Post: #26

(09-02-2013 09:11 AM)Beyond Borders Wrote:  

(09-02-2013 08:53 AM)AsiaBaller Wrote:  Making money via the internet is so much easier than dealing with all the headaches of running a smaller business in a country like cambo.

By the way, where are you based, if you don't mind?

I have no real base, but I'm in China right now.

If you want to do business in Asia as an individual without a few hundret thousand dollars to piss away, China is the place to be right now. The yuan is strong, the locals are very willing to spend a lot of money on foreign products, as all local products are of crap quality with few exceptions and they are mostly making over 1k USD a month in first tier cities in white colar jobs. There are also several hundret thousand expats in Beijing and Shanghai that mostly make very good money.

Post: #27

@phoenix- he got a 1500 out of 1600 on his SAT.

The upper-class from all around the world aspires to send their kids to foreign universities. A service catering towards their kids education is almost a blank-check type of business. Even in the USA, SAT-classes- catering towards high-achievers- are pricey.

I took the SAT a while back, and I believe I paid 1.5k for a summer "bootcamp" course. I wouldn't be surprised if fees were similar in Asia (2k per head for a short 10-week course), and most kids need it multiple times. Count it as a minimum of 6k in SAT fees per kid.

Post: #28

(09-03-2013 01:20 AM)DVY Wrote:  @phoenix- he got a 1500 out of 1600 on his SAT.

The upper-class from all around the world aspires to send their kids to foreign universities. A service catering towards their kids education is almost a blank-check type of business. Even in the USA, SAT-classes- catering towards high-achievers- are pricey.

I took the SAT a while back, and I believe I paid 1.5k for a summer "bootcamp" course. I wouldn't be surprised if fees were similar in Asia (2k per head for a short 10-week course), and most kids need it multiple times. Count it as a minimum of 6k in SAT fees per kid.

This is an interesting idea - start with admissions counseling and visa assistance and advice as well. Evaluate kids, tell them where to apply and how to apply to Harvard - or Bogus State University. Edit their admissions essays. Include a "safety" school and advertise "guaranteed" admissions.

All you need to begin is an office. Pitch to local elites, relatively easy to find and less costly to advertise to. For example, I saw women handing out flyers to tutoring services outside a secondary school in Bangkok. You just find the local equivalents of Sidwell Friends, Hotchkiss, Phillips Andover or whatever.

I've seen ads here in BKK offering SAT and GRE tutoring.

Once you get going maybe a small classroom or two to hire your young college grads as English teachers and SAT tutors.

Post: #29

If I were going to do a business I would do a craft beer import business, similar to http://www.wishbeer.com/Default.asp here in Thailand.

Import craft beers and sell them online with home delivery, via monthly subscription service, and also sell them at local bars and restaurants.

The you could have craft beer events and the top end restaurants and clubs, basically being a promoter, where you sell the beers that night and the venue gets a cut of your sales, plus you probably have to pay a fee for the venue for the night. At some restaurants on off nights you may not even have to pay a fee, and could negotiate a cut of the food sales possibly.

This would lead to you meeting lots of the social elite in Cambodia, and possibly open you up to dating the upper tier girls, who are probably very good looking, and very hard for a foreigner to crack.

A local Cambodian mafia couldn't take this over as he would know dick about craft beers, importing them, wouldn't have the craft beer contacts, and your business would be driven almost entirely by social media.


You could do the same with wine if you preferred.

Post: #30

(09-02-2013 04:53 AM)Beyond Borders Wrote:  A successful expat businessman, who owns an "adventure" franchise with locations around Thailand and now Cambodia, said to me last night that Cambodia is essentially Thailand 20 years ago. All you have to do is look at what worked in Thailand and do it here, and you will win. The return on your money is ridiculous, he says.

It certainly feels that way. There's so much construction going on in Siem Reap that you can hardly walk a block without seeing something being built or remodeled. There's building going on in every single direction I look if I step outside my hotel - it's insane. Come here 5 - 10 years from now and this place will be transformed (I predict the situation with the women will be very interesting by that time too once the money flows more).

