How to Start Your Own Internet Cafe Business

January 28, 2008 · Filed Under General, Infotech, Musings, Gaming

With the growth of the online gaming industry and the influence of the internet in our daily lives, a lot of people are in need to be “connected”. Unfortunately, not everyone here in the Philippines has access to good hardware and a decent connection. But all of that is changing now, especially with the frenetic rise of Internet Cafes in our country.

For the local MMORPG industry, roughly 80% of our business comes from the cafes. So it’s important to have a good relationship with our “partners”.

Meanwhile, I’m certain that a lot of individuals or friends (mostly thru gaming) are considering opening up their own shop. Mind you, it’s no joke. A business is always serious.

I thought I’d share with you some practical tips on how to start (and maintain) your own Internet Cafe.

One more click, faps…

HOW TO START YOUR OWN INTERNET CAFE BUSINESS

Budget - An internet cafe with around 20 seats will push you back P700 to P1M in capital. Of course, the more seats, the more money you will need. If you don’t have the cash, you can find partners to pool in money. I believe that the optimum number of partners for this project will be 4. Expect an ROI (Return of Investment) of 1 to 2 years. Also, I would suggest against forming a business with your close friends. The chances of ruining your friendship is high. Just note that.
Location - Aside from the moolah, location is one of the KEY FACTORS FOR SUCCESS. Keywords to look for when scouting; near a school, heavy foot traffic, not too many competitors in the area. You should try to look for a place that’s easy to spot (from the customers perspective, ok?). A good monthly rental is P15,000 to P25,000 a month, more than that and you’ll have to work double time for the return.
Hardware - Try to budget P25,000 to P35,000 per PC. Remember, I always tell potential entrepreneurs to “invest for the future”. Do not scrimp out on memory, processing power or video cards. The logic here is that a) okay, so you save a few bucks but your computers will be trash in less than a year and b) you should have a faster PC than your competitors - it’s your “edge”. And hey, if you can get LCD monitors for all computers, do so! The cost savings on electricity will more than pay for itself.
Connection - again, a faster and decent connection in your cafe will be a key selling point. Don’t worry too much about marketing, if you have the best computers and the fastest connection in your area, sheer WORD-OF-MOUTH will drive customers through YOUR door. It’s a fact. So try to get the best kbps package that you can afford. Also, if you have the money, you can always get another as back-up in case your primary connection goes down.
Set-Up - if you’re a techie, you can probably do the wiring and the setup of the routers and switches yourself. But if you can’t, there are professionals who can do it for you. If you can’t find one in your province or city, grab a copy of Buy&Sell or discreetly ask the tech guy at the PC shop where you bought your hardware if he can do a little moonlighting for your new shop.
Software - if you plan to start small, you don’t have to pay to install MMORPGs. The installers are free. Just tell me if you need it delivered to your new shop and I’ll get the Sales boys on it right away. For office applications, openoffice is free and mimics Micro$oft. For a good, free billing solution, try handycafe
Other services - Food is always a good extra source of income. Check out my post on Gamer Food 101 and you’ll see what gamers need and want. Printing, Fax and Xerox (photocopying) are other good sources of supplementary revenue.
Staff - If you’ve formed a partnership, take turns with your partners manning the shop. Just make a schedule. If you’re going to hire someone, hire someone you can trust. You have to set “check and balance” systems (such as an advance billing system) to avoid fraud and theft. It may be tempting to hire an avid gamer to staff your shop but if he has friends and he let’s them play for free… you know what that will bring you. Speaking of free play, tell your all your friends that you can’t allow them to play for free. It IS a business after all. But tell them you can give them a discount. If they really are your friends, they’ll understand.

So there you have it…

Best of luck in your business. Questions? Type ‘em below.

Strength and Honor,

GM T

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Comments

43 Responses to “How to Start Your Own Internet Cafe Business”

Henie on January 28th, 2008 6:46 pm

Interesting blog entry. Thanks for the tips.

