I'm moving to Krabi from Chiang Mai in January 2022. I have lived in Thailand for ten years now. Two years in Bangkok and eight years in Chiang Mai. I have several companies, including a Thai company that works internationally. I am considering opening up a small local business in Krabi within a year of moving there. Chiang Mai is a much bigger city, but if you have lived here, it's mostly the same stuff in different locations. I'm always excited when a new restaurant opens or any service that provides something we don't have. I'm looking for business ideas from Krabi locals. What would you like to have in Krabi that you don't already have? 

 

A few notes about the type of business I 'don't' want to operate. 

 

Not interested in:

1. Restaurant, cafe, coffee shop or anything that serves food or beverages. 

2. Appealing towards tourists

 

I would like to open up a business that appeals towards the local population and what YOU need or would like. 

Something I am considering is opening up a grocery store that stocks and sells strictly premium imported foods.  If I opened up this type of business you would be able to write down the types of items you would like stocked and we would do our best to make it happen. 

 

My father owned grocery stores and restaurants, and I definitely am not interested in the restaurant industry. 

 

I'm not stuck on opening up a grocery store. If there's anything you would like to have in Krabi, please feel free to share your ideas. 

 

Thank you in advance. 

 

I don’t live in Krabi although I have been there a couple times and have thought about living there.  One thing that I found lacking was a cinema that showed movies in English as the local multiplex is pretty much all Thai dubbed films.  A small art house style cinema showing movies in English (don’t even have to be new release movies) would be nice to have down there.

Well, you certainly picked the very best time in history to invest money into a business.

 

Best of luck.

Krabi has a few premium and artisan food shops and deli’s already.

a Topps or Villa supermarket would be nice but I don’t think there are enough customers for them. 

How about a nice coffee shop?

In better times (tourists around), if I needed money, I'd make meat pies.

Almost no overheads or startup costs, no particular skills required.

3kbht for an oven is about it.

15bht to make a mince and onion pastie, easily sold for 80bht or more.

 

I m living in Ao Nang, 

I see the city is devastated, 80% of businesses are closed, including clinics, 7/11.  a lot of resrorts for sell..Some neighborhoods look like Detroit.The last pizza place closed in July ...

And then, good luck ! ...maybe a gas station...

 

 

 

 

After-all trying new business once things start to see the light.

On 7/31/2021 at 3:52 PM, Shane Cormier said:

 

A few notes about the type of business I 'don't' want to operate. 

 

 

having set up two businesses, both successful, in completely different fields, the most important first steps for me were; know your market and produce a detailed and realistic business plan, then go through these phases; build, test, rescale.

completely out of the left field.  https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32677469/

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Well after reading your post obviously if you have been in the business world and never operate inside of various businesses I am very surprised that you’d be asking on this form what you should open up for a business go down there and spend a few months and see what seeWell after reading your post obviously if you have been in the business world and never operate inside of various businesses I am very surprised that you’d be asking on this form what you should open up for a business go down there and spend a few months and see what they need dude  i’m just surprised such a successful business operator is asking on this form what businesses are needed there TIT

massage parlor 

How about a Business Model Consultancy?

On 8/2/2021 at 1:50 PM, BritManToo said:

In better times (tourists around), if I needed money, I'd make meat pies.

Almost no overheads or startup costs, no particular skills required.

3kbht for an oven is about it.

15bht to make a mince and onion pastie, easily sold for 80bht or more.

 

 

Yup , easy as pie 

 

 

Start a business in soundproofing, either a consultancy or building company or both.

 

As they develop Thais will increasingly start to get fed up with extreme noise pollution, and of course you can corner the farang market.

 

There's real science and skill behind soundproofing a building. Become an expert on that and you'll do well.

 

 

Sale, installation and monitoring of security cameras, and associated security systems.

 

Home improvement warehouses are currently trendy ad big business. The next big thing, in my opinion, will be superstores focused on all things 'Outdoor Living'.

Loan shark. 

Only business with growing customer base in Thailand!

Ma and Pa shops continue unabated by the pandemic even those just 1klm from a 7/11 if still open many closed now.. 

selling lao khao, underground lottery, and alcohol at any time, keeps the customers and cash rolling in. Wish I had thought of that 10 yrs ago. 

Open driving schools, real ones, you have a potential of 70 million customers, and if successful .... your statue in the center of all the cities of Thailand.

 

 

On 7/31/2021 at 5:19 PM, Airalee said:

I don’t live in Krabi although I have been there a couple times and have thought about living there.  One thing that I found lacking was a cinema that showed movies in English as the local multiplex is pretty much all Thai dubbed films.  A small art house style cinema showing movies in English (don’t even have to be new release movies) would be nice to have down there.

We have in Koh Lanta.

 

On 10/27/2021 at 11:06 AM, bougnat said:

Open driving schools, real ones, you have a potential of 70 million customers, and if successful .... your statue in the center of all the cities of Thailand.

 

 

Why would Thais need a driving school to pass a test that doesn't require them to know how to drive!

 

If you really want to fly in the face of tradition, start a refuse contracting company, and see if you can clean up the region "properly", with a street bin service, a proper 'dog proof' home wheelie bin refuse service, street cleaning and landscape maintenance service (particularly in Koh Lanta). 

The government are spending billions of baht on infrastructure projects, roads, airport and another bridge to Lanta Noi, so perhaps you could convince them it would be a good investment to create a clean environment also.... You might include an education program / campaign, to "Keep Krabi Clean", good luck with that.

As you pointed out, usually there are just many places doing the same thing.  Even if you come up with some niche that is new or different, be it entertainment, food, service or whatever, it would not be long before you economic moat goes away and you are over run by copy cats. 

Looking to the future, and the aging population, both Thai and Expat, open retirement homes, hospice company, etc.  Big business.  Many variations between just providing daily visits to a person's home for an hour or two to cook and clean, keep the person company, make sure they don't burn the place down by leaving the gas burner on, etc.  Have some registered nurses on staff to provide home services. Then at the other extreme some facility for palliative care, or just dementia full round the clock care, etc