Own boss in Thailand

Well, the holiday in Thailand it's over, you go back home to work again for a few months or maybe even a year. You daydream at the desk in the office or you talk to friends and colleagues at work about that beautiful time in Thailand, the beautiful country, the beaches, the exuberant nightlife and of course about your great love, whom you met there.

Slowly but surely and sometimes it suddenly happens in a brain flash: Gosh, how nice it would be if I could live in Thailand to be constantly with that oh so sweet Thai woman and lead an easy life in a nice climate. Money? Well, what if I take over a business, a beer bar or something, your partner at the cash register, some pretty girls at the bar and the money pours in. Behold the birth of a disastrous plan.

Grand plans

So it was with Mark, an Englishman in his mid-30s, a construction worker by trade. A craftsman, you might say, who had worked his way up to foreman in the new building without any qualifications. Married, good salary, own house and car, now and then (no, often) in the pub with his friends and also the occasional gamble on the horse races. However, his wife falls ill (multiple sclerosis) and Mark cannot – or rather does not want to – deal with it mentally. They get divorced, the house and car are sold and so Mark comes to Thailand with a nice capital with grand plans. That little capital is not only the proceeds from the sale of properties. Mark was also not averse to a little crack here and there with his mates, just like his father and brothers used to do.

Mark is going to start a beer bar. No, not an ordinary beer bar like there are hundreds in Pattaya, but different, better, nicer, the customers will come and come back, they all become regulars. It also starts well, he rents a space in a bar complex and builds the bar himself and furnishes it further with mirrors on the wall, a large screen television and a pool table. Now a few more beautiful girls at the bar and the party can begin. In the meantime, he and his Thai love have taken care of all the necessary papers and police protection is also well arranged.

The opening party is a great success, Mark is an excellent host and has already made many friends in Pattaya, all of whom attend. Things also go well in the weeks that follow, he organizes a weekly pool tournament, which is well attended, in short, the money does indeed flow in.

Succes

Overconfident with his success, Mark buys a house, buys a big truck, buys a new pool table and buys more things to make the bar even more attractive. Over time, the atmosphere in the bar changes a bit, when Mark is there, it goes well, a party can be built spontaneously, but when he is not there, the guests stay away. That's where the problem starts for Mark, because a big deal for him is that he can't keep his fly closed. A few days a week you can (not) find him in one of the countless beer bars or A Go Go's. He happily butterflys, which always costs him handfuls of money, because he is certainly not stingy.

Mark realizes that the income in the bar is decreasing, but the costs are not. The staff and especially the landlord must be paid monthly and other costs also continue. He makes a decision, he sells the bar for a reasonable price, sells his house and truck and a new plan can take shape. He has found a partner who is willing to put money into his plan to start an A Go Go bar. With some borrowed money, a nice amount is available to transform an empty space into one of the most beautiful A Go Go's in Pattaya. A beautiful bar, a great dance floor with chrome poles, two pool tables and a can of beautiful girls is opened.

Large debts

Unfortunately, the location is completely wrong and you have to climb an outside staircase to enter. Despite an advertising campaign, customers come in dribs and drabs, so that the reserves to pay the considerable rent, the salaries of more than 20 employees and other fixed costs are quickly dwindling. Of course disagreements arise with his partner, because with two captains on a ship you can see the quarrel coming from afar. Mark borrows money left and right to survive, but after about three quarters of a year the curtain falls. Long enough, by the way, for Mark to be pampered by practically all the dancers on an upper floor.

Mark had to give up, left behind with huge debts, “fleeed” to England, penniless and without a job. A beautiful dream has completely shattered.

Unique story? Well, over the years I've seen dozens of adventurers come and go. Come up with the plan to make it in Thailand with some saved or borrowed money, but without business experience and without knowledge of Thai (catering) life, have no chance of succeeding. Sooner or later they will return to their homeland with their tails between their legs, one experience richer and one illusion poorer.

I can name quite a few examples of beer bars that (regularly) change hands, A Go Go bars in the wrong locations, as well as a French, an Italian and an English restaurant. A miniature golf course, a darts center, a stainless steel processing plant, a fitness equipment store, all started by Farangs with great enthusiasm and great expectations for the future. All gone now!

Become rich?

Is it impossible to become your own boss in Thailand? No, not that either, because there are many foreign entrepreneurs in Thailand, not all of which fail. I know entrepreneurs in Pattaya who, for example, can make ends meet with a restaurant and guest house and there is also quite a bit of money to be made in other areas. You will certainly not get rich in Thailand, because that is reserved for Thais.

Finally: I make a rough estimate based on my own observations: only 5% of all foreign small entrepreneurs make a profit, 40-45% can manage reasonably well on the earnings of their business and the rest must sooner or later give up their vain hopes .

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