imperial Posted June 16, 2009 Report Share Posted June 16, 2009 Hi following up on the 20k a month post, What ideas do you have for Self Generated income in Issan or small towns in Issan or even the outskirts of Bkk etc I know they can grow a little extra food , but what if they do not have land, My regular girl who I have known for 5 years has a factory job but is taking care of her parents and they are taking care of her 3 year old when she works, I would like to help her figure out a small extra income , even 2000-3000b a month would really help, YES I could give her the money , and I have helped her out in the past, but I am not going to be in the picture forever and she is 30 years younger than me. So she needs to make some Baht for 20-30 years, I know here in California there are classes for about anything , but I douht there is in Issan. I have talked to her about lowering her expenses, even just getting a cheaper room, but with a "family" of 4 she is really stuggling. Are there decent libraries in the small towns with books on sewing etc in Thai ? Any ideas what other small scale things she can do ? and before I get slamed , hey all we are trying to do is help , if thats a bad thing , so be it , but at least its something , And yes I know we also support Issan unwed mothers , one bar fine at a time BK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shygye Posted June 16, 2009 Report Share Posted June 16, 2009 What skills do they have? Depending on their experience, Laying hens. Raising frogs or crickets. Village snack bar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imperial Posted June 16, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 16, 2009 thats always the problem, no real skills at least the parents, And has been said before, no business sense for most of them , if they sold 1000 baht of items they think its 1000 baht to spend , not to buy more goods, I cannot fix a lifetime of no business education, thats why when she said she would like to have a small clothes shop, she really did not understand the cost of items you needed to display before you sold anything. If I got dropped in the middle of Issan I would start a mechanic shop or fix it shop, but its my 20 plus years experiance that might make it work. So how do you help make it work ? BK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khunsanuk Posted June 17, 2009 Report Share Posted June 17, 2009 Hi, "I know here in California there are classes for about anything , but I douht there is in Issan." Maybe in Isaan as well. I know there are plenty of schools - government sponsored - in Bangkok where people can learn all kinds of things, incl. bakery, aircon repair, haircutting, car mechanics, etc. etc. These schools are very cheap (I think my wife mentioned 1 Baht/hr) and all over the city. I know of one in Huay Kwang as well as one in Din Daeng. Can't for the life of me remember what they are called though. Sanuk! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sanddawg1 Posted June 17, 2009 Report Share Posted June 17, 2009 A friend of mine set his TGF up a small internet cafe' near a school so when the kids get out they come by to do thier homework at the shop. Makes a tidy little income. I don't know if that would work in Issan though??? S1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imperial Posted June 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 17, 2009 I think its a decent little earner, 20 baht an hour seems to be the price per hour in the Thai areas of BKK , but who is going to fix the computers when they break? If I lived there (no plans on doing that) it would be me fixing them..... BK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khunsanuk Posted June 17, 2009 Report Share Posted June 17, 2009 Hi, "but who is going to fix the computers when they break?" This I gather is the biggest problem with computers upcountry. They break down and there is nobody to fix them, or even to maintain them so they break down less often. Sanuk! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Somchai888 Posted June 17, 2009 Report Share Posted June 17, 2009 I suggest you buy some kind of income security in the US, and have the proceeds wired into her account every month. Say you can get a 5% yield: putting in just $10-15K (and you keep the principal) would generate her 2k-3k baht per month, for life. And no need to worry about her lack of business experience; such a security will last much longer than a small business run by someone who doesn't know anything about business. And you can pull the plug on it when your situation or hers changes. Labor is so cheap in Issan that trying to make 2k-3k extra baht per month just through labor (rather than through capital) is close to impossible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buffalo_bill Posted June 17, 2009 Report Share Posted June 17, 2009 Sir , though I am not a Siam-expert I do have indeed some experience in setting up small unsuccessful businesses like you are talking about . Major obstacles : - Your good idea meets lack of business minded people - Rest of family looting her small shop and cash box - The small restaurant meets 500 already existing small restaurants . Don't think many guests deliver many bath profit , the margins are minimal . I research this as kind of entertainmaent once I am travelling upcountry , plus some reports from a foundation I support . The falang dream of setting up a small business with small money to increase the family income shows good heart but would most likely fail . These concepts are more successful if the family has downright nothing ( slumdweller) and a rice cooker plus a micro foodstall changes everything . Above that it starts getting dufficult . It is the old story that good business originates from business minded people and not from subsidies . To my opinion which is exclusively based on my personal impression it might be better to let the Isaan foklks continue to do what they have been born with which is growing something on the backyard . Plant-grow-eat it - is the upcountry rhythm of life and you better support that . My suggestion : try to find an additional piece of land maybe 5 Rai which they can additionally handle and forget the case . You can't really do anything sustainable for them except you are an agricultural-educated person and live there . I am sure I could develop something if I would stay there all the time , but god forbid . There is another problem : unless your sweethaeart works at a Bangkok based investment bank ( which most seem to do :thumbup: according to Thai 360 posts ) she would be used to 30.000 baht slaries per month and does not fancy rice paddies any more . Over to you . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dexi Posted June 17, 2009 Report Share Posted June 17, 2009 Maybe the obvious way to generate income in a rural area would be to buy land and either farm it yourself or more likely rent it out.Dont know what % return this would give (could be small)...plus this brings us right up against the issue of is it legal for a Thai to buy land with money from a Farang...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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