Anyone here run an Internet Cafe or offer Internet services at your shop?

[tankman1989]

I am surprised that I don't see this discussed much on here unless there are no longer many/any Internet Cafe's. I want to know if anyone operates one and if they do, in what kind of area are you located. How well are you doing with it? What is your customer type? Etc.

 

[PCX]

All I can say is that this is something I would eventually like to do. Most of the internet cafes around here end up going out of business, but thats because their only source of income is some pastries and coffee and its hard to compete with starbucks. However, I think this would be feasible and even beneficial if you had a shop which was the main income and the cafe which basically just brought in the traffic. Its an idea I have been playing with for a while.

 

[RichmondTech]

All I can say is that this is something I would eventually like to do. Most of the internet cafes around here end up going out of business, but thats because their only source of income is some pastries and coffee and its hard to compete with starbucks. However, I think this would be feasible and even beneficial if you had a shop which was the main income and the cafe which basically just brought in the traffic. Its an idea I have been playing with for a while.

Maybe that should be a clue that it's not so profitable, and if it's not profitable why bother doing it? As if running one business isn't hard enough, let's throw another business on top of it as well as health inspections, another set of vendors, and more staffing. I'll stick to just fixing computers.

With the coffee shops and even fast food places offering free wifi, the Internet cafe concept has gone by.

 

[PCX]

Like I said, its just an idea we have been throwing around. In an case, it would most be for the traffic. There is pretty good size college right across the street from us.

 

[tankman1989]

With the invention of mobile phone Internet connection, I think a large part of the Internet Cafe business has gone away with that. I do think it might be feasible in a large urban area, any city with a high population of very poor people who would pay to use a desktop for hours at a time. If they need to type something out or use a full size monitor/keyboard for something, I would see them utilizing the cyber cafe. The only other market I can see is the unsavory customer market like people who want to use the computer anonymously so they can surf kiddie P, order a hit man or a metric ton of crank, lol.

 

[tankman1989]

Like I said, its just an idea we have been throwing around. In an case, it would most be for the traffic. There is pretty good size college right across the street from us.

I'll tell you one thing related to your post. If I was paying to go to a college/univ and there wasn't a free computer lab on campus I wouldn't be a student very long if ever. I could see some community colleges not having labs 10+ years ago but with an entire PC, with monitor and all costing about $350-$450 that is nothing for a lab of 30 machines.

 

[PCX]

Yeah, your probably all right, which is why we haven't gone that direction yet.

 

[acesdeals]

I am actually going to do just that, i will do repairs as well as have a lounge gaming area for customers

If the gaming area does not do well i can simply sell the equipment and it wont be much of a loss aside from a waste of time

Theres a lan center 40 miles from me and they have been there for 4 yrs, there was a few closer to me and they all shut down due to poor management

Many young gamers or kiddies set up lan centers and they fail because they werent business men just gamers trying to have fun

An example

http://www.gamerslancenter.com/

 

[red12049]

Looked into both, several times. Could never make the numbers work out well enough, and there is no real business integration to make it worthwhile. If there were, Starbucks would be doing it all over.

Rick

 

[PCX]

Looked into both, several times. Could never make the numbers work out well enough, and there is no real business integration to make it worthwhile. If there were, Starbucks would be doing it all over.

Rick

Actually, I doubt starbucks would open up a computer shop in the back even if it was profitable. Its not what they do.

 

[pc-quebec]

I don't how it works in your part of the world, but here public libraries offer Internet for free. In the late 90’s I have 6 to 8 pcs in my shop and they was quite occupied in the evening, but before I close my store in 2006, I have only 2 or 3 customer a day; they come because the library has no place left.

 

[compnet]

I've spent a good amount if time in gaming LAN centers. I've worked, been sponsored or done tech support for 5. Proper licensing for a lot of games in a LAN center is prohibitively expensive. Most games you have to get special LAN center licenses you have to buy every year. WoW is an exception to this as they make the money off subscribers not game sales, so a LAN isn't a threat to them. People coming in to surf the internet were around 5% of users at any one I've seen.

Now gamers want nice computers, big screens, good headphones, mice, and keyboards. They will then proceed to run over those headphones with their chairs, slam the mice and headphones when they die and get mad, and spill crap all over the keyboard.

A big LAN center usually attracts drug users and I've seen more fights over counter strike than you'd believe. I'm pretty sure the only ones that make money do so by lots of tournaments and sponsorships.

I've thought a lot about this too. We are remodeling soon and I'd like put a small gaming area in. The best idea I've come up with is run the shop 9-6 and the LAN center 6-2am and weekends. A) to keep my business clients from being turned off by riff raff, B) so I don't have 50 computers and a couple servers all running at peak hours, C) to let customers drop off/pick up computers a lot more of the time, D) so were not fighting each other for bandwidth.. paying an employee plus software, hardware, and electricity would be hard to break even, but could be offset by the extra business from being open for drop offs an extra 60-70 hours and increased exposure.

