It is not true that it takes money to make money, said presenter, Gilbreth (Gil) Brown, at the Pattaya City Expats Club meeting on Sunday, January 13. He was speaking on the topic “How to Be an Entrepreneur in Pattaya.” Nor, he said, is it true that money is the root of all evil, noting that this concept dates from the middle of the last century.
Gil, who describes himself as a “serial entrepreneur,” runs a number of business and income ventures in Pattaya. He has been in Asia for a quarter of a century and is fluent in Japanese and Thai. Gil is the founder and owner of Premier Property Management Co., which itself is the home of The Pool Doctors, Mister Cool, and a variety of other branded home services. He is also the owner of Sunrise Tacos Pattaya, and the author of several well-known self-help books.
MC for the day, Roy Albiston, invites new visitors to introduce themselves, before calling on Gilbreth (Gil) Brown to speak on the topic “How to Be an Entrepreneur in Pattaya.”
He continued by noting that not having enough money creates stress, including with one’s life partner; prevents independence; stifles curiosity; is emotionally unhealthy; and creates resentment. Further, in defining wealth, he said this is basically income minus expenses. If people feel squeezed, they tend to try to reduce expenses instead of boosting income. He believes that increasing income is the better choice.
In Gil’s view, many foreigners who come to Thailand to live have the impression that making money in Thailand is difficult; that it would mean getting involved with the police; and that not speaking Thai would be a liability. In fact, Gil said, none of these are barriers. Gil acknowledged there may be issues concerning work permits, but he said that this too was more perception than reality.
He said that there are many ways to increase one’s personal wealth, and that not all of them involve starting a business. Gil talked about two kinds of income: passive and active. Examples of passive income are royalty from books, rental income and investments in the stock market. Examples of active income are teaching, tutoring, translating, editing and starting a business.
As one gets older, he said, it is only natural to want to transition from active sources of income to more passive ones. Further, one doesn’t need a fancy business plan to start a business venture. He said that some of his business plans were written on the back of a napkin; others were designed on the fly.
Gil recommends that those who want to start a business seek advice from people with experience. However, he advised, don’t listen to sceptics and naysayers among your friends and acquaintances. You need to embrace risk, not avoid it, he stated.
Gil shares his impressive achievements with PCEC members and guests; he is the founder and owner of Premier Property Management Co., home of The Pool Doctors, Mister Cool, and a variety of other branded home services. He is also the owner of Sunrise Tacos Pattaya.
In conclusion, Gil pointed out that freelance work is very popular in the farang community. In addition, there is a severe labour shortage in Thailand. Consequently, Gil said, he has created two online marketplaces, eWork and eWorker. He said that these sites should be of strong interest to members of the PCEC. On eWork, at www.eworkthailand.com, people can find services or offer to provide services. On eWorker, at www.eworker thailand.com, those seeking employment can list their skills and employers can search for employees that have the skills they need for their business.
Member Sermsakdi updates members on forthcoming events in Pattaya and Chonburi; former chair Richard Smith looks on.
After Gil answered several questions, Master of Ceremonies Roy Albiston provided an update on upcoming events and called on Jerry Dean to conduct the Open Forum where questions are asked and answered about Expat living in Thailand; Pattaya in particular.
For more information about the many activities of the Pattaya City Expats Club, visit their website at www. pattayacityexpatsclub.com.
