Greetings, glad to have found this place

[Iolaus]

Hello Everyone,

I've literally just started investigating the world of vending yesterday, and I'm glad I found this forum.  It seems like the first 50 results of my searches for information on getting started were business opportunity sales pitches with no real legitimate facts or help.  Thanks for being here to help sort through all the junk that seems to be out there.

I want a business that I can start part-time on a relatively small budget, but still have to potential to grow that business into a small empire.  I work as a courier delivering small packages and payroll routes, and vending seems like a good transition from that.

So, can anyone recommend any books or other good websites to get me started on my education on the right foot?  Although the dreamer in me wants to just jump in with both feet, I've failed a lot in the past without proper knowledge and planning, so I'm going to take my time getting started in vending.

I apologize in advance if I ask questions that have been asked and answered repeatedly in the past.

Nick

[The Mage]

Hey lolaus, welcome to the VENDiscuss forum.  I have been here since September myself.

Books?  Once you get to 20 posts here, you get access to the member plus section, which includes e-books.

That being said, I believe I have learned more on this forum then I have from the e-books.  (Maybe I should take another look though.)

Anyway, this is exactly where you want to be.

The websites you found are business opportunities, or what we call BizOps.  These are companies that sell you a group of overpriced machines, then either leave you high and dry, or maybe help you by locating your machines in terrible places, and then leaving you high and dry.

I believe the Vendstar 3000 sells for $360 new, and I bought one for $55.  Well plus shipping, and now I think I overpaid for it at that price.  So many people fall for the BizOps that there are always people selling these machines on e-bay, and craigslist.  Often brand new.

There is some disagreement here about whether or not to buy these machines even used.  Like the Vendstar, some really dislike this machine because of how cheap it is.  Personally I like it because of how cheap it is.  But would never put one in a "high risk" location where it might be broken in to.

Anyway one of the best things you could do is to either buy 1 or 2 machines, and find locations for them.  Alternately, you could find locations for the machines first, and then buy the machines.  You will just need to get the machine ASAP after that.

Or you could keep your eyes open, and buy a small route.  Keep it a small route for now.  This is a great way to learn the business with a small investment in time and money.  This also gives you a chance to find out if the business is for you or not.  This could be the perfect business for you, or it could be the worst.  But only you can make that determination.

Once you decide you like the business, and understand it enough, that is when you start building.  And this is also when you decide if you want to invest a lot of money into it, or just reinvest the profits, letting the business grow itself.  (Or something in-between.)

Seriously, read these forums.  Use the search function.  Ask questions.  There are a lot of knowledgeable people here, so take advantage of the opportunity.

And hopefully you don't disappear into the ether like so many others.

Good luck.  Just be sure to make some of your own.

[sbishop]

welcome! We are glad your here. We love to track the progress of new vendors and see them suceede through the information here.

[G-man422]

Nick, glad to have you here.  As Mage said,  once you get 20 posts you get access to the "Members Plus" section which has tools, labels, ebooks, etc.  Again welcome and make yourself at home 

[Iolaus]

Thanks for the welcome, everyone.  I've been busy reading a lot of the historical posts around here and quickly gaining knowledge.

I'm actually going to write a business plan for my vending company, something I've never really done with any previous business venture.  I see the potential to grow a vending business into a pretty large enterprise over time, so I want to set myself up for success from the beginning.

[songbirdz03]

Hello, nice to meet someone that has the same dreams and concerns as me. I would jus reccommend you grabing a notebook and read EVERYTHING and write down EVERYTHING. Its a lot of good people on here that are willing to pass some knowledge down. I look at the small business administration website and also entrpreneur.com. They have a lot of good information.