Impressive increase of number of small shops in rural Thailand.

[Odysseus123]

15 minutes ago, djayz said:

@ OP: be happy your partner wants to do something and try to earn some money. There are enough girlfriends amd wives in Thailand who are content with sitting in front of the TV day in, day out while being supported by their bfs/husbands. 

It's not just about money, but it'll be a chance for her to socialise a little with customers and it'll build up her self-esteem being a "business person". It should be seen as a long term investment/business allowing her to make some money on a daily basis for the rest of her life. I encourage it. 

My partner opened a nice coffee shop in our village and is very happy there. She hated working in BKK but now she's back home and happy. When she doesn't have any customers, she's out attending to her strawberry plants or making soap and body scrub from natural products which she also sells. 

She makes a little money every day, doesn't have to clock in/out, is her own boss and is proud to be self-employed. 

One thing I have noticed here over the years is that there are far more women working/wanting to work than men. They seem to have more of an entrepreneurial spirt and get up and go in them than many of their male counterparts. 

 

 

Your observation about more women working than men seems to be very true-at least around here where they will cheerfully watch their aging mothers and grandmothers unloading bags of rice from the back of pick ups without doing anything to help.

 

One has to be very,very careful when dealing with these small businesses if there are Thai men involved,be it fathers,brothers,sons are any other male predator hanging about.They will bleed any business dry secure in the knowledge that they will never suffer any opprobrium for doing so.I have just watched a confab of the women in this family who are trying to deal with a family financial disaster whilst the lazy males are still sleeping off their hangovers-part of the behaviour that caused the crisis in the first place.

 

I have stepped well out of the picture after trying to rescue the business three times-and because I am a "rich farang" am the only person to be experiencing any fallout-presumably because I have said no to their shenanigans and will continue to say no until I return to my own country.

[fruitman]

7 hours ago, kannot said:

Bananas like water ( lots of) and fertiliser, (lots  of) throwing dead dogs around the base of the tree will help and  kills  two birds with one stone,

Having said that I buy coconuts for 10 baht each and Tesco want 45  baht...........  good  profit for someone

Coconuts are getting more expensive every week, 3 for 100 baht along the roads now.

 

Banana's cost the same in the supermarkets in West Europe now and they are imported from Brazil i guess..so something is wrong. 

 

Thailand needs huge bananafarms, why nobody starts it?

 

 

[anon4637435435]

Where i am alot of shops are popping up from families that in the past had been doing illegal logging, farming in encroached land, charcoal manufacturer etc. Its actually a good thing. Not great for my wallet bcause i just have to use the new resterants daily but it has closed the gap that was between the good and the bad in the communities so im really happy to use these services whether needed or not. Helps them do the right thing.

Now the only place close to us still doing all these activities is the local temple believe it or not. Monks doing all above mentioned illegal activities and more. Great for the buddhist image and the country in general....

[Ace of Pop]

Coconuts are getting more expensive every week, 3 for 100 baht along the roads now.
 
Banana's cost the same in the supermarkets in West Europe now and they are imported from Brazil i guess..so something is wrong. 
 
Thailand needs huge bananafarms, why nobody starts it?
 
 

They are doing so.Theft is a very big prob for growers at the Moment.


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[ericthai]

my wife opened a small shop selling womens clothes. I always looked at these small shops selling shirts or whatever and would think how can they make any money. When my wife said she wanted to open a shop I told her that i don't think she would make any money, but she surprised me and does well. She nets about 25-30K on an average month, and on a good month she will net somewhere between 40-50K. 

[steven100]

17 hours ago, fruitman said:

Well which girl would NOT want to sell banana's? Especially if hers are bigger than the other ones.

 

So if i drive over that road between the fields i can buy banana's at every 10km, that's awesome. Boy would i be disappointed if i see bigger ones after 10 km.

