I posted this on A-O but theres some lag so anyway.
QUOTE (nyunyu)im recently partnering with my friend to open up an internet cafe.
if any of you have some advise?
about the cost and the process..
i need to know the whole process..
can anyone help me out?
Sorry don't know anything about this.
But i'll just give my own opinion.
1. Who are your customers ? Who is your cyber cafe gearing towards ? Gamers .... is what i would say. Looking at the demography, gamers can be kids aged 10-17 and adults 18-25 usually.
But i'll bet that most of the gamers would be high school students. So opening/closing hours should be made with that in mind.
2. Location = You need to plan where your cyber cafe is going to be.
After all it should be somewhere your customers can easily reach.
Should you buy or rent ? Rennovation costs ?
Opening a cyber cafe in a city rather than in a kampung is a better choice.
Maybe in one of the housing districts or in town ... Close to a high-school would be good as your customers can comeover after classes and etc ...
And you need some way to market your cyber cafe such as a sign outside with your cyber cafe logo which has a good design.
3. Computer system specs = What specs do you think your going to need to satisfy gamers .... I'll say go for Amd systems because price for performance is definately better when compared against Intels.
A good gaming performance machine would be a socket 939 Amd cpu rig ... and memory should be 1 gig of ddr ( 512mb x 2 sticks in dual ddr mode ) since the pc will be on most of the time and takes up lots of memory.
A nForce 3 amd chipset motherboard is a great gaming system. So if your going for a nForce 3 system that means you will be using Agp .. not pci express which will be available for amd systems with the nForce 4 motherboards.
As for graphics cards, you need to have a graphics card that can play all of the latest games even stuff such as Hl2, Doom 3, Far Cry ...
Ati X800 Pro or a Nvidia Geforce 6800 Gt .... The 6800 Gt is cheaper than the pro but the Ati does better in Hl2 ... so it's your choice.
For monitors, 17'' or 19'' is good enough. Crts can heat up more than Lcds. But crts provide better performance in gaming with no ghosting.
You have to take care your monitors don't over heat and die out. I would say go for Crts as their cheaper than a good Lcd with no ghosting.
It's up to you. Lcds can save you money on electricity costs and they produce less heat than crts that might over time make you replace monitors that burn out.
And cyber cafe users aren't usually picky when there is some ghosting so a 16ms 17'' Lcd monitor should do well.
Get cheap keyboards cause they will wear out fast.
As for mouses you can use normal Logitech usb optical mouses. It doesn't have to be a Logitech Mx 510.
Oh you probably can have a rule saying they can bring their own headphones, and mouse if they want ...
I noticed in cyber cafes that gamers always abuse the speakers. You should consider how to protect your speakers at the cyber cafe from being blown to pieces by the customers.
Maybe have a rule not to turn the volume too loud ....or have headphones instead because people won't turn it too loud or their ear drums would blow.
How about internet. You will need to share the internet with the other computers so what package to use.
At am/pm E-zone in Malaysia Kl, they use a T1 internet connection...
I would recommend having an internet connection for your cyber cafe. You probably can have them all connected to the net or have a few pcs connected to the net so people who want the net choose the net pcs to book.
4. A membership system. Some cyber cafes have membership systems that allow you to sign up and receive a membership card for a one time fee.
Benefits are discounted prices, and legitability in participating in competitions held in the cyber cafe.
5. Clan sponsorships. Counter-Strike is VERY popular in cyber cafes in Malaysia. Some cafes go as far as to sponsor specific clans so that they can play for free and probably get paid as well. This is to lure other cs players to come play at those cyber cafes.
6. Security = Some cybercafes they have close circuit cameras to see whether anyone trys to steal equipment or install viruses ( could be malicious users or cyber cafe rivals who employed them to install viruses to spoil your business ).
7. Cyber cafe decorations and layout = The layout of your cyber cafe how should it be ? Some cyber cafes i went to have a long table where the pcs are on it.
And they also have BOXED CUBICLES for privacy. This also helps separate web users who are not gamers from the outside noise. You could have headphones for the cubicle compartment areas.
Whereas the open areas have a smokers and non smokers area that is basicly long tables that have computers next to each other.
You can have your cyber cafe in a lighted area or a dark area ... depends on you.
