Forum turned upside down?

[steve78]

Hi, thanks for taking time to look at this...

I have been trying to research and find out as much information as possible via the Internet but I am not getting any straight forward answers....So I am hoping you guys can help???

I am thinking of selling my house in England and moving to Phuket. My plan is to sell up and go to Phuket on a tourist holiday/no visa. I then plan to look for a business investment, maybe a bar or taking on say a 5yr lease on a guesthouse. I will have say about £30000 to help me, but is it possible for me to do? Can I say take on a guesthouse and then live and work in Phuket full time without visa runs? What if I employ Thai staff would this help?

Basically what I need your help on is...

Can I move to Thailand with my £30000 and live there if I can invest in a business that will earn me enough to live on?

If so how do I go about it? What visa will I need?

Please, please help....

[abdulrahman]

Hi, thanks for taking time to look at this...

I have been trying to research and find out as much information as possible via the Internet but I am not getting any straight forward answers....So I am hoping you guys can help???

I am thinking of selling my house in England and moving to Phuket. My plan is to sell up and go to Phuket on a tourist holiday/no visa. I then plan to look for a business investment, maybe a bar or taking on say a 5yr lease on a guesthouse. I will have say about £30000 to help me, but is it possible for me to do? Can I say take on a guesthouse and then live and work in Phuket full time without visa runs? What if I employ Thai staff would this help?

Basically what I need your help on is...

Can I move to Thailand with my £30000 and live there if I can invest in a business that will earn me enough to live on?

If so how do I go about it? What visa will I need?

Please, please help....

Are you for real? Please read some more in the internet(thaivisa would be a good starting point)then ask again

Edited February 17, 2008 by abdulrahman

[teacherofwoe]

To enter into business the first thing you need is Thai partners that you trust with your investment. You can only hold 49% of the company, the remaining 51% must be held by six or seven (can't remember) Thais who could easily gang up and then sieze control having 51%. Bye bye to your B2 million. Believe me, it's happened to so many, especially in places like Pattaya etc. Be careful!!!

[steve78]

To enter into business the first thing you need is Thai partners that you trust with your investment. You can only hold 49% of the company, the remaining 51% must be held by six or seven (can't remember) Thais who could easily gang up and then sieze control having 51%. Bye bye to your B2 million. Believe me, it's happened to so many, especially in places like Pattaya etc. Be careful!!!

Thanks for your info. Do you know if its the same if I was to take out a lease on a guesthouse say for 4yrs?

[teacherofwoe]

To enter into business the first thing you need is Thai partners that you trust with your investment. You can only hold 49% of the company, the remaining 51% must be held by six or seven (can't remember) Thais who could easily gang up and then sieze control having 51%. Bye bye to your B2 million. Believe me, it's happened to so many, especially in places like Pattaya etc. Be careful!!!

Thanks for your info. Do you know if its the same if I was to take out a lease on a guesthouse say for 4yrs?

You can lease any property you like for upto 30 years with a renewal clause. But if you planning on making any money from the property then you need to register a business with 7 Thais who control 51%.

If you can trust at least one of them then you can give that person 45% and between the two of you the bulk of the business is in your control. But do you know any one you can totally trust?

[LivinLOS]

Your chances of getting a guesthouse lease with 30k GBP are pretty much nil.

Regular open air beer bars are getting 2.5 mil or so for 3 years key money on Phuket. And we all know how much of a living most of those provide.

[britmaveric]

Advice: DON'T!!!!!!!

[teacherofwoe]

Advice: DON'T!!!!!!!

Sounds like good advice really.

You don't have enough money to get this sorted, and you risk losing everything.

[Siriam]

Hi Steve,

perhaps I'm thick... is your house worth of 30,000 pounds only? It sounds odd to me, BTW I'd say do not sell it, try to rent it out instead and create a permanent revenue from it!

How old are you? Have you thought that it could be much relaxing coming and retiring here, of course if you are over 50, or if you are younger just visit often the LOfS.

I invite you to collect as much info as you can and think carefully about what you're doing.

Good luck Steve

[steve78]

I have got about £30/£40k equity in my house that I can have if I sell my house. Im 30 so not old enough to retire yet!!! I just want to get out of England and be able to live in Thailand.

Do you know what would be a sound investment if a guesthouse is out of the question?

What is the crack with having a lease on a beer bar???

[teacherofwoe]

I have got about £30/£40k equity in my house that I can have if I sell my house. Im 30 so not old enough to retire yet!!! I just want to get out of England and be able to live in Thailand.

