Help! Setting up a small yoga school

[Regmitch]

Hi everyone. I'm new to this forum. Joining because I want to ask the knowledgeable users here a question. I am a ESL teacher here in Thailand. I've been living and working here for going on 8 years.

 

My passion is yoga and recently I did a short course about teaching yoga to children. Since then I've been running a yoga club at my school. In the future I would like to run a yoga club for kids, from a rented commercial space. I have looked into setting up a business here in Thailand and it seems incredibly complicated and costly. Shareholders, registered capital, only being able to own 49% ETC. 

 

So is it possible to rent a space and run a yoga club without having to register a company. Or, if not, is there an easier way to register or set up a business! I really want to give something to the community here, but the complexity of setting up a business is very off-putting. 

 

Thanks in advance for your help and advice!

 

[Oxx]

You would be working.  That requires a work permit for the specific work.  That means you need to be employed by a company.   The company (generally) needs four Thai employees for each work permit.

 

I'd suggest you just forget it.  That's just how it is here.

[Regmitch]

Well I have a work permit for my school. I know it is specific to my school but.... 

I was so looking into goring an association, but that also seems like a complex process and should be non profit. 

 

There must be a way to open and run a club without the hassle of registering a company

[Oxx]

If you're doing work, even if it's unpaid voluntary work, you still need a work permit for that work.

 

The only way you can do this without a company is illegally.

[travelerjim]

4 hours ago, Regmitch said:

Well I have a work permit for my school. I know it is specific to my school but.... 

I was so looking into goring an association, but that also seems like a complex process and should be non profit. 

 

There must be a way to open and run a club without the hassle of registering a company

No way! Requires a work permit for you. If you do...you run risk of deportation. 

[Bob12345]

6 hours ago, Regmitch said:

There must be a way to open and run a club without the hassle of registering a company

There are tons of people running businesses without registering a company, but they are mostly Thais and they keep a low profile.

You are a foreigner, which will attract a lot of attention, and you will be advertising, have social media with you in it, and be at the front of the class every day, no way you can keep a low profile.

 

Maybe you can try to find a local gym or sports club that can "hire" you so you can get the work permit? If you bring a lot of customers with you they might see it can be profitable for them to jump through the hoops to get you your paperwork. They can let you do your things in exchange for a part of the money and it would be completely legal.

Edited March 14, 2019 by Bob12345

[Letseng]

10 minutes ago, Bob12345 said:

There are tons of people running businesses without registering a company, but they are mostly Thais and they keep a low profile.

You are a foreigner, which will attract a lot of attention, and you will be advertising, have social media with you in it, and be at the front of the class every day, no way you can keep a low profile.

 

Maybe you can try to find a local gym or sports club that can "hire" you so you can get the work permit? If you bring a lot of customers with you they might see it can be profitable for them to jump through the hoops to get you your paperwork. They can let you do your things in exchange for a part of the money and it would be completely legal.

I wonder on what basis all these farang "personal trainers" work?

We have 2 Italians turning up in our condo gym regularly. 2000 Bht/50 mins. 

[NCC1701A]

21 hours ago, Regmitch said:

I really want to give something to the community here,

The Thais will not see it that way. The only thing you will be giving is a idea they can copy from you.

 

And I am assuming you are female? correct?  

[direction BANGKOK]

You could run into a huge amount of trouble even if you wanted to do it for free. So, imagine a for profit business. You have got to look at it from the Thai perspective, you would be filling a void that they would rather have a Thai fill. 

 

I was under the impression most foreigner run businesses here are set up under a Thai spouse's name. If you are not in that situation I am not even sure of the first step to be honest. 

[Suradit69]

On March 13, 2019 at 7:24 PM, Regmitch said:

I really want to give something to the community here ...

Meaningless cliches ??

[freedomnow]

How can westerners teach yoga here under a Thai or western/Thai owned school ?

Are they not depriving a Thai of a job ?

[Oxx]

5 minutes ago, freedomnow said:

How can westerners teach yoga here under a Thai or western/Thai owned school ?

Are they not depriving a Thai of a job ?