On top of that, it's a snap to keep a current visa here, it's cheap as shit to live and party, and they welcome foreign entrepreneurs with wide open arms.

I've formerly been fired up on Myanmar as a place to dig some heels in, but I think the competition there is more fierce because everyone has their eyes on Myanmar right now. Hence the ridiculous rental prices in Yangon.

So just for the sake of brainstorming, if you could step back in time and go to Thailand 20 years ago, where would you start? Assuming you weren't walking in with a huge bank account already? Any other frontiersman with their eyes on biz ops in the Khmer Empire?

Note: Lest I paint too rosy of a picture, the political situation in Cambodia is extremely volatile right now. An older Cambodian guy whose restaurant I go to a lot always talks politics with me, and he advises not to go anywhere near Phnom Penh at the moment. Apparently, there's a lot of talk about revolution right now. Much like the ongoing political issues in Thailand.

1. Why not work on your concept and sell it ALL OVER THE WORLD?
I don't understand wanting to focus on 1 market esp one that is
low income.

2. Can you own real estate and hold it? This would be one of the best
ways if the area really improves. Don't know the laws there regarding foreign ownership.

3. Think of a way you can use this cheap labor to your advantage and
sell products or services to the first world.

4. Odds are it won't become the thailand of today. Keep that in mind.
BKK is the #1 tourist destination now. Odds of that happening there -
slim.

There are no easy answers to this question. Good luck.

Post: #31

(09-03-2013 07:23 AM)RioNomad Wrote:  If I were going to do a business I would do a craft beer import business, similar to http://www.wishbeer.com/Default.asp here in Thailand.

Import craft beers and sell them online with home delivery, via monthly subscription service, and also sell them at local bars and restaurants.

The you could have craft beer events and the top end restaurants and clubs, basically being a promoter, where you sell the beers that night and the venue gets a cut of your sales, plus you probably have to pay a fee for the venue for the night. At some restaurants on off nights you may not even have to pay a fee, and could negotiate a cut of the food sales possibly.

This would lead to you meeting lots of the social elite in Cambodia, and possibly open you up to dating the upper tier girls, who are probably very good looking, and very hard for a foreigner to crack.

A local Cambodian mafia couldn't take this over as he would know dick about craft beers, importing them, wouldn't have the craft beer contacts, and your business would be driven almost entirely by social media.


You could do the same with wine if you preferred.

Watch out Rio, guys are going to steal your business idea and make a fortune and be banging all the girls....

Post: #32

This is basically, almost to a T what Nick and Tim of the Elevator Life have been doing in Guangzhou with tremendous success over the past 3 years but with wine. Now they're doing 7 figures a year. Not too shabby. If you RM or anyone can do the same in Cambodia, or any other country in the region, you'd stand a good chance of having a good success. If you could reach half the success of the EE boys, then you'd be laughing all the way to bank while having a fantastic lifestyle.

(09-03-2013 07:23 AM)RioNomad Wrote:  If I were going to do a business I would do a craft beer import business, similar to http://www.wishbeer.com/Default.asp here in Thailand.

Import craft beers and sell them online with home delivery, via monthly subscription service, and also sell them at local bars and restaurants.

The you could have craft beer events and the top end restaurants and clubs, basically being a promoter, where you sell the beers that night and the venue gets a cut of your sales, plus you probably have to pay a fee for the venue for the night. At some restaurants on off nights you may not even have to pay a fee, and could negotiate a cut of the food sales possibly.

This would lead to you meeting lots of the social elite in Cambodia, and possibly open you up to dating the upper tier girls, who are probably very good looking, and very hard for a foreigner to crack.

A local Cambodian mafia couldn't take this over as he would know dick about craft beers, importing them, wouldn't have the craft beer contacts, and your business would be driven almost entirely by social media.


You could do the same with wine if you preferred.

Post: #33

(09-02-2013 09:46 AM)DirectDanger Wrote:  I have to agree with many of the views already expressed. I would not get involved with business in Cambodia as the risk/reward is not good enough.