Do you know what would be a sound investment if a guesthouse is out of the question?

What is the crack with having a lease on a beer bar???

Dude, as I said before, you can lease any property you like, but to trade or make money legally you need to register a business. You can't own a business yourself as you aren't Thai. Without a Thai wife you CAN trust you are setting yourself up as one of hundreds who lose loads of money here each year. I've meet Thais who befriend westeners all the time with the hope that they'll set up a company making them a minority shareholder. There are loads of them just waiting for you to arrive so they can scam you. Who are you going to trust? Another thing to consider is that you'd also need at least seven Thais working in your bar before you'd qualify for a work permit. You won't be able to work in your bar without one, and as soon as your back is turned the Thai staff will be dipping their hands in the till.

Do you have a university degree? If so, then you can take a short TEFL course, get a teaching job and qualify for a one year B visa and work permit. If not, then come on tourist visas every six months. If your still determined to piss your money away then my wife will be only too happy to hold shares in your business.

[LivinLOS]

30k.. Will last you perhaps 2 years if you live frugally and DONT have a business.. Probably shorter if you do.

With 30k forget it, come on another holiday.

[blizzard]

THIS IS A BIG TIME TROLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

or a sheep waiting to be fleeced by a fellow farang.......................lol.

[Siriam]

Another thing to consider is that you'd also need at least seven Thais working in your bar before you'd qualify for a work permit. You won't be able to work in your bar without one, and as soon as your back is turned the Thai staff will be dipping their hands in the till.

Thai employees should be 4, shouldn't they? Regardless, even in case a Farang hold a Thai Work Permit, he's not authorized to do "Manual Works", in brief he should not touch a glass in his own bar unless for drinking himself, we all know this is not what happen in real life, but as far as I know these are the rules. am I wrong?

Cheers everybody, and Steve... please think twice about it, and if you really want to leave your country for good, look also at other world's sceneries!

Edited February 20, 2008 by Siriam

[huggybear]

Hi, thanks for taking time to look at this...

I have been trying to research and find out as much information as possible via the Internet but I am not getting any straight forward answers....So I am hoping you guys can help???

I am thinking of selling my house in England and moving to Phuket. My plan is to sell up and go to Phuket on a tourist holiday/no visa. I then plan to look for a business investment, maybe a bar or taking on say a 5yr lease on a guesthouse. I will have say about £30000 to help me, but is it possible for me to do? Can I say take on a guesthouse and then live and work in Phuket full time without visa runs? What if I employ Thai staff would this help?

Basically what I need your help on is...

Can I move to Thailand with my £30000 and live there if I can invest in a business that will earn me enough to live on?

If so how do I go about it? What visa will I need?

Please, please help....

No Steve, this is not a good plan.

Your house is a solid investment, do not toss that away for a dream of living and working in Thailand.

You have a recipe for disaster, which a lot of posters here will take as you just making this story up..................that's how bad an idea this is if you are for real.

Bar business/restaurant business? The worst business you can try to open. The staff will steal from you, the person you let from will change the deal if you become successful and boot you out.

Rent the house, use that bit of money to live on, teach English here and purchase some websites that are moneymakers. There's my 2 satang's worth.....

[Maigo6]

Steve, don't do it!

Rent your house out, come to live in Thailand for a while first, never trust Farangs that try to sell you a bar, if the bars made money, the Thai Chinese would own them all, not just the land they stand on, but the daily running of the bar too.

Don't be another statistic, many Farangs come to Thailand thinking they can live the dream, and it ends in a nightmare.

Edited February 20, 2008 by Maigo6

[Moe]

Rent the house, use that bit of money to live on, teach English here and purchase some websites that are moneymakers. There's my 2 satang's worth.....

Don't want to hijack the thread but would like to hear more about buying websites ie. what sites in general, what kinds of income can be expected, how much work is involved and what online resources to research more etc. Any info would be appreciated.

[Chang_paarp]

Steve

The basic idea OK but,

Do you have any experience in running a business?

Do you have experience in the bar industry?

As others have suggested leaving the major asset in place and use it as a revenue stream.

It is possible to find a bar for less than the 1.8M Baht you are looking at, but, you need to understand what you are doing. This includes limiting you drinking so you can physically survive, allowing time for excersize, and trying to have a life away from your business.