 

Exactly.  Just the same as all the foreign English teachers here are depriving Thai teachers of English of work, despite that latter's excellent command of all aspects of English.

[Regmitch]

Hmm this is interesting. Recently the law changed so that people organizing seminars / workshops etc do not require a work permit. So if the club ran for say, only 8 weeks (one day a week) as a yoga / English workshop, it might be legal. 

 

Edited March 14, 2019 by Regmitch

[freedomnow]

Sorry, I doubt you will be able to game the system like you plan in the long-term...yoga schools need continuity.

 

The definition of work paragraph now means they can maybe bust digital nomads in coworking spaces by removing the linking rule of 'working with a Thai' where the onus was on the immigration officer to prove that...to simply "to perform any professional work'.

 

Edited March 14, 2019 by freedomnow

[freedomnow]

19 minutes ago, Oxx said:

 

Exactly.  Just the same as all the foreign English teachers here are depriving Thai teachers of English of work, despite that latter's excellent command of all aspects of English.

Not really comparing like for like...neither nationality has a baseline growing up using yoga from birth 24/7 like one nationality does with English.

 

Can someone please answer how westerners can teach yoga here long-term ?

[freedomnow]

21 minutes ago, freedomnow said:

Sorry, I doubt you will be able to game the system like you plan in the long-term...yoga schools need continuity.

 

The definition of work paragraph now means they can maybe bust digital nomads in coworking spaces by removing the linking rule of 'working with a Thai' where the onus was on the immigration officer to prove that...to simply "to perform any professional work, regardless of whether or not there is an employer'.

 

 

[Youlike]

You hire a thai to be the yoga teacher...you will be just another person in that group but the trainer in the group orders all students to follow and copy your moves....

 

 

[sawadee1947]

There was already a Yoga group which recently got problems with government. 

It was mentioned on TV. 

Those members came from Russia and offered very special courses. ????????????

[khunPer]

11 hours ago, Regmitch said:

Well I have a work permit for my school. I know it is specific to my school but.... 

I was so looking into goring an association, but that also seems like a complex process and should be non profit. 

 

There must be a way to open and run a club without the hassle of registering a company

In the school, not outside; if not specific "prescribed by the Cabinet" under the law-change you quoted for foreigners that "occasionally enter Thailand", which seems not to include long term, or permanent living, teachers on WP.

54 minutes ago, freedomnow said:

Can someone please answer how westerners can teach yoga here long-term ?

Establish a company limited within the rules for that; if married to a Thai then a partnership, which is less strict than a company limited, and only require two Thai employees, where the spouse can be one of them; being employed as yoga teacher, for example by a spa resort that offers yoga sessions for their guests.

????

[Bob12345]

15 hours ago, Letseng said:

I wonder on what basis all these farang "personal trainers" work?

We have 2 Italians turning up in our condo gym regularly. 2000 Bht/50 mins. 

They work illegally as work permits indicate the place of work and i doubt they are able to get a permit for the 10 odd condo gyms they frequent.

 

They stay under the radar because they go from gym to gym to do PT work for an hour and then leave again, and probably only advertise on Facebook and by word of mouth. To most people it will be unclear if they are working or just helping out a friend in the gym a bit. That is completely different from renting a space and plastering a local billboard with your picture and the text "yoga classes". 

 

If OP wants to work illegally and wants to risk being fined and deported than thats up to OP, but to me it sounds a bit too risky as he is currently employed and been here for 8 years already. I actually know 2 western yoga teachers and both work from a (muay thai) gym where they got a work permit. As most (muay thai) gyms mostly hire Thais its quite easy for them to get the 4:1 ratio of locals and foreigners. Thats why I recommended OP to approach local gyms and see if he can arrange something there. Most gyms also have space and would be happy to offer extra classes to their customer base, so it could be a win-win.

[Beatriz]

23 hours ago, direction BANGKOK said:

You could run into a huge amount of trouble even if you wanted to do it for free. So, imagine a for profit business. You have got to look at it from the Thai perspective, you would be filling a void that they would rather have a Thai fill. 

