Name of your website?Gemstone Cafe
Your name?
Aide Ojigbede
Your Location (city, etc)
Lagos
Please give us a short summary of your website?
It's still under construction. What it WILL be is a general website to promote our restaurant. It will also provide information and services related to the restaurant's business. At the moment it is just a jpeg of a flyer we did to generate awareness in the immediate vicinity of the restaurant.
What inspired you to launch your own website?
More and more people in Nigeria (especially in Lagos) are turning to the web for information and entertainment. As our business (the Gemstone Cafe) is new I thought it would be a good idea to start working in a small way with a basic internet presence and see how we can grow it from there.
When did you launch your first website, and what was it?
This is my first website for this business but I do have another website for a separate and completely different business which is basically an 'about us' site for an IT hardware solutions company (www.vicinitylimited.com launched in 2006).
How did you decide on a name for your website?
Simple. It's the name of the business.
What makes your website different from other, similar offerings?
Nothing yet. But we do plan to make it a destination in it's own right rather than just a 'door' into the restaurant. The usual blog(s), news and stuff and also more innovative user-added content as we go forward.
What is your eventual goal? (To sell it, keep it for income, secure a book or other mainstream media deal?)
Keep it for income.
How does your investment of time and money balance against your success?
So far I can't tell as I haven't spent a lot of time and money yet.
If you had an unlimited development budget for development, how would you change your site?
Better, more attractive, more professional design and layout. More compelling and interactive content.
If your site got really big, really quickly, would you be able to keep up with the demand?
I would probably hire someone to manage it.
What unexpected costs and headaches have you had to deal with?
None yet.
What has been your biggest challenge?
Site design. I'm having to learn to use site-building software to produce something that I think looks good enough and I'm also learning more about web technologies so I can incorporate features I wnat.
What method has been most successful for promoting your website?
Haven't really started promoting it yet. I'm just trying to list it on directories (like this one!) for now.
How has running your website differed from your expectations?
No surprises yet.
How long have you run the site already, and how long will you continue to keep it up if you don't enjoy big gains in traffic, income or popularity?
Only been up a few days now. It will stay up as long as the restaurant does (hopefully forever :)
My very own question, really?
Too early to know what to ask! :)
What is your website address?
Gemstone Cafe
