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Are you guys working out of your house?


chad

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I'm working out of my garage & home office, I operate 8 beverage and 12 snack machines and I'm running out of room fast. We live 225 miles from the closest Sam's club so we stock up and need to store it. Its a major PITA!!!! One full stall is completely taken up with product plus I have a detached 2 stall garage and approx. 1/4 of it is used to store machines and parts.

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Using your garage? Or do you rent a warehouse space or something of that nature?

Thanks

 

Started out that way and did for around 5 years, then moved into a storage unit for deliveries and equipment, then 2 storage units, then 3, then into a small warehouse, then one that was bigger and had a dock door, and again into a bigger one, all the while keeping the admin part of the business in my home. Last year, finally, got everything out of the house.

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I work out of my office/storage room for product.

 

I have one cold drink machine/ large snack machine I need to find a home for.

 

Ten snack and ten cold drink machines placed.

 

Sams is twenty five miles from me one way.

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Started out that way and did for around 5 years, then moved into a storage unit for deliveries and equipment, then 2 storage units, then 3, then into a small warehouse, then one that was bigger and had a dock door, and again into a bigger one, all the while keeping the admin part of the business in my home. Last year, finally, got everything out of the house.

 

I'm seriously about to get a storage unit JUST for deliveries, but I might move some equipment there too.  Should I ever get into food machines, I will need to have a cooler/freezer plugged in with food in it just to "prove" that I have the minimum requirements for a food license.  The inspectors are pretty lenient about that though.

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Yeahh exactly. Im at about 120k a year. Net is about 70-75k if I get a small warehouse say 1000-1400sfeet its gonna be atleast $600-$800 a month. Thats like 8-10gs a year off my pocket. I think I can work like maybe up to 150 a year before a warehouse just for the convenience...but I can do everything just more work. I was about to get a bigger box truck with a liftgate to move machines then I realized im not growing as much since im not trying really that im only getting 1-4 accounts every month or two and I can easily move them with my truck and trailer. Or I could rent a penske for 80 bucks. And save insurance, gas, and investment.

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I split a warehouse with two other people, my dad who's been in the office coffee business since 1971 & originally what was a friendly vendor (Harold owner of Ivey vending) meaning we did not call on each others accounts & would borrow parts or help each other move machines at no charge. After 10 plus years of renting a warehouse together I would call Harold my best friend & of course dad is still telling me how I can do it better B) .

 

We each pay about 200.00 a month, we have 1100 sq. feet with a small office, restroom, overhead door. This includes water, trash & all utilities except for a landline telephone. We all order together from a Vsa  truck that we get in every two weeks. We have a stand up freezer & two fridges.

 

My best advice is find some local vendors in your area you can trust & start building relationships with them, I have bought out 3 vending companies in the 20 years I've been in business & have gotten owner financing for all of them. This was only possible because these vendors all had known me for years.

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My best advice is find some local vendors in your area you can trust & start building relationships with them, I have bought out 3 vending companies in the 20 years I've been in business & have gotten owner financing for all of them. This was only possible because these vendors all had known me for years.

While I only shared space with one I also helped a number of guys out with Vistar ordering moving machines etc. and, like you, wound up buying several of them out on very favorable terms.

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Wow 125 machines in a mini van? Are they good accounts? I know a guy locally has 78 machines and only grosses 8k and services on a f150 and a caravan. He plops machines in muffler shops and complexes

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I had a really nice box truck. Lots of room, insulated, shelves, chest freezer, A/C, etc.. It got 6 miles to the gallon and didn't have an easy way to get up inside. The first year operating it cost $26,000.00 including the price of the truck ($15,000). The second year cost $11,000.00 including all maintenance, registration, commercial sticker, commercial insurance, special use taxes, etc.. CHP (Highway Patrol) gave me a ticket for not having a business name on the side and not having a weight decal even though it was under 10,000 lbs. and not having commercial truck insurance for a vehicle up to 14,000 lbs., and not having some other type of DMV filing that the local DMV didn't even know about (had to get it from Sacramento). So I sold the damn thing and bought a used Chrysler Town & Country mini-van for $1,000.00. For what I spent on the box truck I could've had a fleet of mini-vans.

 

Now the CHP doesn't even look at me, I get 22 miles per gallon, my insurance is $32 per month and maintenance is nill. The best part is I don't have to crawl up into a van. The mini-van has doors on all sides, so I just walk around it pulling my product. I can load 50 cases of drinks and all the snacks I need for the day and still pull into a tight parking spot and pull product. All the heavy stuff is loaded in the middle and the chips and pastries are in the back. Up front I have two ice chests strapped together with all the chocolate candy bars inside and on the passenger side floor are the cupcakes. Between the front seats are the gum, route book and tool box. Dual A/C keeps everything nice and cool even on the hottest days here in the desert.

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All my accounts are just average or below average which is just fine by me. My prices are too low and my equipment is too old. Even so, not many hot-rod salesmen from big-shot corporations are hitting-up my accounts and when they do they get the boot. I service the crap out of all of them and know most of the people at my locations by first name. When I get a call from someone we usually laugh about the situation then I drive out and fix the problem, no matter how small. My area is in a very tight circle so I can effectively service and get to call-outs in a timely manner. I work 4 days per week, Monday thru Thursday. If I'm sitting around the house on Friday, I usually go out and tune-up troublesome machines. If I want a 4 day weekend I service all my accounts on the regular day then the following week move everything back a day. I never ignore a customer or a broken machine. My house is small, my kids are fed, my wife is happy and the bills are paid on time and that my friends is fine by me.

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That's great Allen. I don't feel so bad getting 11.5 mpg out of my little stepvan now. I have put about $2000 into this vehicle ans it shouldn't need much more money for a while. I have considered getting a cheap minivan but I think I will stick with what I have for a while. Great insight though.

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Thats crazy, I suppose if they are slow accounts it os possible. Just one of my accounts needs like 12 cases a week. I couldnt do it with my astro too much weight..and thats when I had only 12 locations about 24 machines. My box truck was only 3600 and gets 18mpg its diesel. Best thing ive boughten for my business. O probably spend $200 a month on gas. Commercial insurance is $87 a month. I dont hurt my back crawling around and can park anywhere my van could as well as its 10ft Roto rooter. Fully loaded I still have tons of power and doesnt feel.like Slug. I probably load about 80 cases and tons of product, tools, dolly, everything.

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Using your garage? Or do you rent a warehouse space or something of that nature?

Thanks

I used to work out of my house before I collected so much stuff I had to move out  ;D

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I have a home office & double garage (wife's car parked outside) >:D.. 3 storage units (1x large 2x small) but 1 of the small units has mostly personal items(wife's stuff).. Had a friend over from the US on holiday recently that built a mezzanine floor in my large storage unit to double the space but I still need more room.. 

 Last year, finally, got everything out of the house.

 

The wife can't wait for that to happen..  ;D

 

I used to work out of my house before I collected so much stuff I had to move out  ;D

 

And you give me a hard time about having to sleep on the couch..  ;D

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