The number 1 question I get here is “How Can I Make Money in Thailand”.
I don’t have a realistic answer for you.
If it were easy to make money here, 90% of the population would not be poor.
When you do business in Thai baht, you need to have tons of sales to make enough to live on.
Westerner’s, with their VISA requirements, have to earn much more than Thai people just to survive.
Thai people, many in rural Isaan live on a per capita income of US $2,000 a year.
No westerner could survive or qualify for a visa on that amount.
Opening a business in Thailand is risky as well, depending on what it is.
Do not be surprised if you open a shop, Thai people open one right next door selling the same things cheaper. They will copy your idea if they see you making money.
Farming is a tough go, and one bad spell from mother nature whether flood or drought and you can lose the years income.
It is not as easy as moving to Thailand and thinking you are smart enough to make money because Thailand does not work the same as western countries, no matter how many MBA’s you have.
Every business idea has it’s own challenges and very few survive.
Want to export? Well our customs department is famous for over-charging and delaying for their own financial gain.
I have seen lately, Indian’s in Pattaya have opened multi million dollar nightclubs that are packed 7 nights a week.
So, the saying “It takes money to make money” is true here as well.
You might be surprised, and this is location dependent, the average 7/11 only earns ~40,000 to 100,000 thb per month. Westerners would be hard pressed to live on 40,000 thb a month the rest of their lives.
So the answer to the question, is that I do not know a way for westerners to make money and I am pretty sure they are NO guarantees here.
Businesses here go out of business at an alarming rate.
Westerners that DO have a successful business, never tell anyone how they managed to do it.
I did know of one Australian that was exporting the larger beach coolers from a small family factory in Rangsit.
The success stories are far and few between.
It is best, before ever investing one baht, you have a sound proven business plan or you may learn the hard way.