Running a small business is about maximizing income while minimizing expenditures. Sure, you have to spend money on salary and benefits to retain your best employees, develop new services, and possibly rent or purchase offices, but you still want to make sure that the money you spend isn’t going to outstrip what you earn. Because of that mentality, some small businesses shy away from capital expenses, worried about how the long-term gain will impact their short-term expenses, and so they put off needed upgrades.
The problem with that approach is that the short-term eventually becomes the long-term, and you’re still losing money because you didn’t make your business more efficient. Kicking the can down the road is never a permanent solution. Sometimes, you need to pay for what is needed. Luckily, you can obtain a cash-out re-fi loan to help with your small business capital expenses. Using a trust hard-money lender can be the best way to get your business on the right footing. Here are some of the best ways to use your loans to make your business run more efficiently.
Multiple Monitors
Our first bit of upgrade comes in the tech sector. If you are a company whose employees depend on computers, you can consider using your hard-money loan to invest in multiple monitors. The basic idea here is that each employee has two (or more) monitors at their workstation, allowing them to have several screens open and not have to toggle between windows or tabs. Studies show that this can improve efficiency by as much as 50%. It also looks pretty cool. Many small businesses are reluctant to do this, but an inexpensive monitor can cost as little as $150, and can make your workplace a much faster place.
Network Upgrades
It’s no exaggeration that, if your business is like most current ones, you need a fast and reliable network that will connect you with the outside world while keeping your data secure. A lot of networks, especially ones run internally, are patchwork. Using an external company to upgrade your system and make it run smoothly is a capital expense, but it is a worthwhile one. Many companies continue to service your network, and help set up a system that allows for stapling, or adding more systems as you expand. Otherwise, you could find yourself undertaking and annoying and ad hoc and inefficient process every time you grow.
Embracing Workplace Amenities
Anytime you’re online you see a slideshow for “Most Awesome Place to Work!” that show offices with sundae bars and water slides and jousting or whatever. Not every office needs those. But many businesses do need to embrace workplace amenities if they hope to attract and retain the best employees. Using a hard-money loan to identify and construct your new office environment can be a great way to position yourself for the future. Make sure you aren’t just doing something because it is cool, though: it needs to fit your company culture and the atmosphere you are trying to build.
Improve the Lighting in Your Office
Now we come to a few structural improvements that very few companies think about. After all, improving lighting doesn’t seem to have an immediate impact on the business. It doesn’t add anything to the bottom line, and light overhauls can be expensive. But adding in energy-efficient lights can save your company tens of thousands of dollars or more every year. After all, according to the Small Business Alliance, lighting accounts for as much as 50% of your electrical costs. If you own your building, using hard-money cash-out re-fi loans to make your lighting more efficient can be a huge money-saver. The money you save in bills can be reinvested in your business, instead of going out the window.
Raising The Roof
This is another structural improvement that can save you money in bills over the life of your business. The roof is hugely important in energy efficiency, and upgrading it can bring enormous savings. Changing your roof into a “Green roof” provides natural insulation, fire prevention, noise reduction, and overall energy-efficiency. Not only that, but having a reputation as a company that is willing to do the right thing is great for PR and for recruiting. It’s a win-win.
Of course, there are many things you can do with a cash-out re-fi loan from a trusted hard-money lender for your small business’ capital expenses. These are just a few ideas. The whole point is to use available funds, based on the equity of your property, to set yourself up for the future without being encumbered by pointless costs and spoiled efficiency. The long term starts now.
Your real estate assets are your best investments for the future. At Socotra Capital, we’re proud to be the premier direct hard money lender for California real estate. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help.