You have allready answered your own question. I came here five years ago with a similar ammount of money. Im still here, I guess that makes me lucky cause I sure as hell aint no genius. Working in Thailand (for yourself) is a nightmare and should only be undertaken by seriously delusional persons such as myself. Yes it can be done there are many of us who have acheived this goal.
However with more and more expats trying it, its becomming harder by the day. There are only so many slices of cake in the pie.
Whatever you decide I for one wish you well.
A question for small business owners in Thailand
Maybe this belongs on a different thread, not sure? I have the opposite situation in some ways. I just started a business that is run by my Thai girlfriend, but I'm looking for work closer to Thailand, (I am Canadian working in Canada as a carpenter). I find it very difficult to find info on carpentery work overseas; be it Korea, China, or Saudi or Dubai, etc. I would like to work a while longer before settling down in Thailand. When the time comes, I would like to set up a shop in Samui and train some Thais to make and install western/european style finishing work, such as trims, moldings, window casings and the lot; but for now I want to find out where the house building is going on in Asia
To Pagey; good luck. It can be done and has been done and a lot of good advice was offered. It really pays dividends to absorb some Thai "common sense". There will be some head scratching moments anyways, but it's nice to think you know the "thinking" behind them. It's always nice to have a bit of extra coin salted away with exchange rates up and down on a daily basis; and if you don't jump into the fire on your next visit; you can always spend your R&R time in LOS to to soak up the Thai peculiarities!
To Pagey; good luck. It can be done and has been done and a lot of good advice was offered. It really pays dividends to absorb some Thai "common sense". There will be some head scratching moments anyways, but it's nice to think you know the "thinking" behind them. It's always nice to have a bit of extra coin salted away with exchange rates up and down on a daily basis; and if you don't jump into the fire on your next visit; you can always spend your R&R time in LOS to to soak up the Thai peculiarities!
I think you might have to be careful of the Labour Laws here regarding carpentry. There's a whole raft of employment that is prohibited to non Thais.Slunky wrote:Maybe this belongs on a different thread, not sure? I have the opposite situation in some ways. I just started a business that is run by my Thai girlfriend, but I'm looking for work closer to Thailand, (I am Canadian working in Canada as a carpenter). I find it very difficult to find info on carpentery work overseas; be it Korea, China, or Saudi or Dubai, etc. I would like to work a while longer before settling down in Thailand. When the time comes, I would like to set up a shop in Samui and train some Thais to make and install western/european style finishing work, such as trims, moldings, window casings and the lot; but for now I want to find out where the house building is going on in Asia
To Pagey; good luck. It can be done and has been done and a lot of good advice was offered. It really pays dividends to absorb some Thai "common sense". There will be some head scratching moments anyways, but it's nice to think you know the "thinking" behind them. It's always nice to have a bit of extra coin salted away with exchange rates up and down on a daily basis; and if you don't jump into the fire on your next visit; you can always spend your R&R time in LOS to to soak up the Thai peculiarities!
I appreciate that you may only be training, rather than doing the work yourself, but it might be worthwhile asking one of the developers on the forum what is allowed for a foreigner. See:
http://www.expathuahin.com/jobs-huahin.php
Good luck.
Gents
All good informative stuff, there is no right or wrong answer of course.
Slunky : You mention working in the Middle East. I am living on a new compound built from scratch and still maintained by an army of builders,joiners,leccys etc. They are all from the Phillipines or India because labour is so cheap. Not an expat in site nor expat quality I may add.
Gooze : Not sure I stated how much money I will be bringing, however, I won't leave Saudi unless I think it's enough. Thanks for your good wishes. If it doesn't happen now I will just retire fully in the future.
Webmaster : This forum has drilled in to me that don't spend what you can't afford to lose. I have taken into account the cost of buying the business and I can afford to lose it. I DON"T WANT TO and as a Yorkshireman will do my best to keep it and make more.
I have not heard of those books so I will look them up, thanks.
Buksida : I am not looking to get rich. I am not buying a multi million Baht resort, just a small shop and profit is relative to expenditure. If I earn enough to pay my rent and food I will be happy. However, after the initial enthusiasm I wasn't hoping to work THAT hard, I was hoping Thai girls would take the strain while I have a lie in the morning
Barry : Already stated that the whole visa situation is baffling to me ! Maybe when I live there I will grasp it. And yes, would like to meet local businessmen for a drink and a chat.
All good informative stuff, there is no right or wrong answer of course.
Slunky : You mention working in the Middle East. I am living on a new compound built from scratch and still maintained by an army of builders,joiners,leccys etc. They are all from the Phillipines or India because labour is so cheap. Not an expat in site nor expat quality I may add.
Gooze : Not sure I stated how much money I will be bringing, however, I won't leave Saudi unless I think it's enough. Thanks for your good wishes. If it doesn't happen now I will just retire fully in the future.
Webmaster : This forum has drilled in to me that don't spend what you can't afford to lose. I have taken into account the cost of buying the business and I can afford to lose it. I DON"T WANT TO and as a Yorkshireman will do my best to keep it and make more.
