JimmyT Posted February 18, 2012 Share Posted February 18, 2012 Hi, everyone! I'm new here and am glad I stumbled upon such a helpful forum. I am dedicated to reading all the posts on this particular section. Just finished reading GumballGuru and now I am hyped about getting started in this industry. I've always wanted to be my own boss, I could never hold a job for long at all. I am about to purchase 4 triple head 1-800s as a starter. I don't have the capital to buy more, unless I sell my car which is worth some $16,000. Then I could buy a used car for $6-8k, and invest the rest into bulk vending. It would be a pretty big and bold move for me. I feel like I should do it because I just need to do something in my life. Currently, I am unemployed and looking for something to do. I want to make this a full time job. After reading gumball guru, my hopes and morale were shot super high. But after reading some posts on this forum, my morale is diminishing somewhat. I guess what I'm asking is...Should I pursue a career out of bulk vending? I have nothing else to do at the moment. I live in the Bay Area, Silicon Valley, so it is pretty popping here. I figured that might help? I guess I am kind of looking for words of encouragement. I just hope this is the right path for me, and maybe with my starter 4 machines, it will show me the way. Thanks for reading and sorry for my yammering. I just feel so lost sometime that any hint of direction is better than none at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLM Vending Posted February 18, 2012 Share Posted February 18, 2012 are you a peoples person? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogcow Posted February 18, 2012 Share Posted February 18, 2012 I could never hold a job for long at all. why is that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimmyT Posted February 18, 2012 Author Share Posted February 18, 2012 mmm I'd say so, yes. I'm a pretty personable, likable guy. Are you referring to knocking down doors to get locations? Oh, cuz work sucks hahaha I'm a bit of a rebel, I don't like taking orders lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mission vending Posted February 18, 2012 Share Posted February 18, 2012 Hi, everyone! I'm new here and am glad I stumbled upon such a helpful forum. I am dedicated to reading all the posts on this particular section. Just finished reading GumballGuru and now I am hyped about getting started in this industry. I've always wanted to be my own boss, I could never hold a job for long at all. I am about to purchase 4 triple head 1-800s as a starter. I don't have the capital to buy more, unless I sell my car which is worth some $16,000. Then I could buy a used car for $6-8k, and invest the rest into bulk vending. It would be a pretty big and bold move for me. I feel like I should do it because I just need to do something in my life. Currently, I am unemployed and looking for something to do. I want to make this a full time job. After reading gumball guru, my hopes and morale were shot super high. But after reading some posts on this forum, my morale is diminishing somewhat. I guess what I'm asking is...Should I pursue a career out of bulk vending? I have nothing else to do at the moment. I live in the Bay Area, Silicon Valley, so it is pretty popping here. I figured that might help? I guess I am kind of looking for words of encouragement. I just hope this is the right path for me, and maybe with my starter 4 machines, it will show me the way. Thanks for reading and sorry for my yammering. I just feel so lost sometime that any hint of direction is better than none at all. FWIW, I don't do bulk but from a business perspective if you are going to own and operate your own business you need to be passionate about it. In order to develop a passion you need to learn about the industry you want to go into, whether its gumball or computers. You've started your journey by starting to read up and learn. From here I'd look at getting a few machines to start to get a feel of the business, maybe even find someone doing it full time and offer to work for free for a few days just to learn what its like. Then you will have a much better idea if its worth taking the plunge by selling your car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogcow Posted February 18, 2012 Share Posted February 18, 2012 Oh, cuz work sucks hahaha I'm a bit of a rebel, I don't like taking orders lol. customers are harder to please then your boss. trust me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimmyT Posted February 18, 2012 Author Share Posted February 18, 2012 haha thank you for your replies. i don't think i've ever found a more useful forum. i'm still reading through these old pages. lots of interesting information. so much to learn, so much to think about . thanks for your advice, mission. wise words, indeed. i'm buying 4 1-800s for $100 a piece. i wish i could find them cheaper. u guys get so lucky sometimes with those deals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PerformaVending Posted February 18, 2012 Share Posted February 18, 2012 Good luck on the vending endeavor. As to the deals, it's all a matter of patience and timing. Check eBay and Craigslist on a regular basis, and eventually something will show up. There is always one deal or another out there. I wish you the best! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bravo Duck Posted February 18, 2012 Share Posted February 18, 2012 Jimmy, I'm going to give some contrarian advise here. Don't do it. The vast majority of new people who get into the business don't make it and they've wasted time and money trying it. You said " I could never hold a job for long at all." It takes literally YEARS, a boatload of work and a lot of capital to develop a full time income from bulk vending. 4 machines is going to do nothing for you except give you a real world example of what the profit/expense numbers are for your area, and show you how much work is involved. Even if you sold your car and invested the money, it would take you between 9 and 24 months JUST TO GET YOUR MONEY BACK, ( assuming you don't make any big mistakes, which you probably will). How are you going to support yourself and find additional capital to invest in the business during this time? One of the absolute most important attributes of a successful vending business owner is perseverance and by your own words it doesn't sound like you have much. ( Most of would rather be vending full time but we show up at jobs everyday we are not especially fond of to support our families and build our business ). Realistically, I don't think bulk vending is for you and I'm hoping this advise saves you from wasting some time, money and heartache. