4 Ways A Pawn Shop Helps Your Business Stay Competitive

For small business owners, finding a way to stay competitive while sticking within a tight budget is a continual effort. If your profit margins are already slim, you may need to think outside the box in order to keep the cash flowing and your business ahead of the competition.

One of these outside the box financial tools every business owner should consider is a pawn shop. How can a pawn shop help out your business? Here are four key ways.

1. Get Bridge Loans

Bridge loans are short-term credit extensions designed to get a person or business across an unfunded divide. For example, many businesses bill customers for products or services but then have to wait 10, 20, 30 days or more for payment. Several expenses may come due all at once, and costs such as payroll often can't be put off until cash flow picks up again. This is where bridge loans are important.

You can often get a short-term business loan to bridge a gap, but it will require significant effort and paperwork - and it often comes at a higher interest rate. Instead, you can get a short-term loan by pawning high value assets you already own. The upside is that you aren't giving up ownership of that asset, as you can pay off the pawn loan when your cash flow frees up and retrieve the item.

2. Sell Older Equipment

As your tools and equipment age, they become less useful and more unreliable. Selling outdated or unused equipment is a good way to help pay for better replacements, but you can't always find a good market for doing so.

Pawn shops provide ready-made marketplaces for your old goods. They're local, they're always available, and you don't have to spend time negotiating with different people. As an added bonus, many pawn shops take a variety of goods, ranging from power tools to office furnishings to landscape equipment. It's one-stop selling.

3. Try New Equipment

Are there pieces of equipment that you'd like to try for your business but you aren't ready to commit to? A pawn shop can give you flexibility. The goods are often used, so you'll pay a significant discount to purchase something you may not end up keeping.

This is a great way to test out features or different models of things like tools, outdoor equipment, computers, printers, mobile devices, cameras, or projectors. And if you decide the item isn't what you need, you'll know exactly where to sell it back as well.

4. Fund New Ideas

One growing trend among entrepreneurs is to find alternative ways to fund their new ideas. Since regular credit sources are often cumbersome, slow, and restricted, small businesses may not have the time and manpower to rely on these sources of money.

What if you have the chance to take advantage of an immediate opportunity, such as a new project or a piece of equipment that's up for sale? Can you act quickly to jump on this opportunity? Haven't got the money to get your restaurant's patio enclosed before winter sets in? Want to develop a new product or turn an idea into a prototype? Time sensitive items can't always wait.

Most businesses and individuals aren't able to fund all their ideas, even though expansion and development are key to staying in business. But if you or your business owns even a single high value asset, you may be able to get a hassle-free pawn loan to fund your new project as quickly as today.  

In today's fast-paced market, your small business has to stay profitable and keep improving itself. A local source of quick cash and replacement equipment is just one tool in your kit to reach those goals. At 2J's Pawn and Gun, we are your partner in business. Stop by today to learn how our varied inventory and quick loans can help your business thrive.