Suggestions required for starting up an internet cafe biz

james thor

Suggestions required for starting up an internet cafe biz.

I live in the rural parts of Ireland where the most reliable Broadband service provider is Eircom, meteor,o2, vodafone and 3g dongles are shocking bad for for coverage. my friends and family never stop giving out about how bad they are, this giving me the idea of opening the cafe.

I have a medium/decent size retail unit offered to me at a great price of 100euro p/w in the heart of my rural city. It will be near 2 secondry schools and a college which is a bonus itself and is very close to a tesco supermarket & very busy taxi rank.

I understand that as a residental customer with eircom my monthly bill is 57euro. I do expect this will be conciderly more along with commercial rates that have not been discussed yet by the landlord. This si somthing I have been thinkiong about doing for many months now and I am really pushing the idea now that the schools have reopened.

Alongside the cafe, I have plans to run a mobile phone unlock/repair service I will have the space for 10/12 running computers maybe 1/2 vending machines and full standing size priter/photo copier.

I would really like to hear some peoples suggestions about this, the main attraction is the rent for me and its location. There is currently only 1 other internet cafe in operation out of the about 60 retail units in the area and I know from from personal chats with the staff members that he employs he is paying 200 per week on rent alone! I know he has got a very large shop, he is charging over 5euro an hour for internet use & 1 euro for coloured photo coping ect.

One of my priorities is to seek legal advice and to see where I stand about been registered for self income tax, I will be speaking with my solicitor on friday So Hoping that it all goes smoothly and he gives me positive advice I hope to open for business next month. for now I am open for suggestions and ideas from other boards members.



thanks for reading

James

bigneacy

Sounds like a good Idea and its a great price (the rent). I am using eircom always on 7mb broadband and phone package, its around €70 a month and with this I can offer the office computer, the staff computer and 8 guest rooms good internet speeds simultaneously.

If you tell eircom that it's an internet café, they may advise to use a more specialized package, which might cost more...

An Idea for you... if you're any way graphic design capable you could offer a print house direct from the internet cafe. Even just for basic printing jobs like 21st invitations or posters for bands etc.

There was one here in Dundalk that did both and they done very well, they have closed down now because a better set up pushed them out.

The one thing I would say is make sure you have good, clean computers and nice comfy leather office chairs, keep the place in absolute tip top condition... as soon as you see the slightest wear and tear, replace it. People are more likely to come back if they know its a nice place to sit and while away a few hours.

I think that was probably the greatest downfall of the aforementioned internet cafe, they had nice computers and a nice place to begin with but they just never replaced any of them. Even before they closed in 2009 they were running 8 old compaqs with windows xp and not much else. I think they might have even had office 2000!

carbayon

james thor

The costs setting up the Internet Café are many, as the PCs will require licenses for the software they are running. Also you will need to research your possible customers. Are they "light" internet users (web, email, social network) or are they going to be heavy users (gamers, part-time business)

PC's will need the following software;
- Anti-virus (€50 per unit)
- MS Office (Home/Office is €200, Pro is more expensive)

Then you will have to buy a server with all the required software, this could be a mid-size PC with at least 2 HDD to have a RAID.

Don't forget the Internet Café Software to control the whole thing, there are FREE version with ads and then there are many, other ones at different prices.

Then there is the printer, this is cheap, last Multi-function unit I purchased (Fax, Printer, Copier, Scanner [all colour]) was about €400

I would also recommend to have two broadband providers; the main one, a physical connection, and a back-up as a wireless server.

Lastly, you will need a strong router/firewall and you will have to configure it to lock down the connection. You will have to control what ports are opened for outbound traffic and what ports are opened for incoming traffic.

As you can see, this is a very complex subject. There are other things that you will need to explore like keeping and image so you can re-image any PC the is infected with a virus. Also PCs will need to be re-image every few months to clear-up junk and speed the unit.

bigneacy

Good advice carbayon,

I know i'm not the OP and i'm not going to set up a business of this type, but I'd be curious to know regardless...
Just one question... Would it be possible to get a single licence each for word, photoshop and windows?

