What is Better – to Lease or to Buy Equipment?

Many small business owners assume that investing in new equipment is a financial gable with an un-manageable price tag.

Well,this is probably because Small businesses have difficulty raising capital - that's no secret. But Leasing equipment may be a better option for your business's equipment financing.

Equipment leasing is simply a process by which you obtain the use of a certain asset like a car, computer or software solution for which you don’t pay the full purchase price but instead you only pay a series of contractual, periodic payments while you use the equipment.

If you are worrying about how realistic your plans are (or if colleagues and friends have raised doubts), here is my take on the advantage of leasing computer equipment.

Technology will always change while on the other hand, not every jim and Jack has a budget readily available for these changes that is why a growing number of companies in this credit-tight economy are looking at leasing as a smart option that is accompanied by little risk.

Secondly, obtaining finance you need to purchase equipment is not easy, particularly where technology is concerned. Banks are more risk conscious than ever before, preferring safer investments of their funds such as real estate and more tangible assets.

For this reason many companies are finding it increasingly more difficult to obtain financing through overdrafts and loans.

I have often used this quotation on this blog and I will use it again, “Eneke the bird says that since men have learned to shoot without missing, he has learned to fly without perching” This Igbo proverb means People adapt to other people's learnings, particularly when the other person's learnings would harm you if you kept on your present course. In other words external factors can have effects on people so much that they change.

Leasing is the single largest form of external corporate finance in the world. In case you didn’t know, over 80% of companies – from small, start up to multinational companies at least lease one asset or the other.

I know that probably there may be very few leasing companies in your area but it is just a matter of time, remember what I said “people adapt to other peoples learnings”

Start your own business with a certified Computer Technician Course

You've heard everyone going on and on about a flailing economy that is expected to soon rise. You've waited long and hard for this rise to occur, but it hasn't come. With the presidential elections around the corner, you can expect great changes to sweep the country in the coming months. Some of you are going to sit and wait for it, while some of you are going to be bitten by the entrepreneur bug and do something about it.

This is a great time to start selling yourself on your own, especially if you're skilled in specialized jobs like that of a computer technician's. In fact, with the advent of social networking and online marketing, offering your skills as a computer technician may not require much start-up, marketing or buying costs at all!

Almost all small business and home owners rely on their computers to serve them well. It's harder for smaller establishments to afford large contracts with multi-service technician companies, so an independent provider like you would be just the answer they need. So what are some of the things you should know before starting your own computer technician training business?

1. Get certified. Most people won't trust a quack technician to come into their homes and touch their computers unless they've heard glowing recommendations about your service, or can see that you've been trained formally. For those with no training, computer technician training from an online vocational school can really help your sellability!

2. Keep up-to-date on the latest developments, especially in computer technology. Nothing is changing as rapidly in our times as the electronic realm of work. Doing an online computer technician certification in new and emerging technologies and methods every once in a while is a good idea.

3. Put yourself out there, but know your limitations. Don't bite more than you can chew. Your clients will appreciate that you stick by your word. Take time to experiment on new technologies and operating systems. Don't experiment on a live customer's computer if you can't help it.

4. Take time to understand your market, and be patient for results. You'll need to understand how your competitors work, and pitch your services at an advantage for your potential customers. Offer discounts, trials and satisfaction guarantees if you're confident about your service, but just be patient until you see loyalty and customer referrals doing the work for you.

5. Expect to put in long odd hours. This will especially be applicable if you are servicing home PC where owners may have time for you to visit their home only after their work hours.

6. Be professional. Dress well, and invest in your own business cards and company letterheads. It will add a sense of accountability to your profile.
Go ahead; take a chance on your own business if you're feeling lucky, adventurous or just plain tired of waiting for someone else to do the work for you. Being an entrepreneur has its own heady highs, and once you get a feel for it, we bet you won't look back!

