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.

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.

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