 

If i had to sell something along the road i would go farang style....a huge sign telling (shouting) "banana's 30 baht a kg"...I never see roadshops telling the price but when i do see a price i always buy cause i guess it must be a good price since they dare to show it in huge numbers.

 

I mean, who will stop the car to ask how much it costs? Yup i know, Thai will do so but it's time they grow up. They also like to shop from vendors where it's busy, well if you sell cheap it will get busy and that attracts more customers. Once it busy she can also start to sell mango's papaya's and what not.

 

But Thai never go for quantity, they are more happy to get 10 baht extra on some banana's so they don't have to work hard.

 

We have ladies sitting at the road all day selling banana's but i've never seen customers stopping there. Since they won't show the price i also never stopped to buy. 

 

Another vendor at the market had a big bunch of big banana's for 50 baht...i wanted half of it for 25 but it was 35 for a half bunch...i have never been back and he is close to us. Oh well, for banana's i go to 711 and pay 10-11 baht for one now, open 24 hrs perfect.

 

16 hours ago, tartempion said:

Fruitman, your comments are getting ridiculous.
The banana shop I refer to is not your usual banana shop.
I am not going trying to explain you anything, except there is a price on every bunch in that shop.
My gf wants to run a shop for as long as I know her, that's 15 years, and the bananas concept from THAT shop is just one of the things she wants to sell.

So as far as I am concerned your comments are a worthless bunch of crap.

I think Fruitman has it correct .....    every village girl wants to sell the best & biggest bananas.

What about the possibility of selling something different in your area ....

cater for the farangs who are looking for a relaxing massage  .... 

I bet she would make a killing offering farang type services.

I think your observation could mean that things are getting busier in certain areas.

[BsBs]

4 hours ago, ericthai said:

my wife opened a small shop selling womens clothes. I always looked at these small shops selling shirts or whatever and would think how can they make any money. When my wife said she wanted to open a shop I told her that i don't think she would make any money, but she surprised me and does well. She nets about 25-30K on an average month, and on a good month she will net somewhere between 40-50K. 

 

It seems more than impossible to make so much, except if she also make the clothes herself !

 

 

[steve73]

21 hours ago, Kabula said:

There have been many job losses in the last year countrywide, combined with less cash receivables for the young ladies in Bangkok and Pattaya.  With the financial retreat, less foreigners are sending money to their lady friends like they did in the past.

 

It's a aging population and women pushing 40, for the most part get turned down for most jobs because of their age.  Many are forced to start their own small businesses.

In my neck of the woods many have retired (or been forced to) from reasonably good jobs in gov't, industry, or hospitals, with a small lump sum and pension, and just need something to do keep busy and provide a small income.

 

[starky]

17 hours ago, swissie said:

Brings a smile to my face. It reflects "Rural-Thai-Economics". It goes like this:

 

1) He/She opens store/road-stall. Sells something = makes some money. Neighbors notice this.

 

2) Within 3 Months there are 7 stores/road-stalls, selling basically the same thing. = Nobody makes any money anymore.

 

3) Within 6 months 6 have closed. (Those 6 "Owners" don't know how to pay back the loans they took out to establish the business.)

 

- Things are back to normal.

 

One month later, a well trained "Masseuse", freshly returning from Pattaya, opens a Massage Business..................

 

Do I need to go on ?

 

Buddha knows, I have tried hard to convey to potentional Thai-Rural-Enterpreneurs the basics of a market-economy, based on "Supply and Demand". Much to my chagrin, my efforts were in vain.

 

So truly, this thread brings a smile to my face. But still not shure if I should laugh or cry concerning this matter.

 

Cheers.

Best part of Thai village economics is a lot of these girls have sponsors so they have zero start up costs, zero invested in the business and therefore zero losses when things go tits up. Also a lot of these shops probably only realise a couple hundred baht a day profit which to us is ridiculous but to them is tax free and " my money". Im with you but its always better to laugh than cry and as I am sure you have heard when providing your common sense lessons, you falang you no understand Thailand.  Also as I am sure you are aware the "stupid" in falang is always silent.

