How much capital do I need to for a decent internet cafe(with food) or a cellphone business in the Philippines

Me and my wife are Filipinos. I just acquired my US citizenship about 4 years ago but am planning to get a dual citizenship. Semi-retiring in the Philippines but with a comfortable life is our goal. We've already missed a lot of relatives' and friends' weddings, baptisms, birthdays, and fiestas not to mention all the occasions. Don't want to do it when we get older because all we know would be old or dead.(hope not) But any hel would be great especially if you could add the living expenses today. So, would that 1 million bucks just the initial investment or would that be a sustainable amount for at least a year. I know that it might have been just thrown out there as pertaining to "big bucks" but it might be valid.

Public Comments

1. a million buks
2. yup, the girl on top of me is right about a million pesos would give you a comfortable edge over others in that line of business. good luck.
3. the monthly rent for a space within metro manila,(not in the malls) unless you already have one costs P10-12,000 monthly. electricity would amount to P2-3,000 monthly. the computers would depend on how many units you intend to have. the internet connection is not that high,less than P1,000. plus, if you want to have a sort of food to serve which is not really a good idea. it would be a hassle,so start with the internet first then see if serving food would be a good idea.
4. consider the number of pc and the location.....oh yeah, those peps above are right, a million plus the location and other services (food)
5. a million buck is just enough. consider a 20 unit icafe. too many people waiting for their turn make them look for other cafe.
6. will you consider building a guesthouse instead? A 3 story, 6br with own t/b on a 200sqm lot will cost 4M pesos. Total floor area will be 300sqm. 2br on the groundfloor and 4br on the 2nd floor. Additional 3-4br on the 3rd floor for future expansion. Potential gross income of 3,500pesos/day @700pesos/room/day for a/c rooms, considering 1 room is for your own use. Additional income if you can offer day tour to Tagaytay, Pagsanjan and Mt. Pinatubo. Reading from other travel forums, it seems that there is a demand for budget accomodations and tour packages.
7. a million bucks could be just enough if you can find a good place for your business. internet cafe could be a good investment especially in manila area. if you can manage to have a phone repair on your shop, would be a better deal and you earn much more.
8. well we have internet cafe, with 21 computers( flat screens 17'' ) including the server, internet line which is too expensive,cases, 21 chairs (leather, two seaters) 21 tables with side wood separation, we dont offer food, but instead we have some cold drinks and hot drinks, capuccino, nescafe, tea or any herbal hot drinks.. you must have in each table mikes and cameras of course with keyboards, mouse, mouse pads, sign board, a big one is a must, good lighting, decoration, your own desk, floppy disk, cd's, rewritable cd, printer, i have two scanners, sony speakers, modem, wires in connecting the 21 lines in the hub, ashtrays, cups, drinking glass so on and so forth. we did not buy any refrigerator, we ask one from coca cola for free. well we paid about 71,000 U.S.D. thats except the rent, depends where is the location.. if you need any additional info you can email me and i will ask my husband because what i told you now is from what i saw him doing, maybe there are lot more and will let you know. make sure you make customers chair or sofa comfortable. i have a very soft one thats why customers enjoy coming to us. good luck..