Just like any other country, there are pros and cons to starting a business in Bali. Sometimes Australians get carried away by a dream that is likely not quite as marvelous as they first thought. Starting a business in any country is a challenge. If you decide to go ahead, make sure you consult a professional digital agency to get advice on web design and professional SEO so your website designer can set up the right kind of website for you.
Most of the pros and cons of setting up a business in Bali relate to the different laws and the different lifestyle, both of which most Australians don’t understand completely unless they have lived in Bali for several years and gone out of their way to understand the culture. If you’ve only gone there on holiday a few times, you won’t necessarily understand what it’s all about and how different it can be from back home.
Pros
- Costs of setting up a business can be cheaper
- Setting up a business has now been made easier and the process takes less time than it used to.
- Wages are cheaper so running costs will not be as expensive as in Australia
- The people are friendly and welcoming
- The lifestyle is less stressful
- It’s not too far from Australia for visits home
- For a business that is tourist orientated, there are plenty of tourists
Cons
- While it may be legally easier to set up a business in Bali now than it used to be, it is not as cheap as it once was
- While services such as building seem cheaper, because of the laidback Bali lifestyle, it is not as fast or as efficient
- There is much misinformation on the Internet and you are not likely to know if what you read is quite true
- The Balinese culture is different and unless you understand it fully you are likely to get some not so good surprises
- If you have contacts in the political or legal realm, it is likely to be easier to set up a business
- While Balinese people are charming and welcoming, they are mostly living in poverty and will do almost anything to make money, even if it’s not quite honest. This is no different to most other countries. If you trust everyone implicitly you are likely to be disappointed
- When you don’t understand the language or the culture it is easy to get into difficulties legally and in other areas too
- It may be difficult to find staff that are highly educated
Many people have been very successful in setting up a business in Bali, others have found it rather more difficult, so it will pay you to approach this challenge very carefully.