Most of last week was spent hitting the pavement in search of an office for my new company. And luckily I found a decent cheap one, surprisingly enough from craigslist's Bangkok page. Not many people know about Craig's List here, but one Thai guy who went to school in Portland did, and now that he is a real estate agent in Bangkok, that was one of the first places he turned to advertise.
In any case, I signed the papers for the lease today an paid a three-month deposit. The office is in a small, low-rise building near the Sam Yan subway station. It's not to far from the main business district of Silom, but it's on a side street, so the rent was much lower. It's still very convenient to the subway, though, so I guess I will need to buy a frequent rider card for the MRT now.
As one friend in the US noticed, I am skipping the whole "work from the garage" phase and jumping right into the "spending money" phase. And I guess he's right. After working at home for most of a year now, I want to have my own office. Preferably one that doesn't have a bed or a TV nearby! Plus, I really do hope to hire some people early next year, so we will all need a place to work together.
So now my company has officially been registered, and I have an office to move into when I return from the US in January. Just some more paper work for taxes and for work permits, and I will be good to go. I've also already been talking to a few people who might be interested in joining me next year, so hopefully I will be able to build a good, small team quickly.
And all the time, in the back of my head, there is a little voice that is asking what the heck I am doing and why am I spending all of this money in such a risky venture. It was the same voice that was trying to talk me out of coming to Thailand in the first place, so I mostly ignore it. There are still too many things to do anyway!
Well done Stuart. Just make sure you're not in there all the time. Hope 2007 is great for you.
Wow! This is exciting news! I am happy for you. Best of luck with your new company. I would love to hear more about it. Will you hire me? :)
WOW Stuart!
That is GREAT! I think I would love to come be part of the team also! *s* I think it is a progressive step to skip the work at home stage and I am sure like the lotus it will bloom into something new and beautiful! Cheers!!!
Kristy
Just a quick word to say that I still thoroughly enjoy reading about your life in Thailand as I hope to semi-retire early with my wife to Chiangrai. Would love to hear more about your company as it progresses.
I find that if you mix sour milk with a cereal that contains a lot of sugar, you don't notice that the milk is sour until after you finished eating.
So, did you tell us about your business yet? Perhaps I skipped that post. Looking forward to your next. It's the 15th of January, so hopefully you'll be back in BKK soon.