What type of Business are you looking forWhat type of Business are you looking for? Firstly, you should shortlist a couple, or at the most a handful, of different types of businesses you feel you would enjoy and have a good chance of success in. If you don't do this simple exercise, you will waste a lot of your time looking at too wide an array of businesses. Chances are even if you come across an excellent opportunity, since you are all over the map as to what you are considering, you will not be able to accurately assess the business and miss the opportunity. If you cannot focus on, at most, a few different types of business, it is likely that you are not quite ready to buy a business in Thailand. It is also worth noting that if you are using business advisors, business brokers, attorneys, or other professionals normally work either on success based fees or on an hourly fee structure. Rightfully, if a professional working on a success based fee does not feel you are ready to buy they likely will not be spending much time with you and label you as a "tire-kicker" or someone who is just looking. Alternatively, if you aren't ready to buy and you are working with hourly fee based professionals, they can end up costing you quite a bit of your hard earned money even before you find a business buy. It's best to take some time to think about what your wants, strengths, and weakness are so that you can be prepared for the business buying process. Will you be a sole business owner or will you have a partner? Normally, buyers of businesses in Thailand have a partner for one of two reasons. The first reason is one, or both, of the partners does not have sufficient capital in order to purchase a business and/or run the business over the next year due to debt/financing issues, cash-flow position, or other financial stumbling blocks. Another reason to partner with someone, probably a better situation, is that each of the partners brings something to the business. Simply put, one partner has a skill/interest that the other lacks, and vice-versa. This is an ideal situation, however, it must be said that partnerships can be tricky and often the partnership is the reason why some businesses are for sale. If you will be a first time business owner, the thought of managing the operation on your own can seem like a very daunting task. If you have chosen to go it alone, remember that while you have strengths in many areas, you will likely also have weaknesses in others. Look for business with employees who can compliment your skill set or if that is not the case, make sure you know what skills you will be requiring and that you do not possess, so that you can either recruit employees who can fill the gaps, or outsource those activities to other experts. One of the best advantages to being the sole owner of a business (other than keeping all of the profits!) is that you will never have to worry about a partnership dispute and the potentially devastating consequences they can bring. |