Air conditioning is definately needed.
As well as toilets for boys and girls.
Maybe the reception area sells food and beverages. If you set too high a price they will go else where.
The Reception counter should be located near the entrance, so people won't scive off without paying.
8. Investure capital = To start up your business you of course need a sum of money to cover the costs of starting up.
You can either loan from your family or the bank. If from the bank you have to pay in interest. My brother's friend borrowed a loan from his family to start up his cyber cafe business.
You should plan out what your budget is and what this will cost you to start up and operate on a monthly basis.
To get business you will need to market .. and as i pointed out, if your cyber cafe was located near too a school and a shopping outlet area such as at Sri Hartamas Virtual Arena how their situated like that and there is a school nearby and their in close to residential areas.
9. Business partners and staff = So basicly you share the profits and revenue with your partner i assume. I'm not sure at what percentage but maybe 50/50 ?
For staff you need cleaners to clean the bathroom, and somebody at the counter to sign in people to the computers, to answer questions concerning the services, somebody capable of fixing some general computer problems.
10. How to manage customers = So based on my membership idea, there should be a card system that allows you to swipe in at the counter and select over the pc, which computer you want to book.
This will require a cyber cafe management software either generic or custom made for your cyber cafe. I'm basing this off the Virtual Arena cyber cafe in Sri Hartamas in Kl Malaysia.
So this cyber cafe management system should be able to reserve computers for customers, then keep track of their computer usage time and other purchases such as food/beverages and products sold at your cyber cafe.
When they are done, they go to the check out and show their card to be swiped so you now their bill to be paid.
11. Legal matters. You should be aware of employment law in Malaysia so you don't end up getting sued.
Owners/partners should handle stuff like taxes, employee pay and pension money coming from employee paychecks.
Besides Employment Law, you should be aware of law concerning business practices especially those concerning cyber cafes.
I'm just basing this off Uk employment law of which i studied. Malaysia has different laws so you should look into that.
This is an example of how legal matters in countries apply to a cyber cafe. This article relates to cyber cafes in Pakistan.
http://bangladesh-web.com/view.php?hidType...000000000007567
I was looking over google for Cyber cafe regulations and legislation in Malaysia and this was what i found
http://newmedia.cityu.edu.hk/cyberlaw/gp17/mal1.html
So E-Gambling should not be allowed i'm afraid.
12. Have a web site for your cyber cafe = Build a community and have a web site for members to look at from home. For Cs clanners they might want to book over the net for specific dates, or ask the cyber cafe staff something in the forum.
Also you can have news about upcoming events on the web site besides a notice at the cyber cafe.
Summary:
Basicly your dealing with
1. Business strategy & management
Business Strategy = Formulating business strategy and stuff need to be done.
Business management = Paying the bills, maintenance of computers, and customer management systems
2. Legal matters
Doing good business practices and making sure you aren't doing anything illegal or may result in a successful lawsuit against you for bad practice.
These are 3 things. Strategy, management, and legal conduct.
Here are my favourite cyber cafes Nyu Nyu
AM/PM E-Zone
QUOTE E-zone Cyber Cafe is the largest Cyber Cafe in Malaysia and receive the prize of the largest cyber Cafe in Malaysia of Malaysia Record Books. E-zone operating as 2 Cyber Cafe offering stater of the art network systems and computer facilities combine with cozy friendly environment and lots more. E-zone have two branches one in Mid Valley Mega Mall and the other one in Low Yat Plaza. E-zone have 168PCs serve at Mid Valley outlet and 202 PCs serve at Low Yat Plaza.
The first Internet Cafe using T1 leased line in Malaysia. Pentium 4 and LCD Monitor with variety of free drinks. Open 24 hours 7 days a week
http://ampmezone.com
I visited the Mid Valley one, it's nice =^-^=; and you get free infinite drink refills HEHEHE!
Virtual Arena CyberCafe,
76-1 Jalan 27/70A Desa Seri Hartamas
Kuala Lumpur (03-2300 1025)
QUOTE Virtual Arena
Virtual Arena, cyber combatants and athletes gather at this popular cyber cafe to not only hone their already sharpened skills but also to compete with other fellow cyber combatants and athletes.
http://www.va02.net
My brother goes to this one. I like their system layout.
