What Would You Do?

[BritRakThai]

Dear all,

Married to a Thai, have a house in Thailand, been working in Thailand then Japan.

I now hope to start an IT consultancy serving UK and International education as well as offering various web 'systems' that clients would pay for and join online. We want to live in Thailand.

Is anyone doing something similar? I want to do it all legally but not sure where to start this business. If I register it in the UK then I can only work there [no problem but what about my 'online systems?']. Would you open a business in Thailand?

Very confused, all help appreciated.

Cheers,

Jeff

[ThaiPauly]

Would you open a business in Thailand?

Jeff

Personally I would not do it again.

I have had 3 goes out here and all have failed.

Luckily I had a good biz in the UK which I sold , so I could afford to take the hits on the failures.

If you can do something from here that you sell over there then that is your best option by far.

[kumsamut]

It depends on what business would you like to do and how long does it takes to get the investment return.

Business can keep going but you have got to know when to get the return. Not just keep going and the return on investment is more than expected.

I don't recommend high investment. But something that generate good cash flow.

[fred2007]

how much money can you afford to loose

[deejay777]

Would you open a business in Thailand?

Jeff

Personally I would not do it again.

I have had 3 goes out here and all have failed.

Luckily I had a good biz in the UK which I sold , so I could afford to take the hits on the failures.

If you can do something from here that you sell over there then that is your best option by far.

If you do something in Thailand that is sold in the UK/Europe, surely you must have a work permit and be liable for tax because the work is performed in Thailand. Or am I wrong?

[simon43]

Like ThaiPauly, I've had 3 businesses here in Thailand:

1 - Business No 1 with Thai GF = coffee-shop right by The Emporium shopping center. All looking good until I go to visit the shop 1 day and it's completely cleared out! Everything gone! <deleted>!! I return back to our condo and everything has gone from there also!!! AAAAhhhhhhh.

2 - Business no 2 with new Thai GF = tourist bar on Sukhumvit Road in BKK. Could be ok but staffed with lazy girls and managed by lazy GF. Landlord decides to demolish the building around us and bar has to close

3 - Business No 3 with Thai wife (was the new Thai GF) = busy hotel at Phuket Airport. All looks good, all going great! Then wife goes mental and has to be locked up in the psycho hospital. Upon her release she gets pregnant by a Thai gay-guy and then attacks me with a knife (that's the short story...). I broker a quick divorce and give her the hotel.

4 - Business No 4 (in progress) = me and me alone!!!! (Just like my previous successful businesses in the UK).

So, I'm sure you can have a successful business here in LoS. But maybe it's better not to involve a Thai GF/wife :)

... or is it just me??

Simon

[OlRedEyes]

Like ThaiPauly, I've had 3 businesses here in Thailand:

1 - Business No 1 with Thai GF = coffee-shop right by The Emporium shopping center. All looking good until I go to visit the shop 1 day and it's completely cleared out! Everything gone! <deleted>!! I return back to our condo and everything has gone from there also!!! AAAAhhhhhhh.

2 - Business no 2 with new Thai GF = tourist bar on Sukhumvit Road in BKK. Could be ok but staffed with lazy girls and managed by lazy GF. Landlord decides to demolish the building around us and bar has to close

3 - Business No 3 with Thai wife (was the new Thai GF) = busy hotel at Phuket Airport. All looks good, all going great! Then wife goes mental and has to be locked up in the psycho hospital. Upon her release she gets pregnant by a Thai gay-guy and then attacks me with a knife (that's the short story...). I broker a quick divorce and give her the hotel.

4 - Business No 4 (in progress) = me and me alone!!!! (Just like my previous successful businesses in the UK).

So, I'm sure you can have a successful business here in LoS. But maybe it's better not to involve a Thai GF/wife :)

... or is it just me??

Simon

You're a slow learner?

[simon43]

Learnt my lesson now

[fatenglishman]

Like ThaiPauly, I've had 3 businesses here in Thailand:

1 - Business No 1 with Thai GF = coffee-shop right by The Emporium shopping center. All looking good until I go to visit the shop 1 day and it's completely cleared out! Everything gone! <deleted>!! I return back to our condo and everything has gone from there also!!! AAAAhhhhhhh.

2 - Business no 2 with new Thai GF = tourist bar on Sukhumvit Road in BKK. Could be ok but staffed with lazy girls and managed by lazy GF. Landlord decides to demolish the building around us and bar has to close

3 - Business No 3 with Thai wife (was the new Thai GF) = busy hotel at Phuket Airport. All looks good, all going great! Then wife goes mental and has to be locked up in the psycho hospital. Upon her release she gets pregnant by a Thai gay-guy and then attacks me with a knife (that's the short story...). I broker a quick divorce and give her the hotel.

4 - Business No 4 (in progress) = me and me alone!!!! (Just like my previous successful businesses in the UK).

So, I'm sure you can have a successful business here in LoS. But maybe it's better not to involve a Thai GF/wife

... or is it just me??

Simon

Harsh...!

I've been here for just over a year and after reading various books and generally just seeing the work culture here I decided against having a business full stop...

I have an online business in the UK which has good regular customers, even managed to get rid of the red tape involved in having a ltd company and VAT, have 2 employees over there who are now "freelance" took a bit of effort to get setup at the start of 2008 but has been going well.

I don't need a work permit to work on my London business in fact the only time I might get questioned about it was if I opened an office - which I have no intention of doing because I work in the spare room of my apartment - the only bastard problem is London is 7 hours behind so its been goodbye nightlife for the last few weeks...

Still happier to be in 'LoS'

[simon43]

Strictly speaking - you definitely do need a WP if you are managing your UK business from Thailand. But if it's just using your laptop from home, then you should be ok. But if you 'upset' a local Thai in some way, and they know that you are doing this work, then it would be very easy for them to report you for infringement of the Labour laws.

Simon

[torrenova]

I've had umpteen businesses connected with the bar / nightlife scene as well as tangential and support businesses.

Apart from the little things which you learn in every trade and then in every business, the greatest lessons are to neither trust anyone nor let anyone, irrespective of how close to you they are, get too heavily involved in the business. I have made both those mistakes.

Your business seems different. I suspect you don't need anyone to help you. Irrespective of that, don't even let anyone know what you are doing, not your live in girlfriend or your mates down the bar. Make up something plausible but not connected with what you do as you will have to have some story.

Think about the time difference as well. It is not easy to support a business when your clients are half a world and many time zones away !

Tell the wife that you are just looking for things for the UK business or something like that. I'm presuming she does not know too much about what you do.

No need to go jumping through red tape here. Too much hassle. If you get bigger, then perhaps but not for starting up.