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Predicting Demand for a Lan Cafe
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i have broadband..and all/most of my friends do...but i WOULD pay 3-4 dollars to go play at a lan place...cause its fun to play wit people next to you...etc etc...i wouldnt pay anything over 4.50 an hour...
I just had a lan party last nite...so i can just have people over at my house instead of at a lan cafe if the price is too expensive 😀...
goodluck..the lan place here charges 4 bucks an hour and its pretty much dead...college town and all...
I just had a lan party last nite...so i can just have people over at my house instead of at a lan cafe if the price is too expensive 😀...
goodluck..the lan place here charges 4 bucks an hour and its pretty much dead...college town and all...
if you are starting one..make sure the place LOOKS REALLY COOL> and make it a nice/chill place to hangout at...not just for computer use...have other stuff such as pool tables, fooseball tables, a nice selection of drinks/power drinks. and snacks. (fries?, pizza, burgers). make it so that all walks of life want to go there to hangout...
goodluck.
goodluck.
A) Rent is Being Split with another party for business use
B) Lan will also be bringing in profits from Repair/Sale/Upgrading of Computers
C) Lan will also be bringing in profits from Food/ Beverages/Snacks
D) It will look cool, but design is nowhere in sight as of now.
E) Nobody ever said 12000 a month was bad.
F) There is literally no competition besides the Nathan's arcade down the block. 1 dollar for a game you'd play tops for 15 mins or 6 dollars for a computer for gaming. Thats still a 2 dollar difference, people do not care about those two dollars. Lots of thinking goin into this one and I really appreciate all your thoughts.
B) Lan will also be bringing in profits from Repair/Sale/Upgrading of Computers
C) Lan will also be bringing in profits from Food/ Beverages/Snacks
D) It will look cool, but design is nowhere in sight as of now.
E) Nobody ever said 12000 a month was bad.
F) There is literally no competition besides the Nathan's arcade down the block. 1 dollar for a game you'd play tops for 15 mins or 6 dollars for a computer for gaming. Thats still a 2 dollar difference, people do not care about those two dollars. Lots of thinking goin into this one and I really appreciate all your thoughts.
I would say $3-$4 is a good price no matter if there's competition or not. I know a place with 20ish computers that charged $3 hour in a large town with no competition and went out of business :-x. You have to figure that if you're the consumer, and you said $10, just thinking that it would be bad for you. If you used a computer more than 60 hours, you could have your own computer that's just as good for less. Give them a deal they can't refuse. The less you charge the more business you get.
- Kevin
- Kevin
XZeroII
Lifer
It doesn't sound like there will be enough demand based on where you live, but what I would do is some market research. I would go and actually TALK to your target audience. Find out how many hours they would spend there per week. Find out how much would be enough to charge (you MUST have multiple choice. Probably $3 - $8). Find out if they want certain types of snacks. Get ALL this information from them. It will take quite awhile, but you will not be just flying blind and hoping you are making good assumptions. I would get a sampling of at least 150 people and then do some math. Figure out how many people would be interested (you will have to extrapolate) then find out how many hours they would spend there (average). Multiply that by the price that people would be willing to pay. Take that number and you will find out about how much you will make at the door. Then do some research on how much money you'll bring in from snacks using the same methods. This will give you approx how much you can expect to make. Once you have all that (and not before), go and start figuring out your costs. Look at rent prices, computers, electricity, sewer, phone, wages, etc... and figure out if you will be profitable. ALWAYS exaggerage your costs, and underestimate your revenue.
BTW: You should also know that it will not be fun and games for you and your friends. You guys will be doing all the party pooping and cleanup. Believe me, you will have people who will break you stuff. You will have people who will spill their drinks. You will have underaged smokers. You will have underaged drinking. You will have problem people. You have to be prepared to deal with this because if the gov't steps in and finds out that minors are drinking at your place, you will be SCREWED. You will also need to incorporate and keep accurate accounting and tax records (unless you want some real trouble). What you are proposing is a HUGE responsibility.
