Vending Machine Business Pros & Cons
I sincerely wish that this website will be a rich resource for anyone on understanding the journey of running a vending business.
It is A Simple Business After All
It is a very simple and it just take one to fill up the vending machines in 6 to 8 hours per day.
You have to prepare a good vending machine business plan.
And the good part is that you have cash everyday. There are no accounts receivable or waiting for paycheck, this a cash based business.
This can be done by a single person who can run this business in its entirety.
It is a matter of grouping all locations in an area. For Example i arrange my schedule as follows :
- Monday = Downtown Vancouver
- Tuesday = East Side Vancouver
- Wednesday = Burnaby
- Thursday = Surrey
- Friday = Richmond
- Saturday = East Side and West Side Vancouver
i personally operate around 100-120 machines, and you might wonder how i can do it by myself?
i started with a few locations back in 2012 and its just a matter of organizing your vending machine route driving schedule some locations need to be filled 1 month, most twice a month, some once a week and some extremely good locations needed to be serviced twice a week!
No Age Restrictions and No Skills Involved
There is no age discrimination on this kind of simple business,
you do not need to have any skills in customer service, but of course you have to always be in a good mood because in most cases, there are people or passerby asking for freebies. I would recommend to give some since you’ll have happy customers for long term.
This Starting your own vending business can be done with :
- Semi Retired
- Retired
- High School Graduates
- University Students
- Professional
How Do I Manage My Time?
I manage my own time and make your own schedule as long as the machines are well stocked with snacks. According to my experience the best times to go are as follows below :
- Early to avoid rush hour
- After 10 am when everyone is already in their cubicles
- Lunchtime when everyone is eating
- Between 1 to 2 pm before everyone is itching to get home
Vending Machine Business Low Start Up Costs
If you’re ready to start your own vending machine business, but want to make sure you get started on the right foot with a company that is friendly and affordable, there are a few things you need to look out for.
While there are many places that will offer you the chance to work from home, the main thing you need to look out for is a company that has the ability to offer you low start up costs and low initial start up prices, as well as good customer service.
If you can find a vending machine company that meets your requirements, it can help you to have an income that allows you to buy your own home, which is a very nice financial perk for anyone.
Before you even decide to start looking into vending machines, you need to make sure you know what you are doing.
You will probably need to know some basic equipment and tools, but this doesn’t mean that you should become a master of all of them. You might not need them right away, so you’ll just have to keep learning, as well as keeping your inventory updated.
One good thing to look out for when looking for a vending machine business that is affordable and friendly is to ask for referrals.
Of course, you will also need to figure out how much equipment you need to place in your vending machines. While it might be tempting to buy everything you can find, it’s more prudent to save money by only buying what you need.
Vending business that works with a company that offers you a low start-up cost is one way to ensure you have a profitable business and no hassles while you’re at it.
Vending machines are a great way to earn an income from home, and they can be a great source of extra income once your vending machines begin making money for you. Making a good investment is often a smart choice because it lets you save money when you are starting out, as well as the satisfaction that comes from knowing that you’ve made a great decision.
Vending Machine Business is a low risk venture
If you are thinking about starting a vending machine business, you can do so with the knowledge that it is a profitable venture and a relatively risk free venture.
You can start your business as long as you can get a license.
This is something that should be considered before you even begin your research into this type of business.
There are some things that you should know about starting this type of business before you begin to think about the risks that you may run.
The first thing that you should keep in mind is that you will need to find one location to begin your vending machines business.
If you don’t have any of the equipment that is needed for one location, you might consider starting with one location.
The second thing that you need to keep in mind is that you will need to invest some money on promoting your business.
You can check with your local Chamber of Commerce to see if they have a vending machine business section or if they have a vending machine business directory.
The directory will help you find all of the locations that they have in the area as well as where they are located.
You should also look online to find out if there is any information about these businesses. This information can help you narrow down the search as well.
You will want to invest in a vending machine if you are going to start this business and you will need to make sure that you start with just one location.
- You will be able to make more money when you make more locations and you will have more customers that you can sell products to.
- You will also be able to create more loyal customers when you offer a wide variety of items to them.