I agree with regards to not scrimping out on the hardware. Entrepreneurs who know little about computers usually make this common mistake.

The best location for a cafe is near a school/university. More than two-thirds of internet cafe users in this country are student gamers.

And yes, in all of my eleven years of internet cafe experience, Handycafe is the most convenient billing solution for cafes. No need to shout at the deaf “bantay” (who’s always busy chatting or playing DOTA) that you’re going to use one of the computers.
sylv3rblade on January 28th, 2008 8:16 pm

I’d have to say that the prediction for ROP is QUITE a stretch. Most of the best spots are already swarming with competitors w/c is why the market is already saturated and chances are, if you’re successful enough to keep a new shop open and earning, you’ll get your money back (for a 40-seat shop) in about 6 - 8 years.
GM T on January 29th, 2008 7:46 pm

Yes, near schools are a good place. But the summer season (without school) will also kill you. Just take that into consideration. But thanks for your insights. Hope to seeya again at the blog, Henie

GM T
Henie on January 30th, 2008 8:08 am

Yes, cafe near schools suffer on summer. Some offer discounts and promos during this season. But cafes near universities are still loaded with student customers because of summer classes. The only off peak period for these cafes are on days where most students go home from their respective provinces like on holy week, christmas, all soul’s/saint’s day, etc.
GM Tristan’s “How To” Articles | gmtristan.com on February 15th, 2008 6:38 pm

[…] How to Start Your Own Internet Cafe Business […]
andy on February 26th, 2008 12:43 pm

I have a 4 months old internet cafe but it seems that unregistered internet cafes are viable because they are giving half the price.. what do u think? I should kill them all?

lol…..
RomaR on March 5th, 2008 9:35 am

hmmm… interesting… im planning to have my own cafe…. another thing… make sure the aircon is cool… i mean Really cool…. =) mas magnda kung meron din kainan sa gild and a table beside the unit… para di na hassle!
Why Filipinos Love Cute MMORPGs (by GM Tristan) | Waukster: Free MMORPG, Ragnarok Online, Ragnarok Online 2, Perfect World, Gadgets, & Cosplay! on March 17th, 2008 1:29 pm

[…] play them on most computers 2 years old or older. This simply means that there are more homes and Internet cafes that can run these types of games, hence their popularity. The same argument can be told for […]
BM Jolan on March 25th, 2008 4:06 am

I am a Staff of an internet cafe, organizing how to market this business, we have 8 major branches and almost 15 franchise. I am in 3 years marketing a cafe, but I always fail to market and reach our minimum sales per day when summer comes, does anyone here knows how to market on summer and to reach our minimum sales everyday?
Internet Cafe Must Haves | gmtristan.com on April 3rd, 2008 1:52 pm

[…] you and your partners decide on your cafe’s business plan, it’s time to consider what the customers need and want. Needs are basic - connection, […]
icafenegosyo on April 23rd, 2008 10:03 am

Hi,

It just so happened that i came across your website. My company helps you to setup your Internet Cafe by giving you packages which are very very affordable and reasonable. For example, you can own an icafe package with 5 units for just P35K. Or P61K for a gaming package. This is one of the best lucrative business in the Philippines that you can have. Still craving for details? Just visit my personal website at http://ariseo.110mb.com

Thank you!
grifterboy on April 30th, 2008 7:24 pm

i want to start an internet business,i am planning to start with just 10 units of ; pentium 4 2.4 GHz,40GB HDD,256 MB SDRAM / DDRAM,DVD-ROM,64MB VGA, sound card, floppy drive,17″ monitor,Bnew CPU casing, multimedia speakers, AVR,keyboard and optical mouse. is this specs. ok for me to start the business?,they sell it at P14,500/unit,what more do i need to start my business?my over-all budget is P180,000 will that be enough?
GM T on April 30th, 2008 8:31 pm

What’s the video card? That’s the most important thing. If you don’t plan to have any other costs such as rent or remodelling, the P180k will be fine. But for me, 10 units is not enough and will be hard to recoup your investment.

