Determined Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 Hi! I've read quite a bit on this forum and with my current small route I know this business is not passive income. I like the biz quite a bit so far. I like servicing my machines, refurbishing machines, the paperwork, and even locating because it represents a challenge to me. I like what a large bulk vending business could represent for me and my family. I'm 33 yrs old. I currently work 5-6 days a week in a factory doing physically demanding work. I am married and we have 5 boys together so I need to make the most of my spare time. I've always worked hard. I was working part time buying and selling various items on craigslist and doing okay but it drove me crazy having to spend so much time searching for a "good deal". I know that it will take a while to get a decent route going. My current business model has been buying cheap machines off craigslist, refurbishing them, and placing them on location. What bother's me about this is having to wait for weeks for parts to arrive to fix the machines and some of the machines (triples) are not exactly what I want. Most of the triples I have out the location can really only support a single. So the triples lead to a higher cost of goods and potential waste. Waiting on parts leads to a longer return on my investment. As my route grows I don't really see this as a sustainable model or a way to grow rapidly and still be able to enjoy my family. I am a maximum effort kind of guy who usually works harder than needed but what I need to do is to make this as passive as possible. So what I've decided to do is bite the bullet and buy new single head gumball machines even if they cost more. I thought about building the stands to save money but that would take time so I'm going to buy the stand's new too. Vending gumballs will lead to a lower cost of goods so I can expand more quickly. One product so less to manage. I can put them on 3-4 month service cycles to save time. I could hire a locator but what I've read that comes with mixed results so I will be locating myself for now. For now I want to build a solid second income but eventually for it to be a full time business. So my question is what do you do to make your business as passive as possible? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QuikVend Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 I'm fairly new myself to the biz, but maybe running some toys or bouncy balls if the locations will sustain them or a hard pressed candy like runts. That should help with spoilage. What triples are you running now? If you go the single head route, oak is selling location ready refurbs for 39. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodney69 Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 Hi! I've read quite a bit on this forum and with my current small route I know this business is not passive income. I like the biz quite a bit so far. I like servicing my machines, refurbishing machines, the paperwork, and even locating because it represents a challenge to me. I like what a large bulk vending business could represent for me and my family. I'm 33 yrs old. I currently work 5-6 days a week in a factory doing physically demanding work. I am married and we have 5 boys together so I need to make the most of my spare time. I've always worked hard. I was working part time buying and selling various items on craigslist and doing okay but it drove me crazy having to spend so much time searching for a "good deal". I know that it will take a while to get a decent route going. My current business model has been buying cheap machines off craigslist, refurbishing them, and placing them on location. What bother's me about this is having to wait for weeks for parts to arrive to fix the machines and some of the machines (triples) are not exactly what I want. Most of the triples I have out the location can really only support a single. So the triples lead to a higher cost of goods and potential waste. Waiting on parts leads to a longer return on my investment. As my route grows I don't really see this as a sustainable model or a way to grow rapidly and still be able to enjoy my family. I am a maximum effort kind of guy who usually works harder than needed but what I need to do is to make this as passive as possible. So what I've decided to do is bite the bullet and buy new single head gumball machines even if they cost more. I thought about building the stands to save money but that would take time so I'm going to buy the stand's new too. Vending gumballs will lead to a lower cost of goods so I can expand more quickly. One product so less to manage. I can put them on 3-4 month service cycles to save time. I could hire a locator but what I've read that comes with mixed results so I will be locating myself for now. For now I want to build a solid second income but eventually for it to be a full time business. So my question is what do you do to make your business as passive as possible? The best business model is single head gum, I would use 1080 or 1430. Set it up on the cycle you mentioned it longer. If you use a panel head you can add an expansion of need be. If you buy enough oaks they'll give you a discount. Not sure on the amount. On locators, it is better to do it yourself, if you don't have the time or don't want to, let us know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Determined Posted January 4, 2016 Author Share Posted January 4, 2016 I'm fairly new myself to the biz, but maybe running some toys or bouncy balls if the locations will sustain them or a hard pressed candy like runts. That should help with spoilage. What triples are you running now? If you go the single head route, oak is selling location ready refurbs for 39. I currently am running a mix of northwestern's and vendstar's. I will continue with the current equipment I have, but I think all future machine's will be singles. I thought about just doing toy racks as I would have less locations to manage, but the COG bothers me just starting out. I do plan on going with the refurbished oaks. Thanks Kasey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Determined Posted January 4, 2016 Author Share Posted January 4, 2016 The best business model is single head gum, I would use 1080 or 1430. Set it up on the cycle you mentioned it longer. If you use a panel head you can add an expansion of need be. If you buy enough oaks they'll give you a discount. Not sure on the amount. On locators, it is better to do it yourself, if you don't have the time or don't want to, let us know. What's the advantage to using 1080 or 1430 gum? Where's the best place to order it? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musser Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 Single head gum, oak vista panel machine, metalcraft stand (or other), service when empty only, repeat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mainor5251 Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 Over the years I've spoken to a lot of veteran vendors and most of them agreed that the single head gumball model has made more successful vendors than any other model. And it can't be more simple blanket locate a large area put service cycles around every 3 or 4 months and pull the slowest to relocate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PerformaVending Posted January 10, 2016 Share Posted January 10, 2016 Pretty much what everyone else has said. Gum. Singles. Get robust equipment with long service cycles, blanket wide areas and collect when they're empty. Not a terribly exciting way to do things, but if you're looking for the most "passive" way forward, this is it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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