T BIRD Posted November 11, 2009 Share Posted November 11, 2009 Next week marks the beginning of the company's third year on this planet. Man how time flies. It seems like yesterday I was posting on here about how I am gonna do this, and then I am gonna do that, and I am not sure what machine I am gonna buy, and how do you put a candy wheel together, and how do I deliver a machine to a location, with the candy in or without the candy in, etc etc etc. Two years ago on VENDiscuss, I remember being a part of lots of discussions around the pros and cons of using machines that vend 3 products. How the third product would not sell as well as two products etc. And of course the age old discussion about what brand machine one should buy. I wound up using the A&A PN95 model ( actually the Elite line ) to begin my business but did try practically every other brand out there especially Gum Ball Factory's machine with the coin drawer and XYZ's machines, especially their triple machine with the cannisters that come out. Live and learn. What a waste of money for me to have done that. I actually wasted alot of money that first year trying stuff like buying the trays for NW and Elite machines so that candy would not fall on the floor when vended and coin trays for the NW and A&A machines. I wish some of you folks lived nearer to me. I have a bunch of machines I would practically give away that just take up valuable space for me. I wont ship them though. And now here I am with a major business goin' on. Amazing. Simply amazing. I always knew I wanted to make a real go of putting together a campany. I was truly blessed to have met some wonderful veteran vendors who have become my friends this past year and helped me to get to where I am today. That was my big break and I am very grateful to them for this. One thing I am learning now is I have to stay in the seat of the van to make money. You got to put in 8-10 hours per day to really make a nice piece of change every day. Another thing I am learning is to have my van packed and ready to go the nite before. That is such a time saver for me. And now I have my first employee starting to work for me on Thursday. He will ride with me and learn to clean and refill machines as we do a route. I will handle the money. I love bulk vending! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidsurvz Posted November 11, 2009 Share Posted November 11, 2009 Johnny I am extremely impressed with how well you have done with this!!! Great work. I remember the early days when you were asking all those questions. You are right it really is amazing how time flies......... I have to say that you are a real success story in bulk vending. Thanks for all of your encouragement, input and sharing with us along the way! David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Mage Posted November 11, 2009 Share Posted November 11, 2009 Congrats, and here is to continued success. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faith Vending Posted November 11, 2009 Share Posted November 11, 2009 Congrats T-Bird; love to hear your success story. We started about the same time but you are way ahead and I have learned A LOT from you and this forum. I now know exactly what and how I want my business to grow and become a legit business. We will get there one quarter at a time . Going from a corporate sales guy to counting quarters and making a living is kinda surreal but whatever it takes, right brother? God bless and continued success!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zanygames Posted November 11, 2009 Share Posted November 11, 2009 Very Cool. Congrats. I am about two weeks into the business, so it's great to read and learn from your stories. My goal is just 100 locations within a year so I can make some part time money. Best Steve Atlanta GA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caserri Posted November 12, 2009 Share Posted November 12, 2009 Happy Birthday TBV LLC! To all those just starting out, John was just like you when he first joined us. Since then he's taken the industry by storm. There is much to learn just by reading and following along with John's journey here on VENDiscuss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lurtsman Posted November 12, 2009 Share Posted November 12, 2009 Grats Tbird. When I first joined this forum I dug up all your old threads to figure out how to start my business. You don't know how much of a help it was having you pave the way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T BIRD Posted November 12, 2009 Author Share Posted November 12, 2009 Thank you everyone! I appreciate the kind words. Jim........I have always followed you closely since we are the same age etc. Continued success to you and everyone on the boards here! Steve......U R da Bomb Brotha.............. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caserri Posted November 12, 2009 Share Posted November 12, 2009 Steve......U R da Bomb Brotha.............. No sir, I respectfully submit that "you" are in fact da bomb Brotha John! This reminds me John, I hope you don't mind but that line gave me a great idea for some more bumper stickers this year. Look for some great new stickers featuring some "inside material" coming soon. The 2009 stickers will be available in the coming days so make sure you check out this thread... http://vendiscuss.com/forum/index.php?topic=463.0 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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