As in one installation running off a central server which could be accessed from the desktop of each computer? Or even several installations all working off one main licence, the same as schools and large corporations do?

There are lots of antivirus programs now that you can get for free, that are just as capable as the paid for ones. In terms of the internet cafe software there are some out there that are free and have little or no ads on them.

carbayon

bigneacy;

Licenses are a "tricky" topic. Each PC using the software needs a licenses, for example, a school or a mid size company can purchase a server and install a single copy of office on the server, but it there are 10 PCs using that Office program, you will need 10 licenses.

Microsoft sell package licenses; i.e. the same CD-KEY can be used on 11 PCs (the server and 10 computers), but you are paying for all the licenses. As a package, it would be cheaper, the more the cheaper.

On this internet cafe scenario, given that is rural ireland and to save cost, I would recommend "thin clients" these are units with no HDD and running Windows CE, the system only has an internet browser and then it connects to a server to run MS Office, Prhtoshop and all other programs that are in the server. At the end of the day, the cost is the same PC more expensive but server smaller and cheaper and Thin Clients are cheaper, but require a bigger server and more expensive server.

Lastly, most (if not all) the free anti-virus version are given to home users, once the software is installed on a business the free license is voided. The software works, but is "illegal". At the same time, most free versions are capped, you only get Anti-virus, no Malware, no firewall and no other services. This is going to be an Internet Cafe, you can't trust users; €50 is cheap versus having to re-image the PCs every few days.

blue4ever

- Anti-virus (€50 per unit)
- MS Office (Home/Office is €200, Pro is more expensive)
- Photoshop .

nada - all of these "functions" can be got open source -

Sun do a very good office suite which would be excellent for anyone hot-desking (in a word)

unless it near a group of graphic designers you don't need 'photoshop. You can get a raft of open software (gimp, serif plus etc etc) what will manipulate and edit photos - which in reality is all that someone wants in a cafe situation.

and if you wanted - and thought the punters were savvy/ok with it - use ubuntu as our operating system (might be a pig to maintain)

Zero costs on the above - but a bit of work - its a tradeoff

bigneacy

Thanks for that carbayon.... I never thought there was so much work involved in an internet cafe... seemed to be just a turn on the computer and open the door type job! apparently not!

Costly too by the end of it...

Bacchus

To echo what blue4ever said..

OpenOffice is a free alternative to Microsoft office. I'm sure though how practical it is maybe for someone who wants to use a document created with Microsoft Office or visa versa. The formating may be affected. Maybe someone else can confirm.

AVG is free antivirus program. I use it all the time on my laptop. Never a problem with it. EDIT: Just saw what carbayon said about the issues with "free" anti-virus on commercial PCs. Didn't know about that.

Is Photoshop a big selling point for an Internet Cafe? I would have thought not and therefore not worth the expense. You could always just install it on one PC for those customers that do use it. For basic editing, Picasa is a good alternative and it's free. For more advanced stuff there is GIMP (also free).

carbayon

Folks;

I am all for OPEN SOFTWARE, all my servers are Debian and my desktops are running Fedora Core 13, Linux Mint and PC-BSD and my phone is running Android.

I use lots of other free software, including OpenOffice, BlueFish (editor), OpenProj, Eclipse and many other packets form the Debian/Ubuntu repository.

The post mentioned a Internet Cafe in a rural town in Ireland, given that as the starting point, I have to assume that 90% (or higher) or users will have only been exposed to Microsoft products. Moving them to OpenOffice without training could be frustrating to them and may move to the other shop in town, where they have Microsoft; thus the shop will fail before it opens.

If this post was on regards of a rural school, I would have gone all Open Source. The teachers can learn Open Source program and teach the pupils about Open Office products and how to create documents, presentation and charts.