Hopefully that helped.
QUOTE (nyunyu)im recently partnering with my friend to open up an internet cafe.
if any of you have some advise?
about the cost and the process..
i need to know the whole process..
can anyone help me out?
Sorry don't know anything about this.
But i'll just give my own opinion.
1. Who are your customers ? Who is your cyber cafe gearing towards ? Gamers .... is what i would say. Looking at the demography, gamers can be kids aged 10-17 and adults 18-25 usually.
But i'll bet that most of the gamers would be high school students. So opening/closing hours should be made with that in mind.
2. Location = You need to plan where your cyber cafe is going to be.
After all it should be somewhere your customers can easily reach.
Should you buy or rent ? Rennovation costs ?
Opening a cyber cafe in a city rather than in a kampung is a better choice.
Maybe in one of the housing districts or in town ... Close to a high-school would be good as your customers can comeover after classes and etc ...
And you need some way to market your cyber cafe such as a sign outside with your cyber cafe logo which has a good design.
3. Computer system specs = What specs do you think your going to need to satisfy gamers .... I'll say go for Amd systems because price for performance is definately better when compared against Intels.
A good gaming performance machine would be a socket 939 Amd cpu rig ... and memory should be 1 gig of ddr ( 512mb x 2 sticks in dual ddr mode ) since the pc will be on most of the time and takes up lots of memory.
A nForce 3 amd chipset motherboard is a great gaming system. So if your going for a nForce 3 system that means you will be using Agp .. not pci express which will be available for amd systems with the nForce 4 motherboards.
As for graphics cards, you need to have a graphics card that can play all of the latest games even stuff such as Hl2, Doom 3, Far Cry ...
Ati X800 Pro or a Nvidia Geforce 6800 Gt .... The 6800 Gt is cheaper than the pro but the Ati does better in Hl2 ... so it's your choice.
For monitors, 17'' or 19'' is good enough. Crts can heat up more than Lcds. But crts provide better performance in gaming with no ghosting.
You have to take care your monitors don't over heat and die out. I would say go for Crts as their cheaper than a good Lcd with no ghosting.
It's up to you. Lcds can save you money on electricity costs and they produce less heat than crts that might over time make you replace monitors that burn out.
And cyber cafe users aren't usually picky when there is some ghosting so a 16ms 17'' Lcd monitor should do well.
Get cheap keyboards cause they will wear out fast.
As for mouses you can use normal Logitech usb optical mouses. It doesn't have to be a Logitech Mx 510.
Oh you probably can have a rule saying they can bring their own headphones, and mouse if they want ...
I noticed in cyber cafes that gamers always abuse the speakers. You should consider how to protect your speakers at the cyber cafe from being blown to pieces by the customers.
Maybe have a rule not to turn the volume too loud ....or have headphones instead because people won't turn it too loud or their ear drums would blow.
How about internet. You will need to share the internet with the other computers so what package to use.
At am/pm E-zone in Malaysia Kl, they use a T1 internet connection...
I would recommend having an internet connection for your cyber cafe. You probably can have them all connected to the net or have a few pcs connected to the net so people who want the net choose the net pcs to book.
4. A membership system. Some cyber cafes have membership systems that allow you to sign up and receive a membership card for a one time fee.
Benefits are discounted prices, and legitability in participating in competitions held in the cyber cafe.
5. Clan sponsorships. Counter-Strike is VERY popular in cyber cafes in Malaysia. Some cafes go as far as to sponsor specific clans so that they can play for free and probably get paid as well. This is to lure other cs players to come play at those cyber cafes.
6. Security = Some cybercafes they have close circuit cameras to see whether anyone trys to steal equipment or install viruses ( could be malicious users or cyber cafe rivals who employed them to install viruses to spoil your business ).
7. Cyber cafe decorations and layout = The layout of your cyber cafe how should it be ? Some cyber cafes i went to have a long table where the pcs are on it.
And they also have BOXED CUBICLES for privacy. This also helps separate web users who are not gamers from the outside noise. You could have headphones for the cubicle compartment areas.
Whereas the open areas have a smokers and non smokers area that is basicly long tables that have computers next to each other.
You can have your cyber cafe in a lighted area or a dark area ... depends on you.
Air conditioning is definately needed.
