Buying A Bar

[Hammer]

I'm sure this has been asked many times before, and I do apologise. But here goes my first post.

I'm looking to come to Thailand next month to buy a bar. Most owners I talked to out there, are on tourist visas.

So the questions I ask are.

1) If you are found running a bar on a tourist visa, can you be thrown out the country and lose everything ?

2) Once you've bought the bar and formed a company, can you then obtain a work visa while in Thailand. Does the 2 million Baht of capital required include the value of the bar, the assets as well as any money you have in reserve.

3) Finally Is it worth getting a Work Visa just to run a small beer bar.

Cheers

[britmaveric]

Best advice one can give is not to buy a bar. If you are bound and determined you need to be in prime location and near the street. Also having a niche that none of the other bars have would serve you well.

[davethailand]

I'm sure this has been asked many times before, and I do apologise. But here goes my first post. 

I'm looking to come to Thailand next month to buy a bar. Most owners I talked to out there, are on tourist visas.

So the questions I ask are.

1) If you are found running a bar on a tourist visa, can you be thrown out the country and lose everything ?

2) Once you've bought the bar and formed a company, can you then obtain a work visa while in Thailand. Does the 2 million Baht of capital required include the value of the bar, the assets as well as any money you have in reserve.

3) Finally Is it worth getting a Work Visa just to run a small beer bar.

Cheers

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

1, Yes absolutely

2, Not always, For 2 million baht you ned 4 tax paying thai staffl, it is also very doubtful that you will get permits for a beer bar.

3, No it is'nt. If you really want a beer bar then buy the lease and employ staff to run it, you won't be able to work it properly.

BE VERY CAREFUL. DON'T BUY ON IMPULSE. LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION

Where are you thinking of?

Taksin is going to crack the whip on beer bars soon.

[britmaveric]

Taksin is going to crack the whip on beer bars soon.

Dave - care to expand what's fearless leader up to in the realm of beer bars?

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Taksin is going to crack the whip on beer bars soon.

Dave - care to expand what's fearless leader up to in the realm of beer bars?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Perhaps he's gonna nationalise 'em all and TRT will run 'em all

[gkosins]

The romance (sense of adventure,mystique) we all love about Thailand is put in needless peril when foreigners buy bars. Too much reality is bad for the fantasy/mystique, which is the foreigners most precious means to enjoy the charms about us. Who needs the headaches? I prefer my cocoon. Let someone else spoil their peace of mind. Thai owned bars are superior anyway. Farang bars... I avoid them for obvious reasons.

Tucson Greg

[Padkapow Guy]

Sorry I don't remember the wise poster's name, but he said

" never invest more money into Thailand than your willing to lose"

food for thought.

PKG

[Indo-Siam]

There are no hard and fast rules in the beer bar business, but here are some considerations that are likely to apply:

To have a chance at survivial, a beer bar (or go-go) typically does everything off the books. No tax receipts. Most employees not on the books. Most (or all) bars do not have VAT regsitrations - meaning tht they are claiming to make less than 100,000 baht per month total income (on average) . If you do otherwise, and file for VAT, you immediately lose 7% of your income - because you must pay that much of reported income, and - because all your expenses are off the books - with no tax receipts - you cannot recover any of that VAT. Losing 7% of net income (which is maybe 50-70% of profits) sinks most bars. So - no VAT registration. As of last October, without VAT registration, you cannot obtain a work permit - period. It si a required item on the checklist of the WP office.

Next is "key money" - meaning advance rent, paid 1-3 years into the future. A typical arrangement is that a bar space should rent for 65,000 baht per month. They will ask for 500,000 baht up-front (basically one year's rent at 43,000 baht per bmonth) plus 22,000 each per month in rent - and then the landlord will just report the 22,000 baht per month. Meanwhile, if your bar for some reason gets shut down by the authorities - and you cannot pay the 22,000 baht monthly - the landlord is still sitting pretty with your "key money". They dress up the story on this money a dozen other creative ways, but this is the gist of the real story.

So - anyway - if you find a bar where you DON'T have to pay "advance rent" (= "key money"), and they have a VAT registration and make monthly VAT payments - and STILL TURN A PROFIT - then it is maybe an acceptable business proposition. What you do NOT do is try to get a work permit to manage a bar. What you do is get a work permit to serve as Managing Director of a company whose line of business is "owning and operating restuarants, hotels, bars, pubs and resorts" or "consulting within hospitality industry, concerning sales and marketing, customer relations, financial mangement, and daily operations of restuarants, hotels, bars, and resorts." You want the story to give you cover to be in the bar at night, but you do not want to be directly linked on paper to the bar operation.

Good luck!

Steve

Indo-Siam

[jayenram]

A friend of mine was considering opening a bar in Sattahip. However, on passing through Pattaya, he noticed that there was an opportunity for a new type of bar there. As far as I know, he has opened a bar selling alcohol with girls on hand to serve you, talk to you, and, if interested they may even give you a run for your money playing "Connect 4".

