Soliciting Fame

Some people have been asking me what I have decided to call my internet cafe so I’ve decided to write a post about it. The cafe will be named Third On Whyte. I’ve registered both the .ca and .com domain names and I will be developing website/landing page for the cafe.

The name “Third” comes from a great article I read about an internet cafe in San Francisco. It brings up the concept that everyone has a third place in their lives.

Essentially you, me, and everyone we know have a third place that you use as a sort of refuge from daily life. Of course you are’t limited to one “third place” but it’s the concept that matters. For example a youth might have school, home, and the mall; the mall being their third place. A professional might have home, work, and the golf course where they go to sort out their thoughts and relax. Many travelers, students, and young adults use cafes and lounges with internet access as a place to go and work on projects or just relax and surf the web.

This is my goal, to create a trendy, relaxed environment where people can come and relax and surf the internet.

Anyway, I’m off to Banff for the weekend… and I’m not taking my laptop!

I sat down and attempted to total how much personal money I have spent on acquiring this business.

Other than the purchase price these are some of the expenditures I’ve had to eat so far:

• $23.21 - Dinner with accountant
• $32.92 - Dinner with lease expert
• $331.7 - Corporation registration
• $49.5 - Trade name registration
• $100 - Lunch with industrial designer friends
• $147 - Building sign permits
• $162 - Business license
• $117 - Corporate cheques

So far that’s a total of $963.33. Pretty soon I will need to spend some more money on things like:

• $50 - Corporate seal for documents like the lease
• $700-1000 - Conveyancing and legal work with lawyer
• $100-200 - Rebranding including a laser cut sign and sandwich boards

There are probably going to be more expenses that I can’t foresee right now but I should be fine. Other than paying for employees and all their deductions and other operating costs like rent and supplies I’m basically ready to take possession of this place.

On Wednesday I’m meeting with two young ladies that are interested in working for me part time. I’m taking them to lunch so I can throw that up on the expenses list then

Speaking of dinners, I highly recommend offering to take family friends who are accountants or lawyers out for dinner or drinks if you need advice. It is much cheaper than having to hire them professionally and if you’re doing something interesting they will most likely be happy to get a free meal in exchange for a chat. That reminds me, I need to send some emails and let people know how I’m doing.

On Friday I removed my final condition on the offer for the Internet Cafe. After dropping an additional cheque I am basically guaranteed this business.

Today I signed my final loan document at the bank, they managed to lower my interest rate from 12% to 11%. Realistically I could care less about that difference since I plan to pay it back quickly.

I also incorporated today. Now I have some margin of security to operate under.

I visited the cafe on the way back from the bank this afternoon. Apparently they have decided to close for the remainder of the month for “renovations” and will be “opening” in July when I take over. While this could potentially hurt business for July I am going to try to benefit from their chosen downtime and see if I can get things running smoothly before I take possession.

I’m trying to create some original content for this blog but it’s proving difficult. I knew that blogging was a challenge when I started but after reading the Happy Second Birthday, TechCrunch post on TechCrunch today it’s given me reason to continue. Here are some ideas I’ve been thinking of writing about:

• Compare and contrast video sites
• Metro News and how it’s taking over the world
• How to start a business in Edmonton
• Small business financing
• Where Google Adwords have their place

Much of it has been written about so I hope to create something original.

I have also been flipping through the June 2nd-8th issue of The Economist. I subscribed to it with one of those “6 months free issues” cards. Many influential people I know have recommended keeping up to date with it and it’s something I hope I can tackle because it is literally like reading a textbook.

The complications of this world are most likely beyond an individuals grasp, but I hope to harness some of it.

Yesterday I met with the current owners of my soon to be Internet cafe. Over coffee we discussed their financial situation and chatted about their history as a company.

I am still crunching numbers but so far I am very confident that everything is legitimate and will work out.

Coming Monday I need to do several registration activities in order to actually operate a business legally. As well I need to negotiate the current lease and I hope to enlist some help from another family friend who is an expert on commercial leases. Also on Monday, Nexopia is moving headquarters a few blocks away so we will be doing a ton of moving.

So does anyone want a job yet?

As you may have read in my earlier post about purchasing a business I am trying to purchase an Internet Cafe. Today I received confirmation that I would have the purchased financed by one bank. I am still waiting to hear from the BDC about some money that “looked good” initially. Hopefully I get the second round and I’ll be sailing.

The conditions for the offer are off on Thursday and I would potentially take possession as early as June 15th. Tomorrow I’m meeting with the owners to discuss their finances in more detail. Now I have to ask some family friends who are looking for work if they are still available!

I’m still not entirely sure how this will play out with my current job. Ideally I would remain part to semi-full time and we would develop a mutually beneficial relationship. Most of my work can be done remotely and it will be interesting to see the results of attempting that.

On that note I remember how over a year ago we were trying to manage high ranking volunteers who felt that they were part of the management team. In a sense they were because they helped to build and grow the business from day one. Unfortunately reality set in an with all of them having other full-time jobs it was impossible to communicate, collaborate, and make decisions in a clear, timely manner. Then again, none of them were being paid. I plan to do this properly and make sure my time is managed well.

Next in store for Soliciting|Fame… comments!

PS. Google Analytics is pretty awesome. I plugged it into S|F on day one and it’s generating some neat stats.