3 Catastrophic Mistakes When Starting Up a Retirement Businesses in SE Asia

When I think of all the expat teachers I have helped over the years startup their retirement businesses in SE Asia, I find it alarming at just how many of them are unaware of the serious trouble they can get in when starting up retirement businesses in SE Asia.

And, I’m here to tell you: you need to become aware of the truth!

The truth of the matter is that most of these folks are risking needless heartache. And the thing is: it just doesn’t have to be that way!

STOP and ask yourself if you want to escape this fate. Then read carefully about the three most catastrophic mistakes expat teachers make in starting up a retirement business in SE Asia and the easy things you can do to avoid them.

1. Visa Requirements

Each country in SE Asia has their own visa requirements. Even within a single country, there are different requirements depending on you’re citizenship and your purpose for being in the target country.

Get this wrong and you can face fines and deportation. Some countries will imprison people until the fines are paid. And once you’ve been deported from one country, it will make it difficult to get into other countries in the region. And in China, you will never be allowed to return.

The Visa HQ website makes it easy to find the information you need to get the correct visa, regardless of your nationality and where you live. For example, in the search terms on the front page you can input your citizenship and travel destination. On the results page, you can refine the search to where you’re currently living. The website also provides visa processing services for people living in the US, Canada and the UK. If you’re not living in their service areas, they provide embassy and consulate information for your area.

You can also do a search for your target country’s government visa website, LinkedIn Groups focused on your target country or ask travel agent that does a lot of visas for your target country to advise you.

2. Creating a Legal Entity

Setting up a legal entity in any SE Asian country has several challenges including learning the legal requirements for setting up the type of company that you require and the language barrier. Working with companies or agents with a good reputation is extremely important here.

A business friend of mine had set up his business in Hong Kong since it was more convenient to access the Chinese education market. When it came time to file his tax return, his registration company was charging him incredible amounts of money. I told him about a company that was recommended to me, Asia Business Service, and that I was happy with their services. He transferred his registered address and Company Secretary to AsiaBS and found that his costs for filing his tax return were much less than the other company.

A good place to begin is to do a search for LinkedIn groups and expat forums focused on your target country. You can find lots of information here and can ask members to recommend companies and agents in your target country.

3. Intellectual Property Protection

Intellectual property theft is so common in Asia: therefore you have to assume it will happen to you. The types of theft I have personally noticed are: menus, menu items, recipes; media and presentations; and logos.

Another friend of mine gave a presentation to a group of about 300 people. Within a week he was contacted by a friend in a city several hundred miles away who said that someone was using images from his presentation on their social media personal page and claiming the presentation material as their own.

Presentations are a useful way to generate leads for your business. However, if your ideas are stolen, there’s not a lot you can do about it after the fact. Prepare yourself by knowing the intellectual property laws in your target country. You can do some research on the Institute IP Asia website, and check out their links.  you can also do an internet search with the terms –  “your target country”+intellectual+property.

When negotiating presentation agreements you can insist on banning the use of recording devices during your presentation. Prepare your slides and handouts so that they offer some value, but not an in-depth analysis or solution on the issues you’re presenting. This way they will have to purchase your other programs to learn more. Some presenters don’t offer handouts, but rather provide pens and notepads for audience members to take notes.

No matter how much time you have spent in your target country, as an expat teacher starting up a retirement business in SE Asia, it is critical that you don’t miss any of these crucial points. I’m aware of so many examples of expats getting fined, deported, jailed, overcharged, and being cut out of the market by competitors who have stolen their proprietary business assets. The good news is: by taking each of these crucial points into consideration now, expat teachers will have a greater chance of successfully starting up retirement businesses without catastrophic consequences. From one expat teacher to another – you’ll be glad you did!

Janet M Anderson is a retirement business expert and business catalyst for expat teachers starting up retirement businesses. She is the author of the “Pre-Startup Retirement Business Workbook”. Her website is NuminAce.com.