Business Plan for an Internet Cafe

Almost nothing will support your internet cafe business launch as much as writing a business plan. Even if you only spend one afternoon, and you only end up with 10 pages for less, that's a fine start and it may end up being a huge asset.

A business plan is essential if you are going to be asking for a business loan or looking for investors to get your cafe off the ground. The first thing they will ask for is to see your business plan. But even if you have enough money on your own, writing a business plan is still a critical part of your startup. Writing the plan will force you to think through exactly how your business will work. It will make you look hard at your competitors and your market in ways that you otherwise would not have.

Doing the financial part of the plan can be invaluable, so you know exactly how much you need to charge and how long it may take for you to break even. Many business owners think they won't need financing until they do the financial section of their business plan. Then they realize that 3 months operating costs in reserve is definitely not going to cut it.



Here are the parts of a standard business plan and how to approach each one.

1) Executive Summary. You write this part last. This is a high-level review of everything in your business plan. It is written for the express purpose so that someone who has a mild interest in your cafe can pick up your business plan and read just this first page. They should be able to understand what you want to do, and get a sense of how prepared you are, just from these first few paragraphs.

2) Description of the Business. This includes several smaller sections, all of them very important. Each of these sub-sections should be at least a page long.

Statement of Purpose. A clear, no-hype set of paragraphs about what you want to do. Paint the picture of what you want your business to be here, right down to how many customers you want to have every day, how you'll serve them, and what it will feel like to be in your cafe.

Market. Here you should talk about the town and neighborhood you want your cafe to be in. Is there room for an internet cafe in this area? Prove it. Demonstrate a need for what you are about to offer. Talk about what the people are like, and get demographic data to back it up if possible. Talk about nearby businesses or schools that are natural magnets for your kind of business.

Competition. Who else does what you want to do? Is there even a sandwich shop anywhere nearby? Don't fear competition. Analyze it. Go through every major competitors SWOT's -- their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. You may get some ideas for side services you could offer while you do this analysis (like having a computer repair specialist come in one day a week).

Continue to the second page of writing a business plan for an internet cafe