A business that is easy to get into for an American with a strong interest in Thailand is importing products from Thailand and selling them in the US or some other Western country. The biz can be started on a very small scale with very little beginning capital, and usually with huge potential profit margins. By plowing most or all of those initial profits back into the enterprise, the business can grow quickly from the top of a kitchen table to a warehouse with lots of merchandise coming in and going out. And the business allows, or maybe even requires, frequent trips to the Land of Smiles, and as long as the trips are profitable, it can be enormous fun. It can be a side business from your regular job, or with enough energy, can be made into a nice family income.
Selling Thai Artwork in our Bay Area restaurant
I have always liked this kind of business. Back when my wife and I operated a Thai restaurant in the San Francisco Bay Area, we would put artwork that we found in Thailand on the walls. It was beautiful, and added to the ambiance of the restaurant, and after we started putting a few discreet signs up that the artwork was for sale, our extra artwork business became very profitable. We traveled to Thailand 2 or 3 times a year (because we loved going to Thailand), and would simply fill our suitcases on the return with artwork for our restaurant wall. This little side business gave us an extra $1000 or so a month in sales, with costs typically around 20% of the sale price. The project made our restaurant look good and our dining customers loved to see them, and it definitely paid for all of our trips, with extra left over. Continue reading