Hiring 4 Thais for a work permit

[onthemoon]

I've talked to many foreigners who have lived here for many years. Not one can quote a real business success story from someone they know. They can tell countless failures, and the "one guy they know" thats in some kind of export business who is doing well.

I've never seen a foreigner in a retail type business that has made it. Just the paperwork, accounting, work permits etc sets you back over 10k baht a month. Severe disatvantage out of the gate.

I personally know several foreigners in Bangkok who have successful and profitable businesses in Thailand. Two of those foreigners are in retail businesses and I absolutely know they make decent profit.

Anybody's anecdotal experience may depend on who you mix with...

[blackcab]

I've talked to many foreigners who have lived here for many years. Not one can quote a real business success story from someone they know. They can tell countless failures, and the "one guy they know" thats in some kind of export business who is doing well.

I've never seen a foreigner in a retail type business that has made it. Just the paperwork, accounting, work permits etc sets you back over 10k baht a month. Severe disatvantage out of the gate.

I personally know several foreigners in Bangkok who have successful and profitable businesses in Thailand. Two of those foreigners are in retail businesses and I absolutely know they make decent profit.

Anybody's anecdotal experience may depend on who you mix with...

Agreed, although in these cases I know the businesses and the business accounts extremely well. I was the general manager for one of these businesses before I moved to my current job. As such I made my comments based on empirical observation rather than anecdotal experience.

[onthemoon]

I've talked to many foreigners who have lived here for many years. Not one can quote a real business success story from someone they know. They can tell countless failures, and the "one guy they know" thats in some kind of export business who is doing well.

I've never seen a foreigner in a retail type business that has made it. Just the paperwork, accounting, work permits etc sets you back over 10k baht a month. Severe disatvantage out of the gate.

I personally know several foreigners in Bangkok who have successful and profitable businesses in Thailand. Two of those foreigners are in retail businesses and I absolutely know they make decent profit.

Anybody's anecdotal experience may depend on who you mix with...

Agreed, although in these cases I know the businesses and the business accounts extremely well. I was the general manager for one of these businesses before I moved to my current job. As such I made my comments based on empirical observation rather than anecdotal experience.

I don't doubt it, but an empirical observation would require a representative sample size larger than one. OK, with my own example, there are two confirmed cases. I am sure that there are also two or more cases of unsuccessful businesses.

Semantics, though.

[seancbk]

the rules here are very difficult. examples are

you must have a shop or place of business even if you don't need one

you must hire 4 thais even if you don't need them

you must pay tax on a set income, even if you are not making any profit

all these annoying laws only apply to us foreigners and make it hard to compete with thai businesses. following the rules can often mean a business is unprofitable.

I don't understand what you mean by paying tax on a set income, even if you are not making any profit.

Companies pays tax on their profits. No profit means no corporation tax.

He is lumping in his personal salary tax with the cost of having a Thai company, probably because he's thinking only in terms of a setting up a little business with the sole intention of getting a long term visa (Non B plus work permit).

As a farang you need to be paid 50,000 THB a month in order to qualify for a work permit, irrespective of whether the little business can afford to pay you that money you still need to pay tax on a supposed income of 50K baht per month.

If a business owner is lumping his own salary and the tax he needs to pay on that with the company's money then he'd already making huge mistakes.

Personally when assessing a business I am looking for ideas that have potential to generate tens of millions in profit per year, not something where it might not be able to pay me even the minimum salary as required to qualify for a work permit.

Not trolling, serious question, although personal. Why do you need tens of millions of baht a year in THailand? How much clothes, beer, travel, food do you need? My income is a couple thousand u.s. a month and I cant (responsably) spend it all and I go out 5 nights a week, travel constantly etc.

.

I buy what I want within reason. The only thing more income would bring me is a bigger home, which I really dont need or want. Also, I would have to trade invaluable minutes in my life working in order to simply occupy more space on the Earth with a bigger home.

Perfectly valid question.

Simple answer - because I liked my life more when my salary was 400,000 baht a month than when it was 60,000 baht a month.

I grew up in a well off family and as a kid we spent holidays doing things like going on Safari to Africa, we had a holiday home for a few years in Hawaii, went to the see the Mayan ruins at Chichinitza, travelled across Canada for 3 months and many many other great holidays. I'd like to be able to show my family the world in the same way my parents did for me.

My father could afford to send both my sister and I to two of the best schools in the UK (we lived almost all our lives in Hong Kong) and I'd like to be able to send my kids to the best schools too.

I'm young and I like going out. A group of friends and I recently went for a Japanese meal at Zuma in the St. Regis Hotel at Rajadamri, the bill came to 8000 baht per person and that was before we went out clubbing and drinking. That isn't unusual if you want to enjoy the nicer places in Bangkok.

You go out 5 nights a week.... to what sort of places? Try J. Borosky in Thonglor, awesome cocktails at 500+ baht each.

We all have different expectations, some people are happy to backpack and stay in cheap huts on the beach whereas if you want to stay at Amanpuri from now until just after Xmas (2 adults, one child under 12) will set you back THB 119,291 a night or THB 1,431,492 for 12 days. Of course you could really splash out and book the 7 bedroom villa (take some friends and really enjoy the holidays!) at THB 749,480 per night.

I've been well off and I've been flat broke and I know which one made me happier.

[Raphius]

Oh, the pitfalls. The mind boggles. Multiple fingers crossed, and other body parts.

It amazes me that people on this forum are so negative about so many aspects of life in Thailand.

Do you think that Thai people worry about pitfalls of starting a business here?

My guess is that all the naysayers either don't know what they are talking about, or their reasons for the negativity are based on 2nd and 3rd hand stories of people with no business acumen who've lost money by 'investing' in shitty beer bars or trying to start businesses with uneducated Thai bargirl girlfriends back in the provinces.

I realise that all new businesses face a degree of uncertainty, but the constant claims on this forum that no expat has any chance when it comes to creating a successful business here are ludicrous.

I suspect the people who think that way are the same people who would think that about starting a business anywhere. ie guys with no business experience who just seem to think the world is stacked against them.

Maybe thai people don't have to worry about pitfalls os starting business because they are in their own country ? they don t have to deal with visa and other shit farang have to pay or stupid rules that apply to us ?