I suggest at least 20 units
icafenegosyo on May 2nd, 2008 7:15 am

grifterboy, the specs that you have mentioned are all outdated! In the internet cafe and gaming industry nowadays, you must at least 1 GIG of memory, and no less than 256VIDEO. The specs you stated are far away. We recommend to use AMD ATHLON XP 2.2GHZ, 1 GIG KINGSTONE MEMORY, 512 VIDEO and most importantly your Hardisk must be SATA not the IDE type. Usually, IDE hdisk are the one available in the market. We can help you, just give us a call at Tel. No.: 774-68-74 (mon-fridays) and don’t forget to say that you came from gmtristan.com so that we can give P2,000.00 pesos reward to the owner of this site as soon as we closed the deal.

We hope we were able to help you on your endeavor.

Note: You can also email us at icafenegosyo@yahoo.com
Marlie on June 27th, 2008 6:45 pm

we are planning to start with 10 units of AMD Athlon 64 x2 4600-1, Asus motherboard, 1 GB memory, 160 GB hard disk, 7300 GT VGA Card 256 MB specs. Is this the right set up? what’s the right specs? I’m also confused with the different plans being offered by the servers. Do i need to subscribe to a plan that can cater to 10 units or just 2-4 units? Do i also need a licensed windows for all the units?

Still want for more details.
GM T on June 28th, 2008 2:07 am

Your video card is not that good. consider getting something more decent. By “plan” do you mean ISP or broadband? or is it a networking thing?

Suggest you go for licensed windows too
Marlie on June 30th, 2008 10:29 pm

Thanks for the reply.

I mean the Broadband.
wowoo on July 4th, 2008 6:57 am

hi im really just starting to learn this business, like many others, studying the movement of this internet cafe gigs. so i quote GM T said “I suggest at least 20 units” why is that? sorry to ask a simple question, but im probing for insights. like i said im still studying this business. what is exactly the starting package? pls email me. thanks and i like this topic… very interesting indeed…God bless!
Sheila on July 16th, 2008 10:39 pm

Hello,
I am planning to have same business . Our plans just for 10PC and the budget is P100T only.. Do you think this is possible. Our place is a village where there is a small public elementary.
Please email details that could help me to learn more.
Louis on August 2nd, 2008 11:10 am

this is a nice topic.. plan ko rin mag start ng internet cafe.. na may computer repair service. kaso medyo limited kame sa budget.. ok lang kaya if hindi muna ako mag gaming cafe? cguro chat/webcam muna? tpos 10 pc’s? and kung mag gaming cafe ako P100k po b is enough? thnx a lot ^^
GM T on August 2nd, 2008 6:50 pm

I would recommend that you spend for the latest hardware if you plan to go for gaming. Customers will also look for the faster connection and the faster videocard/graphics performance.

To answer your question, it’s ok to start without gaming first but make sure that you’re prepared to invest…. P100k is not enough.

Hope this helps. Thanks for visiting and thanks for the comments

GM T
tina samala on August 8th, 2008 12:52 pm

good morning, i’m tina, just send you this msg. because i’m very interested to have my owm internet cafe, we already have the location but i know it costs too much to build our own, can you give some advice how to start with it? how much do i need for a start? i will be waiting for your reply, thank you very much, have a good day…
trilife143 on August 22nd, 2008 5:25 pm

these ideas are nice, nagkaroon tuloy ako ng idea… we also have an internet cafe, 10units. I can suggest ENIGMA here at Angeles City for cheap prices of units. We got our units at 15k each w/ specs of AMD Sempron 2ghz 1gig memory, 256 nvidia ge force video card, 160 sata hdisk. try nyo dun, mura tlga mga parts…
Rebecca A. Bowns on August 25th, 2008 10:31 am

Already own an 1800 sq foot building. Large lighted parking lot adjacent to building. Extra easy access from main road. We live next door to an elementary school and the closest highschool is 2.5 kilometers away in Ivisan Municipality. Closest internet cafe (that I’m aware of) is approximately 6 kilometers away.

