Welcome to the last in my series of articles about gadgets that pay for themselves. This week's piece is geared towards persons who already have a business and want to expand their customer base.

Select a device

Expanding your customer base is simple, but keeping the new clients is the hard part. The device for my brilliant money-making scheme is a wireless router.

The big-money scheme

Have you ever heard about an Internet cafe? Well, my vision works like an Internet café, but in the opposite way. Instead of going to a specific location to use the Internet for a cost, why not go somewhere else for another reason and get on the e-highway for free.

Most persons are walking around with high-end devices (like Sony PlayStation Portable, BlackBerry mobiles, etc.) that are able to access WiFi signals and use those signals to access the World Wide Web. If that's a fact, offering that signal for free in your business place would be great for attracting customers who frequently use the Internet!

My plan is to buy a wireless router and set up a free WiFi signal in my organisation to give customers something to occupy their time while waiting for service. However, only customers in the building would actually have the opportunity to pick up and use the signal, thus reducing the number of loafers and freeloaders loitering outside the building in the hope of getting access to free WiFi.

Choosing your brand

When choosing a wireless router, you have to take into consideration the area you want the WiFi signal to cover because each wireless router comes with a certain strength and range. So, the brand I'm choosing is a Linksys Wireless G2.4 GHz Broadband Router.

Linksys is a well-known name when it comes to wireless routers and I need a brand I can depend on so things can run smoothly for both me and the customers.

Research your decision before purchase

My research on the Linksys Wireless G 2.4 GHz Broadband Router came up with the following results.

The Good: This device has fast mixed-mode speeds, removable antennae, and is easy to set up.

The Bad: It has no mounting bracket and has slower enhanced speeds than those routers from D-Link and Netgear.

Looking on the good and the bad for this device, I came to the conclusion that the Linksys Wireless G 2.4 GHz Broadband Router is especially well suited for networks with both 802.11g and 802.11b connections. This means fewer complications for my customers.

Set your plan into action

If putting a coffee machine in a business place improves customer satisfaction and the number of customers you get per day, my brilliant idea will certainly work.

Just have faith and all rewards will be reaped.

Email comments to saturdaylife@gleanerjm.com. The product mentioned in this article was provided courtesy of Royale Computers and Accessories; telephone: 906-1067, 906-1068, and 754-5048.