Buying A New Vending Machine
If you’ve been looking into a home based business to start, you may have considered purchasing a new vending machine to get a vending business started. Many of the vending machine companies will provide you with all sorts of data that will show you making an absolute ton of cash within a short period of time. Be wary of such claims. Fortunately, there are many long term and reputable new vending machine companies in the marketplace that will help you get things going. Many people get started in the business with a single machine, but if you’ve got the capital, you may want to get started with multiple machines.
Alternative Methods For Securing A New Vending Machine
For those who want to get started in the vending business, but don’t have the up front capital to invest, there are several options:
1. You can rent or lease a machine, saving you a substantial sum in start up costs. Many vending companies have both used and new vending machines available and would love to get them out of their warehouse and making money from them in the form of rent paid by you. Be careful when using this method, however, because this will be a much more expensive route to take over the long term.
2. If you sign contracts with Coke or Pepsi, you’ll likely have access to free machines. Of course your profit margin won’t be as high as it would be with a generic machine, but again, your start up cost will be smaller.
3. Some vending concerns will get you set up on the business for next to nothing up front, but will want to you sign a long term contract with them for x number of machines and will split the proceeds with you. While you never want to go with less than a 50-50 split, you may have to go 60-40 or even 70-30 in order to do business with some companies if you don’t have the cash to buy machines outright.
When you rent a machine, you should have no issues with service because the firm you rent from should provide all the service your machine requires. When you own your machines, you will be responsible for the maintenance. When all things are considered, I like having my own machines and buying my own product and keeping 100% of the profits.
Locations For Your New Vending Machine
Once you have a machine, or several machines, you will need to focus on finding locations to put these machines into so that you can start making money. You’ve heard it before – location, location, location! Your entire business depends on the quality of the locations you are able secure. So how do you secure locations?
The first method is the old fashioned method – by hitting the pavement and going door to door. This cold calling method does indeed work, but it’s extremely time consuming. The second method is to set up a web site and drive local traffic to it via newspaper ads, passing out business cards, running pay per click ads or setting up a Google Business Listing. This way, people will be calling you for a machine to be placed in their business and you will have the leverage. This leverage automatically gives you the credibility of being a go to source in the vending business. This method is easy to implement and can be quite successful if implemented properly. A third way is to pay your vending company for locations they own. Needless to say, this can be a costly route to go – especially if they hold you up for a larger than fair cut of your profits.
In the end, the vending business can be an excellent money making business and is one that you can operate out of your home. However, the price you pay for your machines, along with the quality of your locations will be the determining factors in just how successful you will be.