Problem: I live in a small barangay about 10 kilometers south of Roxas City, Capiz. My personal internet access is through Globe Visibility but it’s too SLOW for a cafe. (53.6KBPS)

I also subscribe to PLDT Wireless Land Line, but there is no internet access available using that connection.

So, how do I start an internet cafe with high speed computers?

Sincerely,

Rebecca Bowns

Cudian, Ivisan, Capiz 5805
GM T on August 25th, 2008 4:35 pm

Hi Rebecca,

I suggest you call PLDT, Smart or any of the telcos servicing your area. Ask them when hi-speed will be available.

Unfortunately, you CANNOT run an Internet cafe with 53KBPS. It’s not just possible. You’ll just spark the ire of your potential customers.

Hope this helps
SyndromE on August 25th, 2008 5:43 pm

GM tristan pwede ba akong humingi ng CD or mga poster pag punta ako sa LU.?para sa shop na tinatayo ko thx!
PrettyPiglet on August 29th, 2008 10:09 pm

hi! ask ko lang if ano ba mga trip na laro ng mga gamers ngayon? ok na ba yung 1mpbs for 8 pc pag online games? bumili ako ng mga cd na pirata. hehehehe… kelangan ba tlga genuine mga cd? tsaka yung binili ko na 8 na pc mga amd athlon den 256mb memory and 64vcard.

salamat!!!
GM T on August 30th, 2008 3:10 am

Your PC is too slow to play current games po. I also suggest genuine titles. Say no to piracy. If you put online games such as ours

http://gmtristan.com/games

It’s never illegal.

Hope this helps
PrettyPiglet on August 31st, 2008 4:32 am

hi! thanks so much! magdodownload ako nyan! ill buy genuine na din para walang kaba at takot na mahuli btw about sa mga legal stuff. sa province kasi ako nagsesetup ng internet cafe. ano ba mga kelangan na clearance or mga papers na para maoperate yung business na ganon? salamat ulit!
fornetti on August 31st, 2008 10:37 pm

I do not believe this
jai on September 4th, 2008 10:31 am

every pc ba my tig iisang windows na operating system?
GM T on September 13th, 2008 1:39 am

It should. And it should be genuine
dsecond on September 13th, 2008 1:53 pm

hi! may internet cafe ako. ang problema ko halos everyday napapasok ng virus ang mga PC’s ko. pwede ko ba maiwasan ito or is there any gadget or software na mag block ng mga viruses? yong bang data protector na gadget ay epektibo to protect my PC’s laban sa mga virus?
Thanks!
GM T on September 14th, 2008 12:02 am

i suggest AVG Free or Deep Freeze. Google them to see more and download the test or free versions.

Thanks,
GM T
jojo on September 19th, 2008 9:02 pm

Hi, Plano ko kasi mgstart ng internet cafe pag-uwi ko. Ang plano ko ay 15-20 pc at 1 server.Mga low power consumption lahat at at all-in-one na cya. Bale ang 1 pc pwede s surfing chatting at online gamings. Ano bng specs ng CPU ang dpat kong bilhin at mgkano kya ang budget ko d2?tanx hope ur rply so0n..
Sheila on September 19th, 2008 9:45 pm

Hello … This is my second post..

