What kind of business can a Russian do in Thailand? I have an idea! What business to open in Thailand? Everyone is against moving to Thailand
Thailand is a very attractive country for a large number of tourists. This is a state that has a very long and interesting history and an equally interesting present. Siam (as Thailand was previously called) was the only source on Earth for the extraction and cultivation of natural black pearls. There is also a huge amount of seafood products, famous for their beneficial properties and amazing taste.
Among other things, the weather here is excellent all year round and, accordingly, the mood is great. All this allows us to conclude that Thailand is a very attractive and acceptable country not only for temporary stay, but also for permanent residence. From this it is clear that in Thailand it is possible in almost any field. But how to choose it?
First of all, you will need to consider the basic rules for starting your own business in this amazing country. So, of course, it is possible for foreigners to open a business here, but recently some changes have been made to the legislation designed to protect domestic entrepreneurs from foreign ones. So, you will not be able to open a publishing house or editorial office of any newspaper in this country. This matter is purely internal to the country and does not tolerate any outside interference. Traditional crafts are also prohibited for foreign companies. Another industry that partially excludes foreign entrepreneurs is agriculture.
How to start your own business in Thailand?
So, you need to start by choosing the field of activity in which you are going to realize your business ambitions. Undoubtedly, tourism has been and remains one of the leading business areas in Thailand for a huge amount of time. That is why any of your enterprises, focused on meeting the needs and interests of travelers and guests of the country, will definitely be profitable. Thus, by opening a cafe, bar, hotel or at least a mini-hotel, you will benefit.
Thailand is visited by several million tourists every year, which is why it becomes the most profitable platform for both opening a new business and expanding an existing one.
Thus, many entrepreneurs, when expanding, go to Thailand, but before they “get the go-ahead” to open, they must go through the following stages.
If you have already decided on the name of your enterprise, now you move on to determining what status your organizational form will have. In most cases, foreigners choose from the two most suitable for. This may be a partnership or a private organization. The first of the above is much easier to organize, but if you open a private organization, you will be able to pay a much lower percentage of income taxes in the future. If doubts still remain, you should seek help from a legal entity that is in close contact with foreign destinations in regulating relationships between entrepreneurs. He will definitely have the necessary and practical advice.
Return to contents
Main stages of registering a business in Thailand
The next step is obtaining a business visa. If you or any other business is in Thailand, then in order to obtain a business visa, you will need an approved business plan. In addition, you need to find several Thai partners, who must also provide their approval in writing for opening a particular business. All necessary documents are prepared at the Thai embassy in Moscow. Once you receive approval to enter the country specifically to start your business, you arrive in Thailand. Here you need to go to the commerce department. In this department you receive a list of documents required to register an organization in the state. Once you have collected everything you need, all that remains is to pay the business registration fee. In most cases, it costs approximately $1,000 to open and register a business in Thailand.
This is what constitutes formal actions associated with paperwork. In reality, everything is even more complicated. In order to make any profit, you need a sufficient number of customers. This is why most entrepreneurs or bars are in Pattaya, because here the flow of tourists never ends. The same applies to choosing a neighborhood or street. It is quite natural that in central areas and on central streets it is almost impossible to rent any premises. Another thing is the purchase of a building. They are sold (especially in Russian regions) quite often. But this does not always correspond to the intentions of businessmen, because purchasing premises as property costs much more than renting it on a monthly basis. And even if you have money, you won’t be able to purchase a building along with the land. According to current legislation, foreigners cannot own more than 42% of the shares. Accordingly, if you still do not want to rent, then you can try to negotiate a joint purchase with one of your Thai partners.
Another disadvantage, which is expressed financially, is that in areas where the flow of tourists is constant and profitable, opening a business requires additional investments in addition to the main ones. They number in the several millions. The advantage of doing business in Thailand is that there is no need to open a local bank account.