BTW: You should also know that it will not be fun and games for you and your friends. You guys will be doing all the party pooping and cleanup. Believe me, you will have people who will break you stuff. You will have people who will spill their drinks. You will have underaged smokers. You will have underaged drinking. You will have problem people. You have to be prepared to deal with this because if the gov't steps in and finds out that minors are drinking at your place, you will be SCREWED. You will also need to incorporate and keep accurate accounting and tax records (unless you want some real trouble). What you are proposing is a HUGE responsibility.
just a few quick thoughts. that arcade you mentioned, do they do a lot of business? well, i don't think it matters much since i believe that the arcade and a lan cafe cater to different demographics. I certainly wouldn't want to play some samurai shodown on a PC or a FPS in an arcade.
Also, I think it's a terrible idea to charge too much an hour for a new lan cafe business. If I walked into one that was empty, I wouldn't stay. I think an introductory rate and then slowly raise rates when business picks up. I hope you don't mind my input, but if it were up to me I would run it like a movie theater. Make money off drinks, snacks, selling of some computer stuff, services, etc. Another thing to consider is that elementary students and middle school students aren't going to be buying many accessories (food, etc), if at all.
Also, I think it's a terrible idea to charge too much an hour for a new lan cafe business. If I walked into one that was empty, I wouldn't stay. I think an introductory rate and then slowly raise rates when business picks up. I hope you don't mind my input, but if it were up to me I would run it like a movie theater. Make money off drinks, snacks, selling of some computer stuff, services, etc. Another thing to consider is that elementary students and middle school students aren't going to be buying many accessories (food, etc), if at all.
One final advise:
I was looking into opening one of these places, and one way I was going to generate customers is to have a local tournaments on different nights (entry fees and awards are given accordingly, you figure this out). You can make money with $3.00/hr charge, with a 1500 ft^2 space (figure at $2.50 per ft^2). You can also charge monthly membership fee, so patrons will pay less per hr, but you're ensured a stickiness factor of your customers. You don't really have to be in a college area to be successful with a place like this, just be accessible to WALKING customers.
EDIT: forgot, about 40 rigs running in that place.
I was looking into opening one of these places, and one way I was going to generate customers is to have a local tournaments on different nights (entry fees and awards are given accordingly, you figure this out). You can make money with $3.00/hr charge, with a 1500 ft^2 space (figure at $2.50 per ft^2). You can also charge monthly membership fee, so patrons will pay less per hr, but you're ensured a stickiness factor of your customers. You don't really have to be in a college area to be successful with a place like this, just be accessible to WALKING customers.
EDIT: forgot, about 40 rigs running in that place.
Yeah...That responsibility is very big as you said...It is something i have to consider. The arcade does VERY well...always busy.Oh yeah...i'll do low rates and things to keep them coming back, What do you recommend on keeping track of these deadbeats? They could very well take reign of the place unless i take a pair of brass knuckes or a metal baseball bat and keep the power. Thats illegal and would result in many bad things happening. I don't want to take more costs on in hiring private security. What do you recommend? I know security cameras but besides that? A deposit on equipment would turn them away, Identification before use wouldn't work for the younger ones...I'm fresh out of ideas for that. Robberies too....Lots of cash and valuable equipment on hand.
EvilYoda
Lifer
$5 max, but nowadays, I don't think a plain LAN cafe would cut it...being in the A/V industry and having it as a hobby, I would look into making a place to relax, with a really nice theater. I don't know if I'd charge (and if so, how much) for the movie, but you have to have other incentives. Maybe a nice audio system to listen to music to when they don't have headphones on. And make sure you have lots of events...the all-nighters are really popular around here. I'd also consider buying some old arcade games, or making a few MAME cabinets.
Personally, my ideal LAN cafe would be a place where I could be all night, but not play computer games non-stop...arcade games, movies, board games (attack!, Settlers, etc.)...and I would be willing to pay 3 or 4 bucks an hour just to be in the place. Granted, I come a slightly more affluent background, but 6 hours a night is still less than $20, which you could easily waste somewhere else.
Good luck 🙂
Personally, my ideal LAN cafe would be a place where I could be all night, but not play computer games non-stop...arcade games, movies, board games (attack!, Settlers, etc.)...and I would be willing to pay 3 or 4 bucks an hour just to be in the place. Granted, I come a slightly more affluent background, but 6 hours a night is still less than $20, which you could easily waste somewhere else.
Good luck 🙂
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