I have not heard of those books so I will look them up, thanks.
Buksida : I am not looking to get rich. I am not buying a multi million Baht resort, just a small shop and profit is relative to expenditure. If I earn enough to pay my rent and food I will be happy. However, after the initial enthusiasm I wasn't hoping to work THAT hard, I was hoping Thai girls would take the strain while I have a lie in the morning
Barry : Already stated that the whole visa situation is baffling to me ! Maybe when I live there I will grasp it. And yes, would like to meet local businessmen for a drink and a chat.
'If you didn't have a wasted youth you wasted your youth'
Man in pub circa 1987.
Man in pub circa 1987.
I don't think Pagey is interested in this one but....paper today has a listing for a 17 story hotel on 8 rai in central HH, close to Petchkasem Road, 720 million Baht. Any idea which hotel? Pete
Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. Source
Out of my league Pete, my spreadsheet doesn't run into millions !
I am well known in Riyadh for my 'spreadsheet', which is just some simple calculations from opening bank balance, plus yearly interest less projected outgoings.
I tinker with different scenarios, and of course have built in the cost of buying a business and current profits. My aim is to always have a large surplus sum when I am 65, then my 2 pensions kick in and I should be safe.
I always err on the cautious side - eg interest I have fixed at 4% even though I get between 4.5 and 5.5%. Half a percent over 20 years on say 100,000 GBP makes a significant difference.
My outgoings for Thailand were estimated at 12,000 GBP per year,personal spending, not business, although I hope to live for less, and increased by 2% a year.
These are the calculations that help me make my decision to move to Thailand, or at least give me a good indication if I can afford it.
It's not all guesswork
I am well known in Riyadh for my 'spreadsheet', which is just some simple calculations from opening bank balance, plus yearly interest less projected outgoings.
I tinker with different scenarios, and of course have built in the cost of buying a business and current profits. My aim is to always have a large surplus sum when I am 65, then my 2 pensions kick in and I should be safe.
I always err on the cautious side - eg interest I have fixed at 4% even though I get between 4.5 and 5.5%. Half a percent over 20 years on say 100,000 GBP makes a significant difference.
My outgoings for Thailand were estimated at 12,000 GBP per year,personal spending, not business, although I hope to live for less, and increased by 2% a year.
These are the calculations that help me make my decision to move to Thailand, or at least give me a good indication if I can afford it.
It's not all guesswork
'If you didn't have a wasted youth you wasted your youth'
Man in pub circa 1987.
Man in pub circa 1987.
I see you have calculated on about 65k a month, which is what you need from abroad to satisfy Imm when you get to retirement age - 50. Visas etc etc. Unless you get a Work Permit, rather than choose to have the business as "a hobby", that's what you'll need - or 800k, or combination etc etc..Pagey wrote:Out of my league Pete, my spreadsheet doesn't run into millions !
I am well known in Riyadh for my 'spreadsheet', which is just some simple calculations from opening bank balance, plus yearly interest less projected outgoings.
I tinker with different scenarios, and of course have built in the cost of buying a business and current profits. My aim is to always have a large surplus sum when I am 65, then my 2 pensions kick in and I should be safe.
I always err on the cautious side - eg interest I have fixed at 4% even though I get between 4.5 and 5.5%. Half a percent over 20 years on say 100,000 GBP makes a significant difference.
My outgoings for Thailand were estimated at 12,000 GBP per year,personal spending, not business, although I hope to live for less, and increased by 2% a year.
These are the calculations that help me make my decision to move to Thailand, or at least give me a good indication if I can afford it.
It's not all guesswork
For me (and the missus), that's more than enough. The only thing I'd say is that the financial requirements are likely to go up, not down - they doubled a couple of years ago after no price hikes for about 5 years previous to that.
2%? I'm not so sure of that. It's better, as people have already said, to make sure you have enough slack not to have to worry about it.
Believe me. I've been doing it for 9 years.
Nevertheless, je regret rien.
Pete, Hilton Corp. was bought out last week and the Hilton Hua Hin is a 17 story hotel in central Hua Hin, do you think there is a connection?prcscct wrote:I don't think Pagey is interested in this one but....paper today has a listing for a 17 story hotel on 8 rai in central HH, close to Petchkasem Road, 720 million Baht. Any idea which hotel? Pete :cheers:
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ideacon
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Pagey: Now you've read a lot of posts...many of which I find rather disencouraging... But I hope you're still hanging on there? 
Of course if you want to succeed in business in Thailand, there is no difference from your home country or Saudi....you will need to work hard at least in the start-up-phase.... also if you take over an existing business... There are always a reason why someone want to sell a business...bad health, family problems, a sick bufallo ( ) or simply because the biz doesn't earn money!
No matter the reason for sale, remember to check, and re check the books and figures...also from the revenue department, stating how much tax is paid over the period.
But "working hard" in your own business doesn't feel "hard" at all, compared to working for an a**hole boss, right?