Return to contents
Starting a small business in Thailand
When thinking about what kind of business to open in Thailand - small, medium or large - you should clearly understand the necessary expenses associated with both finances and time, and as we know, money is money, especially in Thailand, where several people constantly come hundreds and thousands of tourists. It is completely natural that they all want to eat, drink, and they need to live somewhere. The last option applies to a medium or large business, which will require you to start a few tens of thousands of dollars that you can risk. Just take a risk, since Thai entrepreneurs are not always ready to keep their promises. And if you rented some premises today, renovated it tomorrow and put it in proper shape, this does not mean at all that the day after tomorrow you will be able to open a bar, cafe or restaurant. Quite often it happens that businessmen or building owners, after their premises have been renovated, suddenly change their minds and find another use for this or that area.
When opening your own business or private company in Thailand, you may also encounter the problem of mandatory cooperation, in most cases only documented, with at least four Thais. The fact is that this state does not allow the operation on its territory of an enterprise that is entirely owned by a foreigner. In solving this problem, companies located in the country for registration of individual entrepreneurship help, which independently find the so-called “dead souls” who supposedly work with you. They sign a document confirming the fact that they have received dividends from you for 100 years in advance, and have no claims against you, therefore, you become the sole manager of this enterprise. A huge amount of money will be spent on it.
There is, however, a less expensive and risky option for opening your own business here. The point is that, provided that you have a girlfriend or wife in Thailand who has citizenship of this country, you can spend about 5,000 baht in her name. And the police will not pester you with constant checks, since they support their businessmen in every possible way.
In addition to the sea and sun, Thailand has one more feature - to discover the entrepreneurial talent in people. The dream of living and earning money in a piece of paradise haunts many. Europeans were business pioneers in Thailand, but now you can often find an Englishman or a German wildly celebrating the long-awaited sale of a business in a bar. “Finally, I got this stone off my neck!”, “Now let’s live freely!” or “Never again!” - say former businessmen. Our compatriots take risks and lose in the Kingdom everything they have acquired through backbreaking labor in their homeland.
However, there are also happy earnings stories. Not much has been written about them: our people are not used to boasting about business successes. But for the ZagraNitsa portal, expats anonymously shared their ideas for effective business.
Shop on eBay
Investments - from $2000
Monthly profit - from $100
First of all, study the rules of customs and mail in Thailand - tariffs and delivery times for parcels, goods prohibited from sending (according to reviews, liquids have recently been added to the list), as well as possible duties for both the buyer and the seller.
We set up several accounts on eBay and one in the PayPal payment system. Further, the main components of success will be high-quality photos and a wide range. It is advisable to test the goods selected for sale and give truthful reviews, but it is not necessary to have your own warehouse - purchases can be made as orders arrive. It is unprofitable to send very small orders in terms of time and labor costs, and therefore we set a limit, for example, at $150.
Among all the items, you need to have several with a low purchase price and maximum markup - they will become your main source of income. And the last tip: do not forget to monitor prices and offers of competitors.
Photo: Shutterstock Motorcycle rental
Investments - from $30,000
Monthly profit - from $800
Rental owners recommend starting such a business only by acquiring a reliable Thai partner, or better yet, a Thai wife. In addition to opening a company, renting space and buying bikes, there are a number of non-obvious, but mandatory points. For example, agreements with other distributors. An attempt to compete with the Thais for a farang ends in open conflict or problems with the police.
Also, your Thai companion or employee will have to write out contracts and contact the police in the event of a lost bike. According to statistics, up to 30% of the motorcycle fleet disappears along with the tenants! Please note: by filing a report of theft with the police, you will ensure that the tourist is included in the “black list”, but most likely you will not return the lost money.
Photo: Shutterstock Travel company with unique routes
Investments - from $30,000
Monthly profit - from $1000
Transfers to the Fireball Festival or Wai Kru, as well as individual tours, visa tours and trips to shamans remained in demand even during the crisis. You will need a small fleet of vehicles, Thai staff (salary, for example, for a driver, starts from 15,000 baht), an open company with a mandatory deposit and licenses. As well as a deep knowledge of the history and culture of Thailand. Then it’s a matter of hard work, a good season and basic luck.
