Ideas Wanted. Simple Business plan for wife and I

[DavidB4]

My suggestion: find a Thai Product that you can develop a relationship with a supplier where you don't have to buy the items till you have an order and sell them online. Where and how you sell them online is the key aspect of building this business. eBay is one the biggest markets but they are also a nightmare when it comes to customer service but it costs almost nothing to get started and try it out. With an online business you don't need to invest much, no employees, no work visa needed and you don't have to have a registered company. You can also set up your own website for free with such services like Weebly and sell all over the world. I have not determined yet (and if you find out let me know!) if a Thai Based Product/Website can sell on Alibaba but if you can that would be worth trying = the biggest online market in the world and there are many Thai products that the Chinese like. Good luck and remember it takes time to build it up.

[bamukloy]

The best and most successful business man all over the world will tell you- always invest with Other Peoples Money.

Find some fool to put up ALL the upfront costs, buy ALL the stock, pay the rent etc

work as least as possible for the maximum amount. Put all the earnings in your pocket.

give the fool back nothing until he realises he is being duped, then run away with the money

Find a new fool

rinse and repeat

[seancbk]

You won't get many helpful ideas around here.

Why not a massage parlour?

You don't have to pay salaries, they just get half of the cost of the massage. You get the other half.

You don't have to buy stock, just oil, which isn't really perishable. Of course, you need a few mattresses too and sheets n pillows. And you have to rent a space obviously.

The key is location and skilled staff.

Yeah and there really aren't many of them around in Thailand.

[bangmai]

Big demand for tacos...but my idea is to meet that demand with tacos al pastor...marinated (in pineapple juice) cubed pork on a tortilla shell. Forget the beef and cheese...they don't put cheese on tacos in Mexico...pickled red onion, ground cabbage, salsa...yes. Otherwise, you are just acting as a tax collector. A stand or cart....not a restaurant...very simple menu...when you run out; you close. You might be able to do 2 for 60, and make 20 in profit...you need to sell to Thais and farang.......I've seen at least five businesses fail up here by CMU, that were opened with farang BF's money. There was this one dress shop, that was dead, except it sold bananas on a table out front, (the best! cheap). I was a regular customer. One day I walked in to ask where the bananas were, and a German guy was sitting there, and he gave me a very puzzled look, like they were doing it behind his back. Place was closed a week later. A number of coffee shops (in a saturated market)..they seem to think they can charge double by using fancier equipment...students won't pay it...the place 60 meters away with 25 thb house coffee and semi-broken chairs does 15 times more business. We have a successful fruit shake girl......she is putting in long, strenuous hours....10 per bag, 20 for shake..she sets up in front of a pharmacy. She might make 1000 per day in profit. The Omelet cart is also popular...I've seen him start the night with 17 x 30 or 510 eggs....2 egg omelets for 25 thb.

Great chefs fail all the time, same with carpenters...because it is more about cash management than cooking or building. Many people, in general, are bad with money, and it's no different in Thailand. Lower income people have kids at a young age, and never get ahead. Laziness is only a small part of it. The other parts are being suckers for consumer debts, and feeling obligated to support family member's bad decisions. How much do you think the average Thai smart phone user has saved in the bank? 10K? Maybe more like 2 or 3.

[dotpoom]

I opened a Massage shop with a former GF who worked in the business. Opened a food stall, coffee and juice stall and a secondhand shop with my now wife. Cost a lot between them all and each one failed (except the food stall but hours far too long).

I had not taken into account that while my wife (and the previous lady) were both hard working.....that didn't have a clue about running a business.

Edited November 16, 2015 by dotpoom

[DLang]

If you want to spend the money:

Buy a used taxi which she can rent out.

If you don't:

Train her as a language teacher and she can teach farangs for 200b an hour.

[robertson468]

You won't get many helpful ideas around here.

Why not a massage parlour?

You don't have to pay salaries, they just get half of the cost of the massage. You get the other half.

You don't have to buy stock, just oil, which isn't really perishable. Of course, you need a few mattresses too and sheets n pillows. And you have to rent a space obviously.

The key is location and skilled staff.

It sounds like you have never run a business yourself. What about charges for water, electricity, laundering, curtains for the cubicles, cleaning, drinking water, tax, accountancy fees, etc, etc, etc.

