Ever dreamed of owning your own business? Or dreamed of being your own boss? Many people have this dream. Some have worked hard, sacrificed, and saved to achieve that dream. If you’re at a point in life where you want to move beyond dreaming and on to planning your own business, you might want to consider a vending machine business for many reasons that include lower startup expenses, relatively high profit margin, and operating a business that doesn’t require 20-hour work days week after week in order to get off the ground. But, how do you actually break into the business of vending machines? These tips will help you get started.
Scout Out a Few Prime Locations
Almost any business you decide to pursue will come down to one thing that makes or breaks it: location. It’s the one thing in the world of business that rarely changes. Some locations are simply better than others for operating a business of any kind. The same holds true for vending machine locations. Your target location is ideally one that gets a great deal of foot traffic and is in a location where people have disposable income they’re willing to spend on vending machines.
Product Research
The next step is to decide what kinds of products you want to vend. Knowing the great spots that are available can help you really zero in on what types of products are likely to sell best in various locations. For instance, you might not want to have a junk food vending machine located just outside the doors of a health club, but that might be the perfect location for a “whole foods” type of vending machine.
Find Products to Vend
Once you decide on the location you’d prefer and the products being vended it’s time to reach out to some wholesale distributors who may have the types of products you want to vend available.
Obtain Appropriate Permits
You’ll have to check with the local government in your city in order to determine if you even need permits for your vending machines or to offer vending service of any kind. It will save you a lot of time and aggravation over the next several years. More importantly, you’ll sleep better with the knowledge that your business is on the straight and narrow in order to avoid certain strays.
Avoid Common Pitfalls
As you do your research about the vending business you’ll see all sorts of newspaper ads promising you the moon and a few other interesting sight-seeing points along the way. Some of the ads promise useful things like arranging for the lowest priced vending machines, locator services to scout out prime locations, and training programs to help you become more efficient as a vendor. Always check with the BBB in your community to see if there have been complaints. The other thing you need to do in order to avoid the fallout from some of these common scams is invest in business insurance to help protect your business from those who would take advantage.
Owning and operating a successful vending machine business can be lucrative, so follow the above tips to get started on this promising new vending machine business endeavor.
