But what business are you going to do with $20?<\/p>\n
When you have excess funds, you can take risks, and I think that’s the common issue with people living in America. There’s no room to take risks because there are no additional funds.<\/p>\n
Had I tried to have a business in the States, the cost of living<\/a> might have kept me from taking the leap. So the fact that I was able to not have my daily costs be such a burden \u2014 my cost of living<\/a> is 10% or 20% of my income at this point in Thailand, it’s very minimal \u2014 allows me to fully invest in the company, to scale up more advertising, and just to do it in the first place.<\/p>\n You also broaden your horizon dramatically when living abroad<\/a> because you start to see other cultures and how they do things versus how we do things.<\/p>\n I got into dropshipping while traveling the world<\/p>\n Before I moved abroad, I had a sales job in the US \u2014 I was doing B2B sales and door-to-door sales in DC. I was recruiting and had a team of guys that I was managing. Then I discovered meditation and wanted to study it full-time, so I left the country to go study full-time in South Korea.<\/p>\n A friend of mine was traveling all over the world, doing speaking events and posting them on Facebook. I messaged him one day and asked what he was doing. He said he did high-ticket dropshipping<\/a>, and he had a course. I think it was $1,000 at the time, so I bought his course in 2019 and have been running my store since then.<\/p>\n Dropshipping is a business model<\/a> where you have a website, and when the customer places an order from you, you go to the manufacturer, give the order details to the manufacturer, and the manufacturer ships directly to the customer.<\/p>\n High-ticket dropshipping is items over $700; expensive stuff like saunas, jacuzzis, hot tubs, the list goes on.<\/p>\n I live abroad because the better cost of living helps me invest in my business<\/p>\n I’ve been in Thailand<\/a> since December 2025, so I’ve only been here for four months. I kind of just pop in and stay in a country for one to three months a year.<\/p>\n I make those decisions probably about a month early. I have no roots, so it’s easy to go wherever the wind blows whenever I get an itch.<\/p>\n When you bounce around, Thailand is convenient<\/a> because all the flights are there, and a lot of people are there.<\/p>\n Garrido has been in Thailand for about four months.\u00a0<\/p>\n primeimages\/Getty Images<\/p>\n There are two other major perks in Thailand.<\/p>\n One is the currency exchange. I’m earning in US dollars<\/a> and spending in Thai Baht, so the buying power locally far surpasses what you could get in America for that same dollar.<\/p>\n The other is just the general cost of living and quality of life.<\/p>\n The cost of living is way less, so you can get more with much less spending.<\/p>\n About 14 years ago, I was living in McLean, Virginia. I had a one-bedroom, and I was spending $1,970 a month in rent.<\/p>\n In Thailand, I pay about $1,700 a month, but I’m staying in a two-bedroom hotel suite, about 800 square feet. Every day they clean, there’s a gym here, a pool, and all that good stuff.<\/p>\n Convenience is off the chain here. Whatever you want, you can have it delivered by bike in 20 minutes.<\/p>\n There are pros and cons to starting a business abroad, but it was the right decision for me<\/p>\n<\/p>\n