Many foreign businessmen are turning their attention to Thailand. The long-term prospects for the kingdom's development are very optimistic (stable profitable industrial sectors, reliable real estate market).
To make it more convenient to run your business in Thailand, you can. Phuket condominiums have all the most necessary infrastructure: cafes, medical rooms, a gym, and often there is a communal swimming pool. This, without unnecessary searching around the island, will help you take a break from everyday work.
If you decide to open your business in Phuket, then you will need a little less than $2000 and two working weeks. The authorized capital of your company must be at least 63 thousand dollars. This will allow you to obtain a work-permit (work permit) in Thailand. Then it can be renewed annually. It is important that your company generates at least a minimum income. Thai law stipulates that your company must have a Thai employee who will own 51% of the company's shares.
If you don’t want to take risks right away, then you can. You will become a director and full shareholder, and will also receive a work permit.
What business do foreign businessmen most often engage in in Phuket?
Open your own bar or restaurant.
This is a good thing to do if you have ever been familiar with the restaurant business. There are many nuances here: you need to find suppliers, hire staff, find premises, etc. It will be much more difficult for a beginner, but this does not mean that such an idea should be abandoned.
They rent apartments and houses.
This is one of the most reliable types of business. It is very profitable to buy or buy in Phuket. Real estate prices are lower than in Russia, Europe and the USA, and the standard of living is also high. Tourists come to the island all year round and they always need somewhere to live.
They invest money in housing under construction.
Investments in real estate for the purpose of resale are also common in Phuket. Finished apartments and houses are much more expensive than at the construction stage.
And there is always demand for housing in an elite and prestigious resort.
Tour agencies are opening.
This mainly involves working with compatriots. You can hire Thai and foreign guides, buy transport, rent office space. But you need to take into account that there are a lot of local and foreign companies on the island with the same business and the competition is very strong.
They buy hotels and guesthouses.
You can also buy a hotel or resort on the island. Such a purchase will cost 1-3 million dollars. will bring more profit than renting out one condo. But the risk of such an event is also great.
Many Russians dream of moving to Thailand for permanent residence. But after 2014, it is no longer enough to rent out your grandmother’s apartment to live comfortably in the Land of Smiles. People get out of the situation in different ways: someone finds an employer in Russia and eventually switches to remote work, someone becomes a freelancer and, having a constant pool of orders, works from their villa in the tropics. And someone, and it doesn’t matter what kind of business they do there.
The editor-in-chief of the magazine did something like this Reconomica. Alexander will tell readers how difficult it is for a foreigner to open a small business in Thailand that will feed its owner.
Hello, people, Baldy is with you. This is how I usually start when I record a video. And now I don’t know where to start. Let me start by saying that I am the editor-in-chief of this magazine. Before the New Year we conducted a survey in a group on VK. Readers are interested in stories about small businesses and stories of moving to another country. Well, I have a couple.
It's me. But you could guess it by the cap.
Actually, I'm driving video blog about business and personal finance, and it’s been a while since I wrote anything to the magazine myself - I just keep an eye on the order so that the stories sent are regularly published. But since people want stories about business and other countries, and this material is scarce (few people want to share information), we will have to shake off the old days. If you have a personal story about business, send it to us in the magazine, we will be happy to publish.
Was that even possible?
I first visited Thailand in 2011. After gray and dull Moscow, it was simply an immersion into another world. As I remember now: an excursion to the River Kwai. I’m swimming in a life jacket along the river, elephants are roaming along the shore, there’s a small waterfall on the other side, there’s an aftertaste in my mouth from the sweet and sour strafruit, the bright Sun is shining in the sky, and in a couple of days I’m flying home.
And then the thought struck me for the first time: “What did I forget there in Russia anyway?”
The thought was terrible, one might say seditious. I didn’t yet know that you can live wherever you want, and not exclusively where you were “born and useful.” The idea took a long time to mature and I came to Tai on short visits. If I spend money, I’ll be upset and go back to the Russian Federation to earn money. This happened several times.
