Opening a social café has been in the mind of many entrepreneurial Filipinos, especially the fresh graduates who possess bright minds and business spirit that drive them to ensure success.

If you try to look around the business districts and mall areas, cafés are treated as social, affluent, and downright hip. Given the avid patronage of young student muggers, Filipino’s discriminating palates and the western-influenced pastime of eating outside the office, setting up a café can be a tantalizing taste of a profitable business.

However, there are several things that are needed to make certain that the café will appeal to the cake sage, latte lover and occasional hipster. Before entertaining any of your culinary dreams, you may want to check below first:

Zoning Areas

First of all, the new café has to be officially compatible with the existing residents and businesses. As far as possible, the new café has to comply with the character of the extant community. The café de’ founder must have approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the local government unit (LGU).

Looking for s possible café name search can be done electronically via the SEC's online verification system, but applicants must pay for the reservation fee on site at the SEC. Once the reserved name is approved by the SEC, it costs PhP 40.00 for the first 30 days. The company name can be reserved for a maximum of 90 days for a fee of PhP 120.00, which is renewable upon expiration of the period.

To get the barangay clearance, the following documentary requirements should be submitted to the Barangay: Application form, SEC Certificate of Incorporation and approved articles of incorporation and bylaws, location plan/site map and the contract of lease over the corporation's office.

Aside from paying the basic and additional community tax from the City Treasurer’s Office (CTO), special books of accounts are required for registering with the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR). The books of accounts are sold at bookstores nationwide. One set of journals consisting of four books (cash receipts account, disbursements account, ledger, general journal) costs about PhP 400.00.

Haste Makes Waste on Taste

One of the more important steps is to make sure that the products ace the taste test and not give clients projectile diarrhea. For instance, as a (relatively) inexperienced barista, it is highly likely that your first few cuppas’ would be a far cry from satisfactory. A handful of trusty food samplers in the form of your critical (but nonetheless loyal) friends and family would go a long way.

In addition, don’t compromise on the calibre of your cakes and coffee beans; you’ll need to do your homework and source for and liaise with reliable food suppliers that would swear by the quality and safety of your ingredients.

Making It Your Own

Cafés in the Philippines, especially in business centers, are a dime a dozen. To stand out, consumers will be looking for novelty and innovation (cronuts, anyone?). Don’t be afraid to be fiercely abhorrent of normalcy and ensure that you make your café your own.

One big way to do so (and establish the sacredness of your café) lies largely in its ambience. A tasteful interior will set an established café apart from having a 'no-frills coffee shop'. A quirky row of artistry sprawled across the wall and the right mix of slow jazz and chanson tunes will make for a very laid-back atmosphere (recommendations from existing clients can help boost your income further).

The Business Plan

Last but certainly not the least is the café’s business plan. A business plan is a formal statement of a set of business goals, the reasons they are believed attainable, and the plan for reaching those goals. It may also contain background information about the organization or team attempting to reach those goals.

Business plans may also target changes in perception and branding by the customer, client, taxpayer, or larger community. When the existing business is to assume a major change or when planning a new venture, a 3 to 5 year business plan is required, since investors will look for their annual return in that timeframe.

Business plan notwithstanding, your café in its infantile phase would require you to bleed red ink, at least for a while. As a newly-baked business owner fresh from the oven, you should expect to have no salary to call your own. You could take up freelance or part-time jobs on the sideline, or give tuition if you can still remember how to solve your simultaneous equations.

It also helps to have a contingency plan on hand. Abiding by the law of Good ol’ Murphy, it is important to think of what can happen and plan for unexpected situations accordingly. If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.

In short, to start a business is no piece of cake, but religiously adhering to the nitty-gritty details is one step closer to showcasing your novelty and your inner hipster heart – and your very first café.

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It was observed that in the last 3 years Internet cafés have sprouted like mushrooms all over the country. Experts attribute this to the low-cost franchises and to the fact that as low as 10 percent of the population has actually access to the Internet and fewer still own a computer. Lately, demand for internet access got another boost. Online gaming companies like Level Up!, netGames, IPVG and AMDG have attracted gamers to Internet cafes. All these and the fact that it doesn't take an IT expert to set up the business, makes the Internet café one of the most viable small-scale options for investors.

But what does it take to set-up an Internet café? We’ll try to gather the critical points of several articles on this subject and highlight some of the components that we think are important for a successful Internet café.

Hardware

• If you can afford it, purchase top-of-the-line computers. You can still buy second-hand units that cost about PhP 15,000.00 on average, but having new and powerful computers is one way to ensure returning clients. The cost of brand new computers may range from about PhP 20,000.00 to PhP 35,000.00 each.
• Do not be afraid or embarrass asking computer stores for suggestions on specifications for your use. Please take note that computers for typing, surfing and chatting require different specs than computers for gaming. If you want to purchase computers for gaming, make sure that you have a good video card and a fast processor installed.
• If you are not sure whether a particular computer store is over-pricing their products or not, try to compare specs and cost with those from another store. There are some computer stores that are willing to bring down their cost if they knew what their competitors are offering.
• If you have no background in setting-up and wiring computers, do not hesitate in calling an IT expert. The danger in doing the setting-up by yourself is that you might end up spending more because if you made a mistake, everything will have to be redone.

Software

• Nothing beats having licensed software. The savings you will incur by using pirated software will only be offset by the cost of having authorities regularly raiding your shop. Microsoft windows cost about PhP 6,000.00 right now, while Microsoft Office can range between PhP 10,000.00 to PhP13,000.00. For added protection, ant-virus software are available for as low as PhP 2,500.00 per program. Ideally, you should multiply the total software cost by the number of computers you have on your shop to get an estimate of how much you need to invest in software, but we do not think authorities are too picky and will probably allow you to keep single software for everything in your shop. Meaning, one Microsoft windows program for more that one computer.
• If you want to saved on your software cost, you can avail of free downloadable software such as Linux, Opera and Open Office. They may not be popular and will take awhile getting used to, but they still get the job done at no cost. The only downside could probably be the unwillingness of your clients to use those programs.

Location

• One of the most important components of any small-scale business is location. It is suggested that areas with high-foot-traffic should be the first priority. Those that are near schools, business centers, hotels, grocery stores, jeep or FX terminals, bus stations and residential areas are just some of the locations that will probably attract many clients.
• To save on rentals, Internet workstations can be set-up in an existing business such as coffee shops and restaurants. By setting up an Internet service together with another service that complements it is one way to ensure regular clients. What you are doing is just riding on the possibility that the existing clients of the complementary service will also demand for an Internet service.

Amenities

• Facing a tough time with your competitor just around the corner, make your clients more comfortable than before and the environment more cozy. You can start with the chairs. Make the chairs more cushy. Faced with a choice between mono blocs and cushy chairs, I think you know what your clients will choose.
• This will probably increase your cost, but by putting additional service such as desktop publishing, e-loading, long-distance calls, typesetting, laser printing, photocopying, fax and even computer tutorials, you just made your shop more attractive.
• Having air-conditioned Internet cafés is a must. Not only will you be making your clients less stressed and relax, but you also ensured that your computers will last longer and prevent them from overheating.

Administration

• If you are not the one personally managing your Internet cafés everyday operation, then you should diligently monitor the usage, billing and collection of payment. Keeping a record book the tracks hourly transaction or purchasing a software program for about PhP4,000.00 to PhP6,000.00 (off the rack) is strongly suggested to minimize if not prevent errors and cheating.

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