Name of Internet Café: NetN’Counter Computer Services

Name of Owner: Bienvenu Balajadia

Date Started: December 2001

Address: Marikina Heights, Marikina City, MM

Number of Computer Units: 17 (soon to be 20)

What was your previous profession before becoming an internet café owner?

I used to be in the garments business right off out of college. I acted as a middleman for garment factories and subcontractors. My sole investment was the gasoline for my motorcycle  and the sweat on my back. This got my business mind started.

Electronics was a hobby of mine. Having a BS in Electrical Engineering didn’t offer much opportunities during that time, but my hobby landed me a job in Saudi Arabia. At the start, I worked in the electronics department of the biggest office machine supplier in the middle east. A few months later, I was transferred to the computer department for having the experience repairing Family Computers (Nintendo game boxes). Yeah, I know, go figure…, but they couldn’t get anyone else to mess around with computers.

After nine years, I came home and started an exporting company with a few friends of mine. After a year and a half of it, even though the company was over the growing pains, I wasn’t happy, and I got out.

Then almost year later, I opened up my neighborhood’s first iCafe, and haven’t looked back since.

What motivated you to engage in the internet café business?

Nine years ago, there was no one offering the service in my neighborhood. People have to take a long walk or take a ride to the nearest shop. iCafe’s used to be found only in commercial areas. I guess I’m one of the first to turn my home into one. It was a risky thing to do since my neighborhood was just starting to fill out with residents. Thankfully, a lot of people moved in since then.

I guess I really just love computers. There always seem to be something to challenge the technician in me.

What is your personal assessment on being an internet café owner?

It’s never boring, I can tell you that. There is always a problem to solve or a new software to offer. Be it a tool or a game, something new always gets released.

Problems being encountered in your day to day operations of your internet café?

How to keep the customers coming. Some technical issues may be beyond your control. You have to be ready for those times.

How do you handle or provide solutions to such problems?

The Internet is my main source of solutions. Experience also accounts for much of how I would tackle a problem. If all else fails, start asking other people. The longer I am in this business, the more people I meet who could help out on particular issues.

What are the different factors that contributed to your success as an internet café operator?

Getting good advice from smart people. My wife has a lot to do with the system I’m using now to keep things in order.

My electronics hobby helped a lot too. The trainings I got while I worked in Saudi Arabia saved me a lot of maintenance costs. There are technicians out there who give bad advices, primarily because they didn’t have the proper training. This leads to higher maintenance costs for some owners.

Better internet search engines like Google really revolutionized how I tackle daily issues with the business. Searching for the right solutions is faster now, unlike when I first started, where I would have to go through pages of junk sites, before I find what I’m looking for.

Lots of daily prayers takes care of the rest of my problems.

What are your future plans with regards to your internet café?

Provide more services for my community. Great thing about computers, you are only limited by the extent of your imagination. One thing at a time though. Being a Jack of all trades may affect the quality of your products. Be great at one thing before moving on to the next.

Recognition and Awards Received

Just a few plaques of appreciation from my peers. It’s great to know your efforts to help out, and sharing your technical knowhow, have some positive effects on their business, no matter how small it may be. The greatest awards I get are a pat on the back, or thank you notes from those I helped.