Most Russians remind me of the girl from the joke who ordered a huge nose and long ears from the Golden Fish, and then was surprised that she could make a wish to become beautiful and rich. No matter who you ask, everyone wants to travel, sea and sun, but for some reason they spend money on a car loan and a mortgage. I was like that myself.
Where does the money for a luxurious life abroad come from? Bourgeois, probably!
I can’t say that my life was particularly luxurious. I have (my wife actually has) a house in a village in northern Thailand. We live in a rented apartment in Pattaya, simply because in the village you can go crazy with boredom. Our property includes a used moped... and a couple of bags of rags.
I don't seem to be starving. Looks like there's a pool nearby. I can even go to a water park if I want, right in the middle of the work day. Warm outside. Well, thanks for that.
A ticket to the old city water park costs 200 rubles per person.
Telling my entire biography in order is also long and does not make much sense. I will say that I have a Thai common-law wife, and this is the main reason why I live in Thailand. I have not been to Russia for almost 2 years at the time of writing this article.
You, of course, ask, what about work, and where does the money come from?
At that time I was trading in the stock market. In fact, I was not initially tied to the place; what scared me most was the instability of my earnings. But it was a long time ago. I have long since consumed the trading capital I inherited from my grandfather in the form of an apartment. The magazine brings in a couple of kopecks, and that’s what I live on. Instability of earnings? Today I am too old to bother with such trifles.
However, working with a magazine leaves a lot of free time and gives little free money, so I periodically test different business ideas: some online, some offline. This story is about how my wife and I opened a small business in Pattaya.
Is it possible for a Russian to open a business in Thailand?
Not really.
That is, you can open a company, employ several Thais in it, give them shares, and then this company will be able to issue you a work permit, and you can even register your real estate to it. But it's expensive and unnecessary. This is the economy that exists only in the heads of high Thai officials; the real economy here functions differently (reminds me of nothing?)
Local laws and reality
When a real foreign investor needs to open a company, he turns to lawyers, the lawyers provide 4 Thai alcoholics required by law (on paper co-founders), who sign in an additional agreement that they have received dividends from the company in full for all future years of activity, up to second coming of Buddha. But this only applies to real international companies.
When you just want to open a tent, you find a Thai seller who enters into a lease agreement for the retail space with the landlord, and open the tent. This is where all documents and approvals end. You can trade anything (in the sense that your Thai can trade, neighbors will quickly snitch on a foreigner behind a counter without a work permit, the immigration police will come with a raid and... no, of course, they won’t put you in jail, but will demand a bribe).
Sanitary standards, tax reporting and fire safety requirements in Thailand
In the real physical world in Thailand there are no health regulations, tax reporting, industrial safety standards or other bureaucratic nonsense. No, all this probably exists somewhere on paper, but who read these papers, they are in Thai!
In theory, if you have a small business and earn more than 30 thousand baht per month (about $1000), you need to register with the tax office and pay taxes. But in the real physical world, the tax office may come with an audit that will not be able to reveal anything, because all settlements between hawkers and customers are made in cash without using a cash register.
Thais pay for such economic freedom with an old-age pension of 20 dollars. Therefore, there is a long tradition of financial support for elderly parents by children. But let's not delve into the peculiarities of the Thai mentality, let's talk about business.
You can buy a bike, attach a cart to it, put a used gas cylinder in it, buy a chicken from a neighbor without any certificates for meat, and sell it right on the bike in the middle of the street, after frying it on a gas burner. Of course, without gloves. Gloves are an extra expense, and the business is very competitive; the minimum markup does not allow you to spend money on such a luxury as disposable gloves.
Of course, this is only if you are Thai, otherwise see above about the immigration police. However, this does not stop every second Russian from implementing the brilliant, unique idea of opening a cafe of Russian cuisine with a Thai chef on the minimum wage ($10 a day) on the first piece of Thai land they like.
When you have nothing to do, you can start a business out of boredom
In general, I will not retell all the features of Thai laws and my biography; the story begins at the end of 2017. My wife and I were bored, plus we were broke financially after traveling and building a house.