If things turns out well, you will feel the "hard work" like kind of a hobby...
Of course your will get your ups and downs, all business men in Thailand have tried this, no? But don't let that discourage you, just get back on the horse!
Of course if you want to succeed in business in Thailand, there is no difference from your home country or Saudi....you will need to work hard at least in the start-up-phase.... also if you take over an existing business... There are always a reason why someone want to sell a business...bad health, family problems, a sick bufallo (
) or simply because the biz doesn't earn money!No matter the reason for sale, remember to check, and re check the books and figures...also from the revenue department, stating how much tax is paid over the period.
But "working hard" in your own business doesn't feel "hard" at all, compared to working for an a**hole boss, right?
If things turns out well, you will feel the "hard work" like kind of a hobby...
Of course your will get your ups and downs, all business men in Thailand have tried this, no? But don't let that discourage you, just get back on the horse!
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ideacon
- Novice
- Posts: 2
- Joined: Wed Jul 11, 2007 5:04 pm
- Location: Sichon Beach, Nakhon Si Thammarat Province
- Contact:
Well....I've lived and worked here for 9 years now, and I don't speak the language...I simply can't learn it, because I am a hard-of-hearing, so the Thai language is too difficult for me to learn, but I know some of the basic names on food and things like that. But in my 9 years it has never been an overwheling problem...I still manage to stay in business and I am doing finewebmaster wrote: - Don't start a business in Thailand unless you have lived here for enough time to speak/understand the language or accept/adjust/make sense of the culture.
- You are ready to accept that, you can loose all the property/business investment in a day (or get arrested/deported), because the government decided to change the foreign ownership/shares/visa/work permit regulations, even after doing legal business in your registered company for the last years.
I agree regarding "accepting and ajusting" to the culture...but it can be done at the same time as you start your business....you will over the first months learn a lot and automatically adjust your expectations and get used to the difference in culture!
My experience is that you simply can't change the Thai way of thinking and do things their own way....they don't do things like we do in the Western world....and it can take quite a long time (if ever
) to get used to it !Accept that you might loose everything due to the goverment rules and laws changing:
Stay cool!
That will never happen!
Thailand can't afford to loose all those foreign investors and all the tax money from the foreign businesses...just stay cool and wait for the December election.
Nothing will change for the bad, but rather change for the good!
Hope you're right and hope is about all we can do, this "sufficiency economy" they're all pushing promotes the exact opposite of your claim. There have been very few changes for the good regarding foreigners in the last 5 years at least.ideacon wrote:
Accept that you might loose everything due to the goverment rules and laws changing:
That will never happen!
Thailand can't afford to loose all those foreign investors and all the tax money from the foreign businesses...just stay cool and wait for the December election.
Nothing will change for the bad, but rather change for the good!
Welcome to HHAD BTW.
Who is the happier man, he who has braved the storm of life and lived or he who has stayed securely on shore and merely existed? - Hunter S Thompson
I thought that deal was still pending as I just read if Hilton backs out, they have to pay a penalty of about 556 million USD. The reverse could be true Steve, perhaps it's not on the list the new people want and Hilton is trying to sell? I'm sure it will come out in the wash sooner or later, especially when it's renamed The Jaime Arms, The Guess House, or The Norseman Inn...LOL. PeteSTEVE G wrote:Pete, Hilton Corp. was bought out last week and the Hilton Hua Hin is a 17 story hotel in central Hua Hin, do you think there is a connection?prcscct wrote:I don't think Pagey is interested in this one but....paper today has a listing for a 17 story hotel on 8 rai in central HH, close to Petchkasem Road, 720 million Baht. Any idea which hotel? Pete
Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. Source
Hi again Pagey!Pagey wrote:
My outgoings for Thailand were estimated at 12,000 GBP per year,personal spending, not business, although I hope to live for less, and increased by 2% a year.
These are the calculations that help me make my decision to move to Thailand, or at least give me a good indication if I can afford it.
It's not all guesswork
I'm sure you'll say if I'm being too personal but of your 12k sterling per year "personal spending" how much would you have earmarked for accommodation rental per annum?
I ask because I'm currently in the process of selling my business and doing my sums to retire in Thailand, hopefully HH!
I should know within the next week or so exactly 'what's on the table', I can then project my annual allowance based on xx years life expectancy! (I'm older than you Pagey!)
It was encouraging to note Lomu mentioned sterling 12k pa was "more than enough" even though he added the cost of living had recently 'doubled' following a 5 year period of relative stability. (That IS difficult to budget for!!)
Property rental will be the (my) main annual outgoing and fortunately
there's a wide range of property options in HH depending on one's needs and preferences.
Throughout your postings Pagey you have mentioned how carefully
you 'budget' - so I guess I'm hoping to benefit from your calculations!
You'll be off to HH soon so here's wishing you safe & pleasant journey's and a GREAT time when you're there!!
I said it to you before - and I'll say it again - Lucky Duck!
bradders"A man who doesn't change his mind will soon have no change to mind!"