Pin It

Vending Machine Biz Ops

assure1 | Jun 16, 2009 |

0 Comments | Rating: 0

Since vending is an easy business to start, it is said to be a low barrier to entry opportunity. What this means in simple business terms is that anyone and their brother can start a vending machine business. Since vending is cheap and easy to get into, lots of people do. More venders and less money to be made are an evitable part of a low barrier to entry business. Even with so many venders trying to compete in an already crowded market, there is always room for someone that isn't afraid to work a little longer and a little harder.

One of the biggest pit falls to avoid at all costs is the vending business opportunities (biz ops) that are prevalent everywhere online. One of the most widely touted biz ops today is energy, but it's not the only one out there. These biz ops all sound about the same - for a fairly large sum of money $10,000 - $20,000 they will sell you a fleet of machines, help you place them, and give you start up support. Biz ops make grossly exaggerated profit claims. With vending, it's all about tiny profits. For any serious business profit, you must have lots of machines working for you. Many people who get involved with biz ops get beaten down by it and leave vending entirely. They sell their vending machines online everyday.

If you have been conned into one of these plans, your choices are limited, you can complain to the Better Business Bureau, file a complaint with the Justice Department, or get a lawyer. It's sad to report, but that money you invested will most likely never be returned. You want to have all the information before you make any decisions. If someone is telling you of amazing business profits that seem too good, then they probably are unrealistic.

You need to keep both feet on the ground before you quit your day job and pursue the vending machine business full time. I hope I'm not deterring you from thinking about persuing vending, but rather that I'm giving you all the info you need to succeed. Seven dollars is the average of a single head machine. This is an industry average, not a guarantee. Everyone doesn't make the seven bucks. For myself, my current head average is $5. With these kind of numbers, it obviously takes quite a few machines to earn a decent living.

Locators are another area of the vending business that can be problematic. Locators help you by making lots of phone calls to zip codes you provide to help you get your machines placed faster. Sometimes you can hire a person to drive around and place machines. Machine placement services usually charge an average of $45 to get a machine on location. Unplaced machines don't make you any money and a locator can be a good choice for fast growth. Some give a guarantee, some don't. Despite what you may hear, excellent locators can be found, the problem is finding one. Online forums are an excellent source of good locators. Forums sometimes have recommendations from other venders who can give their experiences using certain companies.

The vending machine business is not a get rich quick plan. Vending is a real obtainable business for some people, but you will have to work hard and long to succeed. Many people fail at vending, but this isn't because vending isn't a good business. Most people are simply not cut out for being entrepreneurial. Without a lot of cash, the best course of action is to buy some inexpensive machines and see what kind of results you achieve. A nice option of vending is the ability to stay working at your regular job while persuing vending part time and allowing your business to increase over a period of time. A plan to grow your vending business, based on your experience will be infinitely better than the impossibly dreamy goals others may give as their results.