Phuket Update

[thaibound]

(PigDogg @ Apr. 15 2006,16:16)

(jackc @ Apr. 16 2006,03:11) Think about it, the infrastructure is there, the goodwill is there.

Goodwill caries over in certain circumstances.  For example, The Place To Stay, retained all the Goodwill of the previous owners.  

IMHO, Goodwill for a bar, consists of two things:
1) the management team and their polices
2) Promotion

Promotion is pretty easy for ladyboy bars.  You simply ask every ladyboy related website to help you out and throw them a free room or something.  Your potential market is easy to reach.

But, if you take away the current management team, the girls would be out of control overnight.  It'd be like a substitute teacher coming in.

If I were interested in operating a ladyboy bar, I'd buy an empty bar in a poor location and start from scratch.

It's also a BIG advantage to be a farang-Thai couple.
    
   
     

i know shite about running a bar. but i know a bit about goodwill. and what i thought was a joking pipedream a couple hours ago has already drawn enough attention that i'd be thrilled to sit down with a handful of potential owner/investors next month in phuket. be it take-over C&D or start a dump from scratch, somebody who knows more can tell me.

i also have no idea how much capital would be needed, but i'm pretty sure i can come up with 5-10% of the start-up and early maintenance costs, so it'd only take 10-20 similarly minded MOATS to make it happen. and that's the only way i'd want to do it - strength in diversity of numbers. i'd count on the fact that a dozen or so well-established posters, being already known by a network of other members, would value their 'goodwill' (reputation)enough to be stand-up about their responsibilities. i.e., nobody would 'take the money and run'.

i could be wrong, but the dozens of lb's i've met through recommendations and the members/mods i've met thus far, all make me tend to believe this could be - perhaps not a big money-making venture - but not a money-losing one either. and a helluva good time to be had by all. not to mention an awesome excuse to make more frequent (and suddenly tax-deductible!) visits to the island of the shemale goddesses!

i'm guessing somebody out there probably CAN come up with a realistic figure of how much $ would be needed for biz plan, legal fees, licenses, bribes , etc

so, what say, how about a potential-investor meeting mid-may in patong? come be a charter member if not a part-owner...i may be crazy (yeah i'm the guy who wanted to buy a timeshare villa and staff it with live-in ladyboys - and i still might! )...but i think this could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

not to mention 'no barfine for owners'!!!

[jackc]

I think the first thing we need to establish is what exactly are Nick & ning-Nong's intentions. We might be jumping the gun here. They might just be a little jaded after being in the business for a while, and a few weeks of "low season" turnouts can turn the most optimistic bar owner a tad negative. So I think we should find out first.

then, Nick & Nong would be the best source of initial information that "investors" might require, eg. rental, license, etc.

As of now, jumping the gun and all, I would say I'm very interested to be part of MOATS.

[mardhi]

Guys - quick reality check, make a business decision with your brain and not your dick !!!

Running a bar in Thailand is a tough job - the hours are long, the temptations in your face all day long, the double crossing continual (from staff, officials and pretty much everybody else), there is no easy option to get work permits and licences have to be in Thai names.

Pretty much every bar I have seen in Thailand, has ended up being sold off either because it loses money hand over fist, there is a partnership dispute or for medical reasons. There might be a message in there to take heed of.

For a start you would need one day to day on site boss - with a salary, an understanding of Thai and business experience. They also need to be very hands on, not light fingered (i.e with a decent salary) and able to control lots of tamper temptrums. Oh and they cannot sleep with the staff, just inviting trouble and further disputes.

How much money would you all be prepared to keep dropping into this black hole, just to fulfil a dream which you can do by visiting periodically and paying the retail price for your beer, retail price for the LB, and then walk away with no hangups or liabilities.

Sorry to paint a somewhat realistic picture of owning a business in Thailand, but it does need to be said and thats before you consider its full of ladyboys who at the best of times are capable of some truly oscar winning acting performances.

Cheers
Mardhi

[vangough05]

very sensible Mardhi.
I owned cafes and resturants in Australia in a country which is very business friendly and pretty much straight down the line. Its hard even in the best of business situations to make good proifits.
I now deal in meat export to Thailand and Phillipines and I employ countless Nationals to try to make my business work. I have very good contracts and even then there are always hidden costs.
Mardhi makes a hell of a lot of sense, but as our Thai friends say "up to you "

[69billy]

(PigDogg @ Apr. 16 2006,02:20) Hawaii-Tropical island wherre you are old man.    

Phuket and Samui-tropical island wher you are hansum man!    

[stogie bear]

If the new location is not working out for Nick, it's unlikely to improve because of a change of ownership!

I'd be more enthusiastic about finding a bar amongst a bunch of GG bars (a la Nana Plaza) and doing it there. The infrastructure is already set up - you just need LBs!

[thaibound]

(Bam @ Apr. 16 2006,03:09)

(mardhi @ Apr. 16 2006,11:36) Guys - quick reality check, make a business decision with your brain and not your dick !!!

Running a bar in Thailand is a tough job - the hours are long, the temptations in your face all day long, the double crossing continual (from staff, officials and pretty much everybody else), there is no easy option to get work permits and licences have to be in Thai names. ......

Yeah guys listen to the wise man Mardhi.... he knows what he's talking about. Running a bar in Thailand has got to be one of the worst business ventures one could possible get involved with. It's nice to dream about it but that's about it.  

as i said before: i know shite about running a bar. and Mardhi and Bam are certainly correct that making a biz decision in LOS with your dick will be considerably less wise than making one anywhere with your brain.

but as i've said standing over my ball looking at a 210 yard carry over a lake to get to the green, as i put away the 7 iron for the lay-up and pull out the 4-wood -- i didn't come all the way out here to play smart!

i'm not gonna sell my house and buy a bar, but i might cancel a vacation and invest in one. phuket or bangkok, either way, or maybe chiang mai? sounds like they could really use one there... but i think Stogie's right. nana might be the best place because...

i'd love to have a place to stop by the day i arrive in LOS to get the latest on who's where and who's new and what's what with my latest dreamgirl - and share a round with the growing circle of friends i'm making in LOS. and then return to that same place my last day to file the freshest of trip reports for those taking over the ladyboy hunt in my absence. so far Big Dog's seems the closest to that feel - but that place is ladyboy-free; and lord knows you can't get any talking done in any of the actual ladyboy bars in nana - you can't even hear yourself think! so...

give me a bar with a hundred ladyboy photos on the wall and a bartender who knows how to contact every one of them and waitresses who're packing enough sweetness to keep you happy while you wait for your chosen beauty to arrive... that's what i'm talking about. that's my pipedream. so, give me that - and, dickbrain that i can be -- i'm in.

[Guest]

Sale price is something near 6M baht ($150K USD).

I have never seen a bar in Thailand where the FOREIGN owner does not spend every night there, i.e., you are unlikely to ever get a Thai person to fully trust with your bar.

Profits are slim.

To note, Nick & Ning-Nong are selling if the price is right, not to dump it.

The new location is not great, imho. Many girls have left and are leaving due to that (no customers=no income=change bars). That being said, I love Nick and Ning-Nong, and the girls they bring. There are no 2 better people on the earth.

[Guest]

(ziggystardust @ Apr. 17 2006,09:11) ..... That being said, I love Nick and Ning-Nong, and the girls they bring. There are no 2 better people on the earth.

Wonderful people and wonder times.

Ronin

[Guest]

Hi troops,
Nice to get back online. Just getting up to date with all the stuff iv'e missed, so a quicky on this one. If this starts to get off the ground count me in.