I'm having a very tough time getting my gaming center open.  I have done a ton of research as well as been reading up on the forums on igames.  I am having a major problem getting funding with the business plan I have presented to the bank.  It keeps getting refused.   Does anyone have a better "blueprint" for a business plan that will get me funded??  It's been about a year of headache and I really want to get this up and running.  Any help would be greatly appreciated. 

 

 

 

Thank you,

Brian

The Game Center buisness is a relatively high risk buisness for banks to invest in. I don't know if any of the Game Centers on igames have gotten a true start up loan from a bank. I know when I applied for a buisness loan the banker told me I needed at least a 700 credit score, collateral for the entire loan, and have income to debt ratio to cover loan. As far as a buisness plan, the banker told me it was more just to show the bank you were serious.

I started my Gamecenter with personal savings and I refinanced my house. Hope that helps.

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www.chillzonegamingcafe.com

Thank you for the info.  I live in Las Vegas and the housing market here is garbage and I am unable to pull any equity from any of my homes.  I have a credit score of over 700 and a stable job for over 6yrs.  The business plan is for show that I will be able to pay the loan without problems.  Frustrating!

 

 

 

Thank you,

Brian 

The vast majority of centers that open are closed in 3 years.  It will be very hard getting a bank to loan you start up funds with this kind of poor track record.  I don't think many centers started with bank loans.  A loan is going to make it a lot harder to stay in buisness also.  You should rethink this.  What happens if you go under, as most centers do, and are left paying off a bank loan?

Maybe prepare a little better and open in a few years.  I paid cash for my center after I sold a house, except for a few odds and ends on my CC which was paid off the first year because it was a small amount.  If I had to be making loan payments I think I would be one of the centers now failing.

I got lucky and pulled my equity right before the market crashed, I guess you call it lucky. Yeah , I had all that too and they still denied me.

 

 

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www.chillzonegamingcafe.com

Thank you for your input.  I have done my research in the area and there is HUGE potential where I live.  There are 2 high schools less than a mile from here.  There was a GC nearby and it was doing very well until the owner decided to let his kids run the show.  They gave free sodas and time to their friends and the business failed.  I talked to one of the managers of the store and he claimed a high of 19k a month. That's not bad in my eyes.  I am prepared to go under but think the rewards outweigh the risk.  It's also hard to talk to landlords about what a LAN center is.  They think it's just an arcade and don't want to lease to me because they believe it will attract trouble.

 

 

 

Thank you,

Brian 

GL and welcome to the show.  I don't think you will have alot of luck getting external funding unless you have some personal pull in the decision making process.

Landlords have every right to be concerned, I have seen a few centers that are run very poorly and should be of concern to landlords.  Of course it is going to be viewed as an arcade until you get your 'speech' down to help them understand why it is not an arcade.

If you heard me describe our center to the city and our potential landlords, you would have thought I was opening a church. =P

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www.crazypenguinsgaming.com

 Not getting funded is the best thing that could happen to you. It will save you losing a lot of time and money. Count your blessings and stay out of this business. I did this for 3.5 years and was successful for a year of it. No joke stay out if you r smart. I would bet not 2% survive for 3 years let alone make $.   I will get flamed here but I know the deal. Not bitter just a lot smarter now than when I started. Good luck.

All small business's are risky.  I tried to look up statistics but couldn't find what I was looking for.  I remember hearing it was 9 out of 10, or 8 out of 10 fail within the first year, or something like that or in the first 2 years or whatever. 

You have to go in with your eyes open wide.  You have to know what to expect, and the realities of owning your own business.  I think igames helps with that research that needs to be done to open your eyes and bring you down to reality.  

Most small businesses = lots of hours for little financial reward, particularly in the first few years.  

I didn't open my business to get rich over night.  I opened my own business because that has been my dream since I was a kid.  I left a high paying job to work a lot of hours for less than minimum wage.  My plan is that things will improve, and hopefully I've done the right research to support my ideas.  Would I go back to my high paying job? not on your life, not if I can help it.   Do I want to keep making less than minimum wage? no, I hope that I'll be able to fulfill my original plan and eventually make enough money to live comfortably again in a few years.

As for a bank putting up all your starting capital?  probably not gonna happen.  We have government programs here, but even they require a big chunk of your own money to get things started.  

Good luck and don't give up. 

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MrConsoleX
SPAR Games
Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada

Go big or go home!

you are right on. I just got the urge to open an eye today. I have not checked this site in a long time. All the places I remember are nearly all gone. Actually  all gone. I could be wrong about that. Good luck to you.

What kind of shop did you have Gault? How many stations? sq ft? What happened?

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www.chillzonegamingcafe.com

20 comps in about 900 sq ft. lost about 500 a month 1st year. made about 500 a month in 2nd year. broke even 3rd year. spent to upgrade comps and then comcast cable came to town and I lost a third of  my business. Lowered prices to 3 an hour to stop the bleeding. The next 6 months fewer and fewer were showing up to play and my lease was expiring. I had option for 3 more years but thank god I pulled the plug. A much nicer place opened within a mile of me in my last 3 months. I thought they might be what went wrong but they closed in about a year.I watched them closely and they never really took off. My guess is between rising gas prices, XBox 360, all homes with fast connections, and kids with comps at home that could play good games well, it was a matter off time. It was an experience. Met a lot of great people and a couple of crooks. Fun times.  But not as fun as having my money back, HA HA tear ,Tear,Ha.

I don't throw out alot of info in the gamers section.

But, hey, i'm still around. 

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Martin "MrFurious" Kruse
Xtreme Gaming Cybercafe
www.goxgaming.com

IGames Community Member Since 2003

doesn't this just seem like the ideal time to Rick James him =P

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www.crazypenguinsgaming.com

gault:

20 comps in about 900 sq ft. lost about 500 a month 1st year. made about 500 a month in 2nd year. broke even 3rd year. spent to upgrade comps and then comcast cable came to town and I lost a third of  my business. Lowered prices to 3 an hour to stop the bleeding. The next 6 months fewer and fewer were showing up to play and my lease was expiring. I had option for 3 more years but thank god I pulled the plug. A much nicer place opened within a mile of me in my last 3 months. I thought they might be what went wrong but they closed in about a year.I watched them closely and they never really took off. My guess is between rising gas prices, XBox 360, all homes with fast connections, and kids with comps at home that could play good games well, it was a matter off time. It was an experience. Met a lot of great people and a couple of crooks. Fun times.  But not as fun as having my money back, HA HA tear ,Tear,Ha.

Are you saying that one of the reasons for your GC failing was that everyone got cable and/or bought xboxes to play at home? That means the movie industry should be dead because of Netflix.

Nobody should leave their house because gas costs too much? Kids generally don't like to be at home after they can drive. Gas could cost ten bucks a gallon and my kids would still be out three times a week with their group of buddies. They're at the Sony theatres right now. Why? because it has entertainment value in its size and "coolness".

As far as I can see, it's the entertainment value offered by the GC that draws them in. If your place isn't big and "cool", nobody will come back. How many kids fit into a 900 square foot GC anyway? Like Zen has said many times, the smaller centers have a higher fatality rate.