From time to time we travel around the country. I love watching waterfalls, there are a lot of them here.
The magazine was just launching at that time and did not bring in any income. I wanted to have some additional source of income. We thought about what to do and decided that we should open a business. So the wife will be busy (work here is difficult, it is prohibited for foreigners without a work visa, and Thais all receive the same plus or minus: 8,000-20,000 baht. With our money, this is 16-40 thousand rubles. In general, I wanted to find a job for my wife so that it would bring some money into the house, and work would not depress her, and there would be prospects for payback and expansion.
Sale of Hong Kong waffles
We found an inexpensive franchise selling Chinese waffles. We went for training. The waffles didn't come right away. We rented an unsuccessful premises where there were no sales at all. I had to urgently move out of there and hand over the deposit. The business started with a loss. We moved to the Jomtien night market. There was traffic there, but the place was also not very good, the traders there were barely making ends meet.
I don’t see the point in retelling in text what I already said in the video blog, so I’ll insert the entire plot. I will also say that I was not physically involved in the trade (see the paragraph about the immigration police). I did the calculations, helped deliver, deliver and purchase, which also took a lot of time and effort, but was not a violation.
I kept statistics on earnings in a table. Here's a piece of it.
Cake business
In general, waffles were selling poorly, so we decided to supplement the range with cakes. And then the sloths. And jelly. And we even bought a popcorn machine. And they opened a second point at the morning market.
But there was one problem with the cakes - they were poorly stored. More details about this in the second part of the video.
The night market is aimed at tourists, and during the half of the year when there are few tourists, the traders simply survive. Therefore, this model only worked for one season.
Financial result
Main reason for closure? Overwork.
Due to the fact that when hiring a seller, the profit disappeared (and due to my own stubbornness). During the off-season, trading did not make sense; this was clear from the declining profits. In general, I did not push my wife and decided to close the business.
I looked at my long-suffering sign now. It seems to be a plus. In total, we earned 77 thousand baht, or about 150 thousand rubles for 4 months of the season from December to March. By the standards of Russian regions, this may even seem like a good result. But this is for two people working seven days a week, half the time in two shifts (morning/night market). And the equipment did not have time to fully pay for itself.
We sold the equipment for next to nothing. I partially took into account depreciation, but there was still an additional loss on the equipment. Waffle makers, for example, cost 1,000 baht, although we bought them as part of a franchise for 20-odd thousand. So the financial result is close to zero. In general, the cat cried out for real profit there, but it was a cool life experience. It was interesting.
Let’s face it, we weren’t bored for a long time, and then we bought a laundry. But that is another story. If you are interested in it, subscribe to my channel on Youtube, I tell my business cases there.
Brief background
Pattaya. Koh Larn
I first went to Thailand in 2011 and saw it like you see in this photo. This was the country of my dreams. In 2012 I moved to Pattaya. For quite a long time I was afraid to make a decision. Subsequently, it turned out that we impose the complexity and stress of decisions on ourselves. I constantly travel to Russia and there is no “burning bridges”, you can only force it on yourself, it is not necessary.
In general, I lived well. The first two years. The exchange rate between the baht and the ruble was one to one. I didn’t have to work; I had a source of income for capital. I boldly spent 100-200 thousand rubles a month, this was the norm for a comfortable life. Then I spent a fair amount of my capital due to a couple of strategic mistakes, and decided to invest the rest in real estate in Russia, they convinced me that this was a good idea, the income was less, but more stable.
At that time, Thailand was actively promoted everywhere on blogs, YouTube and forums as a place where you could “live like a king on 20 thousand rubles a month.” This is absolute nonsense, don't believe it. I will touch on the standard of living a little later in the article.
Last year this topic dragged on, I began to look for other sources of income, because there was nothing to spend. In the process, I found a good job in IT for 3 thousand dollars a month, I even managed to work remotely, but I didn’t work for long - the boss didn’t like the lack of control, they began to load me with tasks for a ton of “terribly necessary” reports, in the expectation that I would leave on my own, and then they fired me. I’m not a big supporter of working for my uncle and I wasn’t particularly upset.
