This photo of one of the local clubs.  This is your typical spread of females. You might to take notice of their what they are drinking.  You can click on the picture for a better view.

Hitting the Nail with a Hammer

I have an increasing number of readers that are asking me about setting up a business here.  I believe this is becoming the viable alternative to end-to-end tourist visas in perpetuity.   I don't necessarily hear what I consider a good balance from their inquiries.   More often than not, I sense more of an urgency to gain access to Thailand more than I hear of a desire to run a business.   I understand.

If Thailand is just a sex haven for you or if being left alone to your personal time is your goal, Thailand is a great place to choose.  I am quick to acknowledge my partiality to the country for these same reasons and more.

However, running a business a lot like taking a wife.  A good marriage doesn't just happen, most of the time it requires a fair amount of time and energy.

If you are going to run a business, you better be prepared to put some energy into it.  It's going to require some focus and some strategy.

I think running a business is the ultimate gambler's paradise.   Where else can you take a risk, tip the scales favorably in your direction and extract the reward?    In a gambling casino, the odds are stacked against you and there is little you can do to change that.   Not so with business.  A business can be of a great reward if you mindful of what you are doing.

My position is that you just can't set up a shop, and not give it the attention it needs.  If your efforts are divided, you'll fail.  It's just that simple.   In Thailand, it much more likely that others will steal it from you (mainly because the culture is based around the idea that foolish rich people should be taken advantage of)

So, if I were to impress upon you a key thought, I was say that running a business requires some focused efforts and some vigilance.

There is quite a bit to consider when running a business here in Thailand.  I'm only going to write about a few points here in brief to get some ideas rolling for you.   A full treatment is almost not possible in short articles like these.  But, you can gain some insight here.

My Current Business Model

First, let me tell you right up front that I'm not very successful at this point.   I haven't  made a lot of money.  I believe this year will be my best year yet.   I do have a strong foundation.  I have built up my stock and equipment and product lines.  I am prepared for significant growth this year.

In general, my expenses are ultra low by world standards.   I can weather fluctuations in the market place very well, and I have the free time to exercise as I like.   I do have the freedom to leave on short vacations and run the business remotely through the Internet handling all sales, moneys, and customer orders personally through the computer.

There are a few formal business models that are available in Thailand.  I am only familiar with my own.   I have a limited partnership with 2 Million baht of registered capital.  I am entitled to have one foreigner in my company at this time (myself).  I am the managing partner and the company hires about 8 Thais.

We run a small manufacturing facility that makes a few lines of motorcycle turn signals.  Our primary philosophy is to be the manufacturer of the product and sell that product directly.  The turn signals are for export only.  We are also beginning to work with LED lighting and electronics.    The LED electronics will be our new line of products.

We don't sell to distributors.  We market the end product through the Internet directly to the end user.  We may also be marketing the LED products directly to consumers here in Thailand.

We sell most of our products right now off of eBay.  eBay can be a good way to get the Internet marketing going, however, eBay is getting expensive the in the near future we'll be moving away from eBay and making more use of google search services and other selling techniques.

What we do here is simple, we find a need and make a product to fit that need and we sell the best value we can to a customer who wants to pay for it.  It's just that simple.   The key is to provide the most value a customer can get for a price the customer is still willing to pay for it.

If you could spend 1 baht in a product to create 10 baht of value, how many times would you spend that 1 baht?   The correct answer is that you would spend it as many times as you can to produce a product that the customer would be willing to pay the extra 10 baht for.    At the point where the customer won't pay the extra 10 baht, you stop.

There are two general types of market places that are described as horizontal and vertical.  A horizontal market is where you make a product that is sold to many different types of businesses.  For example, if you made raw plastic you would be in a horizontal market place because you would sell that plastic to many different types of customers.

In my turn signals business, we are in a vertical market.  You might also call this a niche market.  Our product lines specifically targets certain motorcycles in the market place.   For instance, we make the very best turn signal products for the Ninja EX250 motorcycle.  No one else in the world has the product we deliver at this time.   There isn't anyone else that can give more value for the money.  So, we win quite a bit of Ninja 250 motorcycle business world wide and this market is very narrow and therefore it is considered a vertical market.

A General Recommendation - The Vertical Market

So, if I had to give the new business owner a recommendation, I would recommend that they look for a vertical market to exploit.

I have a sample idea for you.  Let's say you came here to set up a business and you wanted to open a small business and you wanted something unique but marketable.  One idea might be to create "The Great American Pig Skin Football Company".   

This would be a company whose sole purpose would be to make the very best hand made leather football in the world.  (for you football buffs, the outside of the original football was not pig skin, but the inside bladder was actually a pigs bladder and the outside of the ball was leather).   I don't know if pig skin could actually be used on the outside.

Thailand may be a great place for the hand labor and the leather raw materials.  You would need to research how to come up with the synthetic rubber bladder for it.

Perhaps you might also add a very small electronic circuit to it so that every time the ball is thrown it would beep to indicate how well the ball was thrown.   I think that would have some appeal.

This item would end up being a very unique and specialized item with a higher than normal cost.  You would send up selling a lower number of these to high end users rather than selling larger quantities to athletic programs.   This is a vertical market.