As well as toilets for boys and girls.
Maybe the reception area sells food and beverages. If you set too high a price they will go else where.
The Reception counter should be located near the entrance, so people won't scive off without paying.
8. Investure capital = To start up your business you of course need a sum of money to cover the costs of starting up.
You can either loan from your family or the bank. If from the bank you have to pay in interest. My brother's friend borrowed a loan from his family to start up his cyber cafe business.
You should plan out what your budget is and what this will cost you to start up and operate on a monthly basis.
To get business you will need to market .. and as i pointed out, if your cyber cafe was located near too a school and a shopping outlet area such as at Sri Hartamas Virtual Arena how their situated like that and there is a school nearby and their in close to residential areas.
9. Business partners and staff = So basicly you share the profits and revenue with your partner i assume. I'm not sure at what percentage but maybe 50/50 ?
For staff you need cleaners to clean the bathroom, and somebody at the counter to sign in people to the computers, to answer questions concerning the services, somebody capable of fixing some general computer problems.
10. How to manage customers = So based on my membership idea, there should be a card system that allows you to swipe in at the counter and select over the pc, which computer you want to book.
This will require a cyber cafe management software either generic or custom made for your cyber cafe. I'm basing this off the Virtual Arena cyber cafe in Sri Hartamas in Kl Malaysia.
So this cyber cafe management system should be able to reserve computers for customers, then keep track of their computer usage time and other purchases such as food/beverages and products sold at your cyber cafe.
When they are done, they go to the check out and show their card to be swiped so you now their bill to be paid.
11. Legal matters. You should be aware of employment law in Malaysia so you don't end up getting sued.
Owners/partners should handle stuff like taxes, employee pay and pension money coming from employee paychecks.
Besides Employment Law, you should be aware of law concerning business practices especially those concerning cyber cafes.
I'm just basing this off Uk employment law of which i studied. Malaysia has different laws so you should look into that.
This is an example of how legal matters in countries apply to a cyber cafe. This article relates to cyber cafes in Pakistan.
http://bangladesh-web.com/view.php?hidType...000000000007567
I was looking over google for Cyber cafe regulations and legislation in Malaysia and this was what i found
http://newmedia.cityu.edu.hk/cyberlaw/gp17/mal1.html
So E-Gambling should not be allowed i'm afraid.
12. Have a web site for your cyber cafe = Build a community and have a web site for members to look at from home. For Cs clanners they might want to book over the net for specific dates, or ask the cyber cafe staff something in the forum.
Also you can have news about upcoming events on the web site besides a notice at the cyber cafe.
Summary:
Basicly your dealing with
1. Business strategy & management
Business Strategy = Formulating business strategy and stuff need to be done.
Business management = Paying the bills, maintenance of computers, and customer management systems
2. Legal matters
Doing good business practices and making sure you aren't doing anything illegal or may result in a successful lawsuit against you for bad practice.
These are 3 things. Strategy, management, and legal conduct.
Here are my favourite cyber cafes Nyu Nyu
AM/PM E-Zone
QUOTE E-zone Cyber Cafe is the largest Cyber Cafe in Malaysia and receive the prize of the largest cyber Cafe in Malaysia of Malaysia Record Books. E-zone operating as 2 Cyber Cafe offering stater of the art network systems and computer facilities combine with cozy friendly environment and lots more. E-zone have two branches one in Mid Valley Mega Mall and the other one in Low Yat Plaza. E-zone have 168PCs serve at Mid Valley outlet and 202 PCs serve at Low Yat Plaza.
The first Internet Cafe using T1 leased line in Malaysia. Pentium 4 and LCD Monitor with variety of free drinks. Open 24 hours 7 days a week
http://ampmezone.com
I visited the Mid Valley one, it's nice =^-^=; and you get free infinite drink refills HEHEHE!
Virtual Arena CyberCafe,
76-1 Jalan 27/70A Desa Seri Hartamas
Kuala Lumpur (03-2300 1025)
QUOTE Virtual Arena
Virtual Arena, cyber combatants and athletes gather at this popular cyber cafe to not only hone their already sharpened skills but also to compete with other fellow cyber combatants and athletes.
http://www.va02.net
My brother goes to this one. I like their system layout.
Hopefully that helped.
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