Monthly ArchiveMay 2007
Guide#10 - Other products/services to offer 12 May 2007 09:50 pm
Other services/products to offer
A person walking around any city in the world would be sure to find an internet café somewhere. The internet café is one of the establishments made indispensable in an increasingly interconnected world. Sometimes it leads one to wonder though: with the proliferation of wireless devices, notebook computers, mobile email, smart phones, portable digital assistants and other gadgets, what need is there for in internet café in a wireless world?
Enter an internet café and usually the first thing one notice that more than half of the clientele are playing online or network games. There are more things to do in an internet café though, than surfing the net, playing online games and checking email. An internet café may also offer other services to its clients.
The most common service offered is typing or encoding. This usually appeals to customers who are too lazy to type, or who have little no access to a computer. This service also appeals to busy people who don’t have time to type and edit their material. These customers would simply leave their work to be typed and pick it up after it is completed.
An internet café can also provide specialized or sophisticated software to be available for use by its customers. These software may be kind that the hard to find, or expensive, or utilizes a large amount of memory. An example would be the high end design software that can go for a few thousand dollars per legal copy. The most common users of high end software in internet cafes are students who need access to the latest software for their schoolwork but can’t afford to buy them.
Another service that an internet café can offer is photo editing. The client might have a picture that can be scanned or digitally edited, fixed up, or restored. While photo editing can be done at home, it takes time to do the more difficult or complicated jobs, and people would rather pay somebody to do the job properly rather that bungle it themselves. Video editing is also another service that can be offered by the internet café, in much the same way as photo editing.
Internet cafés can also offer simple programming solutions. They can offer programs for the home offices or small business, like basic databases or inventory software. Alternatively, these clients can have their software fixed or updated by the techs in the café. The internet café may also offer program installation or software repair to pc or notebook owners.
The internet café may also offer workshops or lessons. These lessons may range from simple familiarization with the computer to more difficult subjects. One-on-one tutorials by the café staff may also be provided to clients who require the service.
The internet café can also offer to rent out equipment such as LCD projectors and video editing tools to events like weddings or presentations.
Some internet cafés have amenities that make them more like meeting places or boardrooms, where they offer videoconferencing, group discussion tables, and other facilities for meetings and group work.
Guide#9 - Factors to consider in hiring assistants 12 May 2007 09:48 pm
Factors to consider in hiring assistants
Most internet café operators choose to mind the business themselves. Why? First of all, an internet café requires a very substantial investment. As an entrepreneur, you have to protect your investment so that it can gain profits and return your investment in time. Café operators also do this to get some insight on the business as well. By learning what is needed in the trade, a proprietor will be able to develop the ideal working system for optimum profits. Eventually, the business will become second nature to him/her and it will become so easy that he/she will most likely decide to put up similar branches to boost up income. When this happens, he/she will need someone to watch over things as he/she puts up the new establishments.
Commonly, business proprietors ask for help from their own relatives to help them in business. Why? The answer is simple. Trust comes very easily for people with blood relations. After all, family looks after family. However, in some cases this is not remotely possible. As such, the owner is forced to hire outside help to assist him/her in the operation of the business. This system works in the same way as big corporations do, however, in a much smaller scale. Of course, the proprietor will then have to train the new employee on the way he/she manages the café. An important factor to consider in hiring help is that the person has to be capable of managing the setup as you do.
Most internet cafes nowadays, make use of prepaid and preset time accounts to control the access to computers. That way, the caretakers of the café would no longer have to regularly check on the users if they want to extend their time or stop. After all, they already paid for the time. When time runs out, users are forced to get new time slips to log in back to the system and resume their activities. This practice has made the operation of internet café very easy. But in some cases, even an established system may have small glitches, like let’s say, a unit still continues to provide access even after the time runs out. Such errors may arise if the time slips have been programmed incorrectly. Although such cases rarely happen in an established system, it is important to regularly do counterchecking to prevent it.
Another important skill that a caretaker must have is that he/she must be knowledgeable in computer maintenance and repair as well. By getting someone who is, as the business owner, you can include it as part of his/her duties and cut down on costs. After all, if it were you who were operating, you should know those things too. The drawback with this, however, is that the person needs to be trustworthy. Computer components are very easy to install and replace. As such, with people of questionable character, you can suffer the risk of losing your parts or much worse, even entire units.
As the owner, it is up to you to manage the costs of operations, so your preferences for the required skills may vary. Only one thing is certain, you should only employ help if it helps your business.
