Resources to Help Get Your Thai Business Started
Having trouble finding a job in Thailand? Start your own business instead!
The Thailand Board of Investment gives you the straight numbers on what you can expect some of your startup costs to be. Getting a business license: anywhere from 20,000 to 500,000 baht, depending on the class of license and the type of business. Building a factory: about 11,500 baht per square meter, and more than double that price for an office building. Finally getting that air conditioning installed in the middle of a Thai summer: priceless.
For a good overview of what foreign entrepreneurs in Thailand should know, turn to Anglo Info. Whether you are the sole proprietor or you have business partners, you will have to go through many steps in order to legally run a business. You will also have to contend with the Foreign Business Act, which stipulates how foreigners can and can't go about their business. You may have to find a Thai owner to purchase land for you (foreigners in Thailand can lease land, but not buy it) and you also don't want to run afoul of the Foreign Employment Act of 2008, which bans foreigners from some occupations, such as forestry, agriculture and hairdressing.
The blog Stickman's Guide to Bangkok has advice targeted specifically at would-be bar owners. If you are going to throw a bar into a high-density urban area like Pattaya or Chiang Mai, which is already packed with bars, you will need a lot of luck and skill to succeed. The "off season" for bars is April through November, when fewer foreign tourists from cold climates are visiting Thailand, so keep this in mind when calculating how much you expect to make in your first year. The author also recommends that you pick a bar location popular enough to bring in foot traffic, but not so expensive that your monthly rent swallows up all your capital.
According to Startup Overseas, the most common way for foreigners to break into the Thai business world is to partner with a Thai citizen. However, the farang (the Thai word for foreigner) often ends up getting edged out of his or her own business idea that way, since regulations favor the Thai partner.
Whatever your business strategy, it can't hurt to learn a little of the Thai language. Not only will you have piles of legal forms in Thai to contend with, but when making your business contacts, a friendly Thai greeting will go at least as far as a handshake and a smile.