Hey Gang, Just wondering if anyone out there started with just one machine part time and if so what type of machine would you recommend? I have a full time job in a car dealership and have been in the car biz for 20 years. I have alot of contacts in that field and should be able to locate on my own. What obstacles should I expect? Is it the little guy vs. the big guy? In the car biz, the difference is usually SERVICE. However I am getting the feeling from reading alot of the posts that LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION is the first hurdle. Looking forward to hearing from newbies to Pro's and everyone inbetween. Thanks in advance.
5 replies to this topic
#2
danl
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Posted 03 May 2008 - 05:47 PM
marmelo
there's no reason why you can't start out with just one machine. Lots of the "Pros" recommend that you do just that. As to the type of machine you start with, it all depends on where you want to go with your business and how much you want to make. If you were to start out with a single bulk candy machine, then I'd say that you won't make a whole lot from it but you also won't have to spend a lot of time servicing it. It takes a lot of those machines to get anywhere in this business. I myself prefer soda machines. Sure they're more expensive to purchase and stock and it'll take up more of your time to service but at the right place it will provide you with a tidy sum of money.
It's true that location is very important but don't discount the service part either. I've been able to pull business away from competitors because of the service I provide and I've been very fortunate in that in each and every case I've made good money every time I've moved one of my machines to replace someone else's. But then again, the location had that kind of potential. It just blew me away that the competitor couldn't keep up the service.
It's good that you can secure your own locations. Your contacts will come in handy. Once you've placed your machine, I firmly believe that service is what is going to keep it there.
there's no reason why you can't start out with just one machine. Lots of the "Pros" recommend that you do just that. As to the type of machine you start with, it all depends on where you want to go with your business and how much you want to make. If you were to start out with a single bulk candy machine, then I'd say that you won't make a whole lot from it but you also won't have to spend a lot of time servicing it. It takes a lot of those machines to get anywhere in this business. I myself prefer soda machines. Sure they're more expensive to purchase and stock and it'll take up more of your time to service but at the right place it will provide you with a tidy sum of money.
It's true that location is very important but don't discount the service part either. I've been able to pull business away from competitors because of the service I provide and I've been very fortunate in that in each and every case I've made good money every time I've moved one of my machines to replace someone else's. But then again, the location had that kind of potential. It just blew me away that the competitor couldn't keep up the service.
It's good that you can secure your own locations. Your contacts will come in handy. Once you've placed your machine, I firmly believe that service is what is going to keep it there.
#3
marmelo
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Posted 03 May 2008 - 10:00 PM
Great advice and thanks for sharing your experience. I wonder if the the big guys sometimes drop the ball with service just like big car dealers. It seems like the small shops tend to cater to their customers in a more personal way. I think the bigger companies lose sight of the service needs of their customers. I plan on being a one man band and although I want to grow my business, I do not want to get too big and start losing accounts faster than I gain accounts. In my current business it is easier and less expensive to maintain existing customers than to attract new ones. Especially because of the cost of advertising. What is your feeling about new machines vs. refurbs. I have extensive experience with auto mechanics, however my time is limited and I do not want to spend alot of time running around performing repairs. Any suggestions or recommendations on the most reliable machines on the market? Thanks again.
#4
danl
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Posted 04 May 2008 - 07:16 AM
I think that if a location is not generating the income expected that both the little and big guys can fall into the rut of slacking off on service to conentrate on locations that are performing up to expectations rather than looking at what they can do to improve the revenue at poor performing locations. Service is everything in this business. If I can't come up with a way to increase my sales then I'll pull my machine because it's more than likely not the right location for me.
You might want to take a look at a post I started a week or so ago in this same chat room. The post is a poll question and is titled "Gross Monthly Revenue". Posters "coinvester" and "BVI" give some excellent advice on figuring out how much money to spend on equipment based on the amount of reveue derived from your locations. The formulas discussed are VERY clean and understandable. This information might help you decide whether to buy new or refurb machines. All of my machines are refurbs. I simply could not afford the price tag of new machines. I've had very little trouble from any of them with the exception of the bill authenticators and coin changers. Luckily, I have lifetime warranties on both of these items so I've not had to pay any money to have them fixed. However, going back to the service issue - malfunctioning machines give your service a bad name and hurt your revenue. I try to take proactive steps to avoid the bad name part of it by letting the customer know what's going on, what I'm doing about it and when it will be fixed and then get it fixed as soon as possible.
As to the brand of machines that are reliable, perhaps there are others that can address that question. I don't really know.
You might want to take a look at a post I started a week or so ago in this same chat room. The post is a poll question and is titled "Gross Monthly Revenue". Posters "coinvester" and "BVI" give some excellent advice on figuring out how much money to spend on equipment based on the amount of reveue derived from your locations. The formulas discussed are VERY clean and understandable. This information might help you decide whether to buy new or refurb machines. All of my machines are refurbs. I simply could not afford the price tag of new machines. I've had very little trouble from any of them with the exception of the bill authenticators and coin changers. Luckily, I have lifetime warranties on both of these items so I've not had to pay any money to have them fixed. However, going back to the service issue - malfunctioning machines give your service a bad name and hurt your revenue. I try to take proactive steps to avoid the bad name part of it by letting the customer know what's going on, what I'm doing about it and when it will be fixed and then get it fixed as soon as possible.
As to the brand of machines that are reliable, perhaps there are others that can address that question. I don't really know.
#5
marmelo
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Posted 04 May 2008 - 09:16 AM
danl
Thanks again for the advice and information. I have been reading as much of the posts as I can to get a concensus on several topics. The real life experiences of vendors is worth its weight in gold. I tell young people trying to get into auto mechanics, go walk a week in a technicians shoes and listen to everything, both good and bad before you go invest 25k in tools and a tool box to find out it is not for you. That is what I am going to do. I have a friend who owns a very small route. I am going to ask him to let me work it with him and I will in turn not compete for his existing business if I do enter the vending business. If I think it is for me and I can work it part time, I'm in! I need to secure a future as my own boss. The big question, what does everyone do about health insurance??
Thanks again for the advice and information. I have been reading as much of the posts as I can to get a concensus on several topics. The real life experiences of vendors is worth its weight in gold. I tell young people trying to get into auto mechanics, go walk a week in a technicians shoes and listen to everything, both good and bad before you go invest 25k in tools and a tool box to find out it is not for you. That is what I am going to do. I have a friend who owns a very small route. I am going to ask him to let me work it with him and I will in turn not compete for his existing business if I do enter the vending business. If I think it is for me and I can work it part time, I'm in! I need to secure a future as my own boss. The big question, what does everyone do about health insurance??
#6
danl
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Posted 04 May 2008 - 10:45 AM
marmelo
Sounds to me like you're going about this in all the right ways. Your question about health insurance is a good one. Maybe you can post it as a separate topic in one of the general forums. I'd like to know how others handle it.
Sounds to me like you're going about this in all the right ways. Your question about health insurance is a good one. Maybe you can post it as a separate topic in one of the general forums. I'd like to know how others handle it.
