Thailand is a wonderful place to stay and live. Some westerners who lost hope of finding a good job over there decide to start their own businesses. Well, it is quite difficult as Thailand is the country of absolutely different culture and traditions. So starting your own business in Thailand first of all you should get acquainted with its laws and regulations. As the rule foreigners arriving in Thailand do not speak Thai, have no idea of specific aspects of local market and sector they are going to invest in. So these aspects are extremely important. At the same time if you are a good specialist in a sphere it doesn’t mean you would succeed in Thailand. Well, I’m not trying to discourage you. My aim is to warn you. It is wonderful to travel around Thailand. But it has nothing in common with reality of living there and doing business.
For the first time it would be much easier for you to do a business along with a Thai partner. But please do not do anything without thinking. Plan your business down to the last detail. You should take into account that the competition is pretty high in Thailand. It means that quite often expats prefer to run bars and restaurants. Keep it in mind if you decide to launch another bar.
Probably it may surprise you but your charisma and manners are important in Thailand. Local people are pretty attentive to these traits. So if you are not easy going person probably it would be a bit difficult for you to run business here. Don’t act as if you are smarter than the Thais. It would hardly attract attention to you and your business. And please avoid underestimating costs of your business. Unfortunately some expats tend to think that it is cheap to run business in Thailand. Well, it is a mistake to think so. Good luck!
Set Your Own Rules 
I’m a new foreign business owner in Thailand, and I think you’ve given some great advice here. I agree with you that it’s very important to realize how competitive the foreign-owned restaurant and bar business is in Thailand. Starting a business takes a lot of money plus time to understand every legal process, whether you’re in your home country or abroad. I didn’t do it alone; I had a Thai business partner whom I really trusted. I also had a very good lawyer. You can find many of the basic steps online and there are also plenty of resources to support a potential business owner in carrying out these steps. Business owners definitely have to deal with the Department of Business Development at the beginning of the process. Later on, an owner has to go get Thailand company registration for the business. After registering the company, you’re more than half way there.