I'm still incredibly nervous as to the outcome!! Yes, there is a great attraction in locating near the lovely Nok's and Oi's, but I've decided that £5 on todays lottery has a better chance of success than a Thai business venture!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sukhumvit Posted June 17, 2001 Report Share Posted June 17, 2001 quote: Originally posted by SOONGMAK: If he could spell the word "opertunities" right, I might have given him the benefit of the doubt.... Cheers, SOONGMAK[/QB] Suppose he could always try his hand at teaching English. Unless he hated skewl. (Whoops, no doubt you'll take this in the spirit it is intended.) [ June 16, 2001: Message edited by: Sukhumvit ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 17, 2001 Report Share Posted June 17, 2001 Ok..., point taken from all those posters who are in defence of the Farangman's comments. Well, my response to Farangman was purely out annoyance from the tones of arogance that were displayed... "wise up and get your head out of the clouds....you don't stand a chance!" Did you stand a chance Farangman?.. Can he learn from you? can he learn from your mistakes? Maybe.. But, I think that the sometimes attitude of 'i know and you don't - i'm on old thai hand and you aren't is a bit overdone. For starters, you know nothing of this guys business abilities or his investment plans (if any).....The point being is that you should not make assumptions when you really don't know the full details. "This is your first visit here to Thailand and you are looking at business opportunities!!!" Do you have to come to thailand many times to consider business opportunities? Can you not come one time, meet the right people, use your good sense of judgement and learn from there? Quite frankly I couldn't be bothered arguing my point and in that sense you probably win. A little bit of encouragement (plus some helpful advice on the RIGHT way to go about business) would be more constructive. Enough said Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brink15 Posted June 17, 2001 Report Share Posted June 17, 2001 Getonup, I think one of the major differences is that most expats working in the LOS did not start off investing. They started off working for someone else, learned the ropes over time, and then maybe invested in their own business. If some newbie wants to invest in the LOS without first having spent the time getting to know the score, more power to him. Just don't be surprised if he goes down in flames like far too many others. [ June 17, 2001: Message edited by: Brink15 ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Toad Posted June 17, 2001 Report Share Posted June 17, 2001 Starting a business anywhere is difficult, starting one outside your own country is more difficult. Thailand is even more difficult but not impossible. A few sensible tips: Don't try investing a few thousnad you wil lose it. A good sensible investment involving proper investment and plenty of reserves is esential. Make certain you open a business you know about and understand. Don't break the laws. Get a good (difficult) and honest (very difficult) Thai lawyer to set up the business. If you are investing serious money spend serious money on seting up the legalities/permissins etc. Use and international law firm if you are not certain. Research you venture properly. Be prepared to work all day (and night) at the start up stage. Don't have a local wife or girlfriend involved in any way. If you can get all the above right go ahead....and good luck. But I suspect your money will last much longer shagging day and night! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreatDane Posted June 18, 2001 Report Share Posted June 18, 2001 Not that I would ever dream of starting my own business in LOS, but I have come across a few ideas which might be worth exploring : 1: Restaurant with childcare service: ------------------------------------- I have been visiting Thailand a couple of times with my (ex-)wife and our two children. Every time we go to a restarant, only one of the adults can enloy the meal. The other one will be busy with the kids. After we finish eating, we will typically leave straight away, bacause the kids don't want to sit and do nothing while mom and dad enjoys a few drinks. Wages are quiet low in Thailand, so it must be possible to hire a few girls/babysitters, who can take care of the kids - maybe in a seperate playsection with toys and playstations. It could be combined with a babysitter agency - so the parents could hire one of the babysitters they have seen working in the restaurant. The above restaurant would fit nicely in Phuket. 2: Scootcar rental ------------------ In Denmark we have a scootcar which looks a bit like a tuk-tuk. Except the scootcar is only a twoseater. I havent seen these veichles in Thailand, but I guess they could be rented out in Pattaya (Maybe they are already available in Pattaya, I have never been there) You can see the scootcar at this page : http://www.scootcar.dk The price in Thailand for a scootcar with a removable roof, would be around 150K Bath. Assuming you borrow the money at 8% and repay it over 5 years (I don't think the scootcar last much longer), the monthly amount would be 3K Bath From here you can make your own assumptions on : - how much you can charge in rent - how often they are rented - how many scootcars are necessary - Will some bars pay for the scootcars to carry their logo - Are there a market for longtime rental... Whatever you do, be carefull and do not invest more than you can afford to loose. GreatDane Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix Posted June 18, 2001 Report Share Posted June 18, 2001 peesooahbkk wrote>There is presently only one bridge in Thailand across the Mehkong River - connecting Nong Kai with Vietienne. < I don't want to be pedantic, but I do think there may be one crossing the Mekhong to Pakse in southern Lao, at least, it was almost completed when I was there 18 months ago. Anyone gone over it yet? But I suppose that strictly speaking, that bridge is not in Thailand but in Lao. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 18, 2001 Report Share Posted June 18, 2001 Do you have to come to thailand many times to consider business opportunities? Can you not come one time, meet the right people, use your good sense of judgement and learn from there? ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ The guy was given the best advise. Get his head out of the clouds. Yes he does need to come many times to meet the right people and if your playing around in the sanuk scene you are not going to meet them. You'll meet a shark who'll rip you totally off. So who are you? How long have you been here? Have you ever done business here? Have you ever met anyone outside the tourist scene? I live here, I work with Thai's and they don't even trust there own wives. they split their house bills 50/50 with the wives and don't tell each other exactly how much they earn. You think that a never been to Thailand person who then thinks maybe I can do business in between shagging is going to succeed or lose all his money. When you've been on this board a while not just 2 days you may learn the advise on here is brutal and straight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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