/essay

 

[Peaceful]

The big trend here in Florida are these internet cafe gambling rooms. They're spreading like wildfire. Not really up on how they work but I think they justify the legality by using prepaid calling cards or something like that. When you win minutes are added to your card or something like that then you cash in your card when finished.

 

[Cornerstone Technologies]

Internet cafes in developed western countries really are not feasible because typically, many of the citizens have access to the internet from a variety of providers and locations. I have gone to several Latin American countries, and internet cafes are popular there because it is impossible for the average citizen there to be able to afford their own computer, let alone having the infrastructure in place to get even a dial-up connection. I have noticed a few internet cafes here in the US, but typically they are in low income areas that often have a large influx of immigrants who again do not have the means to afford a computer.

I would think that if someone were intent on an internet cafe, it would work best in these poorer areas.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

Regarding the subject...we "offer internet services at our shop"...well...."at our building". We're in a professional center building...there are 2 floors of suites here with other small businesses. Data jacks go to central distribution area in closet...where we have both our multiple IP cable connection and multiple IP DSL connection. Hooked up with our 5 interface Untangle server...which is a UTM distro. We offer internet to the other offices...and they can safely surf from behind our UTM...getting viruses/malware/spam removed before even hitting their ethernet cables.

 

[ArtemusComputerTechnology]

hotspots

Internet cafes are going a little out the door from what I see. I use one for my gaming tournaments each month or so. Thats about it. The next thing now is hotspots, which is basically wireless internet access "WiFi". I live in New York City. There are some many hotspots here I can not count on 5 people hands..lol. Majority of people do not use internet cafes; just for email and web browsing. Which can be under 1 hour to me. Whatever they charge for 1 hour is not alot of profit to me along with coffee and donuts.

 

[bg.graf]

I am surprised that I don't see this discussed much on here unless there are no longer many/any Internet Cafe's. I want to know if anyone operates one and if they do, in what kind of area are you located. How well are you doing with it? What is your customer type? Etc.

With roughly 95% of Americans having access to internet, an internet cafe in and of itself is not a smart business move. However, if you are located close to many professional businesses it might be profitable to open up a site with 2-3 conference rooms with whiteboards and video-conferencing equipment that businesses could reserve/rent and use for their meetings and meetings with others who are not nearby. Having wifi or pc's in a store and charging won't get you far when people can walk to their local library and do it for free, see where I'm going??

Find something that has value and put it in there. Maybe go around to local businesses and see what they lack. Maybe get businesses to sign a 1-year contract that gives them access to a videoconference room #x of days/hours or timeframes each week..

What do you think about that?

 

[tankman1989]

With roughly 95% of Americans having access to internet, an internet cafe in and of itself is not a smart business move. However, if you are located close to many professional businesses it might be profitable to open up a site with 2-3 conference rooms with whiteboards and video-conferencing equipment that businesses could reserve/rent and use for their meetings and meetings with others who are not nearby. Having wifi or pc's in a store and charging won't get you far when people can walk to their local library and do it for free, see where I'm going??

Find something that has value and put it in there. Maybe go around to local businesses and see what they lack. Maybe get businesses to sign a 1-year contract that gives them access to a videoconference room #x of days/hours or timeframes each week..

What do you think about that?

I agree with you on why Internet cafe's have dried up in the States but I still think there is a need for them in high population areas especially low income areas and places where there are a lot of migrants. I know I used on when I moved to LA and it was a PITA to find one 4 years ago. I needed to look for a roommate and place to stay and had 2 desktops but no laptop.

As far as the video conferencing goes, IDK about that. To me it is totally unnecessary. There are benefits to not being seen during negotiations or sales calls but also benefits to the other side. It might draw some customers but until video calls become more main stream I can see people saying that it is really unnecessary.

 

[bwhatley87]

We are looking at doing something like a small "gaming area" in our new shop. We have a smaller ~1000sq ft building, but have a larger building attatched with us (vacant and we share electricity) that we could expand into if it took off. One of the advantages I've found is that there is a company not too far away from me that will provide all the coin op games I can handle and only take a portion of the proceeds, so it wouldn't cost me anything upfront.

Also, (although not a gamer). I've had a few requests for LAN Parties.... This second building could be easily "rented out" for various events. I wouldn't get into food but instead make a deal with a local vender to cater the events. Our town doesn't have a community center anymore so I see a lot of potential use.

 

[anglian]

Not looked into it yet as I have been busy on other things, but I would have thought there was a market setting up and maintaining wifi in cafe's, hotels etc so they can then offer it to their clients free or paid.