Big Mango Bar
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Biz 101 :: The Books

Posted by sideshowBOB | Blog, Newbies, Reader Submissions | Posted on May 10th, 2007

When we first started out looking to build a business in Thailand, I went to the book store hoping to find something along the lines of Thailand Business for Dummies but nothing like that existed. I was possibly hoping to even find a book that might share some bar owner war stories but mostly all you will find is bargirl war stories. Maybe someday this section of the blog will spawn the Thailand Business for Dummies book but in the meantime we have a few suggestions for books that may help you in your quest to move to Thailand and start a business.

This is by no means an exhausting list of all the business books out there but these tend to be the main ones you will find at the local bookstores and on Amazon. Hopefully readers will post their own comments about these books or even suggest other books they have read or find useful. Most of these books get updated every few years or so but I think it is fine to find one in a used bookstore if u r looking to save some baht.

The first book is Doyle’s Guide to Business Law in Thailand. Don’t let the title scare you since it is a pretty easy read and I found it very helpful. Doyle is a local lawyer, speaker and author. This book is not a how to per say but provides insights into employee law, the Thai VAT system and other legal issues. Given it is such a quick read I highly suggest picking up this book. Thailand’s labour laws are overly slanted to protecting the employees and this book provides a thorough overview of Thailand’s labor laws. Thailand’s labor laws tend to overprotect employees – I would go so far as to say overprotecting with a heavy unfair bias to employers. If you come from an economy with VAT then no big deal but as an American it was new to me so this book gave me some helpful insight into how a VAT based economy works. The writing can be a little tied up in legalese language but I think this book is very helpful if you are planning to do biz in Thailand. The 3rd edition is now out with some new chapters.

Start Up and Stay Up in Thailand by Roy Tomizawa. This was the second book I read and found it helpful but once again it is not a how to book. Nothing in here about how to structure things or where to go to get things done. It is stories and insights from other business men, expats and lawyers in Thailand. I think it is a good read and might even help you decide if you are really up for trying to run a business in Thailand. In some sense dealing with any business in another country or any business managing low wage employees has similarities but this book talks about them and shares a range of experiences from running businesses in Thailand. Nothing in here relates to running bars, restaurants or being in the hospitality business. There is a fairly new edition of this book out with new chapters.

Thais mean Business by Robert Cooper. When I was hunting for books before I never saw this one. The title does not appeal to me much(for obvious reasons) but Robert Cooper is also the author of Culture Shock! Thailand so he is already well known. The culture shock books don’t grab me since they make it sound like all these places are like living on Mars with the only way to survive being to learn about their culture. Anyway. I did flip through it and it looks somewhat helpful but I have not read it. Anyone else read it and care to comment?

Working with Thais by Henry Holmes, Suchada Tangtongtavy and Roy Tomizawa. Since I like Roy’s other book I figured this one should be on the list but I also have not read it. When I flip through the book it seems more about office type work and getting along with Thais in the workplace. This might be helpful to some but once again it is not a how to nor does it cover anything in the bar or restaurant world. It does look like it has some interesting chapters though. Anyone care to comment?

This is just a quick round up. I don’t think the definitive how to book is written and part of the reason is that doing business in Thailand is like chasing a moving target. I do think a nice Biz for Dummies Thailand book written from an angle of running a small business as an entrepreneur would be useful since this is the general make up of the majority of foreign owned businesses in Thailand. Hopefully with reader input this section of the blog will morph into what people find useful.