- First, investigate the potential of your business idea and create a business plan. Several local organizations can assist you with this. Try SEDA or DTI, or obtain the free Business Plan Book from smetoolkit.org.
- Determine how you will position yourself in the market by researching what a typical internet café offers. Will you try something different to distinguish yourself from the competition?
- Hone your business acumen. Do you understand accounting, budgeting, and financial planning well enough to run a business? Finding a mentor may be beneficial. The National Youth Development Agency operates a volunteer mentorship program for young entrepreneurs, but there are numerous more options if you are no longer considered a youth. Begin here.
- Determine if you will operate as a sole proprietorship, corporation, or partnership. Then, register your company to ensure that you meet all legal criteria and stay on good terms with the IRS. You will automatically be registered with SARS if you register as a company with the Companies and Intellectual Property Registration Office (CIPC). If you choose the sole proprietorship or partnership approach, you must register with SARS directly.
- Consider where you will locate your internet café. Do you want to help a certain community? Will you require any store space? Are you able to purchase space, or will you have to rent? If so, can you include the rental cost in your overhead? Don’t forget to examine the municipality by-laws in the area where you wish to open your café to ensure that you follow local restrictions.
If buying or creating trading space is out of your price range, examine alternatives to fixed “brick and mortar.” Converted cargo containers, for example, are becoming increasingly popular as office and retail spaces.
- Make critical selections regarding your gear, software, internet service provider (ISP), and network alternatives. Computer equipment can be leased, so you don’t have to commit a huge chunk of money up front. Ideally, you want an ISP that is dependable and provides hosting as well as technical assistance.
If you lack all of the necessary technical knowledge, consult with IT professionals. Those in the know will also be able to advise you on selecting the best ISP. There are other organizations that teach aspiring internet café operators the ins and outs of the business.
- Determine your price points. Investigate the rates charged by competing internet cafés, keep your business plan and bottom line in mind, and think about what clients in your area might be ready to pay. You want to break even as soon as possible, but you also want to keep people coming in.
- You are now ready to market your company to your target demographic. Create a website (or blog-as-website) and a Facebook page, and think about placing an ad in the local newspaper. Hopefully, you’ve chosen a location with adequate foot traffic to view your signage and encourage walk-ins. Encourage customers to subscribe to your website so that you may send them newsletters about upcoming campaigns or promotions.
Also, strive to give something unique. Adding gaming to your service is something that every wise internet café owner should think about. Online gaming is a developing industry, and gamers are known to play for extended periods of time. Good news for your company!
Is it profitable to own an Internet cafe in South Africa?
A profitable business to establish in South Africa is an internet café. Despite the growing number of internet users in the country, there are still a large number of individuals who do not have access to the internet, particularly in rural areas (just 2% of rural homesteads have access to the internet).
What exactly is an Internet cafe?
To begin, an Internet shop, computer shop, or cybercafé is a place where one can use a computer with Internet access, normally priced per hour or minute, and sometimes unmetered access with a day or month pass. It can also function as a typical cafe, serving food and drinks.
