Look around the region and the Internet for inspiration

When you want to learn more about businesses that you think might be successful in Cambodia, do not look to highly developed countries such as America for inspiration. The technology and infrastructure there is too far ahead of Cambodia. Instead, look to countries in Southeast Asia who are only a decade or two ahead of Cambodia, in terms of their development. Places like Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore will give you a better idea of what is possible in Southeast Asia as well as what is appealing to populations fairly similar to Cambodians.

Rely on personal relationships

If you do not have the collateral to get a loan from a commercial bank, it does not mean that you can not find credit elsewhere. Use personal relationships and previous experience to build trust between yourself and your suppliers. When BB World opened, arrangements were made with people to pay them back in two or three months. They could look at the CD business and know that I had the ability to make good on my word.

Branding is big

Your logo and name are important parts of your business, especially in the service industry where recognition is crucial. Make sure your logo is interesting to the consumer, and your name should not be complicated. When Pizza World first began, we used an Italian name that nobody understood. We decided to change the name to Pizza World so that people knew what we served. Originally T&C World was called Tea and Coffee World, but it was difficult to pronounce and remember so we shortened the name. LIFT