Author Bio :
Nancy is a 36-year old stay at home mom of two. She worked as a medical assistant for five years before taking a break to be with her children. She loves to do the extensive research on the vocational training industry. She also writes about different ways to start-successful Business. Her other interests include gardening and baking. She stays with her husband and two daughters.

Will Zambia’s Economic Zone tick like China?

Will the multi facility economic zones in Zambia enhance economic development in the manufacturing sector like in Beijing? Well, the success of the Zambian (SEZ) version is yet to be seen.

Indeed, one key characteristic of any developed economy is that its service sector is more productive than its manufacturing sector, Zambia is decidedly still a developing economy. The pressure has been to increase activities in the manufacturing sector, which calls for rapid improvement in infrastructure. Because the development of such facilities can not easily be achieved through a single initiative, the Zambian government has among other initiatives sanctioned the establishment of multi facility economic zones. This is quite commendable.

I guess this idea gained momentum after officials from the ministry of commerce and industry visited China and saw how well china’s special economic zones had been performing.

Out of curiosity, I did my own online research on special economic zones which I will share with you in a little while.

Special economic zones (SEZ) are not a new phenomenon, India was the first country in Asia to recognize the effectiveness of export processing zone (EFZ) model in promoting exports and in April 2000, India announced the special economic zones (SEZ) policy.

In comparison, I found out  that, there are numerous variations between china’s special economic zone model and that of Zambia. China has five very large zones strategically located near sea ports in the south east of the country, where as the Zambian government has so far declared two multi facility economic zones namely Chambishi multi facility economic zone and Lusaka south multi facility economic zone, and, while business incentives differ from zone to zone in China, the following standard incentives have been put in place to attract investors in the multi facility economic zones in Zambia.

Exemption from tax on dividends for five (5) years from first of declaration.

Corporate tax at zero percent for the first five (5) years from the first year profits are made; 

Zero percent tax rate on dividends of companies operating under the MFEZ/Priority sector for a period of five years from the year of first declaration of dividends;

Zero percent on profits made by companies operating in the MFEZ/Priority sector for a period of five years from the first year profits are made. From 6 to 8 years only 50 percent of the profits should be taxed and for years 9 and 10, 75 percent of profits should be taxed.

Zero percent import duty rate on raw materials, capital goods, machinery including trucks and specialized motor vehicles for five years for enterprises operating in MFEZ; and

Deferment of VAT on machinery and equipment including trucks and specialized motor vehicles imported for investment in the MFEZ/priority sector.

But the main deference I found, concerns land development, which is where this author anticipates a lot of criticism. In china, the state bought the land and built the infrastructure after which private companies in the export trade moved in to set up their industrial units. In Zambia the government has acquired sites and handed them over to the private sector to develop the required facilities. A similar model used by India.

In India, there was a rush to acquire property in the special economic zones but the sharp hike in the value of these sites after their development left the original owners feeling cheated and led to concerns that businesses were buying land in special economic zones to make profit on real estate rather than on manufacturing and exporting. 

The question that lingers on my mind is this, would these multi facility economic zones satisfy the investment/revenue criteria to compensate for the public money lost through the tax breaks would be investors would receive?

Zambia has matured into a democracy with full freedom of expression. The MMD government seems to be receptive to criticism. But frankly, the declarations of multi facility zones should include a cap of restrictions to address the fears of large scale displacement of local people and prevent businesses from developing in economic zones for profit on real estate alone rather than manufacturing and export.

A rapid advance in information and communication technology is helping to create new business models in the world today.  Manufacturing units are becoming dispersed, while functions such as planning, control and monitoring are being networked. Business process outsourcing is becoming the order of the day. Even research and development is being farmed out to take advantage of cost serving. There is a well known saying that, “men have learned to shoot without missing and birds have learned to fly without perching their wings.” Therefore, any country must take note of this paradigm shift in manufacturing before starting any schemes to develop industrial parks or multi facility economic zones.