Is there hope in the Net Cafe Business?

I have been thinking of doing almost exactly like this. I wanted to start my own desktop publishing/editorial services company but I realized it is not that easy to get big and regular clients. Internet cafes, on the other hand, are like sure success if –as what Yuga said up there — you have the right location. I am still seriously considering venturing into this kind of setup.

Good luck to your new business, Yuga.

^ naughty, naughty. what about a specialized service catering to students, addressing their needs on how to do research, how to do reports, etc.

In Taiwan, only teenagers go to net cafe and they’re playing on-line game, that’s all. Adults tend to use internet at places like starbucks although it’s payable but people think this makes them more “elegant” lol~

i don’t like this news, it is like a bad news i am not sure. well, hope that this business won’t die.
by the way, i will be honest with you. i am here to promote the seo contest on my blog. if you have comments and suggestion, negative or positive, i will highly appreciate it. Thank you.

offer DIY courses. I have one in mind but I don’t have the fund to set up this business.

I used to be in internet cafe biz. I and my friends started it in 1998 in Iligan, i left the partnership a year later. Then my friends closed it in around 2001.

thanks for the message. now i know that lcd’s consume less electricity if im not mistaken right? actually i’ve just started a small internet cafe and i think its a good news.

God bless!

It is still a good business, mine is now on its 3rd year and it has not slowed down. You just need a lot of patience to learn new things so that you wont have to rely solely on your technician when your computer breaks down.

I myself own a computer shop before. I closed it because I am always thinking that my business is not different from selling illegal items (pirated softwares).

sa amin may net cafe/water refilling station

maganda sana net cafe/vulcanizing shop. hahaha. or net cafe/barber shop or parlor. hehehe.

Vick: “99 percent of software in the Philippines are pirated. How do you explain that Filipinos?”

are you sure? :-) prove it with statistical tools and analysis.

Am interested in starting up a new net cafe, but with a different twist — one that actually caters to the customers’ needs.

In being involved in net cafe operations, one must remember how much labor and thinking restaurateurs in France go through before earning the Michelin (because there’s so many restaurants), as it takes much research and understanding what your target customer base really wants apart from using your computers.

Of course, those customers are really picky on what you have in there: if you have the best machines available, with the best internet connection, the best equipment and most importantly the best service (but not necessarily to spend too much!), they’ll love you but remember you have to continually update and improve services, learn new techniques, tune up your workstations to speed, get to know your customer base and make them your allies… or lose ’em to the next net cafe.

It’s how you manage the business. Especially the gaming freaks out there who doesn’t own any PC at home. (talking about taking advantage of the situation)

It’s a matter of marketing strategies, wit, and strategic location :0 cheers

@leo martin
some comtuper retailers got pricelist on their web, kya pwede u compare at mga prices f knno mas mura.

Net cafes suffer from the same problem all Filipino biz endure: lack of purchasing power of the Filipino consumer. P15 per hour? P30? remember all computers in the Philippines have the same price or more than in the US or Taiwan or Singapore. (We import these computers).

Yet, the selling price of services (internet hourly rental) is not the same as in the countries mentioned above. That is why, the Net cafe industry as a whole is suffering and only a few exceptions are making money.

Do you take into account the opportunity cost of your labor as cafe owners (You dont give yourself a salary, do you? as a cafe owner?)

All businesses in the Philippines will improve if the purchasing power is increased (high salaries for parents, high allowance for students).

This is what I learned from reading the book Hyperwage Theory. Google it. it is very revealing. and if you are smart enough, you can get a free PDF copy of the book off the web.

me and my husband are planning to put up a net cafe this year. but im not sure with the plan. thinking that there’s so many competitors around, im so confused. but maybe, we’ll try. thanks to all of u guys. your suggestions really a big help. godbless!

i’m in an internet cafe business for almost two years…sa july 18 na pala anni namin. maganda ang kita kaso lang if lahat ng daily expenses sa kita ng cafe kukunin mahihirapan ka talaga to survive and pay the bills.

we rent the space for 4,200 and 10 units lang kami. i added typing, printing, scanning, edting, CD/DVD burning and making wedding invitations para additional kita. i’m happy to read this post hahanap ako ng paraan to add those other services para pandagdag kita.

comtech-4 year course natapos ko last 2008 so advantage na rin kasi ako na bahala sa mga unit na may sira.

problema ko every month ang lahat ng bills lalo na ngayon may kakompetensiya kaming bagong cafe, mas marami ang units nila…

may awa ang Diyos :) kakayanin ko ‘to but i guess i need to look for a job nalang para may backup kami to pay bills and maintenance… koloka!

add ko blog mo sa blog list ko huh? salamat
:) God bless everyone

my two cents!

the answer is yes and no.

yes if you have this:
1. sarili mo ung place(hindi ka nagre-rent)
2. kaw din nagbabantay
3. marunong kasa computer

no if you dont have this:
1. sarili mo ung place(hindi ka nagre-rent)
2. kaw din nagbabantay
3. marunong kasa computer

why…
the tricks kc is how could you able to sustain the pricewar, dahil eventually darating un kahit sabhin na konti pa lang kayo ay dadami din yan at darating ung point na magkakaroon ng price war at kung sino ang mababa ang operational cost ay sya mananalo at ung 3 points na sinabi ko sa taas at meron ka nun im sure ur da winner.

