I am interested in the viability of an office environment business
that is in-between an executive suite office and a cyber cafe. A
place a business/home business/sales person or student can go to get
work done (an office away from the office and away from home). I have
found that Kinko?s (now FedEx) offers some of the services I am
considering (conference rooms, Internet access, software access,
workstations, fax and printing), but have found no others. This would
be a membership and/or guest (pay as you go) environment. The focus
will be on production and getting work done (the focus of a café is
community and socializing).
1. I want to know if cyber cafes are viable in today?s market (from
what I found cyber cafes have struggled in the past). Why have they
done badly in the past and if so why improving today?
2. I want to know of businesses in the market that are similar to the
rent office space (not assigned/lease) concept, so that I can see
examples, compare and learn.
3. What are similar businesses/industries? (Internet cafe, executive
suites, traditional office, hotel meeting rooms, libraries, etc, any
others???)
3. I want to see sites that review the different software packages
out there that are made specifically for "cyber cafes". (Handling
membership and pay as you go tracking software for computers,
wireless, printers and fax etc.)
4. The closest concept I can think of for "memberships" based
business is a Gym...I want to know how many members the average gym
has and fees charged for guests and members. (Other thought are
welcome here)
5. I would like to see which style is better suited for this
concept--membership, pay-as-you-go or a combo. Pros and cons of each.
6. How do I find out if there is a demand for this service?
7. Solution for collecting the fees for using the computers?
Mag-striped Card based technology may be expensive.
8. As you can see I?m trying to see if this concept is viable to make
money. Is there a site to help determine this???
9. Is there any grant money or incentives out there for business that
supply internet access to the public? And other investment
opportunities out there.
10. How do I market such a business. How do I find the people that will use it?
I have read many of the past answers about cyber cafes. I have seen
the business plan on www.bplan.com for a cyber cafe and
www.cybercaptive.com and would
like to see others if possible (for similar business or cage). I have
been to several of the
software sites that provide a usage tracking systems. I have been to
kinkos.com and visited several of their locations to get data?usage
data from the different services from Kinko?s or similar stores would
be very useful.
Any new thoughts are welcome as well! I?m looking forward to the response! |