Most new business owners fall into the trap of buying everything they need for their business, thinking it would save them more money in the long run compared to renting equipment that will never be theirs.
However, what these business owners fail to account for is that when it comes to running a successful business, adaptability is of utmost importance. If you want to remain on top of the latest technologies and facilities in your industry, you can’t have permanently-owned facilities tying you down.
Renting business essentials will allow you to quickly adapt to the latest trends instead of being stuck with obsolete machines that you won’t even be able to sell after you’ve outgrown their relevance.
Here are some of the big-ticket business essentials that are better rented than bought for your fast-evolving enterprise:
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1. Offices
Real estate may be an ever-appreciating investment, but new businesses need the flexibility to pack things up and move at once when things don’t work out as planned — or when they go better than expected. The last thing you want is to get stuck with a lease contract that won’t cut you loose until after a year when you don’t even know what your business will look like a few months from now.
For example, if your business chances upon a windfall and you have to scale up much earlier than expected, you might have to move into a bigger office. If you had bought instead of rented your first office, it would complicate things all that much.
2. Storage space
Much like actual offices, you never know how your enterprise’s storage needs would change over time. For example, your business might have a heavy focus on construction as of the moment, so you might be tempted to invest in a commercial-grade storage container. Now, what if you eventually decide to pivot to retail? Then you wouldn’t even need your large storage unit in excess of a few months every year.
This illustrates that a lot can happen during your first few years in business, so renting big-ticket items like storage units might be more practical and cost-efficient.
3. Service vehicles and trucks
Buying vehicles for business is not as much of a no-brainer than buying one for your personal use. When you buy a pickup truck or a passenger van for your business, you are signing up for a lot more work and expenses down the line. Costs for maintenance, upkeep, and repairs due to wear and tear will eventually weigh heavily on your bottom line, not to mention cars only lose more and more value over your years of use.
On the other hand, when you rent trucks and vehicles from companies like Flex Fleet, you won’t have to worry about all that. They will even deliver the trucks to you and pick them right up once you’re done with them. Just pay the rental fees and you’re all set.
4. Security equipment
Commercial security systems are not cheap. Aside from the hefty upfront costs, you also have to spend on maintenance and monitoring, unless you choose to simply lease the equipment. This way, the company you rented them from will still technically be the owner, and will thus have the responsibility to keep the equipment in mint condition (as long as you do not break them through negligence).
5. Communication systems
Landline phones, two-way radios, and related accessories easily become obsolete as newer innovations get invented every day. Staying on top of the technology requires you to have easily disposable equipment so you can upgrade at any time.
Even Avaya phones can be rented now, so you might want to maximize this opportunity to stick with rented equipment you can enjoy until new and better iterations become available at your arsenal.
6. Software solutions
Having your own software applications and custom-made IT infrastructure is only good if you’re ready to spend on having your own in-house IT department to maintain these programming solutions for you. Furthermore, leasing software means you can technically get updates and new versions without much additional cost. When you buy perpetual licenses for software and a new version arrives, you have to buy another perpetual license if you want the latest software.
When you rent, you can simply upgrade and rent the newer version once it’s available. It just makes sense from an IT perspective.
Times are changing, and it’s about time we unlearn some dangerous principles we were taught while growing up, like the mindset that buying something is always better than renting it because at least ‘you’re paying for something that will be yours.’ When running a business, you have to be discerning about where you’re investing your money. When in doubt, always rent first, especially when dealing with the above-mentioned biz essentials.