Beach in Thailand Having completed the formalities with the apartment, I once again took a one-way ticket from Moscow to Bangkok. It was October 2014, and this is where the story begins. I had with me 100 thousand rubles on my card, an agreement on minor work on the Internet, which I had been doing for 2 months at that time, and a rental agreement for my apartment for the equivalent of 900 dollars (I write in dollars, since at that time started ) per month. I was already accustomed to a more modest life and thought that this should be enough.
How I came up with the idea of opening a business in Thailand
It didn't really cross my mind. I forgot to clarify that my common-law wife is Thai. Her idea. I was going to take up Internet projects and find another remote job; the first one barely brought in 20 thousand rubles a month. During the first two weeks, the unexpected happened - my tenant’s mother became seriously ill, he moved out and asked for the deposit back. I spent the deposit on a ticket and rent in Pattaya (my wife lives in her house in the north of Thailand when I leave). I asked my friends to help me, but this did not threaten me with any money in the near future - as long as tenants are found, I will give the deposit from the first month, and it is better to save the new one so that history does not repeat itself.
We parted ways with our employer after 3 weeks, and this source of income also disappeared. The dollar had already begun to grow strongly and “broke through” the 37 mark. I had to withdraw money from the card - at such a rate that, to be honest, I didn’t care. I don’t like spending my last money, it’s starting to get on my nerves. We both didn’t work and had no income, the rent was falling short, this didn’t suit me, I suggested that my wife find a job first, so that I could slowly look for a good position remotely with a real salary.
She didn't like this idea. It must be said that salaries in Thailand for positions without higher education are quite low (considered low at the old ruble exchange rate) compared to Russia, and labor laws are not respected. If you want, work 10 hours with one day off a week; if you don’t, there’s a line of people from the poor province behind you, get out. You can relatively easily find a job for 8-14 thousand baht per month, not higher. She offered to rent space at the market where she had previously worked for a while and sell fruit smoothies. In a month, the high season began, and one could count on good sales. I didn't care as long as things moved forward. We went to the market and agreed on a lease.
Business conditions in Thailand
According to the international Doing Business rating, in terms of ease of starting a business, Thailand is in 26th place in the world, and Russia is in 62nd place. It happened this way because the government does not pay pensions on which one can survive (a pension of 500 baht per month, normal only for military and civilian public sector employees), and encourages self-employment. Small businesses in Thailand are almost never touched. Anyone can sell anything from a bike or cart - no documents are required, unless you rent an office - no individual entrepreneur, nothing. They only chase you for trading on the beach. They are severely fined for hiring foreigners without a work permit, more on that later.
Jomtien Market The lease agreement is concluded directly in the name of an individual (with Thai citizenship, of course, not in my name). There were too many drink stalls; we were allowed to sell food. The wife chose sausages that her friend sold in Bangkok. To open a point in the Pattaya market we needed:
- pay for the first 3 days - 660 baht. Per month with electricity and water - 8,000 baht for one tent per 3 square meters;
- deposit - 6000 baht. It is not refundable if you do not work for a month from the date of notification of closure;
- awning - 2500 baht - more to unify the appearance of the market, and not from the rain - they are not allowed to work without it;
- buy a counter. We ordered a new one for 5000 baht. Used ones can be found cheaper in good condition;
- buy a bike, you can’t live without it. We found the cheapest motorbike in Pattaya. With taxes and fees it came out to 13 thousand baht;
- modify the bike for . 6000 baht. More on this in a moment;
- buy an electric grill for 500 baht.
The total cost of starting a business is $1,000. It took all of 2 or three days, the longest was purchasing and modifying the bike. Then we went to Chonburi for sausages. Nominally Chonburi is the provincial capital, but Pattaya is actually larger. The sausage seller is a distributor, he transports sausages by the ton from Bangkok and delivers throughout the province. A kilogram cost him 95 baht, in Bangkok - 80 (yes, far from elite Bavarian sausages, I’ll explain why such a product now). It would seem that you can make money on such a ridiculous markup? However, he earned himself two units in a townhouse, 2 pickup trucks for work and an SUV for the family. The Thais are very dedicated to their work and work seven days a week, putting themselves under strict conditions. This man was one of those (he opened at 5 am), and the sight of the property he acquired inspired me.