A company that manufactures this type of product brings something new to Thailand.   And this product is for export.   And you're selling to a client who you understand (if you are from the US).  And the product is relatively small and shipping is not a problem.

This is just one idea.  There are thousands of possibilities.

Eden Club - The Alternative Business

Some might joke with me saying that for foreigners the sex club businesses (go-go, beer bar, etc.) is the normal business for a foreigner to be in.   You might have a point about that.  There are many foreigners in this business and some of them do very well in these businesses.   Quite a few also loose money and they loose a lot of money.

I personally don't like the go-go, beer bar type business.   First, its not a legal business for Thailand.  It's tolerated because there is a large income from it for Thailand.   The police are paid bribe moneys, the local business offices are paid bribe moneys, and employees are some of the greatest thieves in the world (thieves who by the way who never go to jail - ever!).

The bar business can be very taxing, but it can a very lucrative.  I think its an opportunity for the rare individual who loves that type of business.   The other issue that I don't like about it is that it take very large moneys to get started (if you are going to do it right).  You might need $100,000 dollars or more to really get into correctly.   Anything less than that and you are in a weak position.

The other issue that I don't like about that business is that you may not have time to take care of your health.  I'm a big believer is exercise.   Why come to Thailand for fun and pleasure if you can not build your health?   Exercising takes time.  It's in investment in your future.

Just recently, DaveTheRave.com reported that the management of the Eden Club suffered a set back.  Dave says that 2 managers including Marc, suffered heart attacks.   Dave wrote that Marc survived but the other manager died.

Marc of course is the founder of the Eden Club.   I don't know him personally but I did like his interview that was in one of the StickmanBangkok Weekly columns.  Marc talked a lot about the naught night life business in that column.  You can click here to see an archived copy of that column.

So, if you are going to come here and open up a company, please devote some of your time to taking care of yourself.   After all, what is the point of having all these benefits and great access to beautiful women if you can't muster up the energy to enjoy it?   Do you really want access to some of the most attractive girls? (that is without having to resort to paying through the nose for it)  Well, you can't be a slob.   Want to consider marriage someday to the very best girls -- I suggest you keep that gut in check.  I know what I'm talking about here because I have girls talking with me about marriage a least once a week - and I tell them - I'm old already.  And they say - "no you're not old".   I do get the impression that in their mind that old is equated with being run down.  (as an aside: the graying of my hair doesn't seem to make any difference to them.  I have died it brown and then let it go back to the gray side.   They don't seem to respond differently to it).  Some girls would not want to marry a man over the age of 40, but many will.  It's a strange feeling.  It's something you don't expect, but it is practical.  And practical is what this culture greatly based on.

The Work You Can Not Do Here

A foreigner can not do the work that can be normally done by a Thai.  There are so many things you can not do it's hard to make a complete list.   And even so this list is subject to interpretation by government officials.

So, generally, don't even think about looking for a job here with another company unless you have a very special talent and an inside track at that company that you know of inside the Kingdom.

The Thai government doesn't like to offer up work permits and Visas to foreigner who are taking possibly taking jobs away from Thais.

For this reason, I recommend starting your own company.  They can't easily refuse that pursuit.  The other very significant benefit is that you control your own position completely.  No one else is going to be firing you and instantly voiding your Visa and work permit.

Numbers for the Week

The number are again solidly down.   I have not be publishing that long on the internet and so I have no idea what readership would normally look like during this time of year.   I would guess though that many of the normal readers are here on vacation here in Thailand and I'm sure that would have an impact on web traffic.  We have also seen a few new Thailand sites pop up in recent weeks.   To those who are still passing through and reading my sit, you are certainly welcome.

The Wrap Up

You have probably been wondering through the whole column -- what is it about the hammer and nail as mentioned in the title of my article this week?

Well, I was recently asked for an interview with www.twofatfarangs.com.  This is a new site and they haven't even open it up for viewing yet.   But one their questions is pertinent to this article and so I'll repeat it here.

How easy did you find it getting the business off the ground?

Part of my response was the following:

"Easy and hard are subjective to one’s perception of work.   If you are using a hammer to drive a nail, the least amount of work is hitting the nail hard and straight with one strike.  If you try to drive a nail with multiples hits of smaller efforts, you expend more energy.  So, whatever you do, you need to hit it hard like driving a nail if you want to achieve the best results with the least efforts.    Getting a business off the ground is much like this." 

I am told that this full interview will be posted on their new web site after the site is up a running.

So, in closing, let's summarize.  I have touched on a number of topics very very briefly today.  My suggestion to those wanted to come here to work and start a business is to be a bit serious about the effort and to focus your efforts.  I recommend a small vertical market business model.  This is a model that one person can easily handle.  It's a model that can be profitable.  It's a model with minimal risks.    I recommended against the naught night life businesses in general.

And of course, I strongly recommend having a business that would allow you to take care of yourself and build your health.

There is so very much more to write on this topic that I have only barely scratched the surface.  I'm going to revisit some of these areas in the future and hopefully give them a much better treatment.

I'm very busy at work too this week.   Again, we'll have more for you on these subjects in the not too distant future.

John Galt