My Friend's Small Business - I hope his story is a good barometer

[maseman]

A buddy of mine owns a small business that employs about 25 people. Last year they basically stopped spending any additional money for any type of capital improvement such as not purchasing about 20 new PCs and laptops. They usually upgrade about every three years to keep up. They decided to wait an extra year to save money.

Now they REALLY need some new computers as they are starting to fail. He told me tonight that even though times are tough he needs new machines and will be making the purchase next month. He said that now is the time to buy because he can get a better deal anyway.

That got me thinking that so much of what it takes for business to survive needs replacing at some point. Whether it is computers, software, networking, cell phones, Blackberrys, printers, tires for forklifts, bearings, etc. they all need replacing. Many companies have delayed these purchases but at some point, hopefully sooner than later, they will need to break down and buy buy buy. Only then will an economy start to pick up a little.

[safeinOhio]

1. You are right

and soon enough folks will need a new car, home improvements, a different house and other things that wear out. Maybe wishful thinking, or it may not.

[Motown_Johnny]

2. The small business I work for just switched over to having everything....

and I mean EVERYTHING.... online.

Now all we need are net-books and a hot spot (or any internet connection) to have access to everything our password allows.

No more need for $1000.00+ computers. Net-books are cheap.


I will also add that we are not buying new trucks even though some are getting near the end of their usefulness. (bought one about 4 months ago but that was a special circumstance) Hoping some higher mileage models come out soon.

I know we are still holding back on major purchases, even though we still have enough credit in pre-approved lines of credit to make some purchases. We need to stay cash heavy to insure we weather this economic storm.

[nevergiveup]

3. I am not sure there will be

many small businesses fortunate to get to the point of the "buy buy buy" if the economic free-fall continues. In my small business the computers all should be replaced but will have to suffice until there is some sign of stabilization or recovery. Business is so bad nothing is being strained that much anyway. One of our furnaces went out yesterday. It is old and needs replacing desperately and in ordinary times would have bought a new one but instead bought a new blower motor and installed myself. I also used some duct-tape on the front panel which keeps falling off and it looks like hell but we had heat today in our shipping building. Our main printer also went out and I bought a used one really cheap to hold us over. Things are getting pretty rough around here.

[maseman]

4. Hope it picks up for you

My brother-in-law just opened an automotive garage. I think it is a genious time for him to do so. He hasn't been turning much wrench in the past ten years but with no one buying new cars the ones they have need oil changes, brakes, repairs, etc. In addition with so many dealerships closing many of those also had service shops. No more.

[WeDidIt]

5. I work for a medium sized MNC

We're getting ready to do several projects that will result in basic infrastructure investments totalling about $10,000,000. Our revenues are around $250,000,000/year.

That's in addition to normal replacement rates on workstations, laptops, and servers.

[Lugnut]

6. My son is an independent O/O trucker.

He had a meeting this afternoon with the manager of the cold storage warehouse he's hauling for. They landed a big client and are in final discussions to seal a deal with another one very shortly. My son has been debating the merits of expanding to add a few more trucks and he's feeling more positive about the move at this point.