Any decent jobs in LOS?

[dummy_plug]

Interesting post, but I think this Swede is having a go at you or he is the luckiest SOB in the world. I don't much about the consulting biz in Thailand, but its a cut-throat one in the States. You can't get shit done (i.e. get business) unless you have really good connections. Moving to a foreign country where you don't know anybody except ladyboys, much less the language, and trying to start a business is pretty far-fetched. And this is Thailand, business efficiency doesn't exist there, from what I've heard haha.

[Guest]

All of what you say is true to an extent guys.  In all fairness my post wasn't really meant to be a  How's To Guide on doing business in Thailand.  And I will cop to the rather simplistic ending... but it was getting late and I was running out of steam.

If I sat down and thought about it I could come up with 100 reasons not to move to Thailand, maybe more.  If you have a family that certainly adds an element to the equation that single people don't have. And then there's the language thing, (true) and the farang doing business with Thais thing (yep), and the competition thing, (ahah) and they're a bunch of lazy cunts, and what about a work visa, and I don't have any marketable skills.  I'm too old, I too young, I'm over qualified, I sweat too much, and so on and so forth.

But at some point however you DO have to come up with at least one good reason why you want to be here. And in some simple way, the fact that you understand for yourself, that this (Thailand) is where you really want to be, is a perfect place to start. It is the first and most important step you need to take to make your dream a reality. I hope that doesn't sound too corny.   At least that's the way it was for me.  It is simple...? yes, it is easy...? no.  

I've only just found this board again after a four year hiatus. The past few days I've had a blast perusing the volumes of information and shared experiences posted here.  And that got me thinking.  Now I don't know anyone on this board personally, never met a soul to my knowledge, but how a person expresses him/herself IMO, is a great indicator of their character, of their personality.

You can tell who the classy ones are, the funny ones, the patient ones, and those who actually have something to say as opposed to those who just like to say something.  So I was thinking about this board (specifically) and how it all came about.  And since I don't know anyone personally here, the conclusions (right or wrong) I arrived at came solely from what I've gleaned from the information presented on this forum.

See, what I was thinking was this.  The guy who started/runs this board and the ATS website came here initially and worked as a teacher I think. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I seriously doubt he sat at home in his local pounding down pints of John Courage thinking...  you know, it'd be the bollocks if I could move to Thailand, start up a ladyboy website, maybe a forum or something where like minded blokes could come together, swap stories and tell lies.

I'll bet it was more like... you know, I'd really like to live in Thailand. Period. End of story.  I could elaborate some more about the whole process that takes you from that simple realization to actually making it work here... shit, I could write a book about it, but ya gotta start somewhere. And that was the reason I made that post in the first place.  If living here is something you really want - it is more than possible. Not only can you survive, but you can thrive. There's a big difference. So let me ask you this. If you happened to run into Stogie Bear for example one nite in some little boozer somewhere, and he shared his experiences with you about how it was he came to carve out a little niche for himself in Thailand, would you think he was having a go?  Luckiest guy in the world?

Or would you say... fuckin' hell geezer,  I have seen in my own life that there are people who make things happen, people who watch things happen and people who wonder what happened. You seem like one of the the former.  And then I might ask... did you have all this worked out before you came to Thailand?  

Cheers....  

jukkagy

[kahuna]

(jukkagy @ Sep. 08 2008,11:05) The guy who started/runs this board and the ATS website came here initially and worked as a teacher I think. Correct me if I'm wrong,

You're a bit wrong...The owner of this board and the owner of ATS are two different people...

This Forum was initially a part of ATS but bifurcated recently...How the present Forum owner came to work for ATS and both of their beginnings in LOS are stories best left to him and the owner of ATS...

But, I'm not certain if either gentleman is going to tell their story here...

You do however, make valid points in your posts...Namely, if you want something to happen you have to be willing to take risks and make it happen...That is not the road for everyone however...Only a special few...Most of us don't have the temperament or imagination or fortitude...Just the dream...

[Guest]

(kahuna @ Sep. 08 2008,11:12) You're a bit wrong... The owner of this board and the owner of ATS are two different people...

Aw right then... thanks for the clarification.  I do want to add that for many of us, and I don't exclude myself here, it's easy to get caught up in the details.  Or in the very least caught up in the idea that we have to have all the details.

It's been said before that you don't get smart about Thailand sitting back home in Europe or the States reading about Thailand. You come here, with the right intention and you talk to people. You pay your dues and as a consequence of living here or being here, you WILL learn. You will. Expats here love to talk. And not surprisingly everyone has a story. By golly if they aren't all different and in some ways similar. At some point, you'll figure how you can make something work, or you won't.

I consider myself a stone cold realist above anything else. If you think you're gonna mince into BKK and someone is going to offer you a 200,000 baht a month job then you should probably stay home. Or if for any of the other reasons kahuna mentioned... lack of imagination, fortitude, or temperament, then those are good reasons to stay put as well.

If you can't imagine earning money outside a 9-5 environment or more precisely that you have to be someone's employee to make a living.  Ummm...  then I would say Thailand may not be for you in the long run.  Bangkok can be a very unforgiving place. It has the potential to give you a right good bollocking the likes of which you've never experienced in less time than it takes to say "pay bar".  

