October 13, 2004
cybercafe biz models
I’m at the age where folks start considering quitting their nine-to-five advertising jobs and opening up their own agencies.
The thing is, the more I think about it, the less I think you need all that agency crap– offices, employees, photocopiers etc etc.
I’m starting to think you can do a lot of it from a cybercafe, if you have to. How very post-Cluetrain, “Marketing-is-Dead” of me.
This says one of two things: either I’m utterly crazy or the standard agency biz model is truly dead, cold and buried.
Maybe a bit of both…
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Work out of the cybercafe, by all means! Who needs an actual office space? and all the crap that goes with it?
If you live in a large enough city, you can change from place to place anytime you want!
I personally dream of one of those jobs like in the ads — y’know, “you can work from anywhere: assuming your is getting paid to send & receive email on your cellphone…”
I completely agree. I’ve been working out of wireless cafes for about 18 months now.
There have been occassions where I could have used the infrastructure of an acutal office space. That’s one of the reasons I’m keeping an eye on “work clubs” like Gate 3 in Emeryville.
Another tenet for the future, then: keep your business as portable as possible.
I’ve been enjoying your cartoons – well, some of them – for about a month now. Sometimes I think you go off the deep end with enthusiasm for your market shattering ideas the same way I do. Then again, I’m just a lowly college student: what can I know?
I just thought I’d point out that some start-ups are already thinking the same thing. The first that comes to mind is Gate 3 ( http://www.gate-3.com ) but that’s just because I liked the color palette on their site. I’m sure I know about others. In a way it’s simply an extension of what Mail Boxes Etc. ( http://www.mbe.com ) was angling for back in the 90s (and to some extent what UPS, their new owner, is looking to bring back).
Cybercafes are too noisy. Having a permanent office where you can spread out what you’re working on and shut out the world when you need to is helpful.
But there’s no reason why you need the rest of the infrastructure. Give me broadband and an airport with good connections, and I’m set.
The trouble for me is that I just get tired carrying all the kit/shit around with me (old enough to strike out alone, too old to schlepp around town with a portable office)
Plus — unless I come into the office I get totally WIRED on caffeine and start SHOUTING at complete strangers.
Not a reason to stay within the womb of someone else’s company, just an argument for finding a flexible cheap-ish hot desk solution (ok y’have to be in Soho).
I feel the cybercafe route has a lot going for it for the one man agency, at least for informal meetings and for access to the internet between appointments.
Working from a home office, or home offices as in the case of a team, will satisfy 85% of your normal production needs. The only reason you need an in-town office is to make presentations, and that is better done at the client’s facility.
The old model started to become outdated when secretaries were no longer necessary to take dictation. With high-speed internet access, nobody has to know how big your office is or where it is located.
The money you save on a physical plant will go a long way to make your business profitable in the lean times between clients.
I think ya’ll are missing the boat an’ gittin’ all wet. Go into the CyberCafe business! Iffen you are of a mind to Consult do so between overcharging for that Mocha Grande Latte Supremo you just sold to that weary road warrior.