What Kind Of Business Would You Buy In Los?

[colino]

moterbike hire is a bad idea you have to lay out loads and then get 120 baht a day in rental and watch some prat run your bike into the ground

[jaidam]

Motorbike rental can be very lucrative indeed.

A trick I have noticed my sino-Thai neighbors do is to disable their rental bikes brakes. Loads of their bikes come back with some front end damage due to being unable to stop. Then fine the hel_l out of the poor customer. So with the ancient honda dreams being worth about 5,000 baht, they are geting 150 rental fee a day plus the cheeky fines.

Sometimes the farang returns the bike within minutes shouting something like "this is not a bike it is a disaster". They are the smart ones.

[N47HAN]

Invest into a beer bar , with a side line for motorbike rental , and buy a noodle stall ...

Just watch the cash flow in Easy !

[capco1]

Invest into a beer bar , with a side line for motorbike rental , and buy a noodle stall ...

Just watch the cash flow in Easy !

Like I said an over load of smart ass comments!

[obsession]

Invest into a beer bar , with a side line for motorbike rental , and buy a noodle stall ...

Just watch the cash flow in Easy !

Like I said an over load of smart ass comments!

I dont understand them either. You see some newbies post a question and geta thread full of smart ass comments, and they dont post again. Shame really.

[obsession]

My advice if you want to participate in money flow tourists provide then go to a place where they spend their money and buy a biz (guesthouse, restaurant, internet cafe, massage place, bar, hotel) in the mid of low season and resell mid to end of high season. When you can get it relatively cheap you can milk it for a few months, learn about it and when it makes the best returns sell it to the next guy. Important that you dont miss the point of the cycle when it starts slowing. Dont make the mistake to fall in love with it as there are thousands of ways how to lose it in Thailand. The only think you have to research is about whats cheap and whats expensive and of course you need some money to start with plus a good lawyer on your side.

Cheers

Thats a good idea. I didnt want a bar or guesthouse but it wouldnt be so bad if I wasnt intending to keep it long. Would prefer to avoid too many employees though.

[bendix]

I dont understand them either. You see some newbies post a question and geta thread full of smart ass comments, and they dont post again. Shame really.

Well, what exactly do you expect? You come here and ask people already living here for business ideas and expect serious replies? If people had serious suggestions for an original business idea, do you seriously think they would volunteer it and - in the process - give it up for free to a competitor?

There are several people on here who are already doing very well running decent businesses which they have conceived and worked hard to make a success. They didnt succeed by sharing the idea on an internet forum.

So, all that's left are the cliche beer bar, internet cafe, motorbike ideas which every tom dick and harry without an imagination comes over here, desperately trying to make a tiny living to support their bar girl habit.

[N47HAN]

I dont understand them either. You see some newbies post a question and geta thread full of smart ass comments, and they dont post again. Shame really.

Well, what exactly do you expect? You come here and ask people already living here for business ideas and expect serious replies? If people had serious suggestions for an original business idea, do you seriously think they would volunteer it and - in the process - give it up for free to a competitor?

There are several people on here who are already doing very well running decent businesses which they have conceived and worked hard to make a success. They didnt succeed by sharing the idea on an internet forum.

So, all that's left are the cliche beer bar, internet cafe, motorbike ideas which every tom dick and harry without an imagination comes over here, desperately trying to make a tiny living to support their bar girl habit.

Agreed

[esbobes]

I am trying to pick one that doesnt just rely on western tourists. Maybe manufacture and/or export. Or internet cafes are used by thais and farangs. Apart from that, I dont have much of a clue what to do. If I dont buy one, I might have to go to cambo. I have owned and managed before and dont care if its something I dont " have a passion " for.

Open up a church in Pattaya and save souls. I heard that it is easy to get a work permit as a Minster.

God help You

[A_Traveller]

To be realistic, buying a business is a route to failure in most cases. How many business are touted as "successful but owner now focusing on core activities" etc.. Come on let's be serious, a business here is only as good as the people involved and the marketplace. It is, in the vast majority of cases better to start from scratch and build. The advantage of that is to research and understand the market you are entering and develop your own strategy and resources.

If the OP has no ideas of his own, fine, look at existing models, but don't buy, create {and possibly innovate}.

Regards

[LinkPopularity]

it ain't what you do, it's the way you do it

if you're serious about exporting and have cash, you can PM me

(by the way, Mr EasyOnline lost loads of money in Belgium, started huge internet shops and now he have just a few small crappy one's left)

[Aussietraveller]

Outside the box thinking isnt required. Neither is a "passion" for what your diong.

These are probably the 2 main things that are required.