You can start with a single location and then expand over time and with some careful planning, you can start your vending machines business and make it a success.
With the right amount of research, some careful planning and having the proper tools, you can get started with this type of business and have your business up and running in no time.
It may take some time and effort, but if you do the research well enough, you will be on your way to a successful vending machine business.
Vending Machine Business Allows You to Work Any Time
With a vending machine business pro you can be flexible with time.
You can work the hours when you want to or you can work longer hours.
To find out how to start your vending machine business pro you need to look at a few things.
First of all, you will need to make sure you know how to operate your vending machines.
You will also need to know how to install them and what types are best for your area.
Once you have learned how to start a vending business, you will need to figure out what equipment you will need.
If you decide to operate a kiosk machine, you will need a counter top that has a display and a coin dispenser.
You will also need racks and shelves for your products.
The more equipment you have, the easier it will be to run your business.
Once you have decided on the type of vending equipment you need for your vending machine business, you will need to figure out the location for your machines.
Vending Machine Business Allows Unlimited Expansion
This vending machine business program allows you to add more machines and make them work for your specific business needs.
If you are planning to make any upgrades, you should consider changing the machines you already have.
You can always purchase new machines at a later time if you need to.
However, when you buy new machines, you will be purchasing the same parts, so you will not have to make any upgrades on your existing machines until you can afford the upgrades.
You can be in control of your vending machine business when you know how to manage your cash flow.
You can learn how to work with new vending machines without going broke trying to make a profit.
There are many ways to expand your business without breaking the bank.
You Are Your Own Boss On Vending Machine Business
A good vending machine business or for you is that you are your own boss and can make the decisions that work best for you.
You do not need a boss to tell you what to do or where to go.
A vending machine business for is one that will tell you what to do and when to do it.
A good vending machine business who will help you with your inventory management and will help you keep track of all of your vending machines.
You can have an inventory system set up that will help you keep track of how many machines are in stock and how much each one is selling for.
You Can Hire Someone To Run Your Vending Machine Business
If you are going to start a vending business then you need to find the best possible way of getting the job done.
You will need to make sure that you find the best possible person with the highest level of work with you at a reasonable work hours. It is important to do all these things because they can make or break your business. They will either prevent your business from growing or give it the edge to grow and succeed.
One of the first things that you should do is to get a vending machine business employee which will be working for you and it will provide you with the support that you need.
The worker will also help you to ensure that they are working properly.
This person is going to be working for you and they will have to be able to help you increase your sales.
They will also need to be able to handle the customers that come to you, they will need to be able to deal with people who lost some money on certain occasions when using the vending machine.
The machines that they are going to be placing will need to be high quality machines.
This is because you will want to get high quality machines in order to make sure that your business is profitable and that you will get good profit.
They also will need to be efficient machines that will make sure that they will not be broken down.
They will need to be able to keep track of the sales and the profits as well.
They will also have to be able to deal with customer service issues as well.
You also need to make sure that you are able to get a vending machine that will be able to make as much profit as possible when you are operating the vending machines.
You will want to make sure that you make sure that your vending machine employee is able to handle all of these things, and you will want to make sure that he or she is an experienced person that will be able to give you the right type of support for your business.
Some of the Cons in running a vending machine business
One of the most difficult hurdles to clear for any vending business owner is to compete with a competition for prime locations
There are locations that are in the list of prospects for other vending operators which you need to compete with. All businesses have some form of competition.
The final way to become a better vending machine business owner is to make sure that the vending machines that they are using are ones that can fit in well with the style of the company that is operating the location.
Many people that are running these types of vending machines are looking for ways to reduce the amount of space that is required to set up their operation.
Vending Machine Business – Tips to Keep Costs Low
If you have a vending machine business that needs to get off the ground, you’re probably looking for ways to reduce your vending machine costs. You can reduce these costs by finding out what it is that your competitors are charging for the products that they sell. What are their costs for purchasing inventory and their other expenses? What are their sales numbers like?
There are many ways to get this information, but the first one is to spend a lot of time in a store. You can talk with the employees of the business and try to find out what products their customers tend to purchase and whether or not they are spending more than your prices on those products. Chances are if you can find out this information, you’ll be able to offer a better deal and save yourself quite a bit of money.