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bacho Posted February 18, 2012 Share Posted February 18, 2012 Good post, tstrong. JimmyT, you need to take his advice. You say you’re a rebel and don’t like to take orders. You also say you are personable. I’ve never heard of a personable rebel. Then you said you don’t like to work. That’s three strikes against you. First, you will have hundreds of bosses if you plan on making vending a full time job. Second, you can not have any kind of attitude when representing your company as a customer service rep. Third, vending is not just slapping a machine in a location and sitting on your lazy butt until the next service cycle. You will be putting in some long days and weeks as a full timer. You will be an accountant, marketing manager, customer service rep, salesman, maintenance technician, janitor and route driver all wrapped up in one. I probably left out a couple other things but you get my point. After how you described yourself, you need to take a giant leap backwards and think about it long and hard. Like tstrong said, even if you sell your car it still won’t cover the initial expenses needed to go full time. It could take years to see even a little revenue. Plus that unemployment check will run out on you sometime. You may want to think about doing it part time. It can be a great business if you start slow and progressively get larger. I’m not trying persuade you in either direction, JimmyT. Just suggesting slowing down a little and thinking of all the money and hard work you will need to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dperry Posted February 18, 2012 Share Posted February 18, 2012 You are just making me homesick. San Jose is my home town. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
West Coast Vend LLC Posted February 18, 2012 Share Posted February 18, 2012 Jimmy T, if you are out of work and thinking about starting your own vending business, you are going to be in trouble. I am sorry to tell you this when you are trying to hear some encouraging words, but this is a slow growing business. It will take months and years to start from scratch and grow a business to the point that you want to be at, (full-time). You need to find a job and do this as a second job, this way you can pay your bills and build your vending business. You have come to the right place for two reasons. We will tell you the truth. Two, if you start reading advertisements for exaggerated business opportunities, you will sell everything you own and the only one that will make big money is the company that scammed you. This is only my personal advice so take it only if you feel it is right. Gary --- I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=33.142472,-117.191503 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Mike Posted February 18, 2012 Share Posted February 18, 2012 Jimmy T, if you are out of work and thinking about starting your own vending business, you are going to be in trouble. I am sorry to tell you this when you are trying to hear some encouraging words, but this is a slow growing business. It will take months and years to start from scratch and grow a business to the point that you want to be at, (full-time). You need to find a job and do this as a second job, this way you can pay your bills and build your vending business. You have come to the right place for two reasons. We will tell you the truth. Two, if you start reading advertisements for exaggerated business opportunities, you will sell everything you own and the only one that will make big money is the company that scammed you. This is only my personal advice so take it only if you feel it is right. Gary --- I am here: http://maps.google.c...472,-117.191503 Did you know your phone is marking your location? Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLM Vending Posted February 18, 2012 Share Posted February 18, 2012 Jimmyt, I would recommend singles to start. I know 3 sounds better but just starting out, I would try singles to cut down cost and make it more simple. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antoniocinisi Posted February 18, 2012 Share Posted February 18, 2012 Jlm you aren't in a position to give advice. Jonny t You shouldn't start a vending business because "you have nothing to do in life". How did you get a car that is worth 16 k if you don't have a job?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick SDL Posted February 18, 2012 Share Posted February 18, 2012 Jimmyt, I would recommend singles to start. I know 3 sounds better but just starting out, I would try singles to cut down cost and make it more simple. If there's one thing you ever get from this forum, do not use advice JLM tells you to do. Most likely do the opposite, JLM is delusional and doesn't know anything about vending. Just keep in mind fast cash and vending does not go together, even thought it may seem at first like it is. There's more to it than just selling product. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimmyT Posted February 19, 2012 Author Share Posted February 19, 2012 wow that is a lot of advice. definitely not what i wanted to hear, but straight up, legit words from the pros. i thank you all for your advice. thanks for looking out for me and trying to save me time and money. i think instead of jumping head on into deep water, i'm just gonna paddle in the shallow end for a bit. though you guys make a lot of sense by saying i don't got the traits, i don't got the qualities...but i still want to try vending, though. so yeah, just one step at a time, baby steps. gotta crawl before i can walk thanks for convincing me out of selling my car for capital. but the thing is my car is a small little miata that can't carry a darn thing, so that is why i was thinking about selling it if i got into this business. but u guys are right...i would be jumping in too deep, too early. so thank you for voicing your opinions. i'm just gonna invest a few hundred dollars into this. i already have two locations set up, so might as well give it a go. and maybe u guys are right about not doing this fulltime. finding a part time job + vending might be the better path. again, thank you for watching out for me. i'm just gonna take this nice and slow...i was so hyped up and ready to go a few days ago lol this forum is a gold mine full of valuable knowledge. i'm barely on page 7 of 75....haha. i'm still committed to learning the ins and outs of this business. by the way, you guys are awesome. so responsive and helpful. i