[fekman]

The noodle cart lady across my street on a not-so-busy side soi is killing it for years. At 40 baht, she does 400+ bowls a day. Rent is 300 baht a day. She clears 4k usd a month profit, huge money in thailand.

As a foreigner, you can't invest in any business that is mobile/cash. You have to work it yourself or 50% of sales will be stolen by even the most honest employee/family member you know.

To me, most ideas here are not really businesses, but rather 'job buying'. At the height of Subway sandwiches popularity in the early 2000s, I was interested in a franchise. I was a semi truck driver and asked the owner of a popular Subway about his franchise. He says "how much do you earn driving?" I replied "about 60k". He says "So do I, but you didn't pay 200k for your job"

Have to consider "opportunity loss" also. If I consider investing 200k in a business, I will lose about $1,500usd in monthly interest as it earns almost 9% in central america. I can live anywere in SEA on 1500 a month, so I have to be careful not to just throw that away on some dumb idea!

[fekman]

Many posters here mention that you need a 'unique idea' to be successful. Not sure I agree with that. Why risk the money to bring an untested product to market? I tried to buy, and am always on the lookout for a good location, for a bubble tea franchise. Seems that getting a good location in BKK is the first/hardest hurdle to overcome.

The Ochaya Tea location at the Mo Chit bts station does over 1,000 cups a day at a profit of 18 baht per cup. Yes, a stupid little bubble tea kiosk is clearing almost 15k usd a month.

[DLang]

The noodle cart lady across my street on a not-so-busy side soi is killing it for years. At 40 baht, she does 400+ bowls a day. Rent is 300 baht a day. She clears 4k usd a month profit, huge money in thailand.

Sells a bowl every 40 seconds, solid, for 10 hours straight?

[DavidB4]

Big demand for tacos...but my idea is to meet that demand with tacos al pastor...marinated (in pineapple juice) cubed pork on a tortilla shell. Forget the beef and cheese...they don't put cheese on tacos in Mexico...pickled red onion, ground cabbage, salsa...yes. Otherwise, you are just acting as a tax collector. A stand or cart....not a restaurant...very simple menu...when you run out; you close. You might be able to do 2 for 60, and make 20 in profit...you need to sell to Thais and farang.......I've seen at least five businesses fail up here by CMU, that were opened with farang BF's money. There was this one dress shop, that was dead, except it sold bananas on a table out front, (the best! cheap). I was a regular customer. One day I walked in to ask where the bananas were, and a German guy was sitting there, and he gave me a very puzzled look, like they were doing it behind his back. Place was closed a week later. A number of coffee shops (in a saturated market)..they seem to think they can charge double by using fancier equipment...students won't pay it...the place 60 meters away with 25 thb house coffee and semi-broken chairs does 15 times more business. We have a successful fruit shake girl......she is putting in long, strenuous hours....10 per bag, 20 for shake..she sets up in front of a pharmacy. She might make 1000 per day in profit. The Omelet cart is also popular...I've seen him start the night with 17 x 30 or 510 eggs....2 egg omelets for 25 thb.

Great chefs fail all the time, same with carpenters...because it is more about cash management than cooking or building. Many people, in general, are bad with money, and it's no different in Thailand. Lower income people have kids at a young age, and never get ahead. Laziness is only a small part of it. The other parts are being suckers for consumer debts, and feeling obligated to support family member's bad decisions. How much do you think the average Thai smart phone user has saved in the bank? 10K? Maybe more like 2 or 3.

Just curious how you can say there is a big demand for tacos(besides from me) when there are hardly any places that sell them?

[bangmai]

Globally, Mexican food is near the top of the list for growth. Salsa sales surpassed ketchup in the US, 20 years ago. Tortilla sales are greater than hamburger/hot dog bun sales. Mexican food is a regular topic in the CM Forum. A disproportionate amount of expats come from California, where it's more common than apple pie. It is also generally grilled and spicy, with very similar ingredients to Thai food....it's a natural, and unlike French or Italian food, it fits into the low cost model that seems to succeed here....low over-head, fast, spicy, quick....The British might disagree with me, but then again they are happy with canned beans on white bread.

[bamukloy]

All this this talk of western food in Thailand.

who is gonna buy it?

Farangs?

