50% of the internet café business is knowing how to chose and/or get a location. Most internet café owners have the capability to process $10 million in internet sales per year. They also know where the business is. The key is securing the location.

When you present your company, make sure you have a professional image. Go online, to guru.com. This is a website where freelance designers gather. You can post a project and have people bid on your project. A project that would cost you $2000 in the USA can be done by someone in India for $75. I’ve used the service many time, always great results.

Negotiating with a location: If you know a location is dynamite, then you want to try and negotiate a flat rent. Say you know the location can do $5000/month, you want to offer $1000/month rent. Some owners are tricky and also want a percentage of sales. You want to try and avoid percentage deals if the location is great. If they know your sales, they will eventually raise your rent. If the location is mediocre, $500-$1000 in sales, then you want to do a percentage deal. Start off offering 25% and go as high as 50%. Many times, if you come with a ready made contract, you can get the 25% deal. Be careful though, you don’t want to get greedy and lose the location all together. Try to feel out the situation and act accordingly.

Most second important part of the Internet Café Business
Service, Service, Service!!

You can be the best salesman in the world, if you don’t service your locations properly, you’ll be out of the location quicker than you got in.

Have a 1800 line where customers can call you. Even better, provide a hotline phone by the computers. You can buy these phones on eBay for $100. All your numbers should go to a help line. This help line can be your cell phone, or if your big enough you can establish our own call center. I’ve even heard of people outsourcing their calls abroad. Your need to have 100+ machines before you consider this option. Visit your location on a daily basis or every other day. Clean the machines, add paper to the printer. You also want to train the people who work around the machines. Many times a simple re-boot of the PC is all it takes the fix a problem. However, at the end of the day, the most important thing to do, is MAKE SURE YOU ANSER THE PHONE WHEN PEOPLE CALL. If you can do this, you will be in business for a long time. If you don’t, don’t even start in this business, you’ll be wasting your time.