Self-employment
Night-owls flock to open late directoryWe're no longer living in a nine-to-five world. Especially in big cities such as Toronto, people work all sorts of crazy hours and may not be able to buy groceries, get their car repaired or grab a bite to eat when they want because everything is closed. ROGER PIERCE -- www.bizlaunch.ca |
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Sutha Subramaniam helps people to shop 24/7 through his Web site iLate.ca.
"Our online open late guide makes it easy to get what you want, when you want it," entrepreneur Sutha Subramaniam says.
In May of this year, Subramaniam launched www.iLate.ca, an online "open late guide" for big cities. Website visitors simply enter what they're looking for and the site will tell them what's open late.
"It's the first service of its kind in the world," Subramaniam claims. "I saw a real need for this kind of service for big-city residents and visitors who aren't your typical nine-to-five consumers."
The free site is easy to search and lists all sorts of businesses, from auto mechanics to pharmacies. Visitors simply pick a business category, day of the week, preferred hours and their city and the site will list what's open.
Subramaniam says he kept the site design graphics-free and very minimalist so "iLate.ca can also be accessed using PDAs, BlackBerrys and cellphones (at wap.iLate.ca). It lets people use our service when they are on the move."
Search results on the website produce the complete business name, address, phone number, closest street intersection and a map.
Subramaniam has ambitious plans for his start-up business. "We are working hard to add more listings for all major Canadian cities and modifying our system to allow listed businesses to change or post their own operating hours," he says.
Once he's got Canada covered, Subramaniam says his company will add listings for major cities in the United States, Britain, New Zealand and Australia.
"Our business model will work in any market in the world," he says.
"I'm excited about our potential."
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