small business ideas in Isaan

[OneMoreFarang]

Whatever you do, make sure you know a lot about it before you do it.

 

Many years ago, a friend of my gf convinced her that a fish farm is a great idea. Buy small fish, put them in a pond, feed them a little, and sell big fish and make a lot of money. I asked for some numbers like how much do the fish cost, how much for the food and all that. To make the story short, most of the numbers were way too low, and after lots of extra cost, it cost a lot of money to have big fish. And then, short before the payday, someone stole the fish out of the pond.

I lost money, I was angry, but it wasn't a huge amount. I will never do anything like that again.

 

I am sure there are not just the ideas about fish farms and pig farm and growing this or that. If you don't know it, don't do it!

Always think about if it would be so easy, why is nobody else doing it (with big profit)?

 

[OneMoreFarang]

The problem with many businesses is also that people don't really look at all the cost.

Maybe they sell something on the market. Let's say they buy "parts" for 1000B and at the end of the day they collect 2000B. Yeah, 1000B win.

But maybe not.

Who prepares everything and where? Maybe a kitchen in the home which needs gas and electricity?

How are things transported? With a pickup truck? Who buys the truck? What are the running cost?

And how about if for a few days people buy less, and the food can't be sold on the next day?

There are so many additional costs which many people don't see, like we have this pickup and kitchen anyhow.

But if it has to be repaired or replaced, it costs money.

And then your business has to compete with people who think like above and who sell cheaper than what it really should cost.

[Will B Good]

On 2/2/2025 at 8:17 PM, bodlivy said:

Hello, for those in LOS living in Isaan. I am interested in understanding small business opportunities for 1-2 people in the area. Don't know anything about Isaan and have never been. It would be something that doesn't require specialized equipment and hopefully small initial investment, something along the lines of buy bulk/sell retail, food services, growing food, educational.  Any ideas are greatly appreciated, looking for some guidance and shared experiences from those of you who were both successful and not successful at it.

 

The biggest problem you face is this......every person has the legal right to start a business operating out of their own premises.....that means everyman and his dog is buying/selling anything they think might make a penny or two.......it works in the sense that there is just enough money made to put food on the table......you won't get rich in Isaan.

 

On top of that most people don't have two pennies to rub together........their priorities are alloy wheels with low profile tyres followed by alcohol and then food.

[khunPer]

4 hours ago, IsaanExpat said:

Not 100% True. He's an American and has access to Treaty of Amity, so he wouldn't need a Thai Majority Shareholder...

Right, but however, not mentioned in the OP, which I quote and reply to...

[NanLaew]

On 2/5/2025 at 6:26 AM, simon43 said:

The best decision that I ever made was to stop all relationships (girlfriend, marriage) after my third divorce.  Although my 1st amicable divorce (UK wife) was due to differences of opinion etc, my divorces from my 2 Thai wives were instigated by me after it became clear that they were simply a drain on my relatively small income, ie - I gave, they took and I got nothing in return!

 

Since my last divorce some 10 years ago, my life in south-east Asia has been much happier and more financially stable.  I realised that being a tight-fisted, selfish bastard was just great!! 

 

I decide what I want to do in my life and where to to etc, without having the need to consider a partner's wishes. I spend a lot of time (and money) on helping young students in Myanmar, because IMHO - they appreciate my efforts and help far more than any wife ever did, and my financial investment in school books etc etc will result in a far better return than what I ever got from my greedy wives lol!

 

Is that by way of an admission of your poor lifestyle choices and lack of due diligence in past relationships?

 

Or are all women to be avoided like the plague because of their gender?

[recom273]

On 2/4/2025 at 2:26 PM, bodlivy said:

 

Thank you so much for your perspective. Yes, my first thoughts were a pizza place or a coffee shop lol. Doesn't everyone love pizza? I'm in IT, so don't think it will transfer to LOS well. I Iooked up IT salaries there. It's a pittance even in BKK.

Yeah everyone loves pizza, but did anyone tell you that Thai people like Thai food? 🙂

 

The biggest problems with pizza restaurants, and actually we have a wood fired place in a little village down the road from me. The ingredients are expensive, to run the ovens is expensive - as westerners, we don’t want to work our lives to come here and work 7 days a week. So “we” start a business, carry on with publicizing the business, get on everyone’s nerves on Facebook with the constant posts, very few people buy pizzas, it’s costly to heat the ovens up or buy the wood for little return, we start ploughing more money into the business, we get disillusioned and start taking holidays in bkk or Ko Chang and close the restaurant, next people visit during those times, and it’s closed. They vow never to return because you are unreliable, next thing, ovens are for sale on bkk bought and sold fb group. 
 

If you want something for your wife, then find something with low startup and overheads. This is where I have total respect for my wife, she has a trestle table, a tent and some fabric - she gets up at 4.00 am and sets up a market stall, stands in the morning heat until 10:00 - 1:00 time, breaks it all down, throws heavy crates of clothes on the truck and comes home. Most wives will be angered you suggest this to them, they want to control staff in an aircon instagram cafe. 
 

If you want to do something here, think about how you can utilize Thai people to do it. 
 

Some ideas work, specialist and niche concepts are good, but need work. But doing something that everyone else does, you might as well put your money in the bank and live off the interest.