Setting Your Thai Wife Up In Business

[jaideeguy]

How many of us has financed a business for out beloved Thai wives???

I did a couple of ventures that both failed.....2 restaurants that I set up and subsidized until I could see that if business was good, the most she could make is small baht.

And the fact that she [and most Thais] just do business out of pocket and don't have a real clue on how to really run a business.

But, I could do it again, if I get some good suggestions for successful businesses that could be run preferably from home or close to home......we live in a moobaan outside of Chiang Mai.

Motivation for me is to not only slow the $ flow out of my pocket, but to give her some self esteme so she doesn't have to always ask me for money.

your experiences appreciated......

[G54]

For 40,000 Baht I set up one long term g/f with a salon. She did quite well out of it for the first three months it was open but then the customer base dropped away. The cost of running the place was too high and it started to bleed my wallet. The g/f was sat around most of the day twiddling her thumbs and keeping the shop open longer and longer to no avail.

When it got to leaving home at 7 am. and not coming home until 11 pm. I put my foot down and got her to sell up.

She made more money for less hours getting her 60% cut working for another salon.

Then there was the fish. Used the proceeds from the sale of the salon and they dug a ruddy great hole out the back of the house, filled it with fish and proceeded to feed the fish with no thought, care or plan at all. Murky green water, no netting or anything. That made a profit !!

Last I heard she was doing quite well and stocking up with more fish. Sometimes I think it is best to let them get on with it and subsidise them to a degree. Keeps them happy

[jaideeguy]

Keeps them busy, happy and out of trouble.

I didn't mention the various fish and frog ventures that I have financed as well. The fish lost, but she made a few baht with the frogs and is doing that again this year. She [as most Thais do] just jumps into these projects, keeps no records and doesn't even know if she makes profit. BTW, guess who pays for the frog/fish food........

[bonobo]

Not a wife, but a friend...

I had a friend who was getting seriously sexually harrassed at work.  She wanted to quit.  She found a small shop (well, more like a tin hovel) near a large apartment complex and bought a few drinks and such to try and be a mini-mart.  Well, she really had nothing to sell (I mean, all she had were a few soft drinks and a few snacks.)   So I took her to Makro and stocked her up with goods, cash register, fridge, etc.  (I volunteered this--she never asked nor hinted that I do this)

In the ensuing three or four years, she has expanded to the whole building (still a tin hovel) and has a fully stocked store.  Her whiskey sales alone make her a mint. She has a car and loves to wear her gold.  7-11 is going to open inside the apartment complex, so she is going to sell out and go home to Maehongson with quite a bit of money in the bank.

I probably spent somewhere in the neighborhood of 40,000 baht on her store.  She called me up a couple years ago to pay me back, but I refused and let her take me to a nice dinner instead.

[dave111223]

My wife did run a cart selling crepes for a while, which I financed, but it only made a few hundred baht a day and so she packed it in after 3 or 4 months.

Now she has a clothing store, also financed by me, but this time making good money, with 1 employee and looking to hire 2 more.

[JohnGotti]

run a brothel.

[PoorSucker]

I had a falang in the neighborhood that bought a restaurant for his wife/gf.

It was open two months per year when he was visiting her, he worked in falangland.

Rest of the time she went back to her old job in the bar.

Works much better if you live here.

[imaneggspurt]

Difficult to answer this one without knowing her qualifications etc,some as we know cant add 2+2, yet manage to milk some farang dry,..on a positive note a friend of mine set his former girlfriend up in a shoe shop in phuket, she did very well, he however didnt ,as she met an italian and blew him out ! oh well, good luck,,

[jaideeguy]

Every moobaan has toomany minimarts, cel phone shops, noodle shops, meat and vegetable vendors and whiskey shops. Any other ideas for a small moobaan???

[true blue]

lots of the usuals,laundry,internet,travel/shop,estate agent,massage,off licence,supposes there lots more, but just ideas,

[kurnell]

Open a foreign burger, pastry or photo chain, get a celebrity to endorse it, wait for the Thais to line up for 1 hour to buy substandard food then sell it just as competitors open knock off shops all over town and ruin the business.

