Starting an Internet Cafe in Birmingham UK - Help

[steve0]

Ok I've been planning on doing this for a while now, but I've been made redundant and think why not give it a try it's the only chance I'll get. I would like to open an internet cafe in an area in north Birmingham. There is no other internet cafe facility in this part of town. There is a library with free internet service, but you are only limited to an hour. There is also a college nearby, but the student are not allowed to bring food into the computer rooms and in my research they would be willing to pay a pound to be able to eat there lunch and do there work at the same time. There are also a few restaurants and cafes, though one of the cafes I spoke to said they were finding things difficult at the minute...

Basically I need advice, my capital is low and I dont know where to go for help, Ive started a business plan but the only thing that lets me down is my lack of experience in this area. Has anyone else started this business and had success with it?

[Harold Mansfield]

From what I have seen over the years the only places where an internet cafe survives is college areas close to campus and tourist areas but I still think it's a risk. The difference is going to be what else you have besides just access. Coffee ? Food? Just Internet access alone is not going to make it since access is getting cheaper and cheaper everyday as well as devices...net books, laptops, pads etc.
Combine that the fact that mobile devices now account for a huge portion of internet usage, you may be fighting a battle right from the start.

My advice is to concentrate on what type of cafe it will be besides just having free access. If it's going to have food, then your business model is for a restaurant. Setting up a few servers and wireless routers can be done anywhere..which also makes it a huge risk and what about the University? Is that your target market? IF so..if they start offering free wifi access would that completely kill your business model?

I think you have to offer more than Internet access and let that drive your business plan. At this point having free Wifi is more of an amenity like having a pool table.

[vangogh]

First don't let your lack of experience stop you. Many people have built successful businesses with little to no experience.

I think you're going to need working capital though. You're looking at having a physical location and a network set up and something else to set up and sell. The obvious thing to set up is a coffee shop with food. I would think about setting up the business less about the internet and use the free internet connection as a selling point. One big issue is that when you attract people because of the internet connection you bring people in who'll stay a long time without buying much. Most restaurants profit based on turnover. Get the people in and out as quickly as possible.

You're going to need to figure out how to get people to spend more than the price of a cup of coffee or get them out quickly. Either that or figure out a way to keep costs down as much as possible.

I'm thinking pretty much along the same lines as Harold. Don't think about the business as an internet something. Decide on that something and base the business model on it. The wireless connection is a marketing tactic to get people inside, but keep in mind it also reduces the turnover rate.