20 years ago in Thailand someone did not have the option on doing business on the internet. His only option was to create a local business. You have a much better choice and that is a business that can travel with you anywhere you want to go. Imagine how trapped you would feel if 3 years in you get tired of Cambodia and want to leave but have all your assets tied up in your business. Just not worth loosing your lifestyle over.

Having said all that if you really wanted to make $ in Cambodia I would not go the bar/hostel/tourism route. I would work on learning real estate and foreign business law, while making as many connections as you can. The big money will be made in being a middle man that foreign companies can use when setting up businesses locally. If you can deal with big businesses who want to set up shop and you are able to guide them through the process that is worth a fortune to them and having a local asset that is knowledgable is a must. Beyond that you have Foreign governments and the U.N. that have huge budgets that you could do deals for down the road once you have a reputation.

I would only choose that option if you insisted on not working online. The freedom of an online business is so great I would find it hard to give up unless you knew you would make crazy money.

This is the best advice - middle man all of the foreign companies that will want to enter Cambodia.

Minor International is the most successful expat in Thailand - just follow his lead.

Post: #34

BB you and a lot of us probably know that some of these "rich" expats that live a lavish lifestyle and boasting about their business are probably full of shit. Especially in places like Thailand where likely the wife or local owns the majority stake and they own very little themselves.

Nonetheless Cambodia is developing and probably does offer opportunities. If like you say it's 20 years, behind, the question is how long would a person need to wait and work while their business and the country develops before they started seeing a return. Unless it's something that would start being profitable in the second year I don't know if I would have the patience or will to keep at it.

If I were to look at Thailand today and see what businesses I would really want to own there that would be the least headaches and risk. Maybe a Hotel in a good area targeted more to foreigners with a decent size hotel bar inside and restaurant that could offer longer term monthly stays for people who were staying longer for business.

Post: #35

(09-04-2013 02:56 PM)rvlefty Wrote:  BB you and a lot of us probably know that some of these "rich" expats that live a lavish lifestyle and boasting about their business are probably full of shit. Especially in places like Thailand where likely the wife or local owns the majority stake and they own very little themselves.

I get what you mean, but I assure you this particular one was not full of it.

His business is probably among the three most well-known adventure-type chains in Southeast Asia, which is why I didn't mention exactly what he's involved in. If he's not making money off tourists, no one out here is. I guarantee 95% of Thailand-based expats on this forum, if not all, know his business by name, even though we're not tourists here.

Also, he wasn't exactly bragging. He was hosting a party in the bar for a bunch of engineers he'd flown out for a new project, and we'd met before. We were sitting there sipping drinks and I threw some questions at him about his experiences, opinion on business out here, etc.

I met another expat in Laos that ran a successful software company in Bangkok and was moving to Hong Kong because he was sick of the place (you're doing pretty well if you move your business to HK from BKK just because you're weary of Thailand lol). In his spare time he started a side business sending big shipping crates of dried fruit back to Sweden (I think it was) for 500% markup, if I remember correctly. Sending it straight to a dried fruit company, and they were starting to ask him to handle packaging here too for a higher profit because it was cheaper that way.

Another guy I went to high school with moved out here right after university and became a multi-millionaire several times over from building and selling tech startups. He's pretty immersed in the startup scene in BKK and it's apparently off the chain; there are a lot of mainstream media articles on the web about his success.

And a lot of the more well-known tour businesses in a lot of these countries (see Conde Naste Traveler for examples) are foreign-owned and run rather than local. Sure, the locals have the shitty little travel agencies cornered and scratch by selling over-priced, cheesy experiences to unsuspecting buyers, but there's an entirely different market out there for high-end tourists who are willing to shell out some real dough to have an experience they won't forget.

So while I've met my share of flapping chodes, there are definitely guys making things happen out here.

Quote:Nonetheless Cambodia is developing and probably does offer opportunities. If like you say it's 20 years, behind, the question is how long would a person need to wait and work while their business and the country develops before they started seeing a return. Unless it's something that would start being profitable in the second year I don't know if I would have the patience or will to keep at it.