Opening a market outlet in Pattaya
Jomtien Night Market Seeing that my wife understood everything, I gave her freedom of action and only helped, mainly carrying weights. In the early days, she set the price at 10 baht per piece and sold sausages for 1,500 baht. The sausages quickly ran out (one batch - 20 kilograms). I didn’t understand what we had earned, and convinced her to raise the price first to 15, then to 20 baht. Later I weighed one piece and realized that we had a loss of 10. They began to buy fewer sausages, but revenue increased. I didn't understand how people eat empty sausages and decided to add buns to make hot dogs and Bavarian burgers, like at Stardogs. The Moscow model did not work in Thailand, they managed to sell only 3-4 pieces in 3 days, the bread was thrown away.
Grilled sausages and chinchilla We earned 200-500 baht per day. The apartment was rented out, but it didn’t suit me, the rate had already exceeded 40, I couldn’t live on that kind of money. It was necessary to expand. Our neighbors were selling fried insects, soups and spaghetti (wild, right?) and decided to move out. They had 2,000 baht in revenue per day, and we decided to buy out their outlet. In total, they asked for 6,000 baht for the equipment, with the condition that their daughter would stay with us for 300 baht a day. They explained to us how and how to prepare them. It was December 2014, high season had begun.
More space allowed for more product to be displayed. The very need to prepare soup in order to maintain the level of revenue reminded us that my wife is a cook, and we added lunchboxes with steaks to the assortment: chicken, pork, fish.
How we opened our cafe
Assortment of our cafe in Pattaya In less than a month of trading, I did not see any accumulation of money and began to analyze. It turned out that the wife makes money at her point, and from the second, where the girl sits and sells bugs, we receive a loss (rent and salary exceeded the marginal profit). The girl had to be fired on New Year's Day. Apparently, karma returns, and they gave me the same gift. The tenant moved out without paying for the second month and breaking the plumbing. At the very beginning he asked for a deposit in installments, instead of a deposit he fed me promises, but I didn’t know. In the end, when I left, I got nothing. And then - a sluggish January, renovations and it was clear that there would be no money. There were 20 thousand rubles left on the card, which melted away every week with the rise in the dollar exchange rate.
I decided to go all in. We closed the beetle spot, took a third tent and set up tables (we bought it second-hand with the last of our money), making it a street cafe. The assortment now includes about 25 dishes. In addition to us, there were 2 such points on the market, both of them were much larger, with serious sales.
Cafe in Thailand The income was excellent - 4-6 thousand baht per day. Orders - from 40 to 60. About 30% of orders are to go, the rest sat down. In general, the business was a success, every day we took home 1-2.5 thousand “clean” and even took our first day off in 3 months. But every day the dollar to ruble exchange rate grew. People automatically kept saying: “Oh, how cheap, 60 rubles for Tom Yum!” But in fact, 60 baht was already equal to 120 rubles. In general, these tourists were already on vacation, they didn’t care. What about the next ones?
How the decline in the flow of Russian tourists affected Thailand
Disco car on the market The business developed successfully for exactly one month. Then people calculated how much their vacation cost them and stopped coming to Tai. We lasted through February and early March 2015 due to the quality of the cuisine. Then we had to give up tables - it became unprofitable to pay almost $30 a day for rent, water and electricity.