If its the same farangs as on these sites,in a tourist area, you will be there a few days before one of them dobs you in to immigration.

if not, and you do ok, jealous thais will shut you down even sooner.

just not worth the hassle.

to the OP, the only way you will make money is by keeping your wife at home and doing nothing.

At least you will not be pouring hundreds of thousands of baht down the drain

[Nomyai]

The noodle cart lady across my street on a not-so-busy side soi is killing it for years. At 40 baht, she does 400+ bowls a day. Rent is 300 baht a day. She clears 4k usd a month profit, huge money in thailand.

Sells a bowl every 40 seconds, solid, for 10 hours straight?

Whats so funny!

[stephenterry]

Mobile Fish and Chip guy in Chiang Mai does pretty well.

Go's to 6 or 7 bars each night (regularly) and sells fish and chips from his motorbike/kitchen.

No rent, no real estate...and he sells out each night.

Good fish and chips too, at ridiculously low prices.

Not saying copy exact idea...but for 350,000 baht...you need something affordable...Hot Dogs, Burgers, Mr Whippee ice cream...

https://www.facebook.com/MobileFishAndChips/

...and if you want independent reviews...

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g293917-d5993515-Reviews-Dee_s_Mobile_Fish_Chips-Chiang_Mai.html

Is the mobile fish and chip guy a Farang? Sounds like he is working for himself and legally.

If he is not legal, he would not last long in that sort of work without being found out.

It would be interesting to know if it is possible for one Farang with a similar small business

to do it legally if a Thai can do the same job. The OP should think about this.

The guy is Thai. Worked in UK in good fish and chip shop, learnt how to cook real English fish and chips and returned to Thailand. The secret is in the batter. But unless he sells sea perch fillets it's not the best. This so called dory is catfish and slimy. But farang like it. Other than that the best is on Friday night at archers, best in cnx.

[NoshowJones]

Mobile Fish and Chip guy in Chiang Mai does pretty well.

Go's to 6 or 7 bars each night (regularly) and sells fish and chips from his motorbike/kitchen.

No rent, no real estate...and he sells out each night.

Good fish and chips too, at ridiculously low prices.

Not saying copy exact idea...but for 350,000 baht...you need something affordable...Hot Dogs, Burgers, Mr Whippee ice cream...

https://www.facebook.com/MobileFishAndChips/

...and if you want independent reviews...

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g293917-d5993515-Reviews-Dee_s_Mobile_Fish_Chips-Chiang_Mai.html

Is the mobile fish and chip guy a Farang? Sounds like he is working for himself and legally.

If he is not legal, he would not last long in that sort of work without being found out.

It would be interesting to know if it is possible for one Farang with a similar small business

to do it legally if a Thai can do the same job. The OP should think about this.

The guy is Thai. Worked in UK in good fish and chip shop, learnt how to cook real English fish and chips and returned to Thailand. The secret is in the batter. But unless he sells sea perch fillets it's not the best. This so called dory is catfish and slimy. But farang like it. Other than that the best is on Friday night at archers, best in cnx.

I don't live in Chaing Mai, Sometimes I wish I did because of the availability of western food there, and I love fish suppers.

[augustwest]

Tom Carvel had it right ,ice cream and no waste whatsoever. You invest in product you get returns

[Spaniel]

Well OP, you have gotten lots of suggestions. What do you think so far? Back in the "90's, for several years, my wife and I used to import brine shrimp from the USA and we would sell it to shrimp farmers. Lot's of headaches and much of the business was done on credit so occasionally we got screwed by people not paying but in the end we did pretty good. I think a mobile cart selling coffee would work but a lot depends on location. Good luck with whatever you decide.

[mrwebb8825]

Seen someone want to sell frozen yogurt business, equipment machine and knowledge used to belong to his GF

he's asking 140,000 for the lot, that can be a good thing if she can find a good location to sell and it's

easy to operate...

without reading through the rest of the posts, this idea ^^ reminds me of an idea I had wanted to try 15 yrs ago when I moved to Thailand. Can't do it now as I'm settled in with home and family already.