wish all forums were like this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLM Vending Posted February 19, 2012 Share Posted February 19, 2012 JimmyT there are lots of spots in san jose. I encourage you to try out vending. How will getting a few spots hurt you? Also, a good locator helps. I encourage you to try it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mission vending Posted February 19, 2012 Share Posted February 19, 2012 wow that is a lot of advice. definitely not what i wanted to hear, but straight up, legit words from the pros. i thank you all for your advice. thanks for looking out for me and trying to save me time and money. i think instead of jumping head on into deep water, i'm just gonna paddle in the shallow end for a bit. though you guys make a lot of sense by saying i don't got the traits, i don't got the qualities...but i still want to try vending, though. so yeah, just one step at a time, baby steps. gotta crawl before i can walk thanks for convincing me out of selling my car for capital. but the thing is my car is a small little miata that can't carry a darn thing, so that is why i was thinking about selling it if i got into this business. but u guys are right...i would be jumping in too deep, too early. so thank you for voicing your opinions. i'm just gonna invest a few hundred dollars into this. i already have two locations set up, so might as well give it a go. and maybe u guys are right about not doing this fulltime. finding a part time job + vending might be the better path. again, thank you for watching out for me. i'm just gonna take this nice and slow...i was so hyped up and ready to go a few days ago lol this forum is a gold mine full of valuable knowledge. i'm barely on page 7 of 75....haha. i'm still committed to learning the ins and outs of this business. by the way, you guys are awesome. so responsive and helpful. i wish all forums were like this. Unlike JLM who absolutely refuse to listen to anyone, it seems like you are paying attention and taking some good advice from experienced veterans. This is a great place and if you take the time to read and learn first, then ask thoughtful questions, you will find all the support and encouragement you will ever need. Good luck!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimmyT Posted February 19, 2012 Author Share Posted February 19, 2012 oh, i had a few jobs before. i was quite passionate about health and fitness so i worked as a trainer...until i got injured. plus it was more of a sales job with quotas than a help people out job. and ultimately, i found it darn hard to sell $60 dollars an hour for exercising. i just want to be passionate about a job again. i want to love it, live it, breathe it. sorry if i express myself so freely and openly. i may sound corny from time to time lol i feel like i've looked into everything, every job and every industry....nothing excited me....so i felt like i had nothing to do....until vending came along....it was like a fire that just ignited inside of me. a light blub that just went DING!! anyway, i have a degree in business management, specialization in entrepreneurship. my whole family is full of entrepreneurs. i guess u can say i've always wanted to be my own boss and start my own business. i just never knew what business. thank you for your encouraging words! sometimes a little support is all i need Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLM Vending Posted February 19, 2012 Share Posted February 19, 2012 oh, i had a few jobs before. i was quite passionate about health and fitness so i worked as a trainer...until i got injured. plus it was more of a sales job with quotas than a help people out job. and ultimately, i found it darn hard to sell $60 dollars an hour for exercising. i just want to be passionate about a job again. i want to love it, live it, breathe it. sorry if i express myself so freely and openly. i may sound corny from time to time lol i feel like i've looked into everything, every job and every industry....nothing excited me....so i felt like i had nothing to do....until vending came along....it was like a fire that just ignited inside of me. a light blub that just went DING!! anyway, i have a degree in business management, specialization in entrepreneurship. my whole family is full of entrepreneurs. i guess u can say i've always wanted to be my own boss and start my own business. i just never knew what business. thank you for your encouraging words! sometimes a little support is all i need JimmyT, vending may be for you. Do the machines you have and see how you like it. Since you have a degree in business, this could work for you. Trust me. Lots of people will try to discourage, but just keep on moving forward. I mean Im in your area. I could be a competitor and I'm still telling you to go for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antoniocinisi Posted February 19, 2012 Share Posted February 19, 2012 Jimmyt I wouldn't worry about jlm being your competitor more than likely you will buy his machines from him when he realizes the mistake he made Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLM Vending Posted February 19, 2012 Share Posted February 19, 2012 Jimmyt I wouldn't worry about jlm being your competitor more than likely you will buy his machines from him when he realizes the mistake he made antonio what are you saying? Everyone is so hostile lately all of a sudden. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RogerFolzFan Posted February 19, 2012 Share Posted February 19, 2012 I am in Silicon Valley, too. Wish I could get together with all of you guys and shoot the breeze about the biz! I might be getting a job back in the biz soon. Have had a few good interviews and something looks like it might work out. I was in bulk & crane vending for 8 years and candy/soda/coffee for 4 months, but may be going back to the latter since no bulk companies seem to be hiring at the moment. Plus would gain additional experience to "expand" my knowledge a bit. Lots of things have changed since I was in it last, so would like to learn whats new these days before going out on my own. Best of luck in your businesses! See you out on the road! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antoniocinisi Posted February 19, 2012 Share Posted February 19, 2012 I I think I speak for everyone when I say we are tired of your golpher posts,your golpher topics started and personally it bothers me that you give others advice when you don't know golpher about vending. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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