Business set-up and running in Thailand is a never ending set of changing rules, look at the recent anti-smoking laws and think how they may affect the investment in a bar, and if you want to scare yourself look at the proposed Foreign Business Act that is currently in limbo.

Do you have the resources if something does not go right?

Have you done research on the bar industry in the area you are looking at? I know it is nice to buy a beer at 20B and sell it at 55B, but there are other things to consider. Having someone you can trust who is Thai can save you a lot of heartace and trouble. It helps if they are educated and know people in the area.

I know Thailand is a nice place to visit, but have you spent any time here? Some of the things you can ignore when visiting can really get you down.

As to opening and running a business, look in the archive of this forum and the SME forum and you will find a lot of information.

There are successful business out there that are bars, they are few and far between because many of the people who invest in bars do so for a lifestyle decision not as a business. If you want a lifestyle that is OK but it may not be a sustainable one without the business acumen to back it up, or the external income to prop it up.

Keep thinking and saving.

[steve78]

thanks very much for your help, i will read up on what you have told me...thanks again

[blizzard]

i think its a real guud idea to have another source of incum to support yr losing money thai buznit..................lol.

[billaaa777]

Dude, go for it as fast as you can. Being 30 years old and living in Thailand is like being in heaven. Don’t listen to all this old farts that never took a risk in their lives.

I came over here fours years ago with a lot less money than you have and now I make millions of Baht a year and live like a king.

What’s the worst that can happen, you live here a few years and things don’t work out and you have to move back home. And when you get back home, boy you will be motivated to make some money and get your ass back over here fast. You will start working 24 hours a day and saving every cent you can get your hands on.

Do you want to be like 95% of these old codgers that live here that can barely walk whose you know what does not even work anymore?

Take a chance and have the time of your life!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[steve78]

ha ha i like your way of thinking pal, thats what i had in mind! what do you do? is it worth me say not investing but trying to just get a job? im not assed about making stacks of cash, i just wanna live in heaven and smile!!!

[blizzard]

listen to yrself sir.

u went from wanting to own a biznit to now wanting to get a job. sound like u need a whole lotta soulsearching. los will make you cry if u dont know wot u doing.

u tink its ez to make millions of baht like 777.

[Siriam]

ha ha i like your way of thinking pal, thats what i had in mind! what do you do? is it worth me say not investing but trying to just get a job? im not assed about making stacks of cash, i just wanna live in heaven and smile!!!

It seems he did not find the time to answer a simple question... what do u do? He probably can't answer, there is only one way to come here with no money and make millions, which is screwing your neighbors in several indescribable ways!

Good luck Steve, a lot of people here gave u good advises, you have appreciated and picked the wrong one, congratulations!

Edited March 3, 2008 by Siriam

[PattayaParent]

What's your current job? Is it a skill set that is required in Thailand or can it be done by a Thai?

If not I'd advise you to rent out your place in UK, come here and do a TOEFL or similar teaching qualification course and by the time that's finished you'll have a better idea of whether you'd be able to make a go of it here or be better off going home and making your fortune before you come back for good.

In the meantime meet up with Bilaaaa for a beer and get some good business advice from him.

[taxin]

Dude, go for it as fast as you can. Being 30 years old and living in Thailand is like being in heaven. Don’t listen to all this old farts that never took a risk in their lives.

I came over here fours years ago with a lot less money than you have and now I make millions of Baht a year and live like a king.

What’s the worst that can happen, you live here a few years and things don’t work out and you have to move back home. And when you get back home, boy you will be motivated to make some money and get your ass back over here fast. You will start working 24 hours a day and saving every cent you can get your hands on.

Do you want to be like 95% of these old codgers that live here that can barely walk whose you know what does not even work anymore?

Take a chance and have the time of your life!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ha ha !

I agree 100%, go for it ! Dont stay at home in the UK wasting your life away. The UK is dead on its a*se now !

I came here at 30 after selling my house in the UK, with about the same ammount of money that you are talking about, now I have 2 profitable business's earning more in a month than I was earning in a year back in the UK !! I came here with ZERO skill set, just your average Joe Bloggs sales man ! All you need here in Thailand is a bit of enthusiasm, and Steve you sound like you got it man !

Dont listen to the doom mongers on here. Most of the guesthouse owners I know dont have a Thai company, just a normal lease the same as you would have as if you were renting a house here. The only reason some of these guesthouses go for silly money is because stupid falangs buy existing so called "Business's" that are worthless ! Get a newly built shophouse/guesthouse with no existing business and build it up yourself, then you can be the one selling it to the dumb ass falang in a few years for 10 times what you paid for it !!