Now we already started the business.. over all capital for 10 units plus the renovations and everything like mayor’s permit too P350,000.. with 4 in one HP officejet … for a start we use only globelines dsl 2mbps and its working fast in our area.. such its only residencial subscription.. each PC cost only P20T

CPU1 BOM Based on PC Express Actual Quotation

CPU Brand/Description
Processor Athlon 64 X2 4800 (2.5GHz) Dual Core
Motherboard MSI K9NGM4-F nForce MCP68/AM2/DDR2 533
Memory Kingston 1GB DDR2 PC667
Video Card NA
Sound Card NA
Hard Disk Seagate 80GB SATA Hard Drive
Casing Blue AI PC-511P25FAN BK Casing
Power Supply NA
Monitor LG Collins 16” W16425 Flatron LCD
Keyboard A4Tech KBS-720 A Shape Black Keyboard
Mouse A4Tech OP-6200 Optical Black Mouse
OS Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
Headphones Multimedia Headset Black

LAN Cable CDR-King UTP51 Cat5e 3meters
AVR Radius 4 Socket 500W Metal Case Black AVR
Individual Computer Price

Additional
Printer HP F4185 3-in-1 (H21-540, H22-620)
Webcam A4Tech PK635M PC Camera USB
DVD-Writer Asus 20x DRW2014L1 lightscribe
HUB Dlink 16 Port Switch (10/100MBPS)

If you are near Cainta, Pasig.. we can give service of course with fee..

But to open an internet cafe it is the best you are urself be the technician
GM T on September 20th, 2008 12:56 am

Sheila has a point. Some comments lang on Sheila’s specs

1. Built-in video card - may slowdown on some very new games
2. 80 GB HD may be too small considering the amount of space that games consume now

The other specs and the connection are ok.

BEst of luck in your business!

GM T
Sheila on September 20th, 2008 7:10 am

About of our spec.
I think it is much higher spec for me.. cause really you don’t have to invest much that are not needed .. As what we’ve experienced since we are new in this business , our units are working good and fast no complaints.. My clients agony only that we don’t have much updated games they like..

We just learned also that we should have bought lower cost keyboard and mouse.. since if those cheap keyboard will be destroyed its ok because you can buy many than buying the expensive one ..example (P150 keyboard .. 5 more of this you’ll have then than investing a P750).. Clients specially kids who are using the units for games they are the one who don’t care and will destroy the mouse and keyboards.. And also not all PC needs to have web cams ..only few needing it… so its better not to mount and have to hide the web cams ..place it there when its needed…

Keep in mind that you should investing more on the parts inside the cpu like the motherboard , processor etc….
Sheila on September 20th, 2008 7:17 am

GMT.. yes we are using the deep freeze.. and its so cool .. we dnt have to worry of viruses and erasing files being uploaded by clients and don’t have to erase cookie files and others/….
prince on September 23rd, 2008 8:38 am

hello,plz help me how to start business esp.in interbet cafe.the requirements that i nid.esp.in permit,license etc.tnx.can u email me at princerazlee25@yahoo.com,we plan to built intenet cafe in our barangay.plz.help me tnx
allyson on September 23rd, 2008 6:46 pm

I.m planning to open an internet cafe business.
PLS help how to start this kind of business…
give me an idea about hiring a technician,how much is the reasonable payment for the technican per pc?
sheila on September 23rd, 2008 7:14 pm

If I were you don’t hire technicians… you should know it by yourself or the person you have trust and will give you honest informations…
Technicians.. hmmm just I don’t trust them not all yet like some don’t give out all information you have to know .. Hmmm and specially you have to be watchful of the specs of the units they will give such some give specs that would lead you to easy changing the PC and always needing technicians…

Just use deep freeze and AVG …

the connections are so simple no need for others will set-up.. if you are globe subscriber add only a hub such their modem is already a modem-router…
goodluck
arlen on September 24th, 2008 9:41 am

hello,

we are planning to start an internet cafe in our place. could you kindly advise if the following specs are good enough? I just listed what I think are the most important features…

AMD Sempron LE 1200, 2.1 GHZ + Processor (S940)
512 MB GEFORCE 9400GT, 3D Video Graphic Card
1 GB DDR2 MEMORY PC 667, Kingston

Also, are LCD monitors preferable than flat screens?