by Lloyd Shaw
A lot of companies are now claiming commercial status on their Vibration
Training products piggy-backing on the engineering success of others. Some
players that have been in the market for years selling "Professional" models
are now only trying to develop machines that can be used in this demanding
scenario.
Why go full commercial ?
The expense can sometimes put people off buying such a product or getting
involved in a commercially designed machine or company , with the temptation
to fill studios or gyms with medium grade machines to cut down on set-up
costs too great to pass up , especially if your accountant is not educated
in the value of commercial equipment .
To not do your homework or go cheap is simply suicide , think about
this...........
(1) The average business loan is 3-6 years depending on the amount needed
for start-up.
(2) If the product is only of a low standard the unit will need replacing
before the loan term is up , below is a statement from a award winning
European company with a very good reputation .........
"The Professional unit which you will be familiar with, is a very reliable
piece of equipment and is researched and engineered to exceed the useful
commercial life expectation of 2-3 yrs" ( approx $15,000 N.Z. ).
Or this.......
I also have a list of serial numbers of machines advertised as commercial
units sold to businesses in N.Z. and tests offered in court for a legal
dispute in which I instigated in 2005 against another well known brand ( of
which they claimed they all operated perfectly ) . I have proof not a single
original unit tested is still in operation. How can this possibly be right ?
Unless of course they completely lied to the consumer in the first place.
It would be wise to see if any company has claimed commercial status of
their units in the past and it has turned out not to be true.
(3) It is important to note that no bank will give you a loan to replace
equipment you have not yet finished paying for , this is a financial trap
that forces you to continue buying lower quality products over and over
again .
Even if you have learnt your lesson by this stage , there is no way out.
"In the 3rd year when you should be finally getting a return
on your investment , you have to re-invest in new machinery just to stay
open".
(4) This is not a mistake on the manufacturers part , it is deliberate and
continues to be most companies policy to produce goods with a limited
lifespan . Why ?
History of this policy....
When the first fridges were produced , they were designed to never break.
But it was quickly realized that this would lead to a saturation point in
the market , so they started to design faults so it became cheaper to buy a
new fridge than fix your old one. These companies now work on the assumption
you will need about 9 fridges in your lifetime upgrading to their new model
as they release them .
Now this is all fine unless you need the fridge in your restaurant business
in which case you go and by a coolstore that doesn't break.
(5) This cycle of using under-rated machines will stop you ever achieving a
debt free business , and definitely put a kink in any expansion plans you may
have had to start with.
(6) The other advantage of getting involved with a commercial brand is the
ability to refurbish the product to "as new" looks when the time ever comes
to sell the business. A "going concern" is only attractive if the machines
look good and are still "going".
(7) Performance related issues due to low quality will also lose you
customers over the long term as they will not see the results you advertise. They will hear and read about excellent results from other companies and
just think you are ripping them off. Bad word of mouth travels faster than
good.
My advice is to take the time to visit a commercial premises running the
machines or using the company you are looking at getting involved with. Make
sure it has been running for some time ( at least 6 months ) to get an idea
of how the products hold up to high end usage. Do not trust the "showroom
shine" appeal of a brochure or website .
If there are none of those exact units running in your country yet
get someone to pop into a studio overseas , even if you have to pay for this
service , it is well worth it.