[Odysseus123]

42 minutes ago, starky said:

Best part of Thai village economics is a lot of these girls have sponsors so they have zero start up costs, zero invested in the business and therefore zero losses when things go tits up. Also a lot of these shops probably only realise a couple hundred baht a day profit which to us is ridiculous but to them is tax free and " my money". Im with you but its always better to laugh than cry and as I am sure you have heard when providing your common sense lessons, you falang you no understand Thailand.  Also as I am sure you are aware the "stupid" in falang is always silent.

"Also as I am sure you are aware the "stupid" in falang is always silent"

 

Ha..ha..ha-that is the best thing that I have read on TV for a long time and it will remain a cherished memory after I have gone home.The look the womenfolk gave me this morning was exactly that.."..........." falang!,

[ericthai]

9 hours ago, BsBs said:

 

It seems more than impossible to make so much, except if she also make the clothes herself !

 

 

She  buys them in BKK. I couldn't believe it when she started making money. She buys 15-20 shirts or dresses etc at a time straight from the manufacture so gets a good discount. She pays anywhere from 60B up to 300B, she sells anywhere from 120B up to 900B. Some days she onlys makes 200-500B other days she makes 3000-4000B. She works hard, when there is a funeral in our village she brings clothes to the house and sells to all the neighbors. All her old inventory that don't sell she takes to the night market and still makes a few baht. 

[Odysseus123]

Whilst I tend to agree with the poster that states that most of the enterprises are not particularly capital intensive there are others that become so often due to the raising of unauthorized loans through moneylenders and human greed.I have personally observed foreigners who have ended up-de facto if not jure-being responsible for debts ranging from 150,000 to 1 million baht (or more) without anyone batting an eyelid because of an underlying attitude that "the farang will pay" and quite often they do just that to get some peace of mind.

 

But this is not just a farang phenomenon.The local motor scooter guy has just been taken to the cleaners by his wife and M-I-L who ran up massive debts primarily on the lottery.The tendency appears to be to live high on the hog when the money is available and just walk away,dodging all responsibility,when it is not.

 

I am just sounding a cautious note-and that is all-as I have never personally seen any Thai express any remorse or accept any responsibility for their actions.

[oldcarguy]

most small businesses have the problem of "eating the profits" , giving credit to people who will never pay them back ,  family comes and "shops" for free ,  and at the end of the month they have no money to restock and pay the bills ,

 

I am sure most never understood  sales vs profit , and think if they sold 1000 baht that day it was profit  they  could spend ,

 

They need to print a simple book on finance ,  and how to keep your $$$$ to restock and stay in business.

 

And its not much better with many people in the west.....

[toofarnorth]

Bananas , bananas , all I read is bananas already.  So I just went to the garden and photoed a bunch , not ready for picking yet. 

[rickudon]

Maybe more shops in the more rural areas, not close to big towns. In our village a few kilometres out of Udon, the number of shops has probably fallen. At least half of the shuttered shop units in the village are closed. More get built, have a new proprietor, and open for a few months or one year before closing. Across the road from us was a corner shop (had 2 owners) a hair dresser and another shop which i never worked out what it sold ....... all now closed. And guess what - 3 doors away a new double shop unit has been built, and another corner shop has opened ......

 

Only about 3 corner shops (by this i mean small grocer selling food items, drinks and a few toiletries and cleaning products) in the village have been there for more than 5 years. The rest are sporadic enterprises or just takeaway food stalls.

 

From what i see most of these corner shops rarely make more than 100 baht a day profit - and by that i mean profit on the stock bought and sold. Those which are rented the shop keepers usually struggle to pay the rent each month. After bills, many make practically nothing at all.

 

But i suppose better than slaving away in a rice field and also making nothing after you have paid for ploughing, seeds, weeding, harvesting, threshing and then getting screwed by the rice merchant.