Thinking outside the box will provide a unique business, and passion is the thing that will drive it.

Having a passion for what you do wil be the thing that gets you out of bed each day, excited about your day and what lies ahead. It is the thing that will drive you to grow and improve the business.

People who are sucessful are mostly passionate about what they do.

My 2 cents worth.

[blizzard]

people who ask for buznit advice here are doomed be4 they even start.

legitimate business people dont cum here for business advice. soundman do you need any help with your business?

this is great place to get visa information!

someone should start an all in one business(farang style) emcompassing a massage parlour, internet cafe, ebay slling, motobike rentals, and beer bar..each a loser by themselves but probably a cash cow combined.............lol.

Edited August 11, 2007 by blizzard

[obsession]

Outside the box thinking isnt required. Neither is a "passion" for what your diong.

These are probably the 2 main things that are required.

Thinking outside the box will provide a unique business, and passion is the thing that will drive it.

Having a passion for what you do wil be the thing that gets you out of bed each day, excited about your day and what lies ahead. It is the thing that will drive you to grow and improve the business.

People who are sucessful are mostly passionate about what they do.

My 2 cents worth.

I know thats a popular opinion which I think originated from business "gurus" who havent owned a business. Its all part of their " business babble". I owned and ran a business for 8 years , that I had no passion in. I grew it to 23 employees. If you think about all the everyday businesses, how could people have a passion for some of that stuff. I think its a means to an end for most people.

[Jersey_UK]

Outside the box thinking isnt required. Neither is a "passion" for what your diong.

These are probably the 2 main things that are required.

Thinking outside the box will provide a unique business, and passion is the thing that will drive it.

Having a passion for what you do wil be the thing that gets you out of bed each day, excited about your day and what lies ahead. It is the thing that will drive you to grow and improve the business.

People who are sucessful are mostly passionate about what they do.

My 2 cents worth.

I know thats a popular opinion which I think originated from business "gurus" who havent owned a business. Its all part of their " business babble". I owned and ran a business for 8 years , that I had no passion in. I grew it to 23 employees. If you think about all the everyday businesses, how could people have a passion for some of that stuff. I think its a means to an end for most people.

I think it is probably that both are equally valid and invalid - plenty of businesses fail due to their owners being too "passionate" about the product side rather than viewing the business as purely a money making venture with cold hard eyes.....and as said how could someone really get passionate about a lot of the dull dull dull stuff that is required in running a business?

I think "passionate" comes into the eqaution more when it comes to "I do not want to work for someone else" and are prepared to work however much / hard it takes to acheive and then maintain this - even when more money could be made for less work and hassle being an employee!

"Thinking outside the box" - nothing against innovation - but often tried and tested is better (overall). What IME is underated is having a complete understanding of the business from the basic level upwards, making sure the basics work well and efficiently and lots of hard work.

[obsession]

I dont understand them either. You see some newbies post a question and geta thread full of smart ass comments, and they dont post again. Shame really.

Well, what exactly do you expect? You come here and ask people already living here for business ideas and expect serious replies? If people had serious suggestions for an original business idea, do you seriously think they would volunteer it and - in the process - give it up for free to a competitor?

There are several people on here who are already doing very well running decent businesses which they have conceived and worked hard to make a success. They didnt succeed by sharing the idea on an internet forum.

So, all that's left are the cliche beer bar, internet cafe, motorbike ideas which every tom dick and harry without an imagination comes over here, desperately trying to make a tiny living to support their bar girl habit.

Someone exporting to their home country wouldnt neccesarily consider someone exporting to the uk as a competitor. Im looking for a small earning, keep me busy. little enterprise. Not world domination and to wipe out all competitors. And how would bike hire in Chiang Mai affect a bike hire place in Pattaya for example. And who said they were trying to make a living or deserately trying to support a bar girl habit? I think your glass is half full

And please stop that ridiculous idea that all businesses need to be imaginative and/or original. Wall mart, burger king , mazda , panasonic , Avis ...... Bon Jovi . Unless your a business visionary,you copy what works? Youve have told costa coffee that starbucks have done it and you need an original idea.

I am trying to find out a small business that works in los. Whats wrong with that on a public forum. If you only have negative put downs to say, please do it somewhere else. Its not original nor imaginative, but you do seem to have a passion for it

[Foggy Bottom]

Obsession - OK you wanted some straight and sensible advice ..... here's my two pennies worth.