[sriracha john]

a new type of bar

"new"...

[terdsak_12]

DO NOT BUY A BEER BAR. Give me half your money, I'll put it in a drawer, come and see me after 6 months, I'll punch you in the nose and give you back half your money, you'll feel a lot better off.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

A friend of mine was considering opening a bar in Sattahip. However, on passing through Pattaya, he noticed that there was an opportunity for a new type of bar there. As far as I know, he has opened a bar selling alcohol with girls on hand to serve you, talk to you, and, if interested they may even give you a run for your money playing "Connect 4".

   

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I wish that I had thought of that.

[johnh101]

How to become a Millionaire in Thailand

1. First have $1 Billion

2. Go to Thailand

3. Buy a Beer Bar

[toastwars]

You will end up at best pennyless, at worst dead, forget about it. The basic type of questions you are asking show that you don't have the first clue about Thailand and how things work here, your naivety will have the vermin crawling out of the woodwork putting your money and probably yourself in a seriously dangerous position. I am not saying never, just that you need a to have lived and experienced Thailand for a good few years before you even think about starting this type of venture, waste of time otherwise

[penelope]

Let's play "Jeapardy"

Answer : English teaching and buying a beer bar in LOS

Question : .... ?

[toastwars]

Let's play "Jeapardy"

Answer : English teaching and buying a beer bar in LOS

Question : .... ?

what are the worst paid and unrewarding carreer options in Thailand?

[Patong Bob]

Key money is the killer. Don't do anything unless you can get six years with anoption, and register the lease with the land office. If not, should your bar be doing well the landlord will either double the key money and/or rent at the end of your 2 or 3 year lease, or if you've done really well, then he'll throw you out and put his cousin in to run the bar.......TIT.

[aqua4]

Indo Siam are you telling me that:

In order to get a work permit for my own business, the business must be registered for VAT? If I recall that you had to make 1 million baht a year in order to register for VAT.

So in order to get a work permit - your business must make 1 million baht a year in sales?

[Indo-Siam]

Aqua 4

Not 1,000,000 baht - the correct figure is 1,200,000 baht - anually.

No VAT certificate, no work permit. Period. Checklist item.

This surprised me, but is true.

Cheers!

Steve

Indo-Siam

[chuchok]

Aqua 4

Not 1,000,000 baht - the correct figure is 1,200,000 baht - anually.

No VAT certificate, no work permit.  Period.  Checklist item.

This surprised me, but is true.

Cheers!

Steve

Indo-Siam

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Indo is that turnover or profit?

[aqua4]

So if I understand this from the last issue I read last year. That would be 1,200,000 in sales.

[Hammer]

Thanks to the people that tried to answer my question or offer helpful advice.

And to the rest of you, why are you so bitter and sarcastic ?

Are you just jealous that somebody else has got the balls to do something, you can only dream of ?

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Let's play "Jeapardy"

Answer : English teaching and buying a beer bar in LOS

Question : .... ?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

My idea is to open a bar and run it for a year. If I still like it, I'll open it to the public

[penelope]

Are you just jealous that somebody else has got the balls to do something, you can only dream of ?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You'll probably find that the only people who dream of opening a beer bar in LOS are those

who have no other skills,background or income streams to assist their desire to live in LOS.

It really is, AFAIC, a desperate, last resort option. The sarcasm is only due to the fact that after lving in LOS for more then 11 years

I've heard the "how can I live in LOS,..I'll open a bar" routine a million times from people all over the world.

[buadhai]

My idea is to open a bar and run it for a year. If I still like it, I'll open it to the public 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Can I help?

[Indo-Siam]

1,200,000 per year gross receipts - turnover.

See: http://www.rd.go.th/publish/6043.0.html

Steve Sykes

Managing Director

Indo-Siam Group

Bangkok

[email protected]

www.thaistartup.com

[britmaveric]

Thanks to the people that tried to answer my question or offer helpful advice.

And to the rest of you, why are you so bitter and sarcastic ?

Are you just jealous that somebody else has got the balls to do something, you can only dream of ?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

For every success there are 1000 failures - I think most people here just want you to realize what you are getting yourself into especially in regards to a beer bar. You have a saturated market with high competition - what will set you apart from the other beer bars?

[Hammer]

what will set you apart from the other beer bars?

Me.

[taxexile]

Are you just jealous that somebody else has got the balls to do something, you can only dream of ?

hammer , whilst i wish you all the luck in the world with your new venture (and you will need it to succeed) , forget about your balls and start thinking belles .

and dont delude yourself that we all lie awake at night dreaming of opening bars in thailand , most of us sleep soundly in the knowledge that we dont have a bar in thailand.

[jayenram]

And to the rest of you, why are you so bitter and sarcastic ?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Me? Sarcastic?

I don't know why you say that!