Are you looking for the best laptop for running a small business? Not sure how you can choose a great laptop for business purposes?
If you’re trying to build your small business, you need to have the tools to succeed. A great laptop is an essential tool for a small business owner, so you should make sure you think carefully about which one you choose to buy. In this guide, we’ll tell you how to choose the best laptops for small business owners.
Decide on a Budget
One of the first things that you should do when buying a laptop for a small business is to set your budget. You’ll want to think carefully about how much you’ll want to spend.
However, remember that buying a laptop shouldn’t be a short-term purchase but instead should be seen as an investment. When you buy a laptop, you’ll be buying a tool that you’ll use in your business for a long time to come and will have a big impact on everything that you do.
Be sure to balance your needs and the price that you pay carefully. While you may not want to spend a lot, it can be worth paying more for a better model if you know that it will help your business succeed and will stand the test of time. On the other hand, you should make sure that you’re not paying money for things that you don’t really need. While it can be nice to have all of the bells and whistles when buying a laptop, you should focus on getting the essential features you need to run your business.
Consider Design Features
When choosing a business laptop, you should also think about what design and special features you want. Not all laptops are the same and many of them offer additional features that can add a lot of functionality, improve ease-of-use, and make them more rugged and durable.
Hybrid laptops are becoming more popular and can open up a lot of functionality to you. These 2-in-1 laptops allow you to use your device as a normal laptop but may also allow you to twist the screen around and transform it into a tablet as well. It will have a touchscreen that you can use to do anything you need to do on it. Getting a hybrid laptop can be a good choice if you want to get more portability and would like to use the touchscreen. If you want to find a great 2-in-1 laptop that is business-ready, you may want to check out Intel EVO Platform laptops. Be sure to check out lenovo.com to learn more.
Other aspects of laptop design you’ll want to think about include durability and weight. Some laptops are built to be used in rugged work conditions and can be helpful in certain situations. Police departments, fire departments, and construction companies, for example, may use devices such as these.
If you’ll be traveling a lot, on the other hand, it can make sense to get a very lightweight or smaller-than-average laptop. These devices will allow you to easily carry it along with you and get work done no matter where you are at any given time. Make sure that you do some digging and find out about some of the special design features you can get when choosing a laptop. It may be well worth getting a laptop with an extra feature or two based on your usage needs and what your plans for the laptop are.
Pick an Operating System to Use
Another key step to choosing a business laptop is to decide which operating system you’ll want to use.
Any laptop you buy will come pre-installed with one of the main operating systems that are out there including either Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows, or Chrome OS. All of the options are worth considering and each offers some different pros and cons that you should think about.
Many people consider Mac OS X to be the highest-quality OS option. It comes with a well-designed interface, great performance, and a lot of other great features and benefits. On the other hand, Apple machines are often more expensive than computers that come with a different operating system instead.
For many business owners, Windows is the ideal choice. Microsoft Windows operating systems are easy to use and many people are more familiar with them because a lot of people have used Windows on previous computers they have owned over the years. Windows laptops are also cheaper than Apple laptops and there is a wider variety of options to choose from. If you’ll be using a lot of software, Windows may also be the better choice because there is a lot of software that is compatible with it.
Chrome OS is less popular than the other options and isn’t as time-tested as Apple or Windows, but can still be a good option for some users. A laptop with Chrome OS will be a good budget option but will lack storage space and can’t run as many applications as a Mac or Windows laptop. However, it can be a good choice for web-based collaboration and integration with Google products.
Check the Specs
There are many important specifications that you should consider when choosing a business laptop. Here are some of the main specs you should consider when choosing a laptop.
CPU
When looking for a laptop to buy, make sure that you consider the central processing unit (CPU). The processor in a laptop makes a major impact on how it functions. A powerful processor will help ensure that you can run any tasks that you want to and that your laptop will be able to do many things at once without slowing down.
If the processer isn’t powerful on the other hand, you may not be able to do a lot of tasks at the same time and certain things such as video editing, 3D modeling, and managing large databases can be difficult, if not impossible.
You’ll want to consider what kinds of tasks you’ll be doing when choosing a processor. For most businesses, getting an Intel Core i3 or i5 Processor are good choices that will give you all the power you need while still being fairly cost-effective. On the other hand, if all you’ll be doing is sending email, then a Core i3 processor or another less powerful processer may be sufficient.
Memory
Another thing that you should consider when choosing the best laptop for your business is how much memory it has. The amount of RAM that a laptop has will affect how well it handles computing tasks and how many things it can do at once.
A higher amount of RAM is better and may be necessary if you’ll be using software that needs a lot of resources such as video editing software. If you’ll be doing intensive tasks, then 16GB is a good place to start. However, no matter what you’ll be doing, you’ll likely want to look for a laptop with at least 4GB of RAM.
Storage
In addition to looking for a good amount of RAM, you should consider the hard drive that will be in the laptop as well. You need to be sure that the hard drive will have enough space for anything that you’ll be storing. For basic business needs, a hard drive that is 128GB or 256GB will likely work well. If you’ll be doing video editing or working with other files that take up a lot of space, you may want to get a larger hard drive, such as one that is 512GB or 1TB.
You should also consider whether you want a conventional hard drive (HDD) or a solid-state drive (SSD). If you’ll be on the go a lot, you may want to look for a laptop that has a SSD instead of a HDD. Solid-state drives are more durable and will also run more quickly than conventional hard drives.
Battery Life
When choosing a laptop for your small business, you should also think about the battery life as well. If you’ll only be working at the office, then battery life may not matter much, since you’ll always be near an outlet. However, if you’ll be working on the go at all or will be at various work locations, you may want to find a laptop that offers enough hours of battery life.
A great laptop should offer at least 8 or 10 hours of life, but depending on the work you perform and the specifics of your use, you may want to look for one that will last 14 hours or more instead.
Understanding How to Choose the Best Laptop for Running a Small Business
If you want to find the best laptop for running a small business, make sure that you consider all of the most important factors. By checking for the information above, you’ll be able to find a great computer to use for your small business.