If you're stuck for ideas, then you're reading this using one of the best business ideas tools around - the Internet

As luck would have it, you're also looking at setting up in one of the most contrary regions on the planet. To explain that, use www.boi.go.th to locate, download, and print both the Royal Decree and the Foreign Business Act lists of employments and businesses prohibited to foreigners, restricted for foreigners, or permitted subject to special controls for foreigners. Then download the BOI's own lists of businesses available for BOI sponsorship and concessions, and the rules for qualifying - - - don't read any of them yet, you're not finished.

Then, find the government website for the equivalent of the Thai BOI in Burma (yup - I said Burma)

Download and print their lists as above for Thailand.

Now compare the various lists for each country side by side.

What you will find is that if Thailand says "Farang mai dai", Burma will say "Farang dai mak mak", and vice versa.

So what you end up with is a list of non-proscribed businesses that you can do in Thailand, but not in Burma - there's one starting point.

Then take that list of possibles to the BOI sponsorship and promotion categories list and see if any are on there, whilst also watching for others on the BOI list not previously noticed.

If you keep a completely open mind, you'll finish with 30 - 40 AFFORDABLE and do-able possibilities (I say affordable because some of the sponsored activities include superstores with 100 million baht of stock, or 100+ bedroom hotels built from the ground up, or yachting marinas with a minimum area of 300 rai of land etc). When you start seeing those types of projects, it's easy to give up on the BOI sponsored lists, but do not do that - they're a very useful reference list.

You got it right at the top of the thread when you mentioned manufacturing and export - some ideas (off the top of my head as I type) that are cheap (or cheapish) to start and could be well received - - -

- wooden birdhouses for back gardens (got any buying contacts in the big DIY chainstores? Or feel like contacting all the mom & pop hardware and pet stores?).

- Saddle bags for motorbikes (lots of seamstresses out here).

- Concrete garden statues and figurines - just need to buy the moulds from back home and flog the castings locally.

- Burglar alarm and CCTV installation - loads of hi-so and "wannabe" moo-baans needing home protection.

- under roof insulation (foam injection) - cheaper than air-con after a couple of years to recoup the installation.

- solar water heating or solar electricity generation - installation & maintenance.

- house electrics conversion from 2-core live & neutral to twin & earth with switched sockets/outlets.

- fibreglass small boats for flood prone areas (buy or lease or rent).

- grass skis (half metre long roller skates with about a dozen rows of wheels per "ski").

- go-kart racing (needs land and vehicles, but land can be rented and carts taken with you when you leave).

- radio control powerboat racing for local ponds and klongs - either tourist season or start a market for the locals.

- book and pamphlet publishing (only newspapers and magazines need a Thai owner/editor-in-chief - books don't).

If I sat here a while longer I could probably come up with hundreds that are not for me, but might suit someone else.

Hope it's useful

Gaz

[N47HAN]

Just thought of a few more ,

lottery ticket seller

beach vendor

shoe shine buisiness

sunglasses / watch hawker

thailand map retailer

bird releaser

chewing gum vendour

flower seller

parlour promoter

all must be viable as there are plenty of buisinesses doing them

[rainman]

How about selling Chewbacca suits made from 100% wool on Pattaya Beach?

[Tootah]

rat catching services

[Goshawk]

I dont understand them either. You see some newbies post a question and geta thread full of smart ass comments, and they dont post again. Shame really.

Well, what exactly do you expect? You come here and ask people already living here for business ideas and expect serious replies? If people had serious suggestions for an original business idea, do you seriously think they would volunteer it and - in the process - give it up for free to a competitor?

There are several people on here who are already doing very well running decent businesses which they have conceived and worked hard to make a success. They didnt succeed by sharing the idea on an internet forum.

So, all that's left are the cliche beer bar, internet cafe, motorbike ideas which every tom dick and harry without an imagination comes over here, desperately trying to make a tiny living to support their bar girl habit.

Someone exporting to their home country wouldnt neccesarily consider someone exporting to the uk as a competitor. Im looking for a small earning, keep me busy. little enterprise. Not world domination and to wipe out all competitors. And how would bike hire in Chiang Mai affect a bike hire place in Pattaya for example. And who said they were trying to make a living or deserately trying to support a bar girl habit? I think your glass is half full

And please stop that ridiculous idea that all businesses need to be imaginative and/or original. Wall mart, burger king , mazda , panasonic , Avis ...... Bon Jovi . Unless your a business visionary,you copy what works? Youve have told costa coffee that starbucks have done it and you need an original idea.

I am trying to find out a small business that works in los. Whats wrong with that on a public forum. If you only have negative put downs to say, please do it somewhere else. Its not original nor imaginative, but you do seem to have a passion for it

Hang in their Obsession.. don't let these patronising tw*ts put you off.. Its oh so easy to put down a 'newbie' in Thailand after they themselves have been trying (and more often than not failing) to make an adequate living here, particulary when they have a seemingly unlimited budget, and still can't crack it... Remember : fortune favours the brave..

