When it comes to vending business opportunities
be an informed consumer and business
person!
One great way to find out about the vending
business is to do some research with existing
publications which describe the vending business.
Review some Vending
Publications here.
A key element in any start-up is the business
plan. The business plan is your road map
to success. Without a map you can get lost.
Review a list of publications about business
plans Business
Plans here.
Automatic
Merchandising magazine has an excellent
article
on business plans.
Due to the comparatively low initial captial
requirements for starting a vending business
the vending industry has a tremendous amount
of business opportunities hawking the easiest
money to be made in the world.
Most opportunities, routes, businesses are
geared at a sales price of five thousand
to thirty thousand dollars. These opportunities
are offered daily in just about every local
newspaper. Open the ads some day and call
them up. Take their information and plug
it into some of the Vendline RouteMaster
Tools.
Vendline offers links to sites which can
help you in evaluating a business opportunity,
understanding some of the various areas
of vending where scams can and do exist,
and offer tools for an analysis of the claims
made by some of the companies which are
selling businesses, and or routes.
Here is a starting list of links to review:
Government Agencies:
Service
Corps of Retired Executives
US
Chamber Of Commerce
Small
Business Institute
Federal Trade
Commission
Small Business
Administration
Trade and
Development Agency
National
Fraud Information Center
U.S.
Department of Commerce
U.S.
Business Advisor
U.S. Census
Bureau
U.S. Postal
Service
Bureau
of Labor Statistics
U.S. Department
of Commerce
General Business:
Business
Today
National
Association For The Self-Employed
National
Home Office Association
U.S.A.
Home Based Business
America
Business Women's Association
National
Association Of Women Business Owners
National
Federation of Independant Businesse
Small
Business Development & International Trade
Center
World Trade
Center
SmallBizNet
Business@home
MIT
Enterprise Forum
California
Trade and Commerce Agency
Useful Links:
Easy
Money? Report On Vending
Periodicals:
US
Nation's Business
Consumer
World
Automatic
Merchandiser
Home
Office Computing
In addition:
Some generalizations:
- Just about anyone who is trying to sell
you a route is not looking out for your
self interest.
- Just about anyone who is trying to sell
you a route of some sort has something
to hide.
Your position is that you have to discover
that you cannot believe what a sales person
says. One exception is that of price only
after it is on an invoice in your hand.
Secondly, you have to discover the implicit
costs of running a business. All operating
costs which any business must face must
be discovered and documented.
- What price can I charge in the market.
- How much will my explicit and implicts
costs, both fixed and variable be.
- How different business senarios using
competition, price, and cost data can
ultimately affect your economic staying
power. (The exercise alone will allow
you to plan for planned changes in your
business envirionment.)
Vendline's advice: NEVER buy a vending
route. Always start your own route
with the help of another vendor, or, with
a sales rep from a reputable company.
More Vendline advice: NEVER use a locator.
The only way to keep a location is with
a personal relationship. You have to control
that relationship from the very beginning.
What a locator states in his sales pitch
may not be feasible, prudent, or business
wise. YOU, a partner, employee, someone
with a vested interest in the success of
the business must initiate the relationship
NOT an outside party or agency. Would you
use a locator to find a spouse?
You may have been to some of the bulletin
boards out there and noticed the banter
between the users many of which are professional
( their term not ours) locators. Note the
quality, the tone, and subject matter of
some of the conversations and you will get
a good idea of what that element of the
Vending industry is comprised of. The point
here is that there is a tremendous amount
of sleaze in vending and you will do well
to steer clear of it by keeping to yourself
and keeping all tasks in house and not outsourcing
the most critical element of your success.
Take any and all claims for sales with
a grain of salt. All sales figures are inflated,
all costs are underestimated and most costs
are not mentioned at all.
It is not a matter of "if" you
will get ripped off but "how badly"
you will get ripped off before you head
is out of the clouds.
Remember:
NEVER EVER approach, inquire, telephone,
email or otherwise contact ANY Vending BUSINESS
OPPORTUNITY.
As this is written we can imagine the indignation
of the "professional locators"
and the "honest" business opportunity
perveyors. "We have a vested interest
in the success of our clients" you
may hear. "We help them succeed by
offering our knowledge" they cry. See
how many will answer the phones after
the sale when their callerID states
you are on the line about a problem, or,
maybe even a refund.
The basis of my vending knowledge is running
a single full line route for 12 years. The
basis of my business knowledge derives from
that experience, as well as, formal business
training, in both a corporate and educational
setting. |