Well, you also have to take into account that things are growing a lot faster than they were 20 years ago. The pace of tourism taking these types of places over seems much more rapid now. And then the developing economy overall...

Anyhow, what you mention about profitability has a lot to do with which industry you choose, which is why I though it'd be cool for us to brainstorm ideas. Obviously, some ideas would be more attractive than others because the return of (and on) investment would be quicker.

Since things are so cheap out here, investment is often minimal. The guy I was talking to has shareholders though, some of them southeast asian (maybe that helps keep him out of trouble even?).

And even though it's cheap to get started, that doesn't necessarily mean you can't charge decent prices. Siem Reap in particular is one of the hottest tourist destinations in the region at the moment, if not the world. Angkor Wat is a ridiculously significant draw for tourists at all socioeconomic levels.

Love Rio's idea, by the way. I thought about doing that with wine when I was in Thailand.

Anyways, I'm by no means promoting the idea for people to drop everything they've got going and run off to the third world to start a business. But I do think it's an interesting possibility for international-minded entrepreneurs.

Beyond All Seas

"The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe.
To be your own man is a hard business. If you try it, you'll be lonely often, and sometimes
frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself." - Kipling

Post: #36

Americans can own 100% of a business in Thailand, we don't need Thai owners. Cant remember the name of the treaty or whatever that allows it, but you can Google it and find out. Still cant own land though.

Post: #37

(09-06-2013 04:30 AM)RioNomad Wrote:  Americans can own 100% of a business in Thailand, we don't need Thai owners. Cant remember the name of the treaty or whatever that allows it, but you can Google it and find out. Still cant own land though.

I forgot about that - you're exactly right.

The U.S - Thailand Amity Treaty.

I read a couple years back that the treaty actually expired but no changes have been enforced, so we're still good to go. Maybe AmericanInBangkok can shed some light on this.

Beyond All Seas

"The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe.
To be your own man is a hard business. If you try it, you'll be lonely often, and sometimes
frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself." - Kipling

Post: #38

Google the photos of Pattaya from 1982. And now look at it!

Some guys (Mike from Mike's Mall?) must have made $$$$$.

The downside is that the corruption in the whole of Asia is just horrific. Also I looked into starting a business in China and it was - yikes. Don't go there. Whereas in the UK my company costs me just £16 a year to maintain.

Also I did some due diligence on a smoothie store in China, and yeah, they weren't making that much.

Plus I was in my Bangkok hairdressers the other day, and a Chinese dragon came in and money exchanged hands. I bet you never hear of this stuff when you're checking out profitability of a business. There's probably serious bad luck for dissing a dragon!

If I was going into Myanmar I'd become a Subway franchisee or something.

Post: #39

(09-02-2013 08:53 AM)T and A Man Wrote:  What's the status of steroids in Cambodia?

I'd open a juicers gym if they're legal, and make holidays based around high speed internet, cheap juice and top quality logistics for game.

The price is a lot higher than in Thailand, the selection of bodybuilding drugs is much smaller. Price of food especially meat is more expensive too and forget about supplements. I don't think cites in SEA are ideal for juicing due to unavoidable body acne caused by 110% humidity, unless you're right next to the beach.

Another member mentioned protein powder made from insects as a million dollar idea. It's part of the culture to cultivate and eat insects already so bugs in powder form is even less of an issue. Once the business takes off the local cronies will want to get a piece of the action whether or not you want to have anything to do with them, which is the time to work with a foreign corp to keep their hands off. Doesn't always work as we see in the articles AsiaBaller posted.

For example:
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/lu...tail-giant

Post: #40

(09-08-2013 10:31 PM)PoosyWrecker Wrote:  Another member mentioned protein powder made from insects as a million dollar idea. It's part of the culture to cultivate and eat insects already so bugs in powder form is even less of an issue. Once the business takes off the local cronies will want to get a piece of the action whether or not you want to have anything to do with them, which is the time to work with a foreign corp to keep their hands off. Doesn't always work as we see in the articles AsiaBaller posted.

For example:
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/lu...tail-giant

What is the back story here? Article doesn't really say much.