Posted by Author: Florian Wierzchowski
You can’t run a business without resources, that is, without assets. As I wrote in a previous post, resources can be a variety of things, but basically the resources you need are those that will help you run your business and that will generate money. We usually know what we need, but how do we get it in a way that doesn’t immediately empty all your pockets?
For the sake of example, let’s assume that you want to acquire an ice cream machine for your business, because for some reason it is simply necessary in your business (maybe you want to run an ice cream shop). One option, the simplest by the way, is for you to go to the manufacturer’s or distributor’s showroom, buy through the website and simply make the purchase. But this option is precisely the one that will immediately and effectively empty your financial resources. So let’s think about how else we can purchase the car so that you don’t go bankrupt at the very beginning.
You can buy in many ways. You can buy things new, but you can buy things used, which in the case of some equipment can be very beneficial. Sources of used things are many – you can buy in commissions, on auction portals such as Allegro, you can buy on portals that are dedicated to selling used things, such as OLX. More than one who has run a business sells his former assets for a fraction of the price of a new thing, and these may be things that just might work for you. Some of them may even be under warranty. Know, too, that another source is bailiff auctions and sales by receivers of bankrupt companies – here purchases can be very cheap and, of course, are fully legal.
Another option is to take the machine on lease. Leasing is based on the fact that the lessor buys ownership of an item and then makes it available to the entrepreneur, who pays installments to the lessor for a specified period. At the end of the leasing period, the thing can be purchased from the lessor, although there is no obligation to do so. Leasing companies offer the possibility of purchasing movable property in either an operating or financial lease. In recent years, the offer of leasing companies has changed so much that you can also lease second-hand items – for example, a car from a commission shop. The above example is about a car, which is the most popular object of leasing, but I must mention here that you can also lease equipment – computers, coffee machines, furniture, cell phones, and even software and your ice cream machine too. With this solution, you don’t have to have the money for the entire purchase right away – you just have to make monthly lease payments. Sometimes the lessor will want you to pay an upfront fee, the size of which usually ranges from 0% to 30% of the value of the item.
Another way of owning and using things is lease and rental – very similar to leasing, except that the lessor (the one from whom we get the thing) is not obliged to sell the thing to us after the rental period, should we wish to do so, as would be the case with leasing. A lease differs from a rental in that you can derive benefits from the lease – for example, harvesting from the field. In addition to rent and lease, there is also a lending contract – this one differs from the other two in that lending is free and you don’t have to pay anyone anything for using the thing. Perhaps someone has an ice cream machine that he doesn’t need (he runs his business only in the summer), and he will lend it to you for a certain period of time (for the winter, because you are going to sell ice cream in a shopping center and winter doesn’t scare you) without expecting remuneration. This can happen, especially among relatives and friends.
The resources we may lack are sometimes money. These we can borrow – from family, relatives, friends or take a loan from the bank. I strongly recommend a loan or a bank loan. The source in the form of family, relatives or friends I do not recommend, especially if the business risk is high, because you can lose seriously in relations with family, relatives or friends. And if you do decide to borrow from them, be sure to write a loan agreement specifying the term of repayment and the interest rate, all so that there are no understatements after time.
Theoretically, the resources can still be found – unlikely and formally difficult, you can get them in a donation – also unlikely, so by all means do not count on donations, at most you will be pleasantly disappointed. You can also steal or buy too cheaply from strangers – but this is not to be done, I do not recommend anyone, because for this there are unpleasant criminal consequences (theft, fencing) and instead of running a business you will only dream about it.
And finally, the most important thought – the asset without limits that you do not have to buy is you – your initiative, ideas, determination, willingness, experience, knowledge, acquaintances. With them you will get everything you need for the company and even more.