opening a business in Asingan

A VIEW FROM OUR HOUSE...THE RODRIGUEZ MART HAS PRACTICALLY CAPTURED THE GROCERY MARKET HERE IN ASINGAN..

One computer cafe occupies the old office of Atty. Viray. This lawyer's office has moved just around the corner, still on the premises of the church yard...

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from the Asingan Message Board...

Hello, Manong Vic...

My name is Vilma, you don't know me personally but I am an avid fan of your postings here. Anyway, I was wondering if I may ask your opinion...how's business in Asingan? We are planning to acquire a small commercial property in Asingan (town proper) and thinking of putting up an Internet Cafe equipped with Printing, copying, faxing and school supplies. My tatay has a small fast food eatery in Asingan and he said that business is slow at the moment, so we are having second thought...your opinion is very much appreciated, thank you and have a great Victoria Day long weekend!

--Vilma Basa...

While I was there, I patronized a couple of Internet cafes ( one door apart ). It is a very popular activity now a days..They also have DSL. One cafe caters mostly to kids and young people because the kids go there for games. The other one beside it have snacks on the side and it has a different clientele. People who patronize this 2nd cafe go there for chats, ( with webcams owned by the cafe of course ) or to send e-mails. Even the barangays have also net cafes because not very many people in Asingan afford a decent PC...

The Net cafe in Atty Viray's office offering mostly games charge 15 pesos an hour: the one beside it charges 20. The cashier in both cafes sleep there so they can open the cafe early in the morning. Both cafes are open 7 days a week.. Both have only electric fans. Each has at least 10 computers. ..

The ones in Urdaneta ( in Magic Mall ) are air conditioned and they charge 30 pesos an hour...

My nephew beside our house opened recently a small take out restaurant and their pancit, etc. are sold as fast as they are cooked because the Rodriguez grocery have made that area a very busy commercial center. There is always a line up of costumers in the Grocery which sell foods, alcoholic drinks, etc. Good revenue makers are the Globe or Smart cards. People are always buying loads for their cel phones..

When I was there I saw people come and go in the mart, in the cafes, everywhere... Asingan is now busy 24/7. But sometimes brown outs occur. Everyday. Rodriguez Mart has always a standby generator, only for the store..The length of brown outs vary from day to day....

Asingan has no digital studio that prints photos from digicams, so Asinganians have to go to Urdaneta for their prints. One good PC with a matching colored printer can provide the printing needs of the locals. But it needs one with technical savvy plus a reliable source of printing paper and inks..A popular printing medium is the "tarpaulin". It is a poster size printing method where calendars with different photos are done. Nice as gifts. Or advertisement if you wish..

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Re: opening a business in Asingan...It depends on the capability and interest of the individual who would own or manage it..If I am the one to open a business there, I would chose a computer center too. One with needs which are in demand by the locals: printing, faxing, photo printing capabilities, etc..

This is a year long project. I forgot to mention to you that digicams here in town are used in the production of IDs. ..Maybe for schools, institutions, etc. The digicam is used to shoot "mug" shots of people, then these are glued to ID cards printed on templates with their names, names of institutions, and other pertinent data...Somehow I was tempted one time to extend my stay to 6 months just to open up a shop in the ground floor of our house. (I did this years ago when VHS tapes were still a fad).

I do love tinkering with PCs and also shooting and printing photos..Our house is right in front of the Rodriguez Mart. But then, I changed my mind.

If you love the town and like serving the community, then it is okay...But for one who has been abroad for so long and would like to go back to Asingan for keeps, it might work. But then, it might not..Ideally, one needs a good and honest manager to stay in Asingan and to mind the store. This is the hardest thing to do, like finding a needle in a haystack.

And you also need a big stash of money to fulfill this project...