Franchise / "Low Risk" Businesses in Taiwan (Brainstorming)

I’m going to be in Taiwan for a while, and I’d like to start up a something. I have plenty of “zany” business ideas that I’ll follow through to one extent or another, but I’d like to have my own “cash cow” so to speak. Something that gives me enough money and time to play with all my ideas. Teaching English is cool, I actually like it a lot, but I know I could be spending my time doing something else more… lucrative.

I wouldn’t mind running a tea shop, 7/11, Mc Donald’s or Subway (;)). What would some of the “safer” things to do be?

If anyone’s interested, I found the Taiwan International Fanchise website:

Website: www.tcfa.org.tw

Joining me and open a ‘Belgian waffle’ stand … :slight_smile:

Sounds good to me. I could probably keep myself in business with just the waffles I’d eat… Not sure how the math would work though.

I’m serious … PM me

[quote=“miltownkid”]
I could probably keep myself in business with just the waffles I’d eat… Not sure how the math would work though.[/quote]
The last socialist government in Ontario used to lower its annual deficit by giving itself loans and selling its own assets to itself, listing the proceeds as revenue.

It worked for them, why wouldn’t it work for you?

Taco Bell. You might even be able to get distribution rights for Taiwan if you’re the first in the country to open a franchise. Probably not low risk, though.

There are a lot of franchises out there … but most start at like 1 million USD$ capital needed for the rights in Taiwan … not doable

I was thinking of the Taiwan ones. Like some of the tea/breakfast shops, chain schools, 7/11 (can’t be 1 million US, maybe a couple hundread thousand or so) etc.

Taco Bell would rock, I’d eat there at least twice a week…
That’s one franchise that could do with being global! :wink:
I just love Gorditas and Chalupas…
Been too long since I had one, or two, or five…
Anyhow, selling food isn’t what I’d consider being the fast way to big money, but hey, good luck.
Oh, and I don’t mind the odd waffle :wink:

Tell that one to Ronald. :wink:

I was in a Hot Pot shop last week that my wife said she thought made about 1,000,000 (net) per month and maybe about 500,000 profit. This was a hole in the wall place in Yonghe. A friend of mine is working on opening his third restaurant, just one of them is making him… well a lot more than teaching English pays per month. Even if you could get 10 hours a day billed at 1,000/hour. And now he wakes up at 3pm everyday.

Don’t knock food. Eveyone needs it.

What is the deal with Taco Bell? I mean, aren’t they owned by Pepsi along with Pizza Hut and KFC, which are both here. I thought for sure there’d be at least one little Taco Bell in Taipei. Well, I’d eat there at least twice a week too, hope someone opens one.

Anyway, back to topic. My father-in-law always said that the safest business you can open in Taiwan is a women’s clothes store or a bakery. Low operating costs, and lots of demand.

Hey, I’ll come work for you if you open a bakery, I’m pretty good at making bread and I can make some really nice Swedish cakes :wink:
My cinnamon rolls are even famous among my friends in the UK, they never last more than 5 minutes :stuck_out_tongue:
And I guess you’re right, McD has made silly money, although I never eat there if I can avoid it, which luckily I can 99.9% of the time…

Try and get a bit of advice from Jlick, which has been thru opening a franchise here.

Low risk business usually come with relatively low rewards.

Jlick would most likely not be amused, if 2 subbers opened up across the street from his establishment, neither very happy if another subway opened up 100 meters down the street either. The same goes if another food franchise such as Pizza Hut or MCD’s set up shop literally next door.

There are always risks.

I’ll be harrasing him soon enough :smiley:.

Yeah, but like you said, higher risks should give higer rewards. I’d like something low risk that would (eventually) be stable money.

Someone the other day said I should open an English school in China. I say “Yeah, but it seems like you need to know the system or know someone who does. I’d be risky.” All he said was, yes, but if it worked out, you’d make stacks of money. If you wait until it’s not risky you won’t make anything.

Them women clothing stores do seem to do alright, but I see them come and go rather quickly. A tea shop in the right location seems to do really well (those ones that sell milk teas and stuff.) As would a Belgian Waffle shop :wink:.

[quote=“miltownkid”]

Them women clothing stores do seem to do alright, but I see them come and go rather quickly. A tea shop in the right location seems to do really well (those ones that sell milk teas and stuff.) As would a Belgian Waffle shop :wink:.[/quote]

Women’s clothes? How many of them are failing you think?

Tea shop? How many of them are already spread around? In a 200m circle in my neighbourhood there are six are more and they only charge 25 NT$ … you need to make how many teas each day to make good money?

Bakeries are spreading as wildfire … what do they bake? Frozen greasy industrial junk … and people eat that :s

The same goes for breakfast stores … I count about ten around here.

Learn to do high-end cake decorating for Taiwanese with more money than sense (or kitchen skills). Even in the US, cakes are big money…in Taiwan, where there’s no one doing them, you could clean up.

Open a breakfast store with a twist: Healthy breakfasts. Or are the Taiwanese too fond of their greasy, artery clogging breakfasts?

Well this too is now catching on, I know a few of them personally … and I must say that the industrial bakeries do a good job on mass producing decorated cakes … but it’s not given to everybody the art of decorating

You should do something you know about or just work with Belgian waffle man.

What about opening a healthy-style western food restaurant. It’s really hard to find affordable non-greasy food in Taipei. Lots of people I know whinge about this.