Live and
Let Live -- A New Niche in an Internet Cafe Business Plan
An internet
cafe business plan is tough to put together, and even tougher to fund.
Live and Let Let had a
great internet cafe business plan. But every bank they talked to
turned them down. The SBA
turned them down. Restaurants
of all kinds, including internet cafes, are just notoriously hard to fund,
and this one had an additional problem:
a clientele of alcoholics. A popular AA meeting is, after all, held
right next door.
And the owners?
Well, they call themselves alcoholics.
To the rest of the world they are real heroes, recovering
alcoholics. But give them
financial backing? The
Establishment said No.
Fortunately, the three
owners were able to scrape together $40,000 to bootstrap Live and Let
Live, an eclectic, vibrant coffee house in Phoenix, Arizona.
It is an internet cafe,
with WiFi available. But it
is a great deal more.
Everyone is welcome,
and many show up. Some like
the smoke-free environment. Some
like an escape from chain coffee shops.
Some enjoy the open camaraderie.
They all enjoy the coffee and sandwiches and cakes that are the
house specialty.
Recently, one lady came
to the drive-through window and asked for the ultimate comfort food: warm
chocolate-chip cookies fresh from the oven.
Sensing the woman had
had a rough day, Smith, one of the owners, offered a glass of cold milk.
"We started to
talk to her about how her day went," Smith recalled, "and she
stopped. She's from New York, and said, 'Where in the United States can
you go through a drive-through at 8 p.m. at night and get milk and cookies
and therapy?'
"It almost brought
a tear to my eye."
Would they do it
again? You betcha. None of them will retire from what they are
making at Live and Let Live, but where else on the face of the earth can
you own an internet cafe that you could be so very proud of?
.