You cannot fail.

[billd766]

Back in December 2008 my wife wanted to start a small shop and noodle stall on her land opposite a small village.

It cost us about 100,000 baht to build and I thought the restaurant side was far too big but being a fairly wise husband and making my views known (and being told to keep my nose out of it) I let it run its course.

She is making noodles from around 10 am and is usually sold out by 2 but there is other Thai food as well. She had a friend working with her but that failed and she now has a (retired?) katooey working and that is going very well.

She is turning over more than 1,000 a day and probably making over 500 a day in profit and I am the one looking a little silly but very proud of her.

[JohnGotti]

she is making 125 baht an hour? nice!

[Theyreallrubbish]

I had a falang in the neighborhood that bought a restaurant for his wife/gf.

It was open two months per year when he was visiting her, he worked in falangland.

Rest of the time she went back to her old job in the bar.

Works much better if you live here.

I've seen that as well. An English taxi driver started a small bar beer for his wife. Whenever he wasn't there her extended family and friends would fill the place up and drink for free. Inevitably his money ran out and he had to go back to the UK to earn more. Told me he was working 14 hour shifts taxi driving to send money to her.

She was just having a perpetual free party with her family and friends.

She was big ugly girl as well. You'd think she might have had the foresight to realise that she'd got lucky having a guy like this love her and try to hold on to him, but no, she just milked him as fast as she could and didn't even keep any money but gave it away in the form of alcohol to her family and friends.

[stumonster]

keeps no records and doesn't even know if she makes profit.

this is where you must start - either in a book or on a spreadsheet , get her to start tracking the home budget and make sure she understands it means even the motocy taxi fares.

[bikerman]

she is making 125 baht an hour? nice!

Better than nothing, at least she is trying unlike other sitting back doing sweet FA!!!!!

[rolypie]

she is making 125 baht an hour? nice!

I do believe this thread is for constructive comments '' open a brothel'' and the above are neither.

Sounds to me like you are a very small minded, bitter and twisted looser that has nothing better to do than write moronic garble, have a word with yourself child!!!!

[soic]

My wife is more the exception to the rule, I think. I just give her an allowance monthly. Over the years, she opened 2 restaurants, 2 shoe stores and one convenience store. She's either sold, sub-leased or closed them all at various times. She's made decent money in every instance though. We have about 3-4 rai where's she's bought and built a new restaurant. She now wants to add rooms for a small resort. I really can't complain about anything she does. She keeps books like you wouldn't believe. The first thing she shows me when I get home is those books. How much I've put in the bank, what she's spent, on what and how much she's made. If she loans anyone any money, which is almost never, she writes down every penny and makes them pay it back. She never asks for more than I give.

We're planning on setting up 10 or 20 rooms and a small convenience store and them I'm staying home for good.

[jaideeguy]

After the restaurant failures, I would rather set her up in some kind of home project. We don't live on a well traveled road, so a noodle shop is out of the question. There is lots of woodworking and handicraft cottage industries in our neighborhood, but they seem to be feeling the $crunch, and orders are down.

Sad news for them, but means that we could have a labor force. But, what to make in this economy??

[bikerman]

she is making 125 baht an hour? nice!

I do believe this thread is for constructive comments '' open a brothel'' and the above are neither.

Sounds to me like you are a very small minded, bitter and twisted looser that has nothing better to do than write moronic garble, have a word with yourself child!!!!

Totally agree, seen lots of replies by this small minded prat, nothing better to do than criticize others!!!!!! maybe only makes small money, good for her for trying.

[jaideeguy]

Hey, I respect anyone who can make an honest baht, especially in these troubled times. My wife would have been happy just earning 200-300/day, but I set my limits a little higher.

As agrivating as our 'hosts' can be at times, I respect their honesty. They will con you and 'borrow' you into the poorhouse, but in the decade that I have been here, I have seen little theft.

[bino]

she is making 125 baht an hour? nice!

Very nice indeed! Especially more so when you figure that minimum wage in Thailand is about 200 baht per DAY! Lots of people work as construction laborers in the hot sun all day for this minimum wage.