Tom yum with chicken with coconut milk The variety of dishes depended on the volume of purchases. More is cheaper, I think it’s clear. Over the entire period, we sold about 2 thousand servings of soup, and we only had 4 customers who didn’t like my wife’s Tom Yum. Two of them were accustomed to a different taste, which they had tried somewhere, two of them did not like the fact that the shrimp were unpeeled. Well, excuse me, I just don’t allow her to peel shrimp for a miserable 60 baht - she already has constant cuts and burns, she didn’t have enough to prick her hands. The vast majority of customers said “Thank you, it’s very tasty,” dozens asked for the recipe and said that this was the best Tom Yam they had ever tried, including restaurant ones for 300 baht. Some people ate with us every day throughout their vacation. But we even had to give up soup - the ingredients cannot be stored, we need to sell at least 5-7 servings a day, and now even this is impossible.
The immigration police noticed that I was helping, and that I had a study visa. They told me through the market administration: pay 2,500 baht a month to us or we’ll get caught doing a test purchase, which means deportation and a fine of 50-100 thousand for my wife. We don’t have that kind of money, now I only do shopping and washing dishes.
Now we have one stall left - spaghetti Bolognese, fried potatoes, steaks and coconuts - that's the entire range that is still on sale. 300-700 baht remain “clean” per day, we work seven days a week. More precisely, one wife already works at the market itself. I rented out the apartment, but it’s already 300 dollars or 10,000 baht per month, prices have dropped significantly. We are trying to save up to rent a more accessible point or tickets to Moscow while we have to work.
One day of life in Thailand in photographs
The market starts at 4 pm. People used to come at one o'clock and wander around in search of food. Now sometimes nothing is sold until 6.
My day starts with a trip to the local market to buy coconuts. The cheapest market in Pattaya is located near the Colosseum cabaret. We used to buy a lot of different ingredients there, now we only buy coconuts.
They are brought every day from a farm near Bangkok. The business is much more stable than ours.
The second destination is the Macro hypermarket.
Hypermarket Macro Pattaya I usually buy fish, spaghetti, minced meat for Bolognese, chicken breasts, and potatoes.
But you can also buy a shark.
You can't make money on pork steaks; the meat is expensive. Chicken - 70 baht, and pork - 120. Beef is even more expensive. We count every penny to make a profit.
The minced meat is made fresh right in the meat department several times a day.
I return home, peel potatoes, wash dishes. We moved a long time ago from a very cheap condo with a pool for 9 thousand (with meters) to the private sector. This is literally the cheapest decent accommodation in our Pattaya area for 2015. We pay 4,500 baht per month, with meters it comes out to 6,500. Anything cheaper is barracks without windows, beds or air conditioning, sometimes with a shared toilet on the floor. It is in these that those who claim a “royal” standard of living in Thailand live at 20,000 rubles a month. When the ruble was more expensive, they still managed to eat with this money; I don’t know what they eat now and whether they are even alive.
A few words about the bike: Spark is the most disgusting jalopy I have ever ridden, including the “shahid taxi” - the “killed” six Zhiguli. The handling is terrible, you'll hurt all your legs on the kickstarter until it starts. There are no complaints only about the Yamaha engine. We used to have a brand new motorcycle from the showroom, but we had to sell it at some point.
What can you carry on a bike with a cart? But there is no cheaper commercial vehicle. Gasoline consumption - 100 baht per 150 km. We spent 900 baht on maintenance for 3 thousand km. Among the Thais, such carts are widespread and allow you to transport fairly large and voluminous loads; I have seen up to 9 people on such a unit.
I took the coconuts to the tent.
It's time to throw out the trash.
It's time to take out the trash All waste from the market must be drained into this ditch.
The ditch leads straight to the beach. The sea in Pattaya is very dirty, the beaches are unkempt. Not a beach resort at all.
All waste flows directly into the Gulf of Thailand onto the city beach This is how difficult it is to do business in Thailand!
Popular
- Business and work in Thailand for Russians
- What kind of business can a Russian do in Thailand?
- Individual entrepreneur - where to start?
- What is the difference between an entrepreneur and a businessman? The other side of the coin
- A short guide The key section of a business plan from an investor’s perspective
- Business ideas for retirees
- How to choose a business direction
- How to open your own visa center?
- How to open a representative office of a foreign company
- How to increase gas station profits by two times or more How to increase sales at gas stations