 

I was under the impression most foreigner run businesses here are set up under a Thai spouse's name. If you are not in that situation I am not even sure of the first step to be honest. 

You are right in every aspect. On the top of that if you are popular as a yoga teacher there will be lots of jealousy among the Thais I am not talking bad things about Thais it is their inborn trait. And they camouflage their jealousy. You will find out one day what I just said. Good day and take care .

[1FinickyOne]

2 minutes ago, Beatriz said:

if you are popular as a yoga teacher there will be lots of jealousy among the Thais I am not talking bad things about Thais it is their inborn trait. And they camouflage their jealousy.

If you are popular, then by definition, you will be liked... I have been living for the last 20 years in rural Thailand and really don't see that much jealousy, not much more than anywhere else really... 

 

Saying you are not talking bad about Thais, even though you are talking bad about Thais, [inborn trait] does not make it not talking badly. Quite simply, you are bashing... 

[manchega]

it is charisma that does it for all these things sporting wise.

 

also you will get big competition you know like in the local mall where about 10 stalls sell the same plastic phone cover crap next to each other, making 20 baht per sale or something.

 

yes you can run a small yoga school, but to make real money you need to sell it as a package deal to people from your home country, yeah the one where the women grow beards 

[Beatriz]

13 minutes ago, kenk24 said:

If you are popular, then by definition, you will be liked... I have been living for the last 20 years in rural Thailand and really don't see that much jealousy, not much more than anywhere else really... 

 

Saying you are not talking bad about Thais, even though you are talking bad about Thais, [inborn trait] does not make it not talking badly. Quite simply, you are bashing... 

If you think what I said is bashing then you ain't seen nothing yet. I see many good things in Thai characters, I love Thailand and its people otherwise I wouldn't go there and even spend time as a novice in temple . Read the Abhidharma books(higher learning in buddhist dharma called Abhidharma). I also took Vipassana course in Wat Po.

Kenk24 you don't see Jealousy you feel it. Perhaps you are not sensitive enough. When I said they will be jealousy of your success I refer to those thais who wanted also to do the same business in Yoga, not the entire thai society become jealous of her success in Yoga teaching.

When I see something bad I will say it as it is regardless if it hurts someone. The ultimate reality is what I am interested in not people's feeling. If Thai people has a jealousy inborn trait then they should know it and correct it. If Farangs or whatever race or color have bad inborn trait then I would point it out to them not only Thais, is that ok with you Kenk24?

Yes, I will tell my good Thai friends that they have inborn trait of Jealousy, some even with really bad strong jealousy (a very negative form of energy) zooing out of them especially the women folks. They may not like what I say but they should be thankful to me for telling them the ultimate truth. There is no hesitation on my part. I expect the same thing being said to me in any of my character flaws. Good Day

[1FinickyOne]

3 minutes ago, Beatriz said:

I will say it as it is regardless if it hurts someone.

How truly kind of you... so, ok, they should learn from your bashing... and bashing it was... 

4 minutes ago, Beatriz said:

They may not like what I say but they should be thankful to me

yes, that shows sensitivity... you point out their faults and want them to be thankful to you... who do you think you are? The ultimate judge? 

5 minutes ago, Beatriz said:

you don't see Jealousy you feel it

yes, of course, you feel it in yourself, you see it in others.. if you want to go down the road of semantics... and it is a pretty human characteristic.. most people will feel it at some points in their life.

 

But, it seems your boasting of all your learned resume, you might want to consider kindness as a good thing... Thai don't seem to have your need to point out everyone's faults. But, you are wondering, where would the world be without you to point out all of our faults... happier maybe? less confrontational? 

 

Just don't fool yourself by bashing and think that saying it is not bashing makes it so... 

 

goodbye and get over it... 

[transam]

On 3/14/2019 at 4:27 PM, Letseng said:

I wonder on what basis all these farang "personal trainers" work?

We have 2 Italians turning up in our condo gym regularly. 2000 Bht/50 mins. 

2ooobht for 50 mins of talking......????