There was/is a place in southern Mississippi in the states that was across from the beach, all enclosed with air-conditioning called Tropical Best Daquiries. The only thing they sold were daquiries, but in all different tropical flavors. My original thinking was with a western mind and eye so I started looking for a place along beach rd. in Pattaya. Having been here now for 15yrs, I can see this same idea taking off on 4 or 5 motorcycles with those sidecar shops. Cruising Pattaya, Phuket, Khoa San rd. with maybe a "homebase" stand that also sells daquiries.

Wonder if you can get a liquore licence for something like that. Basically fruit smoothies with Jamacian Rum.

[bangmai]

Use the 350K as a downpayment on a shophouse.....payments will be less than rent...you have a free place to do whatever you choose. Find a beat-up place on a busy street.......

[JLCrab]

To me, the simplest idea is a product where the average Thai person doesn't have to figure out what it is. If you want to do street vendor food type things, go out and look at various street vendors that are doing well in your town but the same is not available in your immediate area. How can you tell how well they are doing? Count the 30-count egg trays they have stocked for the evening.

[Nomyai]

I counted the mangoes a lady had to sell in NANA area once. Quite a nice haul if she sold everything. I bought one and was a satisfied customer!

[Nomyai]

I counted the mangoes a lady had to sell in NANA area once. Quite a nice haul if she sold everything. I bought one and was a satisfied customer!

[JLCrab]

I counted the mangoes a lady had to sell in NANA area once. Quite a nice haul if she sold everything. I bought one and was a satisfied customer!

That sure sounds like a simple business plan -- how much did she charge to let you count her mangoes?

Edited November 16, 2015 by JLCrab

[fang37]

Mr Crab - your sense of humour is wicked. I enjoy it.

[flyDelight]

House building project supervisor. There's a big demand for that cuz when you leave them alone for a single minute they start doing things wrong.

[pigeonjake]

we live in a small village not in a tourist area, so we not only rear our pigs we now also have them slaughterd and sell our pork direct to the public, we cut out the middle man, who are the ones that make the money.

we used to rear pigs upto 100kilo and buyer would come and give between 55 to 74bht a kilo, most of the time it was 60bht,

but now we still rear the pigs up only now we sell the pigs after slaughter at 135bht kilo, 10bht cheaper then the market, and it is getting better all the time, with having our own farm it just made sence to go this road, i built the shop, we sited it on the road on mamas front as we have no raod frontage on the farm, my wife is taking 200bht a day in a wage and i had to make her take that,

she opens 6am till 10 and then 3 till 7pm they were the most populer times when people were coming, we might miss a kilo or 2 not being open all day, but we like to have time together,

i will add we have them slaughterd at a proper slaughter house in wangnamyen,

we have all the permits in place from the goverment to sell pork, the farm was allready registerd,

but living in the village isnt for everyone,

[Cook my sock]

Renting chairs and tables for weddings. It's a good return and easy.

[fekman]

The noodle cart lady across my street on a not-so-busy side soi is killing it for years. At 40 baht, she does 400+ bowls a day. Rent is 300 baht a day. She clears 4k usd a month profit, huge money in thailand.

Sells a bowl every 40 seconds, solid, for 10 hours straight?

Thats what she told my gf. Now that you mention it, seems unrealistic, even though your math is off by +100% Even one every 90 seconds is crazy. In her defense, even my gf claims her noodle dishes are the best in bkk, but we pass on them nearly every time as we don't want to wait in line. I impulse buy only when I see less than 3-4 people waiting.

[seancbk]

Problem is, for 350k you would be 'buying a job' with the kinds of ideas that can be funded with that amount. To me, a business is something that you can walk away from for periods of time. Otherwise, why not just invest the 350k and go get a job that pays 30k a month?

I've been looking to buy or start a business for a year now. It's not an easy environment here.

I tried to open an Xpress, 30 minute teeth whitening center. Permits denied. BTW, if anyone knows of a young dentist or soon to graduate dental student, Im interested in a partnership, with me putting up the money.

Tried to buy a successful Bubble Tea franchise, only to have the landlord kill our deal by only willing to give a 12 month at a time lease. Thai landlords are famous for not renewing and taking over the business, or jacking up the rent when things go well.

Im interested in opening a badminton center if someone knows of an available warehouse in BKK.

Almost ready to start looking into Cambodia. PP is what BKK was 20 years ago. Its starting to boom.

Does PP have much in the way of a middle class with a high degree of disposable income?