Second hand equipment for small businesses is a very powerful source of savings in start-up capital.
We continue a series of articles on how to get or save start-up capital in times of crisis .
There are two magic letters BU
These, unfortunately, are not the first letters of the alphabet, but very useful for starting a business in a crisis. Why? I decipher — BU — this is used.
To start a business in a crisis, “used” is a godsend.
Equipment, office equipment, components, spare parts, machinery, vehicles … used — all this is much cheaper than new.
Therefore, in a crisis, when there is even less money than usual, it is simply unreasonable not to use the opportunity to buy cheaper and save start-up capital.
Why are people wary of «used»?
Because, for example, new equipment is sold with a quality guarantee. If the equipment breaks down through no fault of the buyer, it can be returned or repaired at the expense of the manufacturer under warranty.
How justified is the risk of buying used? In other words, what kind of discount can you get and how big is the risk that your used purchase will fail?
Today, millions of people buy things not in the shops on the next street, but on the Internet site. And these things are not always new. Shopping on e-bay is a prime example. This is an indirect sign that the discount that you can get on a used item is greater than the risk of damage to this item.
I will tell you my own experience of buying second-hand equipment for business
I’ve always been a sucker for used items. Until one day he found himself in a situation of acute shortage of money. The shortage was so acute that there was not enough money to live on, let alone to open their own business. But it was necessary to start earning money, it was very necessary. And to start earning, it was necessary to buy computers and other office equipment.
Such is the paradox: in order to earn money, you need money. And in this difficult situation, there was a way out: it was possible to buy not 4 new computers for 20 thousand dollars, but 4 used computers for 10 thousand dollars (it was 2009, the prices were exactly the same then).
Lack of money overcame disgust.
And I bought 4 used computers. Now it’s 2015, all 4 computers are outdated morally. But physically they still work! None of them broke.
Since then, my squeamishness has not taken precedence over reason. What is suitable for personal life is not always suitable for business. Buying used equipment is an extremely sensible strategy during a crisis.
Conclusions: is it worth buying used equipment for small businesses?
1) you can treat used things as you like in your personal life, but you just don’t need to transfer this attitude to business;
2) in a crisis, buying equipment, transport, used office equipment is the best way to profitably use limited financial resources.
Use these rules and save your money to start a business!
Starting small is one of the most effective ways to save money early on. Read the next article on how to do this .
