Temporary Road Block: Working FT and Vending

[spdydre]

Ok so I have come to a temporary road block with my vending business and that is that I also work Fulltime. Currently my business is not where it is to quit my job and I am exploring my options on how to continue to expand from here on out. I wanted to get some ideas on people who have been in my situation and how they handled it. Right now I can run my route on saturdays and I usually take off a day once a month or so for misc stuff such as setting up new accounts etc. My problem is I work 8 to 5 monday through Friday which is when most businesses want me to come by to either look at the account or set up the account which I do not have the ability to do every week. I have tried hiring some friends to help but they are all lazy and that didnt get too far. So should I start limiting my accounts to ones I can only service after 5 or ones that are open weekends or 24/7 until I grow enough to where I only work pt and vend FT? My other option is to hire some pt help to help go to appointments/set up accounts or service but I think it may be way too soon to pay someone for this. Advice?

[ASVG]

Not quite sure on the perfect answer but I am in the same situation. I think hiring someone to run your routes for you is probably a simple answer. There are a lot of dishonest and lazy people out there but I am sure you could find a good person who will take care of it for you and you wont have the headache. That is where I am at with my business since I work full time as well but am pushing to expand rapidly. Are you maximizing your day that you do have to fill machines? By maybe pre-kiting or have a set routine that will maximize your time out there in which you can take care of them all in a couple hours? As far as paying someone to run your routes, yes it may cut into your profits and may not be the best option or what you would prefer but it would save you the hassle and keep your current accounts happy in which you jepordize now by at times having issues or struggles taking care of them all. Its better to keep your accounts happy and buying and try to build your business with your free time. Then go from there and try to work full time into vending if that is really your overall goal.

[Shauna]

Is your job situation flexible to maybe take a long lunch during the day and work over in the evenings? If so, you could fit in a couple of accounts each day at lunch and take care of your business yourself. If not, I agree with ASVG and suggest finding a trustworthy fellow to work for you in servicing your accounts.

[treadmill]

I would suggest to hire a retired person to work p/t for you. Most retires would only want to work a few hours a day anyway for probably minimum wage or so.

[AngryChris]

I have some questions for you.

1) Roughly how much does your business gross?

2) Roughtly how much do you need to make to replace your income?

3) Could you take out a loan if needed?

4) About how many hours does it take you to service everything?

5) Are there any other jobs you could get with more flexibility?

[ANDERSONVENDING]

Ok so I have come to a temporary road block with my vending business and that is that I also work Fulltime. Currently my business is not where it is to quit my job and I am exploring my options on how to continue to expand from here on out. I wanted to get some ideas on people who have been in my situation and how they handled it. Right now I can run my route on saturdays and I usually take off a day once a month or so for misc stuff such as setting up new accounts etc. My problem is I work 8 to 5 monday through Friday which is when most businesses want me to come by to either look at the account or set up the account which I do not have the ability to do every week. I have tried hiring some friends to help but they are all lazy and that didnt get too far. So should I start limiting my accounts to ones I can only service after 5 or ones that are open weekends or 24/7 until I grow enough to where I only work pt and vend FT? My other option is to hire some pt help to help go to appointments/set up accounts or service but I think it may be way a business associatesoon to pay someone for this. Advice?

I'm in almost the same boat as you,however I work 10-7 Mon Wed Thur Fri and 8-5 on Saturday.I service accounts on my way to work and on my way home from work.the majority of my routes are serviced on Tuesday.i guess I'm one of the lucky ones to be able to have free time for vending.I also pay a business associate for locations occasionally.

John

[lakevending]

We are in the same situation right now also. I work M-F 9-5:30. I do have a little bit of flexibility here and there but not enough to count on or try and run another business with. We're hoping to be big enough to need help by summertime. Our first choice is my little sister. She just turned 16 in the fall and could service pretty much any day during the summer and after school once school starts again. We trust her, and I think it would be good for her. Our other option would be a retiree. I have heard that hiring retirees is the best route to go since they are generally only looking for limited part-time and let's face it, work ethics were better 30 years ago then they are today. I would rather trust a 70 year old then a 20 year old with my cash.