Girlfriend setting up online business selling cosmetics

[mike324]

5 hours ago, oldcarguy said:

But how does someone starting off  get the traffic on their Facebook page  ?

 

it seems impossible to get 100s of real followers unless you do something stupid or dangerous and end up in the papers or on TV

you pay people (which I call "influencers") who have large followers to share your product, or send free samples for them to review. You ask influencers to post on their page to share and like your page, to get discounts like 50% off for first orders and win free samples.

 

Post your product reviews on thai forums like pantip.com.

 

I think you have to build your account so followers will want to see it daily, have fresh content and beautiful pictures to make people want to share your page.

 

Some advance sellers use multi level marketing tactics, recruiting other folks to sale and make commission from each sale and referral.

 

There are many trade fairs every couple of month, doesn't cost much to join and set up a booth if you are serious about the business.

 

[oldcarguy]

I do not see many Thais on Ebay ,  is there something like Ebay in the Thai language ?

 

and since most Thais do not have PayPal  do they just transfer payment at 7-11 or on their phones ?

 

Thailand seems like a good  place to have something like Ebay for Thais since they seem to always be on their phones :)

Edited September 1, 2017 by oldcarguy

[mrwebb8825]

On 8/31/2017 at 2:07 AM, Requiem said:

I was hoping to find someone who has such experience to share their success or misfortune.

My wife started up a clothing shop for women without any experience, just a passion for clothes and accessories. It took off like gang busters because she also has the gift of gab. Her downfall was 2 fold; she also teaches Political Law full time and the bigger 1, no boss so interest waned.

 

This was 10 yrs ago and with the evolution of technology I think she could do the whole thing again and be even more successful. By this I mean, Facebook Live has been added since she was giving it a shot. If you open your facebook page, look for the Live Videos link. Then zoom the map in to Thailand and you'll see what I mean. All the blue dots are people live streaming including major businesses and media.

 

ETA: She ended up ahead money wise but behind business wise. :)

Edited September 2, 2017 by mrwebb8825

[theguyfromanotherforum]

On 9/1/2017 at 10:46 AM, RobFord said:

The gf has a nice little business bringing in Royal Jelly from Australia, breaking it down and selling it in smaller more affordable packages on Facebook.

Cost nothing to start, keeps her busy and makes a little money.

You can find Thai royal jelly but like most Asians, Thais prefer western brands and are very suspicious of domestic food / health products. I would think this applies to cosmetics as well.

As a previous post said, " differentiate your product".


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

 

Personally, I would have kept this to myself. You probably gave some lazy unimaginative people a great idea.

 

As for the op I would never give money to someone to start the business. Go to a bank and get a loan if you think your idea is so great. Personally I started online in 2002 with zero capital and although I didn't get rich I did ok for myself.... more so than I would have with my useless music degree.

 

Thumbs up to your gf. My wife was making 30,000 a week selling a world famous Melamine sets which are surprisingly made in Thailand, but not sold in Thailand. Unfortunately someone with more money found out about it and completely stole her idea. She was doing so well, that she was going to quit her well paid job and do this full time. Impossible to do in Thailand. Someone will copy you. Unlike in the west good luck registering your brand and protecting yourself. 

[oldcarguy]

23 minutes ago, theguyfromanotherforum said:

Thumbs up to your gf. My wife was making 30,000 a week selling a world famous Melamine sets which are surprisingly made in Thailand, but not sold in Thailand. Unfortunately someone with more money found out about it and completely stole her idea. She was doing so well, that she was going to quit her well paid job and do this full time. Impossible to do in Thailand. Someone will copy you. Unlike in the west good luck registering your brand and protecting yourself. 

 

Someone would copy you in the west too if they saw you were easily making $1000 a week !

 

When you are selling on-line or at the markets you need to have Plan b and Plan C etc ,

be a moving target  and work new items into the mix ,

 

Yes in Thailand they would not feel bad  starting a stall right you with the same stuff ,  but smart sellers are always looking over their shoulders .......

 

I think the biggest problem is that most Thai sellers work on too small of a profit margin because they do not understand all the costs........plus friends and family members help themselves to pieces of the "pie"

 

its not easy......

 

[Rc2702]

Straight up idea.

 

Scrap the 100k biz.

 

Buy 1000 bars of soap.

 

Print 1000 packages in thai called Miracle Penis Growth Soap.

 

Sell on line/facebook and outside factories with lots of men. Before they buy they will ask her for a date. She says yes once the soap has worked give me a call here is my number.

 

500 baht per unit = 500k baht.

 

Move to another industrial factory area to avoid any future conflicts.

 

Advise on packaging instruction use must be once a day for 90 days before effects take place. They will have forgotten about it in a month anyway.

 

 

 

 

Edited September 2, 2017 by Rc2702

[oldcarguy]

8 minutes ago, Rc2702 said:

Advise on packaging instruction use must be once a day for 90 days before effects take place. They will have forgotten about it in a month anyway.

 GREAT  idea ,  you need some "Pretties" on the packaging  so they can start "growing" quicker :)

 

and I like the 90 days , because 1 bar of soap is not going to last that long ,

 

but maybe you  also need the 1000 baht "Extra Power"  lotion so you can "up sell" them......

 

OHHHHH   and do not put Made in JAPAN on the packaging ......

[munchlet]

Three things scream out at me here

1) She says she will borrow money from the bank. Really? Does she have a credit track record or does she have some security of some description? Aside from property loans, Thai banks just do not lend to small individuals like your GF period, unless she has a special relationship with the bank manager. THB100k just is not worth the effort involved.

2) The Thai cosmetics market is absolutely saturated. There are only two growth areas for unemployed females in this country at the moment, a) massage services, she probably does not want to do that unless she has to, and  beauty products. My daughters, who are half Thai remarked when they were over from university in the UK a couple of months ago that "nearly every female" is selling cosmetics. I think that you should take this on board. Its a VERY crowded market place.

Lastly, 3) You gf's friends say that they would buy it, they may to start with, but beware, friends anywhere will give support to their friends rather than tell them what they really think. A token purchase or two is possible via this route, but there never will be enough to support her business longer term. This problem is made worse in Thailand because of "face", no one in this wonderful country wants to upset their colleagues, friends etc by telling them something they do not want to hear. If they think your product is shit, they wont tell you, even if its good, but its a tough competitive market, they won't tell you. Thais HATE saying NO. 

I would advise her to put up a business plan and do some serious market research, rather than asking "friends" what they think. Being a bit cynical and given my opinion on her chances of getting a bank loan, she may well be setting you up to be the provider of the loan when the bank says no. Just be aware that if you do it, make sure that there really is a business plan, and be prepared to write off whatever you  put in, unless she is prepared to put an agreement on paper (which I am sure she will resist.... "you no love me" etc etc.).

I would be treating this as if I were walking on eggshells..........