Business Plan for an Internet Cafe continued

Back to first page of writing a business plan for an internet cafe

Personnel. Who are you, and why are you going to be a great owner and manager? Cite your own experience in this kind of business. If you have selected a few employees already, include their resumes, and your own. You may also want to include your own tax returns for the last three years, as some investors and banks require this information.

Legal structure and insurance. Will this be an LLC? If so, say so. Talk about how you'll insure your business, and go into detail about the different licenses and permits you'll need... or hopefully, that you've already gotten. This may include the dreaded food inspection.

Operating Procedures. Walk your reader through exactly how you are going to serve your customers, down to the server and wifi setup you'll use, how many computers there will be, the software for them, security measures, how much you'll charge for food, your hours of operation... everything.




3) Financials. This might be the part where having an accountant or CPA onhand would be helpful, but give it a shot on your own first -- this is not hard and you can do it.

Startup Costs. Break out everything you'll need to secure your place -- all the real estate startup costs, for example. This should include everything from putting in the new sink that the food inspection requires to two gallons of your favorite shade of paint, your lease deposit, and even $200 for a lawyer to review your lease. Have another section for all your supplies and equipment. List each computer in detail, plus what software it has or it will need. Include a small budget for decor (maybe a modest stero system would help the atmosphere of the place, plus a few cool area rugs and maybe some nice posters).

Do a breakeven analysis. This is where you "do the math", month by month, of how you are going to make a profit one day. So you'll tally up all your operating costs for the month (rent, payroll, food and internet access, marketing and licenses), then deduce from that all the income you expect. Do yourself a favor and be as realistic as possible. Saying you'll be flooded with hundreds of people the first month you're in business is not sane. It will start as a trickle, and it may stay a trickle for three months or more. After you've subtracted your projected income from your overhead, don't get too crazy over your amazing profits yet. You still have to pay taxes, and if you borrowed money, you have to start paying some of that back, with interest. So subtract those payments from whatever was leftover after overhead was covered.

Don't be disappointed if its a negative number. Frankly, if its a negative number even through the whole first year of your business, that's OK. You just need a bit more startup money, or you need to cut costs, or you need to get creative about other ways to generate income from your cafe. This is exactly the kind of sobering, but realistic knowledge that is why writing a business plan is so important.