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| Thread ID: 83146 | 2007-09-20 23:22:00 | Running an internet cafe. | jason_f90 (3544) | PC World Chat |
| Post ID | Timestamp | Content | User | ||
| 593365 | 2007-09-20 23:22:00 | I've been thinking about setting up an internet/gaming cafe near Canterbury Uni as I've noticed there aren't any close by. (The nearest is in Church Corner and their computers are an absolute s***house) I know a **** load of uni students who go all the way to the City in the weekends for overnight gaming, so I'm thinking there may be some potential behind this idea. I've seen some units close by available for rent though there is always the possibility of running it in my garage lol? Probably looking at 12 computers to start up with. Here are vaguely the pc specs I'd be looking at getting: AMD Athlon64 X2 Dual Core 4400+ CPU (AM2) Albatron K8NF4X-AM2 Motherboard 2x 1024Mb Adata DDR2-800 Memory Module Palit 8600GT PCIE Video Card, 256Mb DDR3 80Gb Seagate 7200 SATA Hard Drive 19" Viewsonic VA903B LCD Flat Panel, Black Some generic case + generic PSU (No need for an optical drive?, external drive ftw!) ^Anyway, all those for around $1300 a machine. I'd imagine I'll have to get a pretty high end and reliable server to complement that. What about software licenses and so on? I'm thinking of using OpenOffice instead of MS Office to cut down a bit on costs. Any sort of internet cafe guard apps you would recommend? Maxnet have a business ADSL plan FS UP/FS Down with a 50gb data cap @ $135/month. Is that sufficient for the kind of set up I plan on running? (P2P traffic and most downloads would be disabled) I'm pretty green when it comes to business as you can tell so I'd appreciate any advice or suggestions you could dish out. |
jason_f90 (3544) | ||
| 593366 | 2007-09-20 23:42:00 | What sort of internet cafe would you operate? Some focus purely on internet, office software and printing while others provide games and such. The position and types of people around might have a strong affect on how this should be done. It sounds like the gaming market might be your main audience here. Don't think yet about computer hardware. Think about business and the logistics of managing an internet cafe. Assume that you can provide computer terminals at an initial cost of about $1500 per seat and work from there. You will need to take account of furnishing the shop, power costs, internet costs (your usage will be very high - 50GB is unlikely to be enough). Of course there would also be the cost of your time managing the whole place. If you've made decisions on computer hardware and haven't decided yet on how to finance this venture then you probably shouldn't go in to business at all. At least do enough research on the area and attempt to gauge the demand that would be present for these services. You need to be sure that the business will become profitable and have the finances to withstand a loss while the business becomes established. Best of all, speak to somebody with experience in business. Please Note: IANAB (I Am Not A Businessman). I'm speaking only from common sense and the little reading I've done on the topic. |
TGoddard (7263) | ||
| 593367 | 2007-09-21 00:00:00 | Yeah it's mainly going to be a gaming environment though users can surf the net, print stuff, etc . I'm expecting around 30%-40% utilisation rates of the computers during weekdays and around 60%-80% during weekends . 50GB is the largest plan they have on offer :K, how much do you think I will need? As for furniture, I'd probably go with the cheapo ones you get in K-mart; nothing too flash but gets the job done at the same time . Regarding power costs, around how much would I be looking at for a business this scale? I have basic technical knowledge of networking so I'd be able to fix 80% of everyday problems however I'd probably need a techie to do the more advanced stuff . I have quite a few mates who are willing to help me out with the business so I don't think staff will be a problem . I have no intention of starting this business venture overnight . As you have mentioned, I need to do more research and make sure the business is profitable which I plan on doing soon . |
jason_f90 (3544) | ||
| 593368 | 2007-09-21 00:01:00 | Would you be able to get the Telstra Cable there? 80gig a month or more, and fast. Orcon has plans up to 250gig a month. | wratterus (105) | ||
| 593369 | 2007-09-21 00:06:00 | Yeah I'm 99% sure Telstra clear has cables running in the area (Ilam) ;] Orcon's FS UP/FS Down + 100GB cap @ $179/month looks like the sweet spot. :Q |
jason_f90 (3544) | ||
| 593370 | 2007-09-21 01:12:00 | 50GB is the largest plan they have on offer :K, how much do you think I will need?10 times that, or more. | Greg (193) | ||
| 593371 | 2007-09-21 01:23:00 | I am sorry to say it, but you are unlikely to make money from such a business and it will be very HARD work. I had a friend who set one up, and his parents lent him money to set it up, and he had to close it after 3 months. He had it set up nicely, but it wasn't sustainable due to the large overheads. You should look at overseas examples to see what works, rather than replicating others that you have seen in NZ. Maybe take an oversea research trip. I think you should look at a POD (point of difference) that would attact users. People will not be attacted to a plain shop that is only full of computers. If you are looking for furniture, buy from a company such as Southern Hospitality who supply commerical companies. |
robbyp (2751) | ||
| 593372 | 2007-09-21 02:12:00 | Well you know what it's like when you go to a slack-arsed, sloppily managed internet cafe. You tell yourself, "I can run a place 10x better than this s***hole". And robbyp, I understand the point you make. Peoples average income in NZ is adequate enough for them to have their own computer with a good internet connection. As a matter of fact, I spent some time in Malaysia and the Philippines where peoples income are several times lower than ours. Internet cafes over there are booming and seem to be "prospering". Thanks for the tips anyway. |
jason_f90 (3544) | ||
| 593373 | 2007-09-21 02:35:00 | Maybe move to the Philippines and set one up...? :p | wratterus (105) | ||
| 593374 | 2007-09-21 04:34:00 | Use nLite to install Windows. It saves you tweaking settings on each PC manually. :) | pcuser42 (130) | ||
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