You can also talk to store employees. Most people in this line of work will have at least an interest in learning what other business owners are charging for certain products. They may be able to tell you what type of people are buying certain products from them. For example, some people tend to buy large amounts of snacks while others are more likely to purchase products like candy and energy drinks.
You can also get information about your competitors. This is easy because most companies will send you a marketing survey. Just make sure that the survey isn’t paid. Most of these surveys are done by market research firms that are paid to conduct research. They will give you all sorts of information about how your competitors are operating their business and which products are most popular.
One of the best ways to reduce costs is to make sure you are only having vending machines take care of those items that your customers are interested in. For example, if you sell energy drinks and you only take care of the candy that comes with them, you will end up spending a lot less money. If you focus on taking care of the different types of candy, you won’t spend as much money on the energy drink vending machines.
The more you know about your competition, the easier it will be for you to find a great deal on your vending machine business. Make sure you have a clear picture in mind of how you plan to make the biggest savings for your vending machine business.
Working Long Hours With Your Vending Machine Business
If you are looking to make a little extra money in your vending machine business then there is one thing that you can do and this is work on it all day and then at night go home and relax. It is not really that difficult. You have to think long hours, but if you have a few hours spare each day that’s fine. Many people get up early and work until 3am. Do not become like them because the more you do at home the more money you will make and the longer you will stay at home the longer you will make money.
You have to work for the day and then go home and relax. If you do not work long hours then you might as well take a nap while you wait. If you do work for long hours then you will only be getting paid for the work that you do. When you go to work, it is up to you what you want to do. I would suggest that you do not go to work in the morning and then go home after lunch and then go back to sleep.
The more you work the better your pay will be. If you get more money then you are going to work more. If you do not work you will not get more money. If you do not work and wait for that big pay day you will not make much. You might get some money if you wait a few weeks.
You are going to have to work for yourself when you start your vending machine business.
If you are just starting out then you will need to set a budget and stick to it and then work your way up when you feel comfortable with your vending machine business.
If you think that you can work in a place and at a time that is convenient then that is what you need to do.
If you are comfortable at a time and a place then you might want to work long hours to make the most of the money that you can.
You will have to work hard for everything that you get into your vending machine business and you will have to work smart.
When you start a vending machines business. You might want to set yourself a budget before you even open your doors. because it may not work.
What You Can Do to Deal With Vending Machine Business Con Customer Complaints
The owner of the vending machine business has not had the right attitude to make more money with a vending machine business.
If you are the owner of this type of business, you need to take action and stop the problem before it gets any worse.
Here is how to handle a vending machine business customer complaints.
The first thing that you should do is to look at the customer complaints that your competitors are receiving.
Look for problems that can be fixed. If you find that there are problems, you need to fix them.
If they have a good reason to complain, this is a great opportunity for you.
You need to buy quality vending machines and keep them in good shape for your customers.
You need to treat your customers with respect and dignity so that they will continue to purchase your vending machines.
If you follow the advice given here, you should be able to handle a vending machine business con customer complains without making any unnecessary problems.
This should help you turn around your vending business and keep it going. The last thing you want is to do is to allow your vending machine business to suffer as this can hurt your reputation as well as your business.
Vending Machine Business: Vandalism – How To Deal With It
One of the more prevalent problems in a vending machine business is vandalism and what it has done to small or new vending businesses.
There are ways to reduce this, though, and to maintain a high quality of life for your customers, which can only mean better profits.
Vandalism can be a problem when it first starts out.
You have to get used to the fact that you are dealing with vending machines, and that you have to keep them working properly, as well as safely.
One way to keep it from getting too bad is to do some basic marketing. It doesn’t matter whether it is a coffee shop a soda machine, or a vending machine that sells candy. You need to advertise.
There are a few things you can do to promote your vending machine business and make sure vandalism is reduced.
- Another thing you can do to help reduce vandalism in your vending machine business is to invest in some good security equipment.
- There are several different types, including video cameras, alarm systems, and locks systems.
- The more security you have in place, the less likely your vending machine business will be broken into.