It also has the potential to be one of the most invigorating, challenging, rewarding places you ever imagined living. I certainly understand, for reasons of discretion, that stories of a personal nature, well you know what I mean, are best left untold on this or any other forum. And that's all I will say. Hey who knows, maybe in 5 years time some wide-eyed farang will sit next to you in a bar and ask, "so how was it that you came to be living here anyway?"

cheers...

jukkagy

[BAM]

Run an Adult Website from Thailand!

[Looker]

(dummy_plug @ Sep. 07 2008,19:04) Interesting post, but I think this Swede is having a go at you or he is the luckiest SOB in the world.

Well said, RX, as usual words of wisdom from you.

I don't know about others but I've been running a company in Hong Kong since many years. Lots of ups and downs..lately more the downs than the ups
I've seen lucky people pulling together something good in this part of the world, but I've see the great majority failing, and not necessarily for incompetence.

Setting up your own business requires a good deal of luck and expertize in one specific field. Also, most people who are starting a biz in this part of the world are doing it because already have the right connections back home to allow them doing it..it could be anything...an uncle who imports shirts and sends you to check what he buys, just to make the first silly example that crosses my mind.

You need a capital, not necessarily huge, a strong expertize in something, existing connections (client/suppliers) to support your business and A LOT of luck.
Fullfilling these 4 requirements doesn't mean you'll be successful. Now, start imagine if you've only 3 or 2 or 1

[Guest]

Yeah yeah.... that's the ticket.  If you want to be successful in Thailand, make sure you come here with plenty of expertise in your proposed business, at least some spenders in your pocket (the more the better), a relative or two to buy your shit, and *the most important thing*, a generous helping of LUCK!

Don't believe a word coming from anyone who's had a modest amount of success here...  cuz anyone who drools knows people like that are probably taking the piss. Big time. Makes perfect sense to me now that I think about it. Don't know how these pearls of wisdom escaped me the first go round.  

Better yet, I think the originator of this thread got it just about right.  The best job you can get here is a blow job dude... and for that you really don't need much luck at all.




Jukkagy

[dummy_plug]

Indeed, its easy to hear people ramble on about their grand successes (no matter how illusionary they might be), but you never hear about the other 97 or so out of 100 that probably failed miserably.

That said, I've been in touch with some contacts at a few MNCs in Thailand and I'm more encouraged by what they told me. Even at mid-level management, people with probably less than 10-15 yrs of experience, there are quite a few farang and foreigners working. And even the locals appear to be propsering, some of my old uni mates are making 100k+ baht working in some companies after only 7 or so years.

[JaiDee]

(jukkagy @ Sep. 08 2008,09:05) See, what I was thinking was this.  The guy who started/runs this board and the ATS website came here initially and worked as a teacher I think. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I seriously doubt he sat at home in his local pounding down pints of John Courage thinking...  you know, it'd be the bollocks if I could move to Thailand, start up a ladyboy website, maybe a forum or something where like minded blokes could come together

I'll bet it was more like... you know, I'd really like to live in Thailand.  If you happened to run into Stogie Bear for example one nite in some little boozer somewhere, and he shared his experiences with you about how it was he came to carve out a little niche for himself in Thailand, would you think he was having a go?  

Or would you say.....did you have all this worked out before you came to Thailand?  

you're close in this story,  and yet still way off; if that makes any sense.

  Kahuna had  it right in that the original 2 people had their own paths for making it to Thailand [and then for making it IN Thailand] and that their stories are totally different and then somehow meshed later on down the road;  maybe a handful of people maximum know that story completely so speculating on it won't lead to any answers nor will they be found here.    But for sure ingenuity and a little balls has something to do with it I'd guess, and you'd  better have a good plan; as  Snick says, it's very hard to make a living in Thailand if you don't work for a multi-national.

   Bam joked [kind of!] about starting a porno website..... it happens every day I bet, not so much with ladyboys but with the gays and the ladies, so that can still happen but good luck with Police and other weird shit happening these days in the LOS.  Best way me thinks is to find a niche in the tech market, and just run it from there; I know a very smart server guy who moved to Pattaya in 2006 and started a family, lives there now and loves it and is not going back to the USA; good for him.

[manarak]

and I'd like to add that porn is not the only successful industry on the net...
even if I work in that industry too.

but that's mostly because I don't like talking to a lot of people, I'm more of a schemer and doer (of mass business) than a salesguy.
So sitting behind a keyboard and coding stuff into websites is perfect for me.

everybody has to find out his strengths and try to live off them.

[Rollo Tomasi]

Hey jukkagy... make the move. I think you'll be just fine here.

The best (but not the biggest) reason to move to Thailand is that you can always go back!

It's not a one way ticket.

Come here, mooch about, maybe teach English to get 'culturalized' and look for the opportunities after you get here.

If I wasn't doing this right now I'd be teaching "Rhythms of English Speaking' to corporations for 1,500 an hour and coasting along doing 10 hours a week.

The world is a playground for those with drive and initiative.

[dummy_plug]

(Rollo Tomasi @ Sep. 20 2008,06:02) The world is a playground for those with drive and initiative.

Excellent advice. Who knows, there may be a day soon when I'll take you up on it.