[LooseCannon]

she is making 125 baht an hour? nice!

I do believe this thread is for constructive comments '' open a brothel'' and the above are neither.

Sounds to me like you are a very small minded, bitter and twisted looser that has nothing better to do than write moronic garble, have a word with yourself child!!!!

Poor old Tony Soprano desperately trying to be nice. ....but just can't seem to control himself.

[thaimiller]

Got the Mrs set up with an E-bay account and store, it took some working from me to start with to teach her how to list etc, now she does it on her own and makes around 10,000 baht profit a month. not bad going for sitting at home apart from going to the post office and suppliers etc.

[dave111223]

she is making 125 baht an hour? nice!

I do believe this thread is for constructive comments '' open a brothel'' and the above are neither.

Sounds to me like you are a very small minded, bitter and twisted looser that has nothing better to do than write moronic garble, have a word with yourself child!!!!

Poor old Tony Soprano desperately trying to be nice. ....but just can't seem to control himself.

I thought he got banned...i guess the reason for the new account.

I don't really see what's the point of banning someone is they can just come back with the same attitude...different screen name.

[billd766]

Thanks to everyone for the comments about my wife earning "only" 125 baht an hour.

During those 4 hours she works dam_n hard. What I amy not have mentioned is that the place is open from around 8 am till perhaps 8 or 9 a night.

She also makes a profit from the shop as well.

She is not tooo keen on keeping books though.

[stumonster]

She is not tooo keen on keeping books though.

records are essential for efficiency - then you need to show them how to keep 2 sets and why.

[LooseCannon]

How many of us has financed a business for out beloved Thai wives???

I did a couple of ventures that both failed.....2 restaurants that I set up and subsidized until I could see that if business was good, the most she could make is small baht.

And the fact that she [and most Thais] just do business out of pocket and don't have a real clue on how to really run a business.

But, I could do it again, if I get some good suggestions for successful businesses that could be run preferably from home or close to home......we live in a moobaan outside of Chiang Mai.

Motivation for me is to not only slow the $ flow out of my pocket, but to give her some self esteme so she doesn't have to always ask me for money.

your experiences appreciated......

First off I would try to analyze why her 2 previous businesses failed.

When you have identified exactly where the problems lies you either fix it, don't repeat it or give up on the idea altogther.

Anyway - how about investing in a small commercial oven or even a domestic one & baking farang style cakes - sponge cakes, cup cakes, or whatever. Make them a bit fancy, make them different & market them as being farang. Try them out on family & friends to determine the style, shape ,size etc that appeals to Thai (plenty of chocolate icing?). there must be heaps of recipes on the internet.

Identify some corner shops, restaurants etc & drop them off for them to sell on commission. Fresh daily. The food stalls located in the compound of the local high school would be a good location - sell them to kids with no regard for the obesity epidemic.

Advantages - low setup costs & very low overheads because it can be done from home. Basic ingredients very simple - flour, sugar, eggs & flavourings & ?

Your location - Up north? - harder to do in a large city but if you are away from western style food outlets the locals will appreciate the novelty factor .

If it doesn't work you have always got the oven so your wife will always be able to make a nice roast & Yorkshire pud on Sundays.

[kennkate]

I bought my wife a Large Capacity Washing Machine

Capacity is important so as to be able to wash Duvet's

She makes on average 8 to 10 Thousand per month

Duvet's are good earners 80 to 100 Baht No Iroining Just wash and hang to dry

Even if she only earns a little she still has the use of the for herself and Family

She need not do the ironing if she don't like that side of things Just do the washing

Not a get rich quick scheme but can be done from home, And it's not hard work if you don't Iron.

[bonobo]

I had a falang in the neighborhood that bought a restaurant for his wife/gf.

It was open two months per year when he was visiting her, he worked in falangland.

Rest of the time she went back to her old job in the bar.

Works much better if you live here.

Is this what we call a November Sierra?  (No Sh__ter as opposed to a Bravo Sierra:  BS)?  I mean, is this really true?  Wow!  

I hate to admit this, but I am rather taken aback.  I am not sure why.  I have lived here long enough to know better, but this one takes the cake for me.