The Myanmar Entrepreneur

So apparently Murphy's law has been occurring one time after another... In renovation there are several phases and these phases you can expect to run into MANY problems. 1) Demolition and hacking Well, this seems to be the only step with no problems as it doesn't require much skills and motor coordination.  2) Project Management Most local contractors does not know what is project management, the basics of housekeeping and no common sense. Some of the people started painting when the wires have yet to be pulled, then some started doing the door when the whole frame is not even completed. While those are just some of the examples, there are many more which my partner has to oversee when I am not around.  3) Straight Lines Apparently ruler is a very expensive thing here in Myanmar. The workers here does not know how to cut things properly. This is apparent in most renovations that I have observed in many many showrooms, restaurants and residential areas. ...

From this initial stage of asking for quotes, you can truly differentiate friend from foe, people and companies whom you can decide if you should be working together in the long run. For a 2 storey approximately 1500 square feet premises, we got several quotations which can blow your mind... Do keep in mind, we are just doing minor alteration, painting, wiring and a single partition with glass doors. In Singapore, that usually costs around USD10,000 or if you are a newbie, USD 20,000. But over here... 1) USD 50,000 quoted by a supposed "friend". I do not know if he also charged us on a foreigner basis. 2) USD 35,000 quoted by a company that does major renovations for franchise cafes. This is on a professional basis, and by far the fairest quote as they do have a certain standards in Myanmar. 3) USD 15,000 quoted by a company which is headed by a malaysian guy. Of course we jumped at this. After the down payment, cashflow is really limited to do any other thing here....

After the incorporation, comes the hardest part of all businesses... To find the location for a shop front. It took us 15 viewings and 3 months to finally settle on a location. On top of that, rental is paid up front in advance of 12 months! Yes, 12 months, this is probably the only country with this practise. It will probably kill off half your cashflow right at the get go. That is also not forgetting the 1 month commission for the agent. This is my take away in order of rental cost, if you are still interested to venture further into the fatherland.  1) Proximity to Downtown. The closer you are to downtown, the more expensive the rent regardless of condition of place. By downtown, I would take the Strand Hotel as a benchmark of the epic centre. Because it's the most expensive hotel in Yangon, and surrounding it, all the highend burn a hole in your wallet kind of restaurants.  2) Furnishing The better furnished locations will of course cost more, ceteris paribus. ...

And so it begins.  Armed with a wad of cash and approximately 6 years 10 months of Myanmar experience, I decided to set up shop in Myanmar. All on the basis of trust in the people and trust in my instinct on the first movers advantage.  Known as one of the worst places to do business, Myanmar is indeed a challenging ground, but in difficulties, there lies opportunities. And what's there to lose when I am still single? More over, my business partner is willing to be based in Myanmar. Among the business community, we always have this invisible rule; If you can't be based there, don't do business there. This is what every businessman who make or break have come to learn in the fatherland. Reason being: 1) The locals are very lazy, they only work, when they see the boss around. 2) Dishonesty among the locals are growing as income gap widens, have heard of horror stories whereby office equipment are all stolen by the employees. 3) Foreigner bias. Yes, the countr...