mainor5251 Posted September 29, 2013 Share Posted September 29, 2013 Ive been in bulk for 5 or 6 years now and am familiar with seasonal slow downs. My route mainly consists of coastal towns in Northwest Florida. We're what you would consider a tourist town and this year is still holding true to that with pulls 1/2 of what they are through spring and summer. This allows for zero growth and struggling to pay expenses. Next year I want to focus on this and find some alternatives to combat this problem. Any ideas would be appreciated. All im coming up with is target locations that have less tendacies to fall so far off like laundromats and grocery stores. Another operator suggested I need to expand into other markets that are less seasonal, right now the expense of doing so makes this unlikely. Alot of biz owners shut down 4 or 5 months a year down here so I also see that as an option, perhaps looking for some other opportunities in the winter to supplement. So is anyone else experiencing something similar? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LandJGroup Posted September 29, 2013 Share Posted September 29, 2013 Man, I would diversify my approach to areas. Sounds like you got the coastal/vaca spots nailed. You live in a highly populated state, so I would hit up new areas that are not dependent upon out of towners. They would keep you steady through the really low months after the first of the year and in your current state after the summer months. Driving sucks but you gotta expand to get the most out of this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sherlock Posted September 30, 2013 Share Posted September 30, 2013 This may not be what you are looking for, but just throwing it out there... What about trying the full-line side of things. Maybe you can get into some factories, warehouses, or offices. Relying on tourists is great during the vacation season. But getting into break-rooms and warehouses/factories will bring you year-round income. People don't stop going to work at those places when the tourists go away. And those types of places are better suited for full-line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mainor5251 Posted September 30, 2013 Author Share Posted September 30, 2013 Man, I would diversify my approach to areas. Sounds like you got the coastal/vaca spots nailed. You live in a highly populated state, so I would hit up new areas that are not dependent upon out of towners. They would keep you steady through the really low months after the first of the year and in your current state after the summer months. Driving sucks but you gotta expand to get the most out of this. At this approach the most promising cities are Atlanta, GA. est pop. 5,457,831 around 5 hrs away Jacksonville, FL. est pop. 1,065,219 around 4 hrs away Tampa, FL. est pop. 2,441,770 around 5 1/2 hrs away This may not be what you are looking for, but just throwing it out there... What about trying the full-line side of things. Maybe you can get into some factories, warehouses, or offices. Relying on tourists is great during the vacation season. But getting into break-rooms and warehouses/factories will bring you year-round income. People don't stop going to work at those places when the tourists go away. And those types of places are better suited for full-line. Yeah this is an idea I might need to explore more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LandJGroup Posted September 30, 2013 Share Posted September 30, 2013 At this approach the most promising cities are Atlanta, GA. est pop. 5,457,831 around 5 hrs away Jacksonville, FL. est pop. 1,065,219 around 4 hrs away Tampa, FL. est pop. 2,441,770 around 5 1/2 hrs away Yeah this is an idea I might need to explore more. Four hrs imp is not that far for what I want out of this. One of my best routes is 5 and half hours out. Ive got stuff all the way there and back. I run in one week and make bank on it. Jacksonville would be a nice market. You could do all the south Ga towns and Tallahassee is not too far either. I did well in Brunswick back in the day. There is a gold mine in that region. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musser Posted September 30, 2013 Share Posted September 30, 2013 I agree L&J, bulk vending hasn't been a neighborhood business for a very long time. Things were a lot easier and more profitable when it was. BTW, the trend will continue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mainor5251 Posted September 30, 2013 Author Share Posted September 30, 2013 Tallahassee sucks not much there when grouping nearby cities to one of the above mentioned, tampa and orlando has bigger upside. Leaning towards Tampa since I got friends down that way and being a buccaneers fan I could catch a game every now and then. Going down there already in nov since wife has a conference in orlando. Will check it out then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LandJGroup Posted September 30, 2013 Share Posted September 30, 2013 Tampa is not too bad. I set up some stud accounts there back in the day. Beef o bradys to be exact. Wish they took off here like they did in your area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mainor5251 Posted September 30, 2013 Author Share Posted September 30, 2013 Yeah beef o bradys are big around here, I had a shot a 3 of them but couldn't afford the equipment needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LandJGroup Posted September 30, 2013 Share Posted September 30, 2013 I had two in bama but they closed. I got into a handfull of Tampa ones just with bulk, but I had a good contact here that knew the owners. The ones in Al did well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havending Posted October 1, 2013 Share Posted October 1, 2013 It's hard some times but you have to run some miles in this business. There have been times we broke even servicing areas while we were building the service area up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musser Posted October 1, 2013 Share Posted October 1, 2013 thats pretty much how it goes ha, sometimes you can build a route fast sometimes it takes a long time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LandJGroup Posted October 1, 2013 Share Posted October 1, 2013 It's hard some times but you have to run some miles in this business. There have been times we broke even servicing areas while we were building the service area up. Know this all to well, but hey it makes you really hungry to find those accounts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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