Tuesday, June 03, 2008

Conclusions (2)



It's hard to say, how long would be the life expectancy for an average beer bar in Pattaya under the same management and ownership. Two years? Three years?

But, if we are talking about the newcomers, it's presumably not more than one year, even less. Right now, around my location on Soi Buakhao, I've seen lot of bar owners giving up during the last year. Some of them couldn't run the business even more than 3 months.

The most common mistakes they made include:

1. No attractive ladies or no ladies available at all;

2. Trying to set up or offer something too original, like cocktail lounge, exotic beverages or food etc;

3. Bad location, especially if there were no bars before and/or around;

4. Dreaming too much about regular customers and/or their own friends;

5. Family and/or financial matters.

First of all, this is Pattaya and nobody is coming to sit in your bar for a drink only. If a farang is looking for a beer, he's looking for ladies' company altogether. Of course, not for sex always, but you couldn't underestimate this part of your business.

Secondly, try to set up your bar into the mainstream. Don't make anything too original, especially if you are a newcomer. Yes, if you are living here more than three years, you can try something different, but even in this case, don't go too far from the common.

Location is very important indeed. You have to be very cautious establishing a bar in place where previously was a laundry service and no bars exist around.

Regular customers are like fertilizer for every business. But how and why they are coming? If your bar is outside from the main entertainment area, only the local people are your hope. How many potential customers are living around? And, again, don't dream too much about your friends from your country, especially if you have only a bar and no accommodation to offer.

Last but not least, the family matters. As a rule, you are going to make the bar business together with your Thai wife/girlfriend, aren't you? If there appears the slightest misunderstanding or mistrust between you and your consort, you are lost.

Bottom line: expect no profit for the first year.