AMD Snacks Posted September 5, 2015 Share Posted September 5, 2015 I'm moving on to my 3rd month of bulk vending, and finally am starting to understand how important common business knowledge is to move forward and progress. I got into the business after reading a book on the subject, and though it was a good book on how to get started, it never really mentioned how to run a successful business. And from reading on here guys talking about COG's, and net profit etc. I've decided to focus some time on educating myself on some business principles. So for anyone new to business, not just vending, but business in general I figured I pass on a couple of articles I found helpful/interesting. I'd love anyone else to add anything they've learned too. Nothing groundbreaking here, just useful. Not everything here applies, but I like points 3,6, and 10 (from nolo.com) Basic business principles (from powerhomebiz.com) Personally i'm trying to figure out how to come up with net profit goals like this post Not sure if it's just a random goal, or if there is some methodology to it. Anywho, that's my two cents for the day, hope it was helpful to someone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PerformaVending Posted September 7, 2015 Share Posted September 7, 2015 All good sound principles to have in place prior to taking on any business. A business can be fun, but you always have to treat it like a business to be successful- that's where I see a lot of newbies get stuck- when they get into it thinking business is easy, and something they can play around with without consequence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musser Posted September 7, 2015 Share Posted September 7, 2015 Seriously, buy a gumball machine stick it in a place make money buy another ( if it doesn't make money move it) and do this a lot. This is not like building a nuclear power plant. Keep it simple and you will be ok. Complicate it with a bunch of useless formulas and business babble and you will not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musser Posted September 7, 2015 Share Posted September 7, 2015 The real mistake people make getting into this business is not understanding how little money a bulk machine actually makes a month. You want to be a full time bulk operator? You are looking at thousands of machines if you want to make s good living. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Mike Posted September 7, 2015 Share Posted September 7, 2015 I always tell people vending is a get rich extremely slowly scheme Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMD Snacks Posted September 7, 2015 Author Share Posted September 7, 2015 This is not like building a nuclear power plant. Keep it simple and you will be ok. Complicate it with a bunch of useless formulas and business babble and you will not. Honestly i'm glad to hear experienced guys saying keep it simple vs, "dummy learn more principles of business" lol because it means you can still succeed based off common sense. But when it comes to questions like: how soon do i buy another machine? how many machines should I buy? how much money am I actually making? how big should I expect to become in my route? etc. For those things I think it's good to have a good foundation based on good principles. All these thoughts I have came based on a comment I read that said ":a major difference between a hobby and a business is that a business makes money, but a hobby costs money" ...something like that I can't remember it verbatim lol, but I could easily see this becoming a hobby for me since it enjoy it so much, unless I treat it more like a business.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musser Posted September 7, 2015 Share Posted September 7, 2015 As you grow you will gain the skills you need out of necessity. If you only want to be part time with 100 machines all you need is a pad that list your stops and what's in them a clip board and a pencil. Honestly if I was a part timer I would be completely off the radar, no business name no tax returns burner phone for calls etc. making money is about going the Least work you can for the Most money you can get. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMD Snacks Posted September 7, 2015 Author Share Posted September 7, 2015 But without the tax returns and business name, wouldn't you be missing out on tax deductions for expenses? Or is it not enough to be worth it? I don't know about how many machines I want, I just want to make around 4k a month between toys capsules and candy, and some racks. I'm slowly working away from the candy though... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orsd Posted September 7, 2015 Share Posted September 7, 2015 But without the tax returns and business name, wouldn't you be missing out on tax deductions for expenses? Or is it not enough to be worth it? I don't know about how many machines I want, I just want to make around 4k a month between toys capsules and candy, and some racks. I'm slowly working away from the candy though... If you don't file taxes you don't pay anything. The gov't will not refund your expenses, it will only let you pay less. Still I would pay taxes, the consequences are quite steep. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMD Snacks Posted September 7, 2015 Author Share Posted September 7, 2015 If you don't file taxes you don't pay anything. The gov't will not refund your expenses, it will only let you pay less. Still I would pay taxes, the consequences are quite steep. Might be showing some ignorance here...but what about like gas mileage and cost of goods, and machine purchases? Aren't all those things that work towards a deduction? I figure you're paying taxes on those items when you buy them whether you file it or not..but then again, i haven't gone through a tax year with this business yet, so i'm not sure how much those deductions help yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musser Posted September 7, 2015 Share Posted September 7, 2015 Every business expense is deductible. If you only have a handful of machines it is not worth the work really. But as you grow you will get to a point where the tax advantages come into play. Tax deductions are applied to your gross sales to arrive at profit which is what your tax is based on. Purchase of machines is a depreciable expense. When I first started my vending I serviced machines on the way to and from work so my mileage deduction basically paid for my work car which was a family friendly minivan so there are advantages if you work it right and there is actually some money to be played with. But as I mentioned earlier if you only have a couple dozen machines its probably not worth the paper work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OU8SUMCANDY Posted September 10, 2015 Share Posted September 10, 2015 Every business expense is deductible. If you only have a handful of machines it is not worth the work really. But as you grow you will get to a point where the tax advantages come into play. Tax deductions are applied to your gross sales to arrive at profit which is what your tax is based on. Purchase of machines is a depreciable expense. When I first started my vending I serviced machines on the way to and from work so my mileage deduction basically paid for my work car which was a family friendly minivan so there are advantages if you work it right and there is actually some money to be played with. But as I mentioned earlier if you only have a couple dozen machines its probably not worth the paper work. Did you create an LLC or are you operating as a SP? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musser Posted September 10, 2015 Share Posted September 10, 2015 At first a Sole proprietorship because the bookkeeping was easier and a closely held LLC doesn't really shield you that much. We are now incorporated because of succession considerations ( much easier to create a trust or other transfers) and if heirs need time to sort things out the business comtinues operating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.