indiana Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 Looking at expanding my route, it appears I will need a cargo van, a place to park the van, a place to store product and a commercial address for coke or Pepsi to deliver product to. With a goal of improving net income by $1000/ month -- a $500/ month office space with outdoor parking sounds like a big bite of my profit. How does everyone handle this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mission vending Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 When you are at this level a ministorage unit and park at home is your best option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
indiana Posted January 28, 2013 Author Share Posted January 28, 2013 I've been looking at self storage units as well. There are a couple in the area that offer something called "business services," where I could park the van and they will accept deliveries on my behalf, delivering received product to the unit. So far, this looks like the most affordable option. And with 24 hour access, I think it would be very convenient as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spdydre Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 product storage is my apartment haha and my business delivery address is a po box at a mailing store for $8 a month. They accept all my deliveries and stick them in the back of their business until I pick them up. This year I do need to get a storage unit though to have extra machines on hand and to work on machines etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
indiana Posted January 28, 2013 Author Share Posted January 28, 2013 I have an account already with the ups store (like a PO box) but there's some stairs (without an elevator option) that would make retrieving cases of soda difficult. The location is conveniently located to my 9-5 job, but not close enough to my home or any of my vending machines. I also could not park a van there, and the wife would prefer me not to store cases of food and soda at home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogcow Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 I have an account already with the ups store (like a PO box) but there's some stairs (without an elevator option) that would make retrieving cases of soda difficult. The location is conveniently located to my 9-5 job, but not close enough to my home or any of my vending machines. I also could not park a van there, and the wife would prefer me not to store cases of food and soda at home. get a ministorage, u can recieve mail there as well and pay to park a van Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
indiana Posted January 28, 2013 Author Share Posted January 28, 2013 Yep. Will do. Thanks guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mission vending Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 I've been looking at self storage units as well. There are a couple in the area that offer something called "business services," where I could park the van and they will accept deliveries on my behalf, delivering received product to the unit. So far, this looks like the most affordable option. And with 24 hour access, I think it would be very convenient as well. It depends on the additional cost for the "business services" instead of a plain old ministorage facility. Remember every $ of overhead you take on at this point is a $ you can't spend on expansion. Keep it lean. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwi Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 I've been looking at self storage units as well. There are a couple in the area that offer something called "business services," where I could park the van and they will accept deliveries on my behalf, delivering received product to the unit. So far, this looks like the most affordable option. And with 24 hour access, I think it would be very convenient as well. Hi cloudfoods, I agree with mission about trying to keep your overheads down especially when you are just starting out but also understand the position you are in may not allow this. So is this storage unit going to cost you $500/month & are you also tied into any fixed rental term with the storage company? How big is the storage unit that you are looking at? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
indiana Posted January 29, 2013 Author Share Posted January 29, 2013 Hi cloudfoods, I agree with mission about trying to keep your overheads down especially when you are just starting out but also understand the position you are in may not allow this. So is this storage unit going to cost you $500/month & are you also tied into any fixed rental term with the storage company? How big is the storage unit that you are looking at? When I first started looking into it, I found office space and other commercial property for rent/lease. The cheapest options I found in the areas most convenient to me was $500/month. Per others' recommendations here, I checked self storage options, where the company will receive soda delivery and other mail on my behalf. I called a dozen places or so, and the cheapest option in the areas most convenient for me was around $148/month for a storage unit that would hold a cargo van and provide storage for soda. The problem with this idea--no units you can drive a van into are climate controlled, so depending on the weather, soda deliveries would explode. Best option would be a smaller, climate-controlled unit (which would be cheaper) with outdoor parking for the van. I haven't found any yet, but prices are now looking much more reasonable. I didn't realize you could have soda delivered to the storage facilities, I thought I literally needed office space. Self storage is a perfect (and more affordable) alternative. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WillisNYC Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 I received product at my upstairs condo for the first 6 months when I was doing around $1000 gross per month. Coke delivered there and even carried the soda upstairs to my apartment! After the first 6 months I moved to a house and all product was delivered to the garage. I had all deliveries coming to my house and parked the van in my driveway. I was doing $5000 per month by then and rented a self storage unit to store my extra machines. As I expanded, I added new storage units to accommadate my needs. The storage unit personnel even took deliveries for me. Keep the expenses low at the beginning so you have as much money as possible to expand as mission said above. I know two vendors who run a $200k and a 400k/year route respectively from their garages to this day and have done so for many years! I would still operate from my garage if the neighbors had not complained to the local authorities about my 'home based business' which is not legal in New Jersey! These other two vendors managed to not attract attention from their neighbors like I did! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