Lastly, I am extremely irate (but this is for another topic) about the ECDL program. The ECDL can't be taken using Open Source software, only closed source.

BoB_BoT

The free antivirus are not for commercial use, you require a license if you want to use them in a business, also it's easier to manage a central server for the antivirus to update from on the paid ones.

Don't forget to work maintenance into your budgeting. I don't know what your I.T. skills are like, but if you can't maintain your systems (be it software or hardware) you'll have to get someone in to do it, or have a staff member that does know the ins and outs, doing it.

Regarding licensing, you have to consider Microsoft office (or you could go with the free alternative OpenOffice, more or less does the same thing), your control software (as mentioned, loads of options out there), and your antivirus solution.

If you're going for games, you're best looking at the steam package from valve. It's very hard to get in contact with games companies regarding licensing for cafes, they're not interested in small scale clients. To get around that, pick a control software for the cafe that will let you set licenses for games (keys), that way you can buy a few copies of the game and have it accessible to the whole cafe on demand.

Servers: Stay clear of a microsoft server, put in something running a linux varient (Ubuntu server would be my choice), that will allow you to run a firewall, antivirus server, filtering, qos, network storage, user/domain management etc...

Look to the opensource community for solutions to cut down costs, instead of norton ghost, look at clonezilla etc...

Regarding chairs, from personal experience, I'd stay away from swivel chairs. Have found that comfortable static chairs are durable and easy to keep clean. Big leather swivel chairs may look nice, but they're cumbersome, hard to keep, and don't last long with the abuse they take.

Broadband, if you can get it, go for eircoms 12mb down/2mb up business package, costs just under 100 a month, but we always found ourselves struggling for upload moreso than download. If you have the option for some of the other packages from chorus that offer double that, ask around the locality and see what people make of it. You need a reliable service, so it's worth having a backup connection. You could try on the 7mb package and if you find the demand is there, simply increase it with eircom.

justindublin

Hey Bob,

I've been heavily involved in developing the largest chain of Internet Cafes in the country i've learned all the major pitfalls and problems. We've downsized alot over the past year and so have a few 100 PC's in storage at the moment that i'm sure my employer could sell at a decent price if your intrested.

They're all Dell GX620 machines, with screens, keyboards, mice, powercords, and webcams. All licenced for Windows XP with Works and Word 2003

The Cafe software is free so from CyberCafePro.com, we sware by it and have used it for the last five years.

Having used eircom at one stage, avoid them.

PM me if ya want any more details or have any questions.

Cheers,
JD

Gambler

I think having windows in an internet cafe makes more sense than Linux and with that you can use Microsofts AV (Security Essentials) for free. On the office side of things I think that Open Office is close enough that people would be able to figure it out for themselves without a huge amount of trouble (most people only use it in internet cafes to view documents or to do up a CV - which reminds me offering a CV writing service could be an additional service to add) so I would try it first and if it's a problem you can then look at investing in a microsoft license.

Gaming is a great one to look at, especially if you are right beside a school. Maybe look at getting in a couple of xbox's or PS3's as dedicated gaming machines as well as getting some of the more popular PC games setup..

justindublin

Gambler wrote: »

Gaming is a great one to look at, especially if you are right beside a school. Maybe look at getting in a couple of xbox's or PS3's as dedicated gaming machines as well as getting some of the more popular PC games setup..

I'd say the total opposite.
Its an very hard market. I know someone who spend a fortune (€70k) fitting out two gaming centers and they lasted 6 months. Both beside schools in busy Dublin areas with ZERO competition around.

Know someone else who tried it in Tallaght using Xboxs, again a disaster.
In these day every kid has broadband and an xbox or playstation which already supports online gaming.

Printing and Internet is the solid income.

bigneacy

justindublin wrote: »

I'd say the total opposite.
Its an very hard market. I know someone who spend a fortune (€70k) fitting out two gaming centers and they lasted 6 months. Both beside schools in busy Dublin areas with ZERO competition around.

