Thai gov. to tax (remitted) income from abroad for tax residents starting 2024 - Part II

[goodluckman63]

After 2 years of living here in Thailand I am thinking of opening a small business

and would love some advice and words of wisdom from any one who has done this.

I'm just looking to have something to do and make enough money just to cover living expenses.

I realize that my understand of this culture is still limited but willing to test a couple of fast food ideas.

I see all the American fast food companies here and it appears that they are doing well.

Any food for thought would be greatly appreciated.

[Soutpeel]

how to make a small fortune in Thailand........

Start with a large one...

[lazygourmet]

There are professional consultants who get paid to give that type of advice.

So, do not expect any free and/or valuable information on an anonymous forum.

[whybother]

Don't.

[craigt3365]

how to make a small fortune in Thailand........

Start with a large one...

+1

Let's move this over to the biz forum. :jap:

[chainarong]

Whybother summed it up quite nicely, Don't.

[travelmann]

.

1 do you have Thai Wife?

2 Do you trust them implicitly and have you been married at least 5 years and know them well never had any money probelms or issues with the family and she wasnt a bargirl had a steady job etc ie NORMAL

3 If the answer is yes then go ahead

4 whatever you do a Thai will try and copy you for a cheaper price if its service based you could do ok though aas they dont seem to be too strong with customer service

5 you could buy into a franchise like 7-11 but you will need to invest a few million to do it. one member here i recollect has 6-7 of these

6. better if you have no involvement let your wife run it completely you just fund it or if she has any money part fund it. the costs and pain of work permits aint worth it

My wife has run our business for over 5 years no tricks no games saves like crazy and is a real assett, she went from earning 12k a month to over 200k a month I am not involved in the business i supplied some initial capital for start up. even I am surpised at her success.

If any of the above dont apply to you dont do it, dont "hope" it will be ok.

[CharlieH]

If you are doing it, dont forget the work permit and appropriate visa and hope whatever you want to do isnt in the list of excluded occupations for foreigners.

[StoneSoup]

I will just add a few thoughts:

1. For retail fast food, your location is important. All "low hanging fruit" in Thailand has been picked long ago - meaning that all good, high-traffic locations are already occupied, and priced at a premium. Unless you can afford to market your shop to attract patrons from far away, your main clientele will be passers-by, particularly early in the life of your business. So - you must ensure that your product is appropriate to the local passers-by - and appropriately priced for them.

2. You will always have fixed costs, and variable costs. The fixed costs never go away - rent, electricity, basic salaries. The variable costs relate to the "deliverables" themselves - the hamburger, the bun, etc. Remember that when you start collecting income, it must pay expenses in the following order:

Pay taxes that you owe on the income

Pay down your fixed costs

Pay down your variable costs (the cost of inventory)

What is left can be used to pay you

That money that you receive in the end must first pay back your original investment - and it is only after paying all the ongoing costs, and also paying back your initial investment, that you earn your first real profit. So - you must capitalize initially so as to be able to survive until you can make enough profit to sustain yourself.

3. With a retail food business, you also face the situation where - if you cannot sell enough, fast enough, your perishable inventory can go bad - such that it is no longer able to be sold. So - that becomes another challenge, compared to other businesses.

4. A big key to success is your ability to attract and retain recurring customers. If you must market each and every day to convince first-time visitors to cross your threshold - just to survive - then you will be fighting a losing battle. Your deliverables - and your shop and its employees - must convince some significant percentage of visitors to come back - again and again (and bring their friends).

Good luck!

SS