Everything you buy for your business has to be carefully considered. Some businesses will need to buy more equipment than others due to the nature of what they do, and some won’t need anything at all (apart from a laptop or perhaps a smartphone if you want to be truly minimal).
If your business is the kind that certainly does need equipment, this is a hugely important part of running the business in the right way. Overspending or buying the wrong items, or even buying the right items that are of low quality and don’t do the job you want them to, can cause delays and lose you money. Perhaps this is why actually buying this all-important equipment is so difficult and becomes a real challenge. It doesn’t have to be this way; if you are careful and follow the tips set out below, it shouldn’t be a problem at all.
Make a List
One of the very best things you can do when it comes to buying equipment for your business is to make a shopping list. This might sound strange; after all, shopping lists are associated with grocery stores and similar kinds of shopping, but the truth is that if they are useful in those circumstances, they will be useful when you want to buy equipment for your business. On top of that, you can include this list in your business plan, which will help you find the evidence you need for your budget and will show potential investors and lenders that you have thought through every aspect of what you are doing.
Ideally, your list should have two columns. The first column is priority items that you need to run your business. The second should be less urgent items that you want to purchase one day but don’t have to buy right now. Once you have this list, you can budget, research, and not get distracted by things you don’t need.
Make Quality a Priority
Price is always going to be important – you need to spend within your budget, and you need to shop around to ensure you’re not overpaying for something you can get for less money elsewhere. However, when you have the choice between a cheap item and a more expensive one, you should opt for the most expensive one, as long as it is still within your budget and as long as the extra money you’re paying is for quality.
Buying cheap can often seem like the best option because you’re saving money right from the start. However, if you need an air dryer, for example, and you buy a cheap one instead of a quality one from Super Dry Systems, it’s highly likely you’ll have to replace the cheap one much sooner than the better quality one, and therefore you’ll spend more money overall. More cost at the start usually means less cost in the lifetime of the product.
Your Funding
When you know what you need, and you know how much you’re going to have to spend on business equipment, you’ll need to consider how you’ll fund the purchases. There are a number of options available to you, including:
- Borrowing from banks
- Borrowing from peer-to-peer lending schemes
- Finding an investor
- Using your own money
- Using business profits
- Using a company credit card
The option that suits you will depend on the situation you find yourself in within your business. Make sure you don’t spend too much and ensure you always have a tight hold on your financial situation.
