Hello, I am Lefty, and I am looking for locations

[leftyvendor]

Hello,

 

I am new to the business. I am pursuing full line vending because where I live. There are thousands of warehouses around here. I see parking lots full of cars all over during business hours. I currently work at a warehouse where we have over 250 employees. We have two break rooms and 4 machines in each. Each with snack, cold food, big soda (bevmax 4) and coffee. I see the a lot of purchases during breaks and lunch every day. Seeing this is what motivates me to get in the business. I am glad I found this site. There is plenty of info and lots of support. After lots of research, finding locations seems to be the first skill I need to learn. I am very excited about my future ventures. And yes, I tried to secure the location at my current job, but it is against company policy. However, I have known the vending decision maker for many years and when I leave my job to run my vending business, I will get the location. 

 

Any tips or info on locating skills, locators or full line business research would be much appreciated. 

 

Thanks

 

Lefty

[mission vending]

Welcome to TVF, my first suggestion is to read and read some more in the Locator and FUll Line sections. Also might want to look up RJT, a member here, he has a book out that is highly regarded by a number of members here and get a copy,

[moondog]

Hello,

 

I am new to the business. I am pursuing full line vending because where I live. There are thousands of warehouses around here. I see parking lots full of cars all over during business hours. I currently work at a warehouse where we have over 250 employees. We have two break rooms and 4 machines in each. Each with snack, cold food, big soda (bevmax 4) and coffee. I see the a lot of purchases during breaks and lunch every day. Seeing this is what motivates me to get in the business. I am glad I found this site. There is plenty of info and lots of support. After lots of research, finding locations seems to be the first skill I need to learn. I am very excited about my future ventures. And yes, I tried to secure the location at my current job, but it is against company policy. However, I have known the vending decision maker for many years and when I leave my job to run my vending business, I will get the location. 

 

Any tips or info on locating skills, locators or full line business research would be much appreciated. 

 

Thanks

 

Lefty

 

Yep,

 

I'm in California too and there are a lot of big warehouses around my area (IE) and some of them even have people working there.  As I'm sure you're aware, the recession really hit this area hard but it's starting to come back.

 

As a new vendor, you should look for something a lot smaller until you learn the ropes.  Any time you see a cold food or coffee machine, you can figure that there's a pretty large vendor handling that account.  You're very fortunate that your company won't allow employees to run vending services - this account would have eaten you alive.  Find yourself something small (40 to 50 people) that you can do on Saturdays while you get familiar with the business.

 

But first, read - read - read.  This business isn't rocket science but there are a lot of pitfalls (expensive ones if you catch my drift).

[leftyvendor]

Awesome advice. Thanks

[AZVendor]

Hello,

 

I am new to the business. I am pursuing full line vending because where I live. There are thousands of warehouses around here. I see parking lots full of cars all over during business hours. I currently work at a warehouse where we have over 250 employees. We have two break rooms and 4 machines in each. Each with snack, cold food, big soda (bevmax 4) and coffee. I see the a lot of purchases during breaks and lunch every day. Seeing this is what motivates me to get in the business. I am glad I found this site. There is plenty of info and lots of support. After lots of research, finding locations seems to be the first skill I need to learn. I am very excited about my future ventures. And yes, I tried to secure the location at my current job, but it is against company policy. However, I have known the vending decision maker for many years and when I leave my job to run my vending business, I will get the location. 

 

Any tips or info on locating skills, locators or full line business research would be much appreciated. 

 

Thanks

 

Lefty

 

Lefty,  don't be in any hurry to leave your full time job unless you have the cash available to purchase an existing vending route that will net enough to replace your current income.  As already pointed out, you need to get your feet wet, not drown, in this business before you even know if it's right for you.  Start small with a handful of soda-only accounts to learn all the workings of machines, servicing, repairing and moving machines, selling accounts, purchasing and transporting product, paying taxes, commissions and yourself, and understanding the complexities of the business.  Do this before you even consider snack machines because then you will be getting in deeper financially and time-wise. 

 

I began vending in 1985 with 5 soda machines and by 1987 I was needing one weekday off each week to service a couple of accounts that needed service twice per week, then by 1989 I stepped down to part-time so I had more time to devote to vending.  By 1989 I was able to quit my day job and work full time in vending.  By 1990 I had 60+ machines and had actually replaced the income from my full-time job.  That was 4 years as I slowly built it up to the self-sustaining point. 

 

One mistake people make in jumping into vending is the appearance that it looks like such an easy business to run, and nothing is farther from the truth.  It take tons of work, but can be very rewarding when you are successful.  Plan carefully so you will be the successful one.

[CajunCandy]

Welcome leftyvendor

 

This forum has lots of advice from long time vendors, just be sure to ask questions and read what you can find on vending. Start off small to get your feet wet and you will learn as you go.

 

mike