Know someone else who tried it in Tallaght using Xboxs, again a disaster.
In these day every kid has broadband and an xbox or playstation which already supports online gaming.

Printing and Internet is the solid income.

Yeah, thats very true. Although if you could get them in the door you might make more commision on the vending machines if you are going down that route.

On the flip side of that however, I don't know many people that would want to write a CV or use the internet in peace with a bunch of teenagers screaming at an xbox in the corner.... You'll have to choose your target market wisely and run with that.

BoB_BoT

hi justindublin, thanks for the offer, while I'm still involved with two cafes, I have no interest in setting up more :P Though, the GX20 is a great machine, nice and quiet, little dated, but grand for internet and office use and light gaming.

Also CyberCafePro is a great piece of software too, it was a pity that we bought another software at the time in setting up. It was considerably cheaper, did the basic functions, but not robust enough to handle game keys and proper accounting. If I had to do it over again, I'd certainly choose that.

Gaming is quite expensive to run and requires heavy investment. If you go the pc gaming route, you need decent pcs, that to keep the gaming crowd, need to have the newest games and hardware to run them well. It can be quite expensive. If you go the xbox / ps3 route, you need space for it. It's grand to stick in a screen and some couches, but you want more of a zone that will keep the noise to once side. It's a good idea, but it would work better in another room away from the pcs for console gaming.


Regarding Openoffice, you will not believe the resistance to it. You'd imagine people would easily adapt and type away, absolute opposite. They want ms office, you spend an awful lot of time helping customers do the basics as it is. If they can't find something they throw a hissyfit, decide to proclaim they can't use it and leave. I have seen this happen on multiple occasions. (Although, I'd imagine the same people would have done this if it was ms office :P).

Fergal C

There is some great technical advice in this thread. Any time I visited an Internet cafe, which was not very often, my only interest was in getting connected to the Internet, I've never used Office or graphics software. Perhaps your clients will be different.

James have you given serious consideration to who your target market will be and why they would use an Internet cafe? I don't pretend to be an expert, but I'd have concerns regarding the future viability of the business, when so many people have the Internet at home, at work or on their iPhones, iPads, etc.

carbayon

Following on the original posting, the problem in the area is the lack of reliable internet connection.

Another recommendation would be to split the Internet Cafe into two areas; 1/2 with PCs (basic ones) and 1/2 with so call "hot desks", let the customers bring their own laptops and charge them for the internet.

Laptops are cheap (and getting cheaper) so it would be possible that most customers have a laptop at home or they use one for work. If broadband on the area is bad, the best solution for them would be to come to your shop and connect their own equipment to the internet.

With time you can shift business, if the PCs are not being use, remove them and sell coffee and pastries, now you would be moving into a coffee/tea shop with added internet.

You need to realise that sooner, rather than letter, the broadband penetration will kill your internet business, so the idea of shifting would be the best (on my opinion).

Presently people will come for internet with a side of coffee and sweets with time they will return for the coffee and sweets and the very few would use the internet.

justindublin

I would really really really advise against the gaming...

Pics coming to the end of one of our first builds...
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3372660/275627180a5649054232o.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3372660/275627180a5649054381o.jpg

It was 15 months ago roughly.

On Hardware...
36 x Dell XPS 710 Gaming Machines with 22 Inch HD Monitors
Turtle Beach Headphones
2 x Dell Poweredge Servers
Gigabite Network
Game Licences
Software Licences

Then on the actual room...
6 x 52" Plasma TVs for spectating / leader boards
Coloured LED spotlights in the ceiling
Leather Chairs with Armrests
Fancy Futuristic Tables
Dolby Surround Sound System
Air condition and Extraction (the heat those machines pumped out!)

THATS ON ONE ROOM! - We built three in Dublin and they're all closed now :cool:

unnameduser

perhaps you could do a trade off / contra with a local pc guy.
He could set up the computers and maintain them in return for you sending PC repairs his way.