What to say when people frown on your business...

[parhamjw]

I'm brand new at vending and I went with the pink ribbon breat cancer and so far I love the results. I do have a question for everyone...what do you say when people look at your business as taking money from people as apposed to making money for breast cancer research? That's how I look at it, just curious as to what you all say?

[karwood]

First of all, you're not "taking money" from anyone.  They are purchasing a product of their own free will.  No one is forcing them to do it. Part of that money goes to breast cancer research.

 

I have a little insight in that one of my former clients was a principle in a very large, well-known charity organization.  With most of those charities, the overwhelming majority of the money donated goes to administrative costs just to run the organization.  This was several years ago, but I know at the time, 90% of the money collected by the Muscular Dystrophy Association went to administrative costs and only 10% went to actual research (this was not the charity my client worked for and I'm not picking on them, because this is the way it works at most).  So if you are paying $1 per box / machine (you didn't say if you're doing machines or honor boxes) per month to the charity and you're netting $10 a month per box / machine, then you're just about in line.  If you get to the point you have 100 boxes / machines in the field, then you are donating $1200 annually to a worthy cause. It adds up.

 

So, what do you say to people who criticize you? I don't know.  How about, "Well, when I decided to do this, I had the choice of  keeping  all the money for myself or giving something back. I chose to give something back.  Unfortunately gas isn't free and I have to make a living, so I've struck a happy balance".  Or maybe something along the lines of "Well, I'm donating hundreds of dollars a year to breast cancer research.  How much are you donating?"

 

I'm just starting out, too.  I wish you luck!

[SnackInTheBox]

I am not sure if you mean the business' you are soliciting to are criticizing you, or friends/family are.

My wife and I just say to the business owner that we will donate more monthly, than what we will make from the box we want to place at their business. This is the truth and I have never been asked how many boxes we have all together. If I did get asked that question, I would tell the truth and explain the concept without going into detail. Not to be misleading but because I don't feel my numbers are any of their business and I don't want to give their son or nephew any bright ideas... 

Don't let anyone make you feel bad for doing a good thing. You are not stealing money or taking anything. You are legitimately raising funds for a charity that would otherwise likely have received nothing from you. Any business owner should be able to understand the way a charity works otherwise you may want to consider finding a new location.

I have never personally heard of a long lasting charity organization that makes no compensation for the efforts of their employees. Also how would a charity organization get off the ground without using some of the funds to build the charity organization? Unless of course they rely completely on web donations like GoFundMe.com or something similar. Although I would bet they probably also have several employees who are being compensated for their efforts in managing the site.  

As for friends and family I would just ignore anyone who can not comprehend that some is better than none. The box clearly states that a set portion is going to be donated to help fund breast cancer research. You are not lying to people in any way. Not to mention you are providing a service which is the convenience of a counter-top snack.

I would love to hear thoughts about this topic from a more "seasoned veteran" in the honor box business.

[BouncyBalls]

If you can sleep at night, rock on! You don't have to explain a damn thing to nobody.

[Grazing Hippo Vending]

I tell people that I give a much higher percentage of my revenue to charity than ANY Fortune 500 company does.

A couple of years ago I saw that Yoplait yogurt had pink lids that showed their support in the fight agaisnt breast cancer. When I read the fine print, it said that they will donate UP TO $50,000 to breast cancer research. Now, $50,000 is nothing to sneeze at BUT as a percentage of their nationwide annual sales it's chump change! Cambells Soup and the NFL have similar set-ups. They give X amount to fund research which is great but it amounts to a very small (less than 1%) of revenue.

Nobody bats an eye because they just think "Wow, Cambells Soup donated $250,000" or "Wowwy, the NFL just gave $500,000". The thing is, those organizations make hundreds of millions each year.

The percent they give is small. The percent I give is large.

For the record, I have no problem with companies giving whatever amount they think is fair. Its not for me to decide. It is frustrating when a location expects me to give 50% or more of MY revenue to charity when I know that they dont give anywhere near that amount (or anything at all) to charity.