indiana Posted January 30, 2013 Author Share Posted January 30, 2013 I received product at my upstairs condo for the first 6 months when I was doing around $1000 gross per month. Coke delivered there and even carried the soda upstairs to my apartment! After the first 6 months I moved to a house and all product was delivered to the garage. I had all deliveries coming to my house and parked the van in my driveway. I was doing $5000 per month by then and rented a self storage unit to store my extra machines. As I expanded, I added new storage units to accommadate my needs. The storage unit personnel even took deliveries for me. Keep the expenses low at the beginning so you have as much money as possible to expand as mission said above. I know two vendors who run a $200k and a 400k/year route respectively from their garages to this day and have done so for many years! I would still operate from my garage if the neighbors had not complained to the local authorities about my 'home based business' which is not legal in New Jersey! These other two vendors managed to not attract attention from their neighbors like I did! This is a great idea. I wish I could run the business from my house, that would allow me to save and otherwise scale my growth a bit. But I understand both Coke and Pepsi now require a commercial address to deliver product to, and living in a condo, I am limited on storage space. So, I think a storage unit would be the best option for now. Relatively inexpensive, they have larger units I could grow into, and they can accept deliveries on my behalf. Any and all suggestions for saving money is appreciated! Please keep them coming! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moondog Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 Looking at expanding my route, it appears I will need a cargo van, a place to park the van, a place to store product and a commercial address for coke or Pepsi to deliver product to. With a goal of improving net income by $1000/ month -- a $500/ month office space with outdoor parking sounds like a big bite of my profit. How does everyone handle this? While I understand your space problem regarding the condo, I hope your primary reason to consider renting space is not to accommodate Coke and Pepsi. You're already paying a premium for their product, they dictate what you put in the machines and now you have to pay more money to rent space? This is going downhill fast - you can buy a lot of soda machines for a year's mini storage fees. I'm currently running 25 machines and the majority of my inventory stays in my van. What's not in the van are candy bars and one 4' long by 6' high rolling rack with various snack items. Unless you're planning on getting huge overnight - save your money Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
indiana Posted January 30, 2013 Author Share Posted January 30, 2013 While I understand your space problem regarding the condo, I hope your primary reason to consider renting space is not to accommodate Coke and Pepsi. You're already paying a premium for their product, they dictate what you put in the machines and now you have to pay more money to rent space? This is going downhill fast - you can buy a lot of soda machines for a year's mini storage fees. I'm currently running 25 machines and the majority of my inventory stays in my van. What's not in the van are candy bars and one 4' long by 6' high rolling rack with various snack items. Unless you're planning on getting huge overnight - save your money That's a good point. I didn't think of it like that before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moondog Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 And don't forget - most of your inventory is already in your machines Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKK Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 This does not seem like a good idea. I personally only have a storage because I am moving which I will be able to use the 2 car garage and shed for my stuff. Im renting a storage for $100 a month its a 10x15. Which I will be soon getting rid of. Even then I see it as a waste. Why don't you not merge with coke and them I think that's a big mistake especially starting off. I couldn't imagine putting all this work and not owning your own machines and put whatever product youd like I think it would be a big mistake. $1000 net - $500 you could easily reach that with your own 2-4 machines and pay maybe $1200-$2000 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogcow Posted January 31, 2013 Share Posted January 31, 2013 i hated working out of my garage, mainly because you deal with craigs list weirdos when u buy and sell equipment , i like to bring them to my warehouse so they dont know where i live Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKK Posted January 31, 2013 Share Posted January 31, 2013 Makes sence dogcow BUT are you netting $1,000 a month like cloudfoods or have to pay half your net for the warehouse? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
indiana Posted January 31, 2013 Author Share Posted January 31, 2013 Makes sence dogcow BUT are you netting $1,000 a month like cloudfoods or have to pay half your net for the warehouse? Any business decision--especially those with financial implications--have a cost and benefit. Regardless of the percentage of net it represents, storage (or a warehouse) reduces net profit. As the business owner, you/I have to decide if that reduction results in greater benefit. Maybe it does, maybe not. There are a lot of variables and every business is different. In my case, I think I'm going to decide to pay for some storage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKK Posted January 31, 2013 Share Posted January 31, 2013 Yes everyone's variables are different. For example you live in a condo. Therefore you must find another storage or place. You might only drive a roadster and now need a small van. Etc. I bought a Honda crv when I started because my other 3 vehicles were not well for this. Gas guzzlers or not enough room to justify more trips/gas. Bought a 2002 crv with 96k miles for $3,000 and its worth about $6,000 good investment for sure. I just compare your situation and I'm sure you could do ok with a storage for $100-$200 instead of $500 a month. And I really don't recommend not to pair with coke that's for people that don't want to invest in something that will never be theirs. Or if you can't afford initial start up. You are just buying a location pretty much. Maybe I'd do it if I landed a big account that needs brand new machines but I could disperse the product. And eventually put my own machines just my .2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mainor5251 Posted February 27, 2013 Share Posted February 27, 2013 I just rented a 10x30 in the town where 90% of my racks and cranes are located in. I currently live 30 miles east if this town but will be moving there in may since my daughter will be going to a private school there next year. Has power and they offer all those above mentioned business services. Could have gonna smaller but the price difference between the next size down was insignificant. Runs me about $150 a month with first two months half off. Now that I have this storage unit we don't have to worry about limiting ourselves on the different types of places we can rent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogcow Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 I just rented a 10x30 in the town where 90% of my racks and cranes are located in. I currently live 30 miles east if this town but will be moving there in may since my daughter will be going to a private school there next year. Has power and they offer all those above mentioned business services. Could have gonna smaller but the price difference between the next size down was insignificant. Runs me about $150 a month with first two months half off. Now that I have this storage unit we don't have to worry about limiting ourselves on the different types of places we can rent. just make sure u have it on auto pay or u will see ur racks on storage wars Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mainor5251 Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 Hahaha I did put it on auto pay though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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