There are literally dozens of new shophouses/guesthouses popping up in Patong, once you find a landlord that is not just after fleecing you (they do exist) all your looking at is a big chunk of rent upfront. 500,000 to 1 million baht and your in business ! You cant fail in renting them out. Top wack in high season and a cheap monthly rate for the long termers in low season.

Rule number 1, DONT deal with Farangs and only deal with Thais, once you start dealing with farangs its a slippery slope .... Getting a job 1st is always a good option, dont dive into anything. A job is also a good way to network and pick up a few tips. Whatever you do DO NOT tell anyone that you got any money, your new TGF, your new work mates, the guy in your local bar... NOBODY !

Nah, you dont need to meet me for a beer, but as for Billaaa hes the man and I would certainly buy him a beer !!

[egg6447]

taxin+ billaa. would it be impertenant to ask what you do to make all these mllions of bt. your not the pony tailed bank robbers by any chance are you?.

[sgthai]

I'm an asian and from Singapore.I've been working and doing business in Thailand for the past 3 1/2 yrs.

I'm wondering why many farangs thinks when it comes to doing business in Thailand,it is usually guest hse,bars,internet or investment in bonds?

There are thousand and one way of doing business and making good money in Thailand.

Thailand is a developing country and if you farang comes from a develop country you should be able to take advantage of it.

From where I come from,conducting business in Singapore is very hard and difficult because of the many competitions,high rental and high labor cost.

There are not much competition in Thailand,many supplier I've met or come across is very complacent.

They don't attend or service you immediately,they are always late or never turn up for an appointment at times.

You don't usually see these happenning in Sinagpore

All you need is to make one enquiry from any company and the sales man will be right at your door step the next very moment with samples and catalogue in hand.

One doesn't need a million baht to survive in Thailand.With 500,000 baht in hand you can easily make 200,000-300,000 baht a mth or so.

Of cos you'll need to register for a company with 7 partnership in Thailand to run a business.

So what 's the problem? Afraid that the thai partner will cheat you?

Yes a smart thai may cheat you but what about an ordinary thai with no education at all???

They can sign anything even without education.

I've a company with 7 partnership but they are practically none active except being name in the company registry.

Everyone of them knows nuts about business,documentation works,accounting or whatever authority dept you'll need to deal with.

My company's bank account has only me as the sole authorised signatory.

So why am I reading about all these negative comment about being careful that your thai partner owns 51% and will cheat you.

If you can allow a thai to cheat you then I would say that you are a really useless and naive person.

Being a farang and coming from a develop country you should be the smarter ones.

Simple way to make money instead of big risk and small returns are trading business.

Go and do your home work and find out what are the popular consumer stuff that is in demand.

Find out the origin of that product. You'll notice that 80% of the consumer stuff are from china.

Find out which part of china and where is the manufacturer located.

Find out about their prices and the selling price to the wholesalers in Thailand and also the retail price.

Do a market research and create your own network of retailers and compete with those whoelsalers in Thailand.

Even though you are a new player as long as you can offer a lower price,most retailer will want to buy from you.

To most of them there are no loyalty when it comes to a cheaper buy.

The shipment of stuff that I brought in from china,all I need to do is sell my stuff 5-10 baht cheaper and I already have a large number of retailers buying from me.

You see,before I bought my stuff in I did a market research and found out many wholesalers adopt a "take it or leave it and all fixed price no bargaining atittude"

My style of sales management is " I come to you,no need for you to come to me".

So end up I've secured many future orders and my network of retailers is still growing.

To date many wholelsalers still do not know that many of their regulars have already been snatch up by my company.

Because the market is so big my guess is until there are 1000's more people like me then will they reliase they have competition.

So till then I'm enjoying my business and good profit and I'm letting it roll and roll into millions.

Who says you need millions to start a business in Thailand.

Who says you can or will be cheated by thai?

All you need is brains,small capital,hard work on market survey and research and you will be able to live like a king in Thailand.

Sorry for the long winded comments but that's how we chinese businessman thinks but then agian I wouldn't say so for some of you people here judging from the many negative remarks in ths forum.

Btw I'm not against any farang here and infact I've met up with a few of them here thru TV and I'm please to say they are doing fine and on their way to making good money after receiving some tips and advice from me.

Edited March 18, 2008 by sgthai