- Remember to choose a good brand to get a good price, though.
A vending machine business is a small business, but if it is well-managed, it can be a very large business, as well. It is best to get the most from it before it takes off.
If you plan well, your business will succeed.
Do your research and find out what your competition is like before you start a vending machine business.
Make sure you know how much they spend on advertising and security. and try to be competitive with them as much as possible.
Vending Machine Business Fails: Breakdown Repair Bills
There are many things to keep in mind when starting a vending business, and the two main problems that I see most of the time are breakdown bills and vending repairman fraud.
Reasons why the majority of people fail in their business ventures, and it can be very expensive to fix your vending machines once they have broken down.
I’ll ask you a question: A compressor breaks down which will cost you about $900 including installation.
The location is just generating $100 per month? What will you do?
Vending Machine Passive Income ?
Instead of running a mom and pop grocery store in which i stayed from 9am to 9pm and earning just a minimum salary since most of the income gets paid to the landlord, my machines do the work for me while im doing other things or other work.
I have locations in hotels and establishments that have night shifts e.g. production facilities, grain terminals, night school, it continually earns even when im sleeping.
Some of my machine is installed with devices, and always alerts and reminds me when the machine is 50% empty via email.
Easy to Maintain
Machines are very easy to maintain even thou they are more than 10 years old, i have a lot of machines that are 15 years old and they don’t cause any problems. ?Most of the problems that i encounter is very simple to repair and caused by my negligence while servicing the machine.
Most of the problems are :
- Loose screws when pushing and pulling the trays
- Coin mechanism inside machine
- Loose Wiring accidentally get disconnected while servicing the machine
Here is a very helpful link on How To Basic Repairs which anyone can do it.
How to fix a leaking soda pop vending machine
Worst case scenario is some of my pop machine or combo machine is over 15 years old, sometimes there is a build up of ICY Material and starts leaking and some cases need to have the compressor changed, it is around $500 to $600 to have it replaced by a vending machine technician. ?The compressor itself costs around $350 to $450.
Are My Accounts Happy ?
Here in Vancouver, BC, 70% of the accounts doesnt have any written contracts since if you don’t provide a good service of restocking, procurement supplies manager would opt for another vendor.
Most of the customers are happy as long as you service them regularly and most of all if you can provide a certain % commission, 5% commission from profit is very common here in vancouver, bc.
I myself as mentioned before handles around 100+ machines in the lower mainland here in vancouver, bc. ?i had some very rare occasions which is still very vivid in my memory where the establishment had only about 1 to 2 weeks to move my machines out of their premises. ?the reasons for this is unknown since i always perform my duties as a vendor, i personally believe that you must always have a rapport with everyone who uses your machine. ?You absolutely and should never have any ill or cranky emotions whenever you are servicing your locations.
When i was starting out in vending i used a family sedan and gravitated into a professional commercial van which i’m very happy with its performance.
I had a tip before on how to keep the account very happy, is to sometimes clean the premises or throw away some cardboards for recycle and most instances is to give out freebies and always have a great smile even thou you have a bad day from family or finances or personal problems.
I have to always have to set aside all problems and have a happy disposition to my customers.
I’m always under the mercy of the location manager or people who simply doesn’t like the way you look or the way how you approach the business and whoever you are dealing with. ?It would be such a heartache if you are removed without any valid reason if you are just starting out because you will be loosing the following :
- Moving expense = normally you have to pay around $100 to $150 moving per machine
- Leasing expense = monthly payments on machine
- Time in emptying products = loss of time in which you can service other machines
- Investment loss in the location = if you paid $5,000 or even $10,000 for the account.location and you are removed without any reason this will be a disastrous loss if you loaned the money or lifetime savings gone to the drain, but this is a very rare case scenario. Just make sure that the manager or contact person have rapport with you before you jump into new accounts, or else you get burned
I heard that when you are in sales you have to have that personality that attracts people and customers and be very pleasing and at the same time a tad bit persuasive.
Conclusion
Owning my vending business is a very viable income for me in supporting my small family here in Vancouver especially when everything is sky high and have some form of freedom since i manage my own time.
