BIO: Chatchai Unrasmeewong is a financial advisor at FINLAB, a financial advisor group that helps clients reach their financial goals.
STORY: Being a board game enthusiast, Chatchai decided to partner with a friend and open a board game cafe when he was in university. His target was students at local universities, so he picked a location next to one of the universities. The cafe did well but after one month schools went for a 3-month holiday break and the business could not withstand such a long break.
LEARNING: Always sign a shareholder’s agreement when getting into a business partnership. Research your market thoroughly before launching your business.
“Spend enough time studying the market if you want to run a successful business.”
Chatchai Unrasmeewong
Guest profile
Chatchai Unrasmeewong is a financial advisor at FINLAB, a financial advisor group that helps clients reach their financial goals.
He has a bachelor’s degree in finance from Thailand’s Kasetsart University. For two years after graduation, he worked as an assistant to the president of a private company. Then he pivoted to pursue his dream job of being a flight attendant. At that time, he also started his first business, which was a board game cafe.
His passion is to apply his experience from past careers, knowledge, and abilities to advise people to understand their finances of life and achieve their financial goals.
Worst investment ever
Chatchai has always been very passionate about board games, and when he was in university, he decided to make money out of this hobby. He approached a good friend and asked him to partner with him and open a board game cafe. Chatchai borrowed about $2,000 from his mom to fund the partnership.
Chatchai did some market research for a month and found a location near a university that he felt would be perfect for the cafe because he wanted to target students. The first month of business was great, and the students loved the cafe. Schools were then closed for three months, and it was a struggle. When schools reopened, Chatchai had to market the cafe all over again, and it was a struggle for him to keep the business afloat. His business partner had gotten a full-time job, so he wasn’t helping much.
After a few months, Chatchai’s business partner suggested closing the business because they were making losses. Chatchai agreed, albeit reluctantly.
Lessons learned
- Do thorough market research to understand the market first before you launch your business.
- Have a shareholder’s agreement, especially when partnering with friends.
Andrew’s takeaways
- There’s nothing wrong with writing down a shareholder’s agreement between partners and agreeing upon what to do should something happen to one of the partners, as well as your plan for your shares.
- When opening a retail business, choose your location wisely because it could make or break your business.
Actionable advice
Before you make any investment, you need to spend enough time studying the market because you won’t run a successful business without that knowledge.
No. 1 goal for the next 12 months
Chatchai’s number one goal for the next 12 months is to use his knowledge to educate and encourage other entrepreneurs.
Parting words
“Learn from our worst investment mistakes, and you’re going to be better.”
Chatchai Unrasmeewong
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