[capco1]

I dont understand them either. You see some newbies post a question and geta thread full of smart ass comments, and they dont post again. Shame really.

Well, what exactly do you expect? You come here and ask people already living here for business ideas and expect serious replies? If people had serious suggestions for an original business idea, do you seriously think they would volunteer it and - in the process - give it up for free to a competitor?

There are several people on here who are already doing very well running decent businesses which they have conceived and worked hard to make a success. They didnt succeed by sharing the idea on an internet forum.

So, all that's left are the cliche beer bar, internet cafe, motorbike ideas which every tom dick and harry without an imagination comes over here, desperately trying to make a tiny living to support their bar girl habit.

Then that's what you need to reply with..........No need to be-little anybody!

[Sir Burr]

their bar girl habit.

Bendix, I mostly like your posts, but, you never seem to miss the opportunity to denigrate posters who's spouse may, or, may not have come from a certain social strata. It makes you sound like a snob and a dick-head. Do yourself a favour. Cut it out.

[bendix]

Ummmm . . point of order. I AM a snob and a <deleted>, but even so I don't see how a reference to a bargirl habit denigrates people's choice of spouse. I would have thought a bargirl habit is the very opposite of having a spouse, irrespective of where they come from.

What are you driving at exactly?

Edited August 12, 2007 by bendix

[coventry]

I am trying to pick one that doesnt just rely on western tourists. Maybe manufacture and/or export. Or internet cafes are used by thais and farangs. Apart from that, I dont have much of a clue what to do. If I dont buy one, I might have to go to cambo. I have owned and managed before and dont care if its something I dont " have a passion " for.

You should have put this tread on the womens forum. From what I've read on their forum they cannot seem to get eyebrow weavers or good waxings anywhere. Anything to do with making women feel they are beautiful has to be a winner as a business. Ask them what they would like to have in Thailand but can't get, and that's the one to go for.

If you go for the waxing business I'm available for volluntary work 3x a week.

Edited August 12, 2007 by coventry

[Sir Burr]

I know many people who have very successful relationships with ex-BGs and women from the perceived lower classes.

Some of the finest women as human beings I have ever met also belong to that social strata. Everytime you denigrate either them, or, a foreigner's choice in hooking up with them, it insults both parties that do have a successful relationship. Yes, I know that there are a lot of unhappy outcomes as well, but I wish you wouldn't seize on every opportunity to denigrate them.

If you yourself admit that you are a snob and a dick-head, then maybe you should try walking a mile in somebody elses shoes.

[bendix]

I know many people who have very successful relationships with ex-BGs and women from the perceived lower classes.

Some of the finest women as human beings I have ever met also belong to that social strata. Everytime you denigrate either them, or, a foreigner's choice in hooking up with them, it insults both parties that do have a successful relationship. Yes, I know that there are a lot of unhappy outcomes as well, but I wish you wouldn't seize on every opportunity to denigrate them.

If you yourself admit that you are a snob and a dick-head, then maybe you should try walking a mile in somebody elses shoes.

Want to take this offline? Am more than happy to debate it (cos frankly, i couldnt care less who marries who) but it's off-topic to the main thread.

But to clarify, my reference to the 'bargirl habit in this thread' was a tongue in cheek sideswipe at obsession for an exchange we had in another thread a few days ago - search the threads and you'll see what I'm referring to.

He would know what I'm talking about.

[Edonista]

Obsession, forget the idea.

Quite simply, Thai laws prevent whatever farang business from being profitable.

Just think to put up the business you must present 51% of it to your "Thai partners".

And what if xenophobic Immigration denies you the business visa ? How will you attend your business if you get ousted of Thailand ?

If you are over 50 and can rely on a retirement visa, then you can buy a few condos and rent them.

Everything else is a sure way for ruin.

[N47HAN]

Obsession,

my posts are intended as pun nothing else,

You will find a buisiness that suits you despite all ( including my own ) responces on this forum.

Yes it is difficult to succeed here, but from personal experience you can succeed.

I started my buisiness only 1 year ago with only my vision and "talent" and to date have a turnover in excess of 50 million and should increase considerably by the end end of the year.

So it can be done!

[blizzard]

whats a bird releasing business??

you cant be serious, if you are how much can one expect to make releasing birds?

what about a business specializing in pickin up animal shit. got to be very careful walking the streets of bangkok.........lol. elephants and dogs dont seem to be potty trained.

Edited August 12, 2007 by blizzard