[Beatriz]

4 hours ago, kenk24 said:

How truly kind of you... so, ok, they should learn from your bashing... and bashing it was... 

yes, that shows sensitivity... you point out their faults and want them to be thankful to you... who do you think you are? The ultimate judge? 

yes, of course, you feel it in yourself, you see it in others.. if you want to go down the road of semantics... and it is a pretty human characteristic.. most people will feel it at some points in their life.

 

But, it seems your boasting of all your learned resume, you might want to consider kindness as a good thing... Thai don't seem to have your need to point out everyone's faults. But, you are wondering, where would the world be without you to point out all of our faults... happier maybe? less confrontational? 

 

Just don't fool yourself by bashing and think that saying it is not bashing makes it so... 

 

goodbye and get over it... 

Don't just say goodbye yet, thank you for your wonderful comments Kenk24. Oh, by the way when you become enlighten you will understand.

 Some Thais asked me why I learned to speak Thai I said, "Rak meung Thai" they bursted out laughing. Thais love to hear a good joke. Then I said in Thai style English, "You don't know I laf Thailand erh?" " Oi,Khun mai loo arai na"( oh,you don't know anything).

The Thais with all their faults , warts and everything you still love them, don't you?

Edited March 15, 2019 by Beatriz
add more words

[1FinickyOne]

12 hours ago, Beatriz said:

Don't just say goodbye yet, thank you for your wonderful comments Kenk24. Oh, by the way when you become enlighten you will understand.

 Some Thais asked me why I learned to speak Thai I said, "Rak meung Thai" they bursted out laughing. Thais love to hear a good joke. Then I said in Thai style English, "You don't know I laf Thailand erh?" " Oi,Khun mai loo arai na"( oh,you don't know anything).

The Thais with all their faults , warts and everything you still love them, don't you?

yes, of course I still love the Thai warts and all... and if I met you out one night, I might enjoy your company too... I hope you are not as hate filled as some of the things in your posts... and yes, I speak Thai too... if you are talking in a religious sense, I am not likely to become enlightened. I do know in my own simple way, love feels better than hate, kindness feels better than meanness, and jealousy is an interesting subject. It is nothing but pain for all involved and yet I wonder if it is inborn or not... I see children with it... if I have any enlightenment, it is to suppress the negative emotions in myself and try and proceed happily through the time I have... much as i see Thai do. 

[Beatriz]

11 hours ago, kenk24 said:

yes, of course I still love the Thai warts and all... and if I met you out one night, I might enjoy your company too... I hope you are not as hate filled as some of the things in your posts... and yes, I speak Thai too... if you are talking in a religious sense, I am not likely to become enlightened. I do know in my own simple way, love feels better than hate, kindness feels better than meanness, and jealousy is an interesting subject. It is nothing but pain for all involved and yet I wonder if it is inborn or not... I see children with it... if I have any enlightenment, it is to suppress the negative emotions in myself and try and proceed happily through the time I have... much as i see Thai do. 

So I guess you have been in Thailand for far too long, completely assimilated by the Thais culture. I became very interested in Thai culture and Thai people because I was disappointed with my own country and culture even from childhood. So I look outward to other culture and like an orphan I long to be adopted by good foster parents. At first I became very interested in Japanese culture went to Tokyo and studied the language there and later worked for Japanese company for quite a few years. Then I became disillusioned by the Japanese and I looked towards Thailand like an orphan going from one foster parent to another.

I am not residing in Thailand now but in the country next door. I hope to write a small book called "The Tyranny of the English Language" which I believe will sell very well in France because my book will put the French language in its rightful place in the sun. The English language has pushed many dialects and languages to the edge of this world, some have disappeared all together however not many people knew about this. The Tyranny of the English Language will tell you how today in many third world countries they cannot do without the English language if they wish to progress well. So the French Language which is a beautiful language would be deprived of its rightful place in the sun. I speak reasonably fluent in French. (more or less middle level). Not just good enough to order drinks in Paris.

I wonder who you are and what you do in Thailand(my adopted country). Beatriz is my nick name I am a man masquerading as a french woman, so I must be a little sick, don't you think so?

If you google youtube "Beatriz de Dia" you will hear a beautiful song sang in catalan.