The Greatest Weapon in the Arsenal of an Internet Café Owner
Part of my job as the country representative is of G.ho.st is to participate in the different online forums of internet café owners and to keep in touch with them. In the different events that I have participated in with internet café owners as participants, the same basic question is being asked “Are there other business models that are available to make my internet café profitable?”
Most of the times the internet café owners tend to look for quick fixes in order to answer this question. They tend to look for new games that they could offer to their customers, business offers for making their internet café as call centers at night and most of the time they do nothing at all just to find out the answer. What I have observed is that internet café owners seems to be in a state of compliancy that they are satisfied on the basic business models that they have and yet they are the most vocal people who often complains that they do not earn enough from their operations.
Unknown to them is that they already have in their possession the most powerful tool that any internet owner have in order to answer this basic question and that is the Web Browser. The web browser serves as the gateway to a much larger virtual world in which opportunities are boundless and the only limit that you have is your imagination. Many of the internet café owners even if they are engage in one of the most dynamic industry still could not understand the opportunities that is available to them by merely double clicking the web browser icon on their desktop.
The internet of today is far from what I has been conceptualized at the beginning. At the start the primary purpose of setting up the internet network is the fast transfer of information between users. Nobody would have realized that after a few years it has resulted in the creation of a virtual world wherein opportunities are abound for people who are imaginative enough to grab them. The business theme that we are using in G.ho.st is “No Walls” which is actually how the internet works. Not only information is being exchanged in the internet but it has created a virtual economy wherein people could easily transact business without any physical and cultural boundaries.
What the internet café owner has to realize is that one must learn to invest in the internet in order for him to earn profit in it. Investing does not necessarily mean that he has to invest a huge amount of money for he has already in his possession the basic tools that he needs which is the computer and an internet connection. Investing in the internet means spending time and the imagination necessary in order to establish his internet presence. Building one’s reputation and character is the most essential element in order to earn money in the internet. One could not just merely announce his presence with the hope of making so much money immediately but it is a very slow process of establishing your presence and getting the trust of the people around you. Reputation, character, trust and the willingness to collaborate with others are the basic essentials to build one’s presence in the internet.
Another thing that the internet café owner has to realize is that it takes time to build up a network of people in the internet. It is comparable as to planting a seed on the ground for it would not grow into a tree and bear fruit overnight. There are some people who are very lucky and was able to get the attention of people very easily thus becoming an overnight sensation in the internet but we have to realize these are just fifteen minutes of fame that does not last long. Harvesting the time and effort that you have made in establishing your internet presence could mean years and years of time spent in the internet. Some have been very successful for they have been able to build their reputation beyond the virtual world and into their everyday activities. For some it might take some more time for they would need to learn additional skills and be imaginative enough to use them.
