Is owning a bar all its cracked up to be ?

[strawberristarz16]

I'm not trying to be controversial, but looking at posts on here, alot of tourist guys go home having had a great time in Patong thinking "I'd like to own a bar there" but is it all its cracked up to be? Are they only seeing the "punters" side of the operation and not the whole story?

I guess as an owner, you're going to be at the bar every night (unless you share ownership with another guy) all night till the small hours, having to laugh and joke with the customers, whether you want to or not .. every night .. night after night .. and then there's the drinking .. as tourists we can get p***d every night, but bar owners can't, they have to stay sober and watch whats going on .. sort out problems etc etc.

As for the bgirls, as tourists we chat em up, do the deal then do the business.. night after night .. but my guess is that bar owners don't mess with their own girls .. it would probably cause too much friction and b****in amongst them.

Then of course there's the humdrum stuff like making sure its kept clean, ordering booze, food etc, paying the bills, doing the accounts.

So .. although it seems like a great idea .. is it worth it ? What does it cost to buy and own a bar in Patong? and with drinks so ridiculously cheap .. how much profit do they actually make? Finally, are there any "hidden" costs .. ie; paying protection money to locals or the police?

Maybe it is a good idea to own a bar .. or maybe its better to just live there and enjoy yourself as a long term tourist.

What do you think guys ? Maybe the bar owners on here can give us their comments ?

 

[im a loser]

After being in many a bars in Karon and talking to owners you could not get me to be in that line of work for anthing
(1) every owner I meet was a alcoholic
(2)they are pimps
(3)They dont care about BG its there buisness!

I could not live with that when you see the sadness under BG smiles it takes
something out of you.
I stayed with one girl my 5 weeks there maybe her story was bullshit I dont think so but I put her on plane back to momma and poppa and bus ride back home.
When we were in the air leaving Phuket she looked at me and said I never come come back ever to Phuket she ony worked in bar for 5 weeks.

 

[Steve E]

My experience of running a bar is neglible. My experience of being on the other side of a bar is more considerable. It does take a little talent to be a successful bar keep, making the customers feel properly welcome, understanding their foibles and odd tastes and listening to their endless drunken ramblings with good humour. I can only imagine that this is even more true in Patong where Bar Owners have to be even more on the ball to attract and keep their customers and more particularly when much of the bar activity takes place outside of their sight and control.

It would take quite a special talent to run a successful bar in Patong.
Mac

 

[neuve1]

You have to look at it as a lifestyle and not a chore of having to be in the bar everynight. The biggest problem most bar owners have is becoming their own best customer, which is why I have almost but given up drinking.

 

[Hally M]

I found it very impressing. Stevem managed it to stay sober on the november bar crawl. Think you need a lot self discipline or you maybe end like the owner of V......

 

[Just Call me AJ]

For me I would be dead within a few years..

I have an 'addictive gene' and have problems (not that I would have called them that at the time) with chemical use pretty much all my life... Here its just the drink and not owning a bar means I have the chance to stay off it..

If I owned a bar.. drunk every night.. my health would fade fast.. Plus I have 0 asshole tolerance, so cant do the required 'laughing off' that is a requisite of a job around drunks... I have been offered bars at steal prices.. Offered manager job... etc..

For me it would be a one way ticket downhill..

 

[Leftfoot]

Hey, he is not too far from normal.. You want chaos drop in the P bar some time.. Check that owner out..

 

[Willie J]

I know its to early for me to say to much about this, but I know that Im drunk most of the time whan Im on holiday and owing a bar wouldnt make a big difference on the alcoholissue. But Im only planing to stay 6 months at the time in Patong, and then go home to work and take care of my buisness in Norway.
Im also not investing much money, so if the bar goes down it wouldent be to much of a lost.

I think its all individual who turns into an alcoholic and who dont, but I think everyone have to take a look at themselves sometime and decide if what their doing is good for them or not.

We dont know how long we stay in this world, and thats why I like to follow my dream and do what makes me happy. Ive seen to many young people working their buts off building small empires to safe their retirement, only for dieing from heartatack or canser way to early. :sad:

This got a little bit off topic, but I guess you can live with it.......

Geir

 

[FAISALWAD]

Without adding anything to the initial business equation, I think most bar owners barely break even, or go under in 2 to 3 years. For one thing, the real money making season is too short. During my trip this past September, I saw endless bars with bargirls just sitting around looking pretty. Day in and out, that in itself have a negative effect on the botton line. $$$$$
For myself, the only business plan is to have other legal money making business. That way, everything combine will show a profit.

 

[Lov3]

Hi Nqtraderman,

To answer a few of your specific questions:

Agreed sharing is a good option, saves the liver but also reduces the profit. I go in about 3-4 nights a week. About the same as I used to in London.
As an owner we can do what we want, if we dont want to talk to someone we won't ! Good thing about being the boss not an employee !
Yup we dont mess with our BG's, plenty others in town and generally most Bar Owners have a steady girlfriend or a wife.
Humdrum stuff is ALL taken care of by Soi/Staff/Accountant etc ie cleaning, drinks ordering, accounts and no food to worry about! We have 3 bills a week to pay, no big deal. Our "working hours in Bunny Bar are 10pm to 2am. (No lunch!)
No protection money to pay on Phuket to locals or Police.

Agree with Geir, if someone wants to try it, or to take a few years out, it isn't all their life savings and you like sun, sea, beach & golf & diving & thai food (!!!) then give it a shot...

Matthew my partner in Bunny Bar earnt 100,000pounds plus pa for the 5 years before he left the UK, he obviously earns no where near that amount now but he wouldn't go back to his previous job/life for all the tea in China !

Me...I might but not for a few years yet !

 

[golden09]

Umm, not quite true anymore!!!!

 

[kld726]

Really, we get away with the odd bottle of whisky for the occasional party....

 

[cleric]

Interesting stuff .. how much do bars cost to buy these days ?

 

[angelboy]

Be careful very few bars make good money and most bar owners get either screwed or dissillusioned by the whole bar scene

 

[dews.drops]

Being a bar owner is not going to make you a lot of money...........but enough to live reasonably in Paradise. Living here is a lifestyle choice. I was earning about 70k per year in UK, but it was a hassle and stressful to say the least.

If you are careful with your choice of trusted staff, i.e. cashier and bar tender then the running of the bar is pretty straight forward from an owners point of view

I spend a lot of time at my bar, but I also like to go out to other bars to socialise amd its also good for business i.e. you scatch my back and I will scratch yours

G

 

[my44444]

Yes, and we must be careful about waking up in the morning as well.

 

[Joyce]

:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

 

[Lulu Panda]

:biggrinlo ok,mybe later, Im drunk but could need a massage tomorrrow, tirak :biggrinlo :biggrinlo :biggrinlo

 

[Sudhir S]

Just wondering why noone will answer the question of how much it is to buy I a bar. I am pretty interested to know as I have heard to start up a bar initially costs around 200,000 baht if you want to build yourself, get your licence or whatever they call it there and your initial stock. Is this true?

 

[dnj060]

I have bar beer for sale in Sea Dragon, PM me if your genuinely interested for details

200K wont get you much of anything in Patong these days.