marami nalugi sa bisnes na to, kc dati ok pa ala masyado competition at mahal ang rates 30-40 pesos per hr kaya kahit magbayad ka ng rent at magpasweldo ng tao at technician ay ok lang malaki parin kita, pro ngaun ala na, marami na kalaban at mababa na rates 15/hr meron pa dyan 10-12/hr kaya hindi ka mabubuhay nun kng puro k gastos, i mean bayad sa rent, attendant at technician. marami ko kilala nag invest half million at hindi nabawi as in lugi, kasi nga nung una maganda pa malaki rates at ala masyado kalaban kaya malaki kita at nasilaw sa laki ng kita kaya ayun nagbagsak kagad ng malaki amount para lalo lumaki kita, ng magtagal dumami kalaban at nagkaroon ng pricewar hindi nakayanan at nagsara kasi sa laki ng gastos at lumiit bigla kita, so my advice is kung magveventure kasa bisnes na to dapat ay sideline lng(additional income) at wag mo asahan hanapbuhay dahil short term lang to at wala security, at kung meron kang 3points na sinasabi ko pwede maging long term.

yung location na sinasabi nila? im not sure! dahil kung saan ung maganda location andun stiff ang competition at kung meron kang 3points ko tyak panalo, so it goes down pa rin dun sa 3points! ung side bisnes na sinasabi nila is given na un kc kung ano pakulo mo ganun din maging pakulo ng kalaban mo later on

i hope this helps…

Was pondering if a low energy consuming rig + proper software could be beneficial to reducing operating costs:

Scenario A: ITX-based Atom mobo with IGP running on a 65watt power brick and an LCD monitor for web surfing and specific duties. GNU/Linux variants for even lower licensing cost.

Scenario B: Same as above except using an ITX mobo with NVidia ION chipset for gaming duties.

Scenario C: Same as A except using a 2+ cores and hopefully the upcoming ION2 for gaming

internet cafe industry today is weak. Mababa na masyado ang rate 10/12 per hour/ ung iba pa nga 8 pesos pa. And if u are located sa downtown , masmalaki renta mo. hindi kakayanin ng rate mo. Sa renting of property pa lng patay ka na. then plus the utilities especially electricty. and also ung DSL. Our’s we pay 4k a month. average electric bill namin is 11k. monthly rentals is 19k.

The worst of all?. Expensive MS software. before you put up a business one of your first priorty must be ur software licenses. Another problem- those in the BIR office, their agents are usually boastful.

good day,filipina ako at nakapangasawa ako ng greek,and2 ako sa cyprus ngayon,dme nagwowork dahil my 3 yrs old baby ako..plan ko umuwi to put up this internet cafe business…sarili kong pwesto at starting ng 6 units ng pc…location ko ay residential area..wala pa kme internet shop kz malapit dun kaya mejo maganda para dna pumunta sa downtown ang mga costumer..maganda ba tlga tumayo ng business na ito,plan ko din is internet cafe and restaurant…merienda foods lang or mga coffee drinks..pls advice me more…thanks..

hi guys, just want to offer those who already have internet cafe to avail our FREE installation of QUICK ADS- online advertisment, this will help you earn EXTRA INCOME for your internet cafe’s, if you have any question, feel free to contact me at 0927-2300509 or 0933-4306414.

thank you…

hay…help pow
upgrade sana ko pcs…san ba may mga mura na videocard at memory card na pwede swap…thnak you…. all your messages about internet shops sobrang true

Hello po advice naman po. We are planning mag put a ng 6-8 PC sa house namin. And me na rin ang mag manage overall ang problem is kapos ng budget if bibili kami ng license software. Marami bang nahuhuli sa mga internet shop kahit sa kalooblooban pa ng barangay? Thanks

am no spek englesh

i think the most important things for net-cafe business is :

. the shop name must be not more than 4 characters >> cool & easy to remember ; like core/+plus/Xb!t/town/ … etc.

. always be defferent , i mean about the atmosphere , furniture , & the lighting of the place ! makes the customers feels they are in defferent world , not just a regular netcafe !!!
*here is one idea :
each pc booth have different design than another , the design of the booth telling you a story of fantasy world ~

. the pc’s should works very excellent full services and no errors and missing application’s makes everything so easy & perfect to handle .

. make an customers Id card system for charge unit , and each customer collect point’s by hours , reward after reach 50 point a simple gift .

. i advice the food & drinks service to be very quick clean and in a good shape to handle .

& always improve & develop ur netcafe shop , care for the customers and always ask them about how you doing in ur business what the like & what they don’t what they miss …

wish to all success ~

today. the bigger the shop the better. as long as the location is feasible.

This internet cafe business has saved my finances when I got involved in a personal accident. Thumbs up. Refer to my website for details.