Considerations For Setting Up a Hotspot Business
By Ronnie Shargill
If you are already operating a successful business such as a cafe or a bar, you may be
wondering if setting up a hotspot can help you to attract more customers. Local coffee
shop owners may be tired of watching so many customers walk right past their doors and
head into the Starbuck's down the street. Take a close look at these lost customers and
you may realize it is not just the $4 lattes that are driving them to Starbuck's.
When you take the time to take a closer look you may realize many of these customers
are toting laptops with them and spending a substantial amount of time dawdling over
their coffee. Setting up your own hotspot business in your coffee shop may help you win
over some of these customers.
Before you jump into the process of setting up your hotspot, take some time to really
think about who you want to supply with Internet access, where you want them to be able to
connect and which resources on your network you want to be protected from your customers.
You should also take a look at your agreement with your ISP to determine what their
connection sharing policy is. Armed with this information you can begin the setup process.
There is no denying the fact that the creation of a hotspot in your place of business
can help you to attract more customers. Any additional services you can offer your
customers free of charge helps to make your place of business more appealing than your
competitor's business. Consider two coffee shops located right next door to each other and
offering similar menus and prices. If one of these coffee shops offers a free hotspot and
the other does not, guess which one will attract more customers. Most likely it will be
the one offering the free hotspot.
Consider the same examples as above when you think about where you want your customers
to be able to access the hotspot. If you are not careful, customers at the coffee shop
next store may be able to utilize the free hotspot you are providing. You definitely do
not want this to happen because your direct competitor can profit from your great idea.
Take care to make sure your hotspot is not available next door and you will guarantee the
coffee lovers who also need Internet access are gulping down your double shot lattes and
not your competitor's.
Next it is extremely important to think about the security of your network before
creating a hotspot. Whether you are creating an independent hotspot business or offering a
hotspot in your existing place of business you want to be sure your confidential and
sensitive information is not compromised. You may consider creating a separate network and
allowing your customers unfettered access to this network. Another option is to take
necessary precautions to shield all of your private information available on the network.
Finally, review the agreement you have with your ISP provider very carefully to
determine whether or not creating a hotspot business is admissible under this agreement.
If any doubts about this arise, contact the ISP provider directly for clarification. Doing
so may prevent a great deal of trouble later on if the hotspot business is deemed to be a
breach of the contract.
Ronnie Shargill is a staff writer for
WiFi Hotspot Answers.
Read more